JBL Flip 5

When it upgraded the Flip 4 in 2020 to produce this Flip 5, JBL binned the analogue aux-in port and the microphone to make this a pared-down Bluetooth (4.2) speaker – albeit one with a USB-C charging port and cable. This port allows a charging time of 2.5 hours – an hour quicker than the Flip 4. Battery life remains unchanged at a claimed 12 hours.

Waterproof test

JBL claims the Flip 5 is waterproof to an IPX7 rating. This means you should be able to submerge it in water at a depth of one metre for 30 minutes. There’s no cover for the USB-C charging port and though it is waterproofed, it isn’t tested against salt or sand ingress at the beach.

We test the JBL’S resolve by filling our sink with water and submerging the unit for a few minutes. Music plays throughout and it soon dries off when we take it out. Nothing has been compromised and all is well.

Although JBL claims you can stand the Flip 5 on one of its ends or lie it lengthways for listening, when placed upright it doesn’t stand entirely vertical. For testing, we place it in landscape mode so that both passive bass radiators are open to the elements.

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.

Aside from a light-indicator to denote charging next to the Flip 5’s only port, there are light-up power and Bluetooth buttons along its rubberised spine, plus a play/pause button, volume controls and a Partyboost button on top of the casing.

Through the JBL Connect app, pressing the Partyboost button on the Flip 5 helps you pair two Partyboostenabled speakers to create a stereo pair, or to link more than 100 Partyboostcompatible speakers in mono. This is not the same as the Connect+ button seen on the Flip 4, Charge 4 and older JBL Bluetooth speakers, so the options for linking the Flip 5 are currently limited to more Flip 5s or the Pulse 4.

The app itself is a simple affair, with no scope for treble or bass alterations, although you can rename your Flip 5 if you’d like.

We start listening to Fontaines DC’S Too Real on Tidal from our iphone. Pairing is a breeze, and the connection never falters. Grian Chatten’s vocal comes in centrally amid the tight, pounding bass drum, agile driving electric bass riff and expansive guitar chords. For a speaker slightly smaller than the Ultimate Ears Boom 3, it’s an impressively weighty performance through the bass for such a compact design.

A stern test

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. Throughout Sha Sha Sha we become aware of the Flip 5’s ability not just to relay the material it’s given, but also to layer and celebrate it. 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.

The gentle piano that pre-empts Neil Young’s 2009-remastered vocal on After The Gold Rush feels both threedimensional and emotive. 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. When Stormzy retorts, we feel the intensity and disdain in his well chosen words. The album continues to Audacity, where the Flip 5 confirms it can handle a bass-heavy rap track seemingly without exertion. The Flip 5 is better than the competition – and, remember, that competition is also Award-winning.

JBL’S latest offering sounds great for the price. If you don’t mind the lack of in-app EQ settings, aux-in port, inbuilt microphones or partnering with older JBL speakers, it’s an excellent proposition for the money.

It may be low on added extras, but the Flip 5 gets away with it. The solid sonic chops JBL has managed to deliver at this level simply cannot be denied.