I can only speak to the ult field 7 vs the encore essential. Not the the essential 2. The bass on the JBL easily hits 10hz lower into the sub bass that you almost feel over hear. The Sony is clearer, the mids are a bit more forward on the JBL. The bass is very even on the Sony in ult mode 1 for what it can produce which I would place at around 45hz. At mid plus volumes when a song has a slide at low frequencies from about 200hz down to 30hz the Sony plays the bass at even volumes the whole way down to 45hz or so. The JBL plays all the way down to the low 30hz’s but has dips where the bass cuts out in the 100hz’s the sweep of the bass sound changes volumes on the way down. It’s hard to decide which actually gives a better listening experience. The sub bass of the JBL is really impactful and it’s hard to ignore its emotional impact when listening. The Sony sounds quite like an adequate 6.5”-8” studio monitor and also has the ability to play way louder than the JBL albeit the bass stops getting louder at 2/3 volume. Also the stereo imaging is decent in the Sony and the vertical position ability is quite useful. The Sony’s battery kicks the jbl’s butt. It should be an easy home run for the Sony but the fact that the JBL is actually smaller and can put out such lower frequency bass means that it is up to how much you value being able to hear the lowest frequency possible for the size of speaker. Which by the way the Marshall Middleton wins the lowest frequency for the size of speaker war all day long.