The JBL Pulse 5 comes after the JBL Pulse 4. Because it has extra features, this speaker really stands out from the rest. It has a 360-degree design, and you can change the colours and patterns of its bright RGB lights to match your mood. Also, the JBL Portable app gives you access to a number of different ambient noise settings, like a campfire or a rushing river, to help you fall asleep at night. It can be set up in more ways than its predecessor because of the graphic EQ in the app that goes with it.
JBL Pulse 5: Description
The JBL Pulse 5, which costs $249.95, is the company’s newest portable Bluetooth speaker with bright LED lights. It’s also surprisingly tough and waterproof, which is a plus. But even though it has a rich, bright sound, it only plays mono sound and has no physical buttons for playback or volume.
Because of these problems, we like the Anker Soundcore Motion Boom Plus ($179.99) better. It has better stereo sound, better onboard controls, and the same IP rating, but it doesn’t look as nice as the Pulse 5.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Fun light show
- Sophisticated app control
- Ambient ‘white noise’ sound playback
Cons
- No physical playback or volume controls
- Exterior is prone to smudges and fingerprints
- Lacks speakerphone function and aux input
JBL Pulse 5: Specifications
| Colors | Black |
| Size | 8.5 x 4.2 x 5.2 inches |
| Weight | 3.2 pounds (1.5kg) |
| Battery life | 12 hours |
| Durability | IP67 |
| Price | $249 / £229 / AU$379 |
JBL Pulse 5: Design and Battery
You can’t argue with the fact that the JBL Pulse 5 looks awesome. Everyone who sees it will talk about it. A party speaker that looks almost like a lava lamp and has a light show that goes all the way around. It moves to the beat of your music and has a lot of bright colours and patterns. The tube of light has a clear body with a black tint around it. It has three feet to hold it up, a big JBL logo on the front, and a hook on the back so you can carry it around or hang it up. Rubberized strips on the back keep it from slipping.
On the back, you’ll find a panel with the power button, the Bluetooth button, a light show button to switch between different lighting effects, a PartyBoost button, a small LED bar to see how much battery is left, and a USB-C port to charge it. The buttons are hard to push, but they work well overall. It’s too bad you can’t use them to control the music, though.
This portable speaker is quite big, measuring 10.7 x 21.6 x 13.2cm and weighing 1.5kg. It’s not something you’ll want to keep in your bag all the time, but it will fit in a backpack when you want to take it with you. Since the Pulse 5 is IP67 water and dustproof, you can use it just about anywhere. It will even work on sandy beaches when it’s windy or when it rains hard for a short time.
The battery can play music for a good 12 hours before it needs to be charged, which takes about 4 hours. This means it will last long enough for a party and even a whole day out, but it might not last a whole weekend away.
Controls and connectivity
The only physical controls on the back of the Pulse 5 speaker are for pairing it with Bluetooth, turning on and off lights, and PartyBoost, which connects it to other JBL speakers. There is a USB-C port for charging, and an LED strip shows how much power is left in the battery. There are no extra jacks or ports, so the only way to connect is through Bluetooth.
Users can choose from different light effects using a button on the back of the speaker that cycles through several preset options. For full light display support, you’ll need to download the JBL Portable control app, which is available for iOS and Android devices.
Once the app is paired with Pulse 5, the main lights around the body of the speaker and the lights around the bottom of the speaker can be turned on and off separately. There are also a lot of ways to change the colors to suit your tastes and mood, and you can change the style and frequency of the lighting effects that move to the beat of the music.
The Pulse 5’s light show was fun to watch, and the effect made a dark corner of my home office glow in a comforting and interesting way. I couldn’t stop thinking about getting the light effect to work in time with the music, though, and some high-BPM songs I tried had a delay when the light effects were first set up. The timing of the light show got better when the Tempo control was turned all the way up.
Sound quality and performance
The Pulse 5 seems to be more about the light show than the sound, but for a mono speaker of its size, it’s loud enough and sounds good enough to please most people. I used Spotify for my test because Tidal’s lossless audio would not work at all on this speaker. I turned off the EQ on both the Spotify app and the JBL Portable app to start. I first tested the speaker in my small home office, about six inches from the wall, on a media sideboard unit.
For a speaker with this size of drivers, the Pulse 5 has very clear mids and highs, especially when it comes to vocals in songs by Radiohead, Paramore, Bad Bunny, and even Metallica, whose music is heavier. It might be a little treble-heavy for my taste and sound a little tinny at higher volumes, but it sounds great overall. Don’t push this speaker too far, though, because the sound starts to break up at the very top. If you want something that can fill a bigger room, you might want to try the Sony SRS-SG300.
On the low end, the Pulse 5 was a little disappointing when I first tried it with no EQ settings. At higher volumes, it was there and shook the table, especially on bass-heavy songs like “xanny” by Billie Eilish, which is kind of my litmus test because it’s mixed pretty heavily and comes through no matter what speaker I listen to it on.
But things get more interesting when you turn on the EQing feature of the Portable app and turn up the bass. The sound spreads out and gets louder. Then, it was even better to turn off the Portable app’s EQ and use Spotify’s built-in EQ, which gave the mix more flexibility and dynamics. The Pulse 5’s flat EQ setting is well-balanced and clear, and boosting the bass makes it sound great and get loud.
JBL Pulse 5: Price and availability
The JBL Pulse 5 portable Bluetooth speaker costs $249, which is a lot more than the JBL Flip 6 portable speaker I recently tested at home. It’s about the same size as the $179 JBL Charge 5, but it’s hard to say if the Pulse 5’s light show is worth the extra $80.
The Pulse 5 only comes in black, but when it’s turned on, the light show settings make it look good in almost any setting. You can buy the JBL Pulse 5 from the JBL’s official website or from online stores like Amazon, where you can get it with a free case right now.
Final words
The JBL Pulse 5 has the best light show of any portable speaker. Its customizable dancing lights can even light up parts of the room. It’s sure to be a great way to start a party.
The problem with that is that you will have to give up some things, like the quality and clarity of the sound, which does get worse. Even so, it’s still strong and has a good amount of punch, which makes it good for dance tracks or even some rock n’ roll.
FAQs
What is the sound quality of JBL Pulse 5?
The JBL PULSE 5 has a strong sense of volume, a fairly deep dive, and an overall tone that is still a little bit popular. The JBL PULSE 5 does well in the high-frequency range because it has a separate high-frequency unit. The overall sound is bright and clear.
Is JBL Pulse 5 a good speaker?
Overall, the Pulse 5 is easily one of the best, if not the best, portable Bluetooth speakers for lighting. Yes, some of the animations could be smoother, but this is the best level of customization we’ve seen.
