JBL has made a lot of different speakers and listening devices to date. JBL Flip 5 is one of the more popular JBL options. There’s a lot of claims that JBL has made when it comes to the JBL Flip 5 Bluetooth Speaker. Whether it’s because of its incredible design or abundance of features, you may be drawn to the JBL Flip 5. The JBL Flip 5 Charger also features a charging device so you can charge your phone while listening to your favorite songs. This makes the JBL Flip 5 charger a top contender when it comes to Bluetooth speakers on the market today. 

Regardless of the reason, we’re going to dive right in and give a complete JBL Flip 5 review going over its specs, features, and of course, whether this JBL Flip 5 Bluetooth Speaker is really worth it or not.

Pros and Cons 

When it comes to doing a complete review on the JBL Flip 5 speaker, we think it’s important to start off with the pros and cons before jumping right into the review. 

Pros	Cons
Sound Quality	No Carrying Strap
IPX7 Certification	Cannot Be Used Hands-Free
Multiple Bluetooth Connections
Color Options Available

The first thing we should start off with when it comes to the JBL Flip 5 review is the technical features of these speakers. JBL Flip 5 Bluetooth Speaker has an IPX7 certification which means that it’s waterproof, a common factor found with most JBL speakers. Although you shouldn’t take it in the deep end in the pool, it’s able to withstand any splashes, beach trips, and surprise rain showers. 

In terms of connection to devices, the JBL Connect + function allows you to connect several devices to the speaker all through Bluetooth. That being said, this JBL Flip 5 speaker doesn’t feature a built-in microphone so you actually can’t do any hands-free, voice command options. 

Design 

When it comes to the JBL Flip 5 speaker, it’s well worth it due to the high-quality design of the speaker. The speaker is a cylindrical shape which is a signature shape for most JBL speakers. This particular model is domed and covered with a braided like pattern which makes it fairly resistant to dust. There are also little pads where the speaker makes contact so you won’t leave any scratches on surfaces as well. 

There’s a rigid plastic that’s covering the whole speaker. Not only does this look great but it’s also designed to protect the speaker with a combination of plastic and nylon as well. The end result of all these materials together – a robust, heavy-duty appearance. 

As mentioned earlier with the IPX7 certification, the speaker is fairly waterproof which was also taken into consideration with the materials and the overall design. It shouldn’t be immersed in water for 30 minutes or more, but if it’s raining outside or falls into a puddle, you can have peace of mind that your speaker won’t be destroyed. 

It’s important that the covering of the speaker is a high-quality fabric so that the water doesn’t in fact damage it. JBL has found the perfect material that protects the speaker efficiently but also allows for even and balanced audio distribution as well. 

The JBL Flip 5 speaker is not much larger than any previous models and comes in a variety of different colors including bright and more neutral shades. With other 11 options to choose from, we’re sure you will find the perfect color for your style. 

Features and Controls 

When it comes to finding the perfect speaker for you, the features and controls are definitely something to take into consideration. The construction of the JBL Flip 5 is fairly simple, and that continues on throughout including the features and controls. 

The JBL Flip 5 Bluetooth Speaker has kept the JBL Connect Features. This allows you to have the option to combine multiple speakers together to simultaneously broadcast at the same time. Great for if you have multiple speakers located around the house and you want them all to play the same thing. 

There’s a JBL mobile application which helps you install and pair the device and also help you control a variety of other features. As mentioned earlier, the JBL Flip 5 speaker doesn’t have a built-in microphone so you cannot answer any phone calls or give any voice commands. 

Sound Quality 

The point of a speaker is to be able to listen to things so sound quality is very important. The JBL brand has produced a lot of audio devices, Bluetooth speakers being a major selling point for the JBL brand. 

When looking at a JBL Flip 5 review, we tested the sound quality in a variety of different settings and situations to ensure that we are getting the full and total picture when it comes to this Bluetooth speaker. We noticed that it had a fairly balanced sound with good frequencies and no issues overall when it came to different spectra levels. 

If you enjoy punchy sounds and powerful beats, then you will be impressed with the JBL Flip 5 Speaker. It has passive radiators which provide a great bass even with the volume up high. There’s a few little blunders here and there but overall the sound system remains pretty balanced which is exceptional, especially when taking the size of the speaker into consideration as well. 

Even music professionals agree that the Flip 5 has an excellent stage of clarity and a good separation when it comes to sound sources. Even when it comes to midrange and the treble. The vocals have a bit of emphasis which sounds nice and is perfect for dinner music or background music when hosting. 

Lastly, that previous point brings up a good point. You will notice a difference when it comes to the sound performance of the speaker depending on whether you use a JBL Flip 5 charger and plug it in or if you connect something through Bluetooth. 

JBL Comparison 

JBL Flip 5 vs. JBL Charge 4 

As we mentioned, there are quite a few JBL products on the market so it’s hard to know what JBL speaker will be best for you and your needs. When comparing JBL Flip 5 Speaker to other speakers on the market, we found the JBL Charge 4 a comparable model and something that a lot of people seem to debate. Therefore we thought comparing the two in our JBL Flip 5 review post would make sense. 

In terms of the design, there’s hardly any difference and the two look very similar. They both feature a cylindrical shape with the standard JBL branding at the front of the speaker. We think that the rigid plastic that’s on both speakers looks great and functions as needed when making them both splash and rainproof. They’re also both manual when it comes to controls and functions as well. 

In terms of sound, both the speakers don’t actually have a built-in stereo speaker which is because of the absence of the subwoofer prescient. 

In terms of tech specs, Charge 4 requires about 5 hours to fully charge, but once full you can get about 20 hours of listening time. For Flip 5, for charging the device for 2.5 hours, you get about 12 hours of battery life. So that means the Charge 4 has an overall longer life and the Flip 5 will have to be charged more often, but for shorter increments. If you’re listening to the speaker mostly at home, this is not something that would be a major concern for you at all. 

A nice feature about the Charge 4 that the Flip doesn’t have is the auto-shutoff. This will turn your speaker off if it’s not being used after a certain amount of time (pre-programmed) so you don’t waste any of your battery power. 

Overall the two are fairly comparable so just depending on what’s the most important factor to you when it comes to speakers, that will help narrow down your selection of the right JBL speaker for you. 

Overall Thoughts

The JBL Flip 5 speaker is a fairly great speaker. In terms of design and functionality, it gets a solid rating from us. The sound quality is pretty good and balanced which is important. We would have preferred if it had a built-in microphone so it could include hands-free controls, but that’s not completely necessary and hardly missed at all. 

We hope this JBL Flip 5 review helped give you a better idea if the JBL Charge speaker is the right one for you and your needs. 

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