JBL Charge 5

When it comes to rugged, portable, no-nonsense Bluetooth speakers, some product lines have consistently impressed us under review. JBL’S Charge is as good an example as any, and so the fact it’s now entering its fifth generation is big news. Anyone looking for substantial on-the-go sound from something roughly the weight and size of a bottle of wine should take note.

The new JBL Charge 5 is, the US audio specialist claims, even more durable and better-sounding than the four Charges before it. Its predecessor carried an IPX7 rating, meaning it could handle being submerged in water to a depth of 1.5m, but the Ip67-rated Charge 5 builds on that by also being fully dustproof.

The iconic aesthetic, available in eight different finishes including our review sample’s navy blue, has been tweaked to introduce a bolder JBL logo and an extra dollop of rubberised reinforcements, too.

Charge in, charge out

Gone is the 3.5mm port for wired listening, and the new USB-C charging port is uncovered this time. Under a smaller rubber cap, you still get the useful USB-A port for using the Charge 5 to charge your devices.

Under the hood there are plenty of improvements. The 52 x 90mm bass driver is a couple of millimetres wider than before, and there’s a new 20mm tweeter. These units both have dedicated power amplification – 30W for the woofer and 10W for the highs. There is also Bluetooth 5.1 rather than 4.2, but the same 7500mah battery offers the same 20 hours of playback from fully charged.

The Charge 5 now features a JBL Partyboost button on the control panel on top of the speaker, too. JBL’S updated daisy-chaining tech means you can beef up your portable sound by linking the Charge 5 with up to 100 other Partyboost enabled JBL Bluetooth offerings, although that is currently limited to the Boombox 2, Flip 5 and Pulse 4. There is support for the Charge 5 on the JBL Portable app, formerly called JBL Connect. It’s fairly basic but you can create a stereo pair with another Charge 5.

Leaving the app, we press the Partyboost button on the Charge 5, then on our Flip 5, and sound dutifully comes from both, clearly and with no notable lag. It’s a neat feature, although some existing JBL owners may be irked by Partyboost’s inability to play nicely with the older Connect+ tech.

We cue up Chamillionaire’s Ridin’ on Tidal and the Charge 5’s extra ounce of prowess over the Charge 4 reveals itself. It’s a fairly minor upgrade, but the hip-hop riff intro is marginally more impactful – the leading edges of notes through the low end are crisper, resulting in a more agile performance. Vocals are also more energised and feel well placed in what is an expansive mix for a portable speaker of this size.

Erykah Badu’s voice in Tyrone is emotive and as much celebrated through the treble frequencies as through her juicy lower registers. The walking bass guitar that underpins the track feels three-dimensional and is one of several instruments held in check, alongside whoops from the crowd and occasional drum fills, within a cohesive mix.

A real delicacy

Bowed strings in British Sea Power’s melancholy soundscape Tiger King are detailed and accurate around the track’s sporadic cymbal and drum crashes, proving the Charge 5 is capable of delicacy and nuance as well as oomph and bass clout.

Any brightness in the Charge 5’s new tweeter melts away once the speaker is run in, leaving only cleaner, clearer treble frequencies. Prince’s vocal in Sometimes

It Snows In April veers between his trademark head and chest voices and both are equally as impactful through the Charge 5, alongside the pared-back keys and guitar. Female backing vocals in the later choruses are as present and as ethereal as Prince intended.

The Charge 5 is currently as good a sound as you can get in a rugged portable Bluetooth speaker design for under £200. It boasts marginal improvements, both sonically and aesthetically, over its predecessor, the five-star Charge 4. One day JBL may produce a Charge that can be outdone by a new and plucky rival but rest assured, that has not happened yet with the rather splendid Charge 5.