JBL Charge 5 Review – Portable Bluetooth Speaker Under $200

When it comes to waterproof portable Bluetooth speakers, JBL is America’s sweetheart. Every year in the past, the corporation introduced several new items and they theoretically continue to improve. The JBL Charge 5 is the successor to the JBL Charge 4. It’s a portable Bluetooth speaker that allows you to listen to your favorite music wherever you go. It’s ideal for both indoors and outdoors. The Charge 5 comes with IP67 dustproof and water-resistant letting you not worry about rain, water, and dust damaging the internal circuit while you take it on the go. The Charge 5 has all of the hallmarks of an excellent JBL speaker but is the price increase over the JBL Charge 4 worth it? The answer may hidden in the JBL Charge 5 review. Let’s go to find.

JBL Charge 5 Review – The Design

The overall design is very similar to the JBL Charge 4 speaker. A little different is the JBL Logo and the rubber band at the bottom of the speaker. The Charge 5 has the JBL logo bigger and looks more like the one on the Xtreme 3. But the Charge 4 has a smaller JBL logo in the orange square, which is placed on the center of the speaker as well. The JBL logo of the Charge 5 is black and hidden orange on the side, which looks more cool and handsome. The rubber band at the bottom will keep the speaker in place and not slip along the table when the sound is turned on to be very loud.

In terms of the design, the JBL Charge 5 won the Reddot winner in 2021. Internal design, it comes with a tweeter of 20mm that separates the mids and trebles which produces more clarity of various sounds. On both sides of the speaker are Dual bass radiator making the speaker delivers a more powerful sound.

Portability and Battery

In my thinking, the JBL Charge 5 is not too small and large, and also not too lightweight or heavy. The weight is around 1.9 kg that can be carried in one hand but if you have to hold it for a long time it may make you feel fatigued as well. If you are looking for more portable speakers, try to check out the JBL Clip 4 (0.24 kg) or Marshall Emberton (0.7 kg). Surely, the portable speaker comes with a built-in battery, the Charge 5 has a built-in 7500mAh rechargeable battery. The full charging time is around 4 hours and provides a running time of up to 20 hours of music time. The one of good things is the JBL Charge 5 lets you able to charge your smartphone too. There is a USB-A port for charging out on the back. Or it can be a mobile power bank that you can use in an emergency.

Durable and Build Quality

Impressive build quality, it’s made of sturdy materials that feel solid. It has an IP67 dustproof and waterproof rating. That means it is certified to be completely dust-tight and submersible in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes.

Control Buttons

On the top, you will see all the buttons to control all fundamental functions of the speaker. The “+” and “-” buttons to control the volume. There is voice feedback to let you know when you have reached the maximum volume. The play/pause button is located on the most right, next to the “+” button. You can go to the next song by double-pressing the play/pause button. But one of the defects which can’t back to the previous song. Which is quite disappointing for speakers at the quite expensive price.

JBL Charge 5 Review – Connectivities

The JBL Charge 5 utilizes Bluetooth 5.1 and can connect to two speakers or more via the PartyBoost feature. You can listen to stereo sound by connecting two or multiple PartyBoost-compatible JBL speakers for more impressive sound and a better experience for music.

PartyBoost is easy, just connect the master speaker to your mobile phone (via Bluetooth) and press PartyBoost on the speaker that you need to connect to. All JBL speakers will link to each other via Bluetooth. The PartyBoost button is placed on the left (most left), next to the “-” button.

Moreover; you can control the PartyBoots feature in the app (JBL Portable app). In the app, you also can adjust EQ for your favorite sound profile. You can set it for stereo or PartyBoost via the companion app.

All ports are placed on its rear, there is a USB-C charging port and USB-A port (for charging your devices) that are fully protected which is put underneath the rubber plate.

How about the sound quality?

In terms of the sound quality of the Charge 5 speaker, it delivers balanced mids to ensure that voices and lead instruments are reproduced with clarity and accuracy. It’s ideal for listening to a wide range of audio content. However; I think it has not enough thump in the low-frequency sound to bring bass-heavy genres like hip-hop, rock, and EDM to life. However; if you don’t like the original sound you can adjust EQ via the companion app. Even though it can just a bit of adjusted sound, it can do it well. You can adjust the bass, mids, and treble in graphic EQ.

The JBL Charge 5 comes with 40 watts of power output. The bass radiator gives 30 watts and the tweeter gives 10 watts.

The sound quality is a personal feeling which may be different from each other. For me, the JBL Charge 5 is not so good in sound quality but still good enough for listening to a lot of genres of music. If you need to Bluetooth speaker with a heavy bass sound, recommend checking the JBL Xtreme 3 or Anker Soundcore Motion Boom Plus.

Compare JBL Charge 5 to Similar Portable Bluetooth Speakers

JBL Charge 5 Review – Pros & Cons

JBL Charge 5 Portable Bluetooth Speaker Review – Final Verdicts

The JBL Charge 5 is a good portable speaker, it’s built quality is good, and has high-level waterproof and dustproof, IP67. 40 watts of power makes the sound quite loud. It has a good battery capacity, 7500mAh that can work as a power bank for emergency charging your smartphone or other devices. You can adjust your equalizer via the JBL Portable app. That means you have to download and install the JBL Portable app to your smartphone before. This is a portable speaker that is suited for outdoor activities including great for home listening to music in your living room.

Where to buy the JBL Charge 5 Portable Bluetooth Speaker

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