JBL CHARGE 5 - Portable Waterproof (IP67) Bluetooth Speaker with Powerbank USB Charge out, 20 hours playtime, JBL Partyboost (Black)

Jeremy United States

INSANE Speaker! Quality, volume, battery, and features make this THE BEST!

The JBL Charge 5 is the BEST speaker I have ever owned. I have had the average run-of-the-mill bluetooth speaker that has around a $20 value, for over a year, and I thought it was good sound quality, and I never thought I needed something “fancy.” Well, that speaker started having problems, and I was carefully searching for another speaker. I found this speaker and I thought I would try something new. I only had one thought as I played music out of it for the first time. WOW! The JBL Charge 5 has the best sound quality I had ever heard from a bluetooth speaker. I don’t ever plan on getting another speaker; that is, a speaker that isn’t JBL or an upgraded version of the Charge 5. The clarity is absolutely stunning! The bass is DEEP. I can feel the bass through my whole room! The volume is insane. I rarely have it over 50%, but in the event where I need it louder, I turn it up. I once had music filling a whole event center that was quite a reasonable size. If I could choose one word to describe this speaker, it would be “Stunning,” “Powerful,” or “Supercharged!(Pun intended.)” On that note, the battery life on this thing is long! I once had the speaker provide some background noise for about two days and the battery life was barely lower than 70% (I think…it’s hard to tell exactly with the battery indicator; definitely above 60%). Of course, the battery drains quicker when you have the speaker playing at high volumes. Also, it can take some water. Some being a little, I prefer not to put it to the test. Here is my takeaway: DESIGN: 9/10 Great! I love the fabric covering. The JBL logo is made of metal, which makes it look very nice and official. The buttons are easy to distinguish, and the light is on the power, bluetooth, and there is a ring of light around those two buttons when PartyBoost is in effect. There is a battery bar right below the JBL Logo, and it serves as a general battery indicator. You can get the 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25%. You can get more info on the battery via the app. The weight is surprisingly light, considering the volume this speaker is capable of. Although, it isn’t the most portable of portable speakers as it is a little big and has a football shape. You can get a case for it that has a strap though. For the skip feature, you have to press the play/pause button twice. Make sure that when you do this, you maintain a consistent interval of time between the two presses. If you do it too fast it will just pause. If you do it too slow, it will just pause then play again. BATTERY: 10/10 Perfect! I absolutely love the battery. I’m the kind of person that prefers the longest possible battery, and doing whatever it takes to preserve it. I don’t have to worry much about this battery. Like I said, it has provided some low music for almost 2 days and the battery wasn’t that affected. However, the battery life will drain much more rapidly when using the speaker at high volumes. I currently use this speaker with a projector to watch TV. I have watched lots of movies and TV shows, and I don’t have to pay much attention to the battery. I just plug it in every other night, and it does great! And having a battery bank is the cherry on top. I haven’t used it much, as I keep most of my devices fully charged, but I think it is awesome that it has a battery bank if I need it. SOUND QUALITY: 10/10(10.5/10) Stunning! I didn’t expect that sound quality could get this good for a bluetooth speaker. JBL means business! When I turn it to high volumes, I can actually feel air blowing from it! On that note, it can go REALLY high in volume. I did not expect that at all. Insane volume. As stated earlier, I use this with a projector, and for all my TV. Watching movies with this speaker makes the entire experience cinematic! A much bigger upgrade compared to the sound TV’s come with. I would even say that it can contend with some soundbars out there (not the JBL Surround Sound System though…that one seems like the top-tier of JBL). This speaker was my first experience with JBL speakers (other than the car speakers) and I was very impressed. It has been the best sound experience I have ever had. Really clear and crisp audio, and when I say “really,” I mean truly! When playing music, I can hear every instrument, every breath, and incredible bass. The bass is a superstar in and of itself. Like I said, the bass shakes my whole room when playing music, and when watching movies! The side radiators really, really pack a punch! There is even an adjustable EQ on the app. Though I prefer what the speaker came with. It is a little pricey, (just a little) but know that you get what you pay for! I don’t think that I can ever go back to what I had… PARTYBOOST: 9/10 Great! I had one, so I bought two more so I could create a surround sound with my TV. It kinda worked. I think I had some sort of connectivity issue, so all I’ll say is that the range might not be that great, so make sure you keep them somewhat close. If you have a projector that has bluetooth and you want to use PartyBoost, I would consider researching what you can do with the Bluetooth latency (As stated earlier, I watch TV with this, and please note there IS some lag between sound and video, as bluetooth will do. However, that is just bluetooth technology, not JBL. Over time my ears and eyes have adjusted, and now it is not that big a deal). In addition to standard bluetooth latency, PartyBoost will make this delay greater (I ended up returning the other two because of this issue). For music, this is not a problem, because it is just sound and no video. With music, PartyBoost is pretty cool! It really creates a much louder and much cooler sound experience. You can even use just two for a stereo effect, and it works great! Overall, this has been the BEST bluetooth speaker experience I have ever had. You better believe I’ll be there for the Charge 6 or 7 or wherever they decide to take this. They really have something good going here. I would 110% recommend this! If you are reading this review, and you would like an upgrade to your typical listening experience, know that this is one of the best out there! And if you catch this at a discounted price, you’ll know you are getting a great deal. JBL has been the best listening experience for me. I will continue buying their products if they keep supplying a high-quality experience. I mean, let the 27,000 ratings with a 4.8 overall rating speak for itself. Here is a simplified pro-con list: PROS -Excellent audio clarity -Excellent bass -Excellent overall sound -Exceptional volume -Long battery life -Battery bank feature -Waterproof feature -Adjustable EQ -Stereo Effect -PartyBoost for multiple speakers CONS -Button timing for the skip track -Could be slightly more portable (We do have the Flip speakers for that though)

Michael C. Rowe United States

JBL Charge 5

I purchased this speaker to play podcasts, audible books, and Sirius in and around my home. I did a search on “top Bluetooth speakers” and the JBL Charge 5 was #1 in several reviews. $180 is a hefty price so I opted for the “used/like new” option for $115. It came a few days later and looked perfect- sealed box & speaker! I also bought a silicone case: https://a.co/d/0o4lLtJ that fits it perfectly and looks great. Charge 5: The speaker is smaller than I thought it would be- about as long as a football but thinner and more cylindrical. It looks classy and has a large JBL w an exclamation point in the name- mostly black with an orange outline. The connectivity is great through Bluetooth although you can also go through wifi but I don’t understand how. If you connect through one device, you have to go into the menu of another device to switch over. The sound is very good and really rocks streaming music. The subwoofers really vibrate on both ends and the midrange & tweeter are in the middle facing forward behind the JBL! icon. In the app “JBL Portable” you can update its firmware as well as adjust a 3 bar sound equalizer. I put them all 3 all the way up for full sound, which is considerable when turned up! It has an option where you can link it to other Charge 5 speakers called “PartyBoost.” This would sound awesome..the only criticism I have about this speaker is that it is smaller and the stereo quality isn’t really there with just one unit. The charging is easy through the back is a USB-C to USB connection and so far, it has a long battery life. If you leave the speaker on without using it, it will turn off automatically after about 1 hour. There is also an ability to charge devices like cell phones in the back behind a rubber flap that is USB to whatever your device requires (see attached pic.) It comes with 1 USB to USB-C 3’ cord. co2CREA silicone case: I chose the black silicone case because there wasn’t an orange one. That would be choice #1 but the black looks classy. It fits tightly around the Charge 5 and has a handle on the top. My only criticism of this case is that the handle is soft silicone and flexes when you pick it up. If there were an embedded plastic piece in the handle it would be perfect. The slots that are open to allow sound are perfect, and the slots on the top under the handle allows you to adjust everything and see if the speaker is on. This case also comes with an adjustable shoulder strap with hook buckles that attach to raised silicone tabs. I’m not sure how much I will use this strap, but it seems pretty nice. It comes with a silver carabiner clip that can be used on one of the silicone tabs to clip to a backpack. I wouldn’t do this however, due to the softness of the silicone and the weight of the speaker.

awol United States

JBL Charge 5 — accidentally ruined my motivation to reinstall a $3,000 home theater

I bought the Charge 5 as a temporary fix, not a solution. My main system—a very expensive, very well-engineered multi-speaker home theater with up-firing channels, horn-loaded fronts, rear surrounds, and dual 12" subs—lost its power supply. Great brand, great support, replacement on the way. In the meantime, I was stuck with my TV speakers. That didn’t last long. My 85" 8K TV’s built-in speakers couldn’t get past volume 8–10 without distortion, rattling, and dialogue turning into mush. Voices were the first thing to fall apart, which is basically unforgivable if you’re watching movies. Out of mild desperation, I paired the Charge 5 to the TV over Bluetooth just to finish a movie. That’s where things got weird. I expected a massive downgrade. What I got instead was clear dialogue, balanced mids, controlled highs, and bass that—while obviously not two 12" subs—was clean, present, and surprisingly satisfying. No harshness. No vibration. No “tiny speaker trying too hard” sound. The shocking part wasn’t that it sounded “good for its size.” It sounded good, period. Enough that when my replacement system arrived, I realized I had no urgency to hook it up. And that’s saying something, because reconnecting it is basically just an HDMI-ARC cable and letting the wireless speakers re-pair. Do I miss bass you can feel from across the house? Sure. Do I miss anything else? Honestly… no. For movies, TV, and general listening, the Charge 5 delivers clarity and balance that puts many TV speaker systems—and even some soundbars—to shame. It doesn’t pretend to be a home theater. It just does the fundamentals extremely well. If you’re looking for chest-thumping, wall-shaking bass, this isn’t magic. Physics still exists. But if you care about clean sound, intelligible dialogue, and a speaker that punches way above its weight, this thing is absurdly competent. What started as a stopgap became a lesson: sometimes modern audio engineering beats size, complexity, and price tags—at least for everyday use. That’s not hype. That’s me procrastinating on reinstalling a system that cost several thousand dollars it's because this little cylinder refuses to sound bad. What it's been replacing is a very good brand with exceptional ratings.

BrightDim United States

Excellent Portable Speaker With Real Battery Life

The JBL Charge 5 has been excellent. I bought it for camping, working around the shop, garage use, outdoor trips, and general everyday listening, and it has easily lived up to expectations. Sound quality is very good for the size. It gets loud, stays clear, and has enough bass to sound full without turning into muddy noise. It works equally well for music, podcasts, movies, or just background audio while working. The battery life is one of the biggest strengths. It lasts a long time between charges, and the built-in power bank feature is genuinely useful for topping off a phone or small device when you are away from outlets. For camping or travel, that is a nice feature to have. I also like that it is waterproof and built tough enough for real use. Mine has been around dust, gear, outdoors, and general abuse without any issues. The green color also looks great. For a portable Bluetooth speaker, this thing hits a really good balance of sound quality, durability, battery life, and practicality. Definitely worth it.