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The JBL Flip 5 offers 12 hours of playback, with a full charge taking about two-and-a-half hours. (Image credit: Truls Steinung) Battery life and connectivity It doesn’t suffer from distortion at high volumes in the same way as the Charge 5, and delivers enough clarity to extract all the detail you’d want from your songs if you’re listening casually. It’s the same story with the JBL Flip 5, although it does deliver a surprisingly wide soundstage – and impressive audio power – in spite of its small stature. While you might have expected 360-degree sound as a result of its cylindrical shape, the Charge 5 is directional, with its tweeters and woofers positioned at the front of the speaker. Like the previous Charge speakers, the Charge 5 is directional, with its tweeters and woofers sitting behind the front of the speaker. It does distort at higher volumes, though, so we’d recommend keeping the volume at about 50-60% to avoid harshness.
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Of the two speakers, the JBL Charge 5 delivers the most powerful sound, with deep bass frequencies, clear mids, and nicely rolled-off trebles for a warm soundstage. You can even customize the design of the Flip 5 to suit your taste exactly. However, the JBL Charge 5 takes this one step further by introducing an IP6X dust-proof rating, which should prevent sand or grit from breaking its inner mechanisms.īoth speakers are available in a range of colors, although you have more choice with the Flip 5. You might be able to see them move back and forth, but these radiators are slightly recessed into the main body of the speakers, protecting them from bumps and scrapes.īoth speakers are waterproof, with an IPX7 rating, which means they can be submerged in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes. It’s designed to sit horizontally, on its longest side, while the Flip 5 can be oriented horizontally or vertically.Īt each end of both speakers is an exposed passive bass radiator, which is designed to displace lots of air to create a powerful low-end. The Charge is about twice the size of its sibling, at 0.96kg / 2.1lb. It’s the size of a small flask, which means you can easily carry it around in one hand, pop it in a bag, or hang it from a door handle thanks to its shoelace strap. The Flip 5 is the smaller of the two, weighing 0.54kg /1.2lb. Both the JBL Flip 5 and the JBL Charge 5 feature cylindrical builds, with rugged rubberized end caps to protect them from falls, and physical buttons situated on the top of each speaker to control music playback.
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