Jbl charge 5 battery indicator8/3/2023 ![]() ![]() You might look at this as purely relevant for bass-heavy music genres, but I would argue that’s not really true. In smaller rooms, you don’t necessarily have to push the volume too high to feel it. It’s a resonant speaker in that its sound carries further than you might expect. Distortion starts to set in at really high volumes, but holds off enough before you get there to keep a group or crowd entertained. When you’re just looking for a sound that makes tunes play loud and clear, the Charge 5 can certainly take you there because of how loud it can go. The Charge 5 only supports the AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs anyway. You don’t get a JBL speaker for hi-res audiophile sound. The good news is that doing so makes an audible difference. I never got to test the Charge 4, so I can’t be sure of any upgrade on that front, but the Portable app’s EQ can take the sound to greater depths when you start to tinker with a balance that works for you. I installed a firmware update while I tested the Charge 5 that presumably had an impact on audio quality, particularly focusing on the bass. Ted Kritsonis/Digital Trends Sound quality Bear in mind that once you turn PartyBoost on and connect with another speaker, you lose the EQ, and the connected speakers revert to the default sound profile. If you want to stereo pair for left and right channels, you do need to pair it with another Charge 5. PartyBoost returns, and it sticks with the same formula, which is to say that you can pair the Charge 5 with other PartyBoost-compatible JBL speakers to play music simultaneously. I found better results when tilting the mids up, but if you want more rumbling bass, you could always max that out. You might think it’s overkill for a JBL speaker, but you might also find this speaker more restrained than it looks. It’s modest in scope, with bass, mids, and treble available, each with five levels you can slide and adjust. ![]() The JBL Portable app (formerly the Connect app) for iOS or Android offers limited features, but a key one that wasn’t there when the Charge 5 first launched is three-band EQ. Pairing with two devices simply lets you switch from one to the other when you want to hear what they’re playing. There’s no microphone, which means you also only hear what your voice assistant says and still have to speak into your phone to issue commands. ![]() It can also pair with two devices at one time, but is no help with calls because it isn’t a speakerphone. That shift does help stabilize the connection, and plays a key role in why audio doesn’t stutter as you move further away from the speaker. The Charge 4 ran on Bluetooth 4.2, while the Charge 5 uses 5.1. It was easy to pair the Charge 5 from the start, and I did notice an upgrade in connectivity. Ted Kritsonis/Digital Trends Setup and configuration It doesn’t have a handle or any indents to make it easier to carry around, but it is the kind of speaker you could take with you on a trip or from one room to another with relative ease. You could throw it in a bag and take it along for a ride, but it’s definitely not something you’ll want to carry around for a prolonged period. Its overall size makes it a little too big to be highly portable. That includes saltwater and sand, so this speaker fits in as well at the beach as it does around a pool or tub. Rather than maintain the previous IPX7 rating for water resistance, JBL added good dust resistance for an excellent IP67 rating instead. The weight and dimensions are negligibly different compared to the Charge 4, except the 5 is more ruggedized. The button layout at the top stays the same, while the back features the USB-C charging port, along with a USB-A port you can use to charge other devices, basically turning the speaker into a power bank. The tightly woven fabric still looks and feels great, while the bumpers on each side protect the passive radiators. ![]()
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