I'm standing on Main Beach, the wind's up, waves right behind me, and I'm singing my own song into a wireless mic at full volume. You should've seen people's faces. But here's the thing: on the playback, you can't hear the wind at all. Just my voice. That's the JBL EasySing Mic, and today I've also got its little brother, the JBL EasySing Mic Mini, both running through the JBL PartyBox Encore Essential 2. Before I filmed this I had a look around, and most karaoke mic reviews out there are done sitting on a couch. So we're doing it properly: real songs, real places, real singing.

Today we're testing both mics on the balcony overlooking Surfers Paradise, in the lounge room, down on the beach in the wind and by the Nerang River. The headline feature is AI vocal removal, which strips the singer out of any song in real time from a button on the mic. One honest note up front: I'm singing my own MrYouWho songs the whole way through (copyrighted tracks get videos pulled), so you'll have to forgive my voice. You might not love my singing, but you'll love these microphones.

▶Watch the Full Review

01What Are the JBL EasySing Mics?

There are two products here, and they're two different ideas. The JBL EasySing Mic is a proper wireless karaoke set: two handheld mics in the box plus a tiny USB dongle that plugs into your JBL PartyBox. The JBL EasySing Mic Mini is a single small mic that lives in a pocket-sized charging case, clips onto your shirt magnetically, and works with JBL's smaller speakers too.

Both share the feature that makes them worth buying: AI vocal removal. Play any song off your phone, press the button on the mic, and it takes the singer down to 25%, 50% or out completely. No hunting YouTube for karaoke versions or instrumentals. You play the real song and the mic does the rest.

02Unboxing & Setup

JBL EasySing Mic

Open it up and you get two wireless microphones, the dongle, two mic holders and a little USB-A adapter (more on that in a second). Pick one up and it feels good in the hand: 195g and about 22cm long. It's got some weight to it. It feels like a real microphone, not a toy. The dongle is tiny, only 12g. One thing to note: there's no USB-C charging cable in the box. That's pretty normal for JBL now, so you'll use one you've already got at home.

JBL EasySing Mic Mini

Completely different. This is a case, 170g with everything inside, and it fits in your pocket. Open it up and the little mic and the dongle sit in there, and the case charges both. You also get a magnetic handle, a magnetic clip and a carry pouch. The Mini uses recycled plastic, and the box is FSC-certified paper printed with soy ink. Good to see JBL thinking about that.

Do this first: update your speaker

Setup is quick, but update your speaker in the JBL app before you plug anything in. These mics are brand new, and if the speaker isn't updated the dongle might not connect. Do it once and you're sorted. Then it's simple: the Encore Essential 2 has a USB-C port on the back, the dongle goes in there, you turn the mics on with the power button on the bottom, and you're ready to sing.

Got an older PartyBox like the Club 120 or the Stage 320? That's what the USB-A adapter in the box is for. The EasySing Mic works with the Encore 2, Encore Essential 2, On-The-Go 2, Club 120, Stage 320 and Stage 720, so most of the PartyBox range is covered.

03The Balcony Test: AI Vocal Removal

Here we are on the balcony. The ocean's right there, Surfers Paradise behind me, music going through the speaker and a mic in my hand. This is where you find out what these mics are really about.

Press the button on the mic once and the original singer drops to 25%. Press again and it's 50%. Press a third time and it's 100%, and the vocal is gone. So you can sing along with the artist, sing it yourself, or let them carry you through the hard bits. It all happens in real time on a normal song straight off my phone. You play the song, the mic takes the singer out, and that's the sound I love.

I also did a duet with Ronnie on the other balcony, two mics going at once, and it handled both voices without any drama. (Sorry if that was a bit of a nightmare for you, guys. We enjoyed it.)

04Sound Quality & Passing the Mic Around

Inside there's a 16mm mic head with a cardioid pickup, so it listens to what's in front of it and not everything else going on. There was background noise on the balcony, and you can't hear it. It's clear and natural. The specs: 50Hz to 15kHz, 59dBA signal-to-noise, plus pitch support, natural reverb and feedback suppression built in. Basically, it makes you sound a bit better than you actually are. And as you can hear from my singing, I'll take all the help I can get.

Now pass it around. There's a shock mount inside and a built-in pop filter, so you don't get that thump every time it changes hands, and you don't get breathing noise either. And the power button is on the bottom. A lot of karaoke mics put it on the front, and somebody always switches it off halfway through a song. Such a simple fix, and it makes a big difference at a party. JBL have really gone out of their way with the engineering here. Whoever's holding it, it just sings.

Battery in the EasySing Mic is up to 10 hours of singing. That's a whole night. When they run down it's USB-C on the bottom, and you're back to full in under 3.5 hours.

05The Speaker: JBL PartyBox Encore Essential 2

The speaker is doing its job too. The Encore Essential 2 weighs 6.2kg with a handle on top, so I carried it out to the balcony one-handed, no drama. It's 100W RMS with a 5.25-inch woofer and two 20mm tweeters, and it's got JBL's AI Sound Boost, so you can turn it up and it doesn't fall flat. The light show is going as well, and once it's dark out here it looks fantastic.

Out on the beach it sat on the sand without a worry. It's IPX4 splashproof, so a bit of spray or sand is fine. Just don't take it swimming. Battery is up to 15 hours, easily a whole day at the beach, and it takes about 3.5 hours to charge. It's Bluetooth 5.4 and supports stereo pairing, but keep reading, because there's a catch there when the mic dongle is in.

06The EasySing Mic Mini: Clip It On, Sing Hands-Free

The Mini is a different mic for a different idea. Lift it out of the case and it turns on. That's it, no button. Drop it back in and it's charging. To connect to a smaller JBL speaker, you hold the play button, plug the dongle in, hear the tone, and you're connected.

That's the big difference: the Mini works with all the PartyBox models above, plus the smaller ones, the JBL Charge 6, Flip 7, Grip and Go 5. If you've already got a small JBL speaker at home, this is where the Mini makes a lot of sense.

Same AI vocal removal (25, 50, 100% from the button), and the Mini adds voice boost. When the song climbs and you're going for that high note, it gives you a bit of a lift. As you can probably tell, I need that. And you don't even have to hold it. The magnetic clip goes straight onto your shirt and you're singing hands-free. If you'd rather hold it, the magnetic handle clicks on.

Battery is 6 hours, less than the big mics. But it's this small, and the case charges it every time you put it away, so you never really think about it. The mic and dongle each charge in under 3 hours. And a bonus: plug the dongle into your phone and record with it. For vlogs and interviews, it doubles as a clip-on mic.

07The Beach Test: Singing in the Wind

Back to Main Beach, because that's where the action happens. It's windy. Proper Gold Coast sea breeze, waves right there. I've got the Mic Mini clipped on, I turn it up, and with the AI processing you can't hear the wind at all. Literally windy, and all you hear is my voice. Then I swapped to the full-size EasySing Mic and got the same result: no wind noise, just voice. The cardioid pickup and the pop filter are doing exactly what they should.

This is the test most reviews skip, and it's the one that matters if you're taking a PartyBox to the beach, a park or a backyard barbie.

08The River Test: Range & Connection

Next, the Nerang River. Speaker set up, Mic Mini clipped on, and I start walking away from it, and it keeps singing. The mics use a 2.4GHz wireless connection that picks its own clear channel, and it's AES-128 encrypted, so each mic is locked to its own dongle. Nothing else jumps in, which matters at a party with a dozen phones and other speakers around.

09The App: Vocal Slider, Pitch & Mic Effects

Back at the apartment, the Mini runs through the JBL One app. You get battery levels for the mic and the dongle, and the vocal removal becomes a slider, so you can set it anywhere you like, not just 25, 50 or 100. There's a pitch shifter, and seven mic effects: Acoustic, Pure, Rock On, Pop Star, Church, Party Vibes and Dreamy Echo. You can set the bass, treble and echo on your voice too. The speaker itself runs through the PartyBox app for the music, EQ and light show.

⚙Full Specs: EasySing Mic vs Mic Mini

PartyBox Encore Essential 2: 100W RMS, 5.25-inch woofer + two 20mm tweeters, AI Sound Boost, light show, IPX4, up to 15 hrs battery (~3.5 hrs to charge), Bluetooth 5.4, 6.2kg.

$Where to Buy + Giveaway

In Australia, both mics are also at JB Hi-Fi. Any purchase through these links supports the channel at no extra cost to you. For more real-world tech reviews, subscribe to MrYouWho on YouTube. Who tests it for you? MrYouWho.

?Frequently Asked Questions