For years now if you wanted a speaker that you can bring to the beach and won’t break the bank my answer has been to just get the JBL Flip. It’s wrapped in a durable fabric material that gives it an IPX7 rating, meaning: it can survive being submerged in up to three feet in water. While it’s easy enough to figure out which button is which thanks to them slightly protruding away from the fabric, I feel like they would be much easier to use in low light situations if they lit up or were at least painted a different color.
Another underappreciated thing about the Flip series is that they come in a bunch of different colors so whether you want teal, all-black, or even pink you can find one for you.
Once it begins blinking and making a beeping sound that means you’ve entered pairing mode. Connection strength is solid, and I had few problems playing music anywhere in my apartment from my iPhone 11 Pro in my pocket.
Unfortunately, there are no high-quality Bluetooth codecs to speak of here so there was a huge lag while watching YouTube videos. For whatever reason, the audio never synced up with what the person was saying, and because JBL removed the 3.5mm input: there’s no real way around this issue.
Before you read too much into a heavily-smoothed chart, recognize that the Flip 5 is a budget Bluetooth speaker. The roll-off at 60Hz is something that you’re not only able to ignore completely, but you’d have to live with no matter what speaker you buy under a few hundred dollars.
JBL upgraded the driver inside the speaker to give it more of a deeper low end, and the company succeeded from what I could tell. JBL’s wireless speakers tend to follow a signature sound that’s roughly similar to the Harman target curve.
Essentially, bass notes from middle-C and lower see a bump from 2-8dB, mids are evenly emphasized, and the highs are gently attenuated. The Flip 5 doesn’t buck this trend, and you’ll likely be happy with the sound without too much futzing with any in-app equalizers or junk like that.
The bass response definitely sounds like it was given more of an emphasis this time around than the JBL Flip 4, but it still isn’t going to be the greatest thing you’ve ever heard.
The difference is subtle, and if you’re hanging out in the yard or the beach: chances are you’re streaming off of a lowish-quality service like Spotify or Apple Music.
Still, it was a welcome addition in The Less I Know The Better by Tame Impala, where the groovy bassline is the main part of the song in my opinion. It sounded good enough to hear but wasn’t able to get super low due to the hard drop off at under around 100Hz.
This isn’t a huge deal when listening to podcasts since there wasn’t a lot going on besides voices, but in songs with a lot going on like Ghost Under Rocks by Ra Ra Riot I found that some instrumentation was lacking in clarity as things like guitars and strings were battling for volume with the vocals throughout the chorus. It has a tough waterproof fabric, good sound, decent battery life, and its portable size makes it a great option for just about everyone.
JBL Flip 5 review
Driver-bearing cylinders, oblongs and cuboids now jump from concept, to factory lines, to our laps with increasing regularity – and ever more impressive spec sheets. That’s not a huge issue – wireless is clearly the way forward in 2020 – but JBL has also axed the microphone that was used for voice control and hands-free calls. Interestingly, though, the extra juice doesn’t lend any more stamina to the new model – battery life stays at a claimed 12 hours. The Flip 5 scores highly for portability, and once resting in our palm, the wrist strap slips comfortably over our hand and the buttons feel easily accessible.
On our dark blue model, these four black, unlit buttons are somewhat difficult to locate in fading light, especially if the Flip 5 isn’t resting in our hands – perhaps not ideal for a quick volume adjustment, but it’s a minor issue. So, with the aux-in port and mic removed and a slightly bigger new driver, we are wondering whether the focus of the JBL Flip 5 has been more on sound performance.
Post-punk is one of the tougher genres we could have selected, and yet all musical strands are held competently in check, from the manic high hat to the angry bass to Chatten’s vocal in Big, which is given admirable due diligence, quality and texture. During the bridge of the track, the guitar solo and accompanying reverb are given ample space to shine through the treble and midrange, but not at the expense of the zealous bass.
Once the French horn joins in, there’s a real sense of openness, acoustics and placement on offer that the Award-winning Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 can’t quite match – though the latter is slightly cheaper. Moving to Stormzy’s Heavy Is The Head album, the spoken, breathy request at the start of Big Michael comes through with both excitement and remarkable detail.
The album continues to Audacity, where the Flip 5 confirms it can handle a bass-heavy rap track seemingly without exertion. If you don’t mind the lack of in-app EQ settings, aux-in port, battery life, inbuilt microphones or partnering with older JBL speakers, it’s an excellent proposition for the money.
JBL Flip 5 Review
JBL is no stranger to portable Bluetooth speakers, as evidenced by the $119.95 Flip 5, the latest entry in the popular line. The ends of the speaker house passive bass radiators that push out quite a bit of low-end, while the grille covers a 20-watt, 44-by-80mm driver delivering 65Hz to 20kHz.
There’s not going to be super-powerful sub-bass here, but the system does a good job of pushing out rich low and low-mid bass depth to make up for this. Other than this function, there’s not much reason to download the app—it displays battery life and allows you to disable audio feedback for button presses.
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the Flip 5 delivers impressive thump for its size. The bass doesn’t distort at top volume levels, thanks to some DSP (digital signal processing) that thins out the deep lows. Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Flip 5’s general sound signature. The high-mids and highs are also sculpted, lending the vocals some added definition and crispness, and the acoustic strums some extra brightness.
It should be noted that depending on where you are in relation to the speaker, and whether it’s sitting on its end or flat, can make a tremendous difference in terms of perceived treble response.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, receive some added richness in the lows and low-mids that end up pushing the lower-register instrumentation forward in the mix.
The Bottom Line The JBL Flip 5 speaker delivers a strong Bluetooth audio experience in an outdoor-friendly design you can customize to your liking.
JBL Flip 5 review
JBL’s Flip 5 is a simple soul with Bluetooth-only playback and modest features, but if you desire a rugged, great-sounding portable speaker and can sacrifice voice control or hands-free call functionality, you won’t be disappointed. JBL’s Flip 5 is a simple soul with Bluetooth-only playback and modest features, but if you desire a rugged, great-sounding portable speaker and can sacrifice voice control or hands-free call functionality, you won’t be disappointed. Modern architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe’s famous ‘less is more’ phrase is not a common approach to many Bluetooth speakers these days as brands strive for Wi-Fi and multi-room this, voice control and AirPlay that.
Typical for a JBL speaker, the widely available Flip 5 comes in a collection of colors, including Desert Sand, Mustard Yellow, Dusty Pink, Grey Stone, River Teal, Fiesta Red, Ocean Blue, Midnight Black, Steel White, Forest Green, and last but certainly not least the finish you see pictured here: Squad – or in layman’s terms, cameo.
Just half a kilo / one pound and the size of a small thermal flask, the compact yet robust Flip 5 can be easily carried in a hand, slipped into a bag or, thanks to the shoelace strap, hung on, say, a door handle in a bedroom or tree in a park. The passive bass radiators at either end are recessed enough into the tubular housing to avoid easily damaging them, although we’d be cautious shoving it haphazardly into a bag carrying sharp or pointed objects.
JBL has decided not to equip the Flip 5 with an AUX socket for hardwiring a smartphone or alternative audio device, nor is there a built-in microphone to facilitate hands-free calls and Siri and Google Assistant activation. Whether we subject the mini speaker to Mac Miller’s languid-yet-sharp rapping or Explosions in the Sky’s post-rock instrumentalism, the JBL delivers it with stark clarity, lashings of detail and more than a hint of dynamics.
With Gone by Charli XCX and Christine and the Queens, both the hollow baseline and crisper percussion come through thick, fast and defined, making it almost impossible to criticize the speaker’s low-end performance.
JBL Flip 5 review
Thanks to above-average sound in a small package, the JBL Flip 5 remains one of the best portable Bluetooth speakers. Thanks to above-average sound in a small package, the JBL Flip 5 remains one of the best portable Bluetooth speakers. A higher price, for one thing, though this is balanced out by an upgraded charging port and noticeably enhanced sound quality. While these might not make a compelling upgrade for existing Flip speaker owners, if you’re new to the scene and want something small, simple and sweet-sounding, you could do a lot worse.
There’s an impressively wide array of colors to choose from, and if you stretch to $149, you can even design your own with custom patterns and text. Fiona Apple’s vocals were clear and full above the clanging instruments and rhythms on “Shameika,” and Taylor Swift’s voice was warm and easy to hear on “the last great american dynasty.” The snare and cymbals on Sufjan Stevens’ “Video Game” snapped crisply.
The bass on Jason Isbell’s “What’ve I Done to Help” was deep, while the strummed acoustic guitars sounded sharp but not too bright. The Flip 5 paired easily with my phone and kept a strong signal at about 75 feet indoors.
You can also change the play/pause button to activate Siri instead; there is no voice assistant integrated into the speaker itself. There’s no EQ or sound modes, or other features that the Ultimate Ears app offers.
If you have a Flip 4, you probably don’t need to upgrade; the biggest difference is the number of colors you can choose from and USB-C charging.
JBL Flip 5 Review
However, JBL also makes an ‘Eco Edition’ of this speaker, which is advertised as being made from recycled plastic.
Customer Reviews: JBL Flip 5 Portable Bluetooth Speaker Black JBLFLIP5BLKAM
It does sound a little louder but not worth the change if your flip 4 is still in good shape.
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