Amazing JBL Charge 5 in just $139.99 at Best Buy: Christmas Deal

For music, the JBL Charge 5 is adequate. It has an out-of-the-box neutral sound profile, making it suitable for listening to a wide range of music genres. However, it doesn’t get very loud and lacks some low-bass, so you won’t be able to feel the deep thump and rumble in bass-heavy music like EDM or hip-hop. The graphic EQ in its companion app allows you to customise its sound profile to your liking, though it may not be enough to create a thumping low-bass.

We play a quick game of spot the difference with our Charge 5 sample and its older sibling, the Charge 4. The logo is now larger, but it appears more classy and less like a badge than its predecessor, with simple metallic accents around the letters rather than a block frame.

Instead of a block of opaque rubber, the rubberised underbody now has pleasing diagonal lines for traction when set down, as seen on the Go 3. The 3.5mm port for wired listening has been removed, and the new USB-C charging port has been revealed. Under a smaller rubber cap, you’ll find the useful USB-A port for charging your devices with the Charge 5.

The ends of the Charge 5’s trademark barrel-like bodywork have a slightly more robust rubberised reinforcement, while the speaker itself is 1mm taller, 2mm deeper, 3mm wider, and 5g heavier than its older brother – though this is barely noticeable to the naked eye.

However, there are numerous improvements under the hood. The 52 x 90mm bass driver is slightly wider than before, and a new 20mm tweeter is included. Both of these speakers have dedicated power amplification, with 30W for the woofer and 10W for the highs. Bluetooth 5.1 rather than 4.2 is also available, but the same 7500mAh battery provides the same 20 hours of playback on a single charge.

The Charge 5 now has a JBL PartyBoost button on the control panel on top of the speaker, replacing the Charge 4’s Connect+ button. JBL’s updated daisy-chaining technology allows you to boost your portable sound by connecting the Charge 5 to up to 100 other PartyBoost-enabled JBL Bluetooth devices, though this is currently limited to the Boombox 2, Flip 5, and Pulse 4. What you can’t do is connect the Charge 5 to the older Charge 4, or any other older Connect+-enabled JBL speakers.

The JBL Portable app, formerly known as JBL Connect, supports the Charge 5. It’s useful for firmware updates and deploying PartyBoost from your phone, where other app-supported JBL speakers will appear and be ready to connect. With another Charge 5, you can create a stereo pair by switching from “Party” to Stereo when pressing the PartyBoost button, but the app is otherwise basic and lacks EQ optimisation.

George Southwell
George Southwell
George Southwell is a seasoned content editor at Bollyinside, renowned for his expertise in simplifying complex tech topics. Specializing in "Tips and Tricks" articles, he excels in breaking down iPhone, Android, hardware, and software insights. George's insatiable curiosity fuels his hobby of testing the latest tech updates, keeping him on the cutting edge.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related Articles

Hubspot Service Hub review 2024: a comprehensive platform

When it comes to customer support operations, HubSpot Service Hub is an all-encompassing customer service platform that is meant to...
Read more
When players on Windows 11 or 10 try to log in to Steam, they may get the error code E87....
Users of Windows 11 or 10 may find it frustrating to deal with the error number 147-0 in Microsoft Office....
The Microsoft Store is an important part of the Windows operating system because it gives users a single place to...
It can be hard to find the right balance between usefulness, durability, and cost when it comes to kitchen storage....
Both AirDroid and Vysor are well-known tools that help Android users control their devices and mirror them. One of the...