The plastic foot arrangement on the bottom allows it to sit securely horizontally when in use. It can be carried in one hand, and because it is battery powered, you can take it with you wherever you go. However, it is not heavy, just a little awkward to carry around. JBL markets this speaker as portable, but it is not as ‘portable’ as some we have seen. And there is a small foot-like stand on the bottom for balance when it is being used. The speaker is covered in a woven cloth cover. Meaning it’s a compact and lightweight Bluetooth speaker. Shaped a little bit like a Rugby ball or an American football, it measures 8.7 by 3.67 by 3.76 inches and weighs 2.1 pounds. It has a design that is popular these days for a portable speaker. So, let’s take an in-depth look at the JBL Charge 5. The quality is still usually good, and most importantly, so is the sound. Once you have been good, unless you really screw it up, you are still able to maintain a good reputation. As I said, that is what we are looking at today. For a consumer-producer, the standards are better than average, and one thing they do excel at is portable speakers. Products these days are made in Mexico, China, and Hungary. The owners today are mainly concerned with making money. The founders were only concerned with making great speakers. Even though they still managed to maintain a strong base as monitors in some professional recording studios. The product became lower level and much more consumer-based. Add on later mismanagement and subsequent lawsuits, and this inevitably affected the quality of the product.Įventually, they were bought by Harman International who was subsequently bought out by Samsung. However, they lost quite a bit of their kudos through the deaths of the founders. Looking for more Great Speaker Options?Įstablished in 1927, they grew to be a prominent manufacturer of high-end speakers.Mids are clear with vocals given good presence, and highs are rolled off for a warmer presentation, until you start pushing the volume up and up. We’ve heard bookshelf speakers that produce less bass than the Charge 5. Bass is impactful and deep, which is surprising for a speaker of this sound. Tonally, the JBL Charge 5 sounds balanced at medium to low volume. There’s an additional tweeter in the Charge 5 that helps with overall clarity, and bass is slightly more impactful than the Charge 4, too. Overall, the sound quality of the JBL Charge 5 hasn’t changed much from the Charge 4. If you’re pushing the speaker at higher volumes or are using it as a battery bank to top off your phone, expect that number to drop. In terms of battery life, the JBL Charge 5, like the Charge 4, is rated for 20 hours of playback, which we had no problem reaching while playing at 50% volume. JBL offers a nice mobile app that allows you to customize its speakers and to download software updates, though it's worth noting that firmware updates can take upwards of 15 minutes. It’s also nice to get true stereo playback out of a pair of speakers. The feature is great if you want to play music across a large area where multiple speakers can help amplify sound. However, like other JBL portable speakers, the Charge 5 features the “PartyBoost” mode, which allows users to pair a second JBL speaker to either amplify music or use as a stereo pair. In terms of technical specs, the Charge 5 includes Bluetooth 5.1, a 7500 mAh battery capacity, and a frequency response rated 65 Hz - 20k Hz. ![]() We preferred the stability of the Charge 4’s square design to allow for easier vertical placement. This difference isn’t a big deal until you want to set the speaker up vertically, allowing the speaker to look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. One subtle change is that the JBL Charge 5 is shaped like a trapezoid with the sides tilting inward. The drivers are protected by a lip around the speaker, but you’ll still be able to touch the drivers without damaging them. ![]() The Charge 5 retains the exposed bass drivers on the left and right of the speaker, which lets you see the woofers moving in and out. The Charge 5 drops support for the 3.5mm aux jack from the JBL Charge 4, which is a bummer for some who have legacy devices they want to hook up. Around the back, the JBL Charge 5 has a waterproof USB-C charging port as well as a flap hiding the USB-A port that can be used to charge up your smartphone.
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