JBL Charge 3 Portable Bluetooth Waterproof Speaker - Blue

I wanted to get a portable travel speaker in addition to my home Sonos setup. Googling for ratings and reviews, I came up with UE Boom 2, JBL Charge 3 and Bose SoundLink Mini II as the frontrunners from nearly all reviewers. All 3 of these have very high ratings on Amazon both in the US and the UK, so the choice likely comes down to personal preferences.I decided against the Bose since it can’t pair with a second speaker for a stereo setup, is slightly older, doesn’t look as attractive (quite a dated look in fact) and the sound quality reviews do not put it above the other two.Then I couldn’t decide between the UE and JBL, so purchased both. I compared them side-by-side for a week with the following observations:1) Batteries on both last for a ridiculously long time. Yes, JBL lasts longer, but the 15 hour battery on UE is a week of regular use. What other electronics do you charge so rarely?2) Both speakers are very loud. Assuming you’re not hosting an actual dance party, it would be surprising for either to run out of volume. JBL stays composed all the way to the max, maybe keep UE one notch above the very max on the bass-heavy songs.3) UE has crisper high and mid frequencies, while JBL has a deeper, bigger bass. It took me a week to decide that this constitutes a tie for me, but most people would likely prefer the bigger bass of the JBL. Also, UE gives you the 360 sound, which is quite neat: you can put it in the middle of the room rather than against a wall. This could work as an effective sound multiplier since you reduce the distance to people if using it in a group.I compared both to a single Sonos 1 speaker (much heavier and non-portable), and Sonos is significantly better across the entire frequency range than either UE or JBL. This is not to say that that UE or JBL produce low quality sound: they both sound surprisingly good for their size. My point is that we shouldn’t obsess with the sound quality comparison between the two because neither is close to being a reference sound device.4) Size is important here. JBL is over 50% larger than the UE, which makes a huge difference. Please see the photos: the JBL is longer, wider and heavier than the UE. This was the main factor in declaring UE the winner by a good margin. The speakers are roughly tied before the size comes into play, and the UE is just a lot smaller. I am simply more likely to take it with me when travelling.5) Other features. Both speakers are waterproof. Charge 3 will charge your phone, which is not exactly useless, but probably not a deciding feature. UE feels much sleeker design-wise, with fewer buttons and better symmetry.To summarize: JBL Charge 3 is a great speaker, worthy of a 5 star rating. However, for my preferences, UE Boom 2 was the clear winner given its much more compact size and neater design due to them being close to tied in other areas, including sound quality.

Despite having newer models of JBL Charge I chose this because of the dual speaker configuration instead of the newer models which have one large speaker in the middle. (This can only be known if you ever come across a dismantled JBL Charge speaker).For it's size, the sound quality and bass is quite impressive. Also plus point for being waterproof. Travel friendly, durable and also a very impressive battery life versus charge up time. Good for movies but dock a star for sound quality because the sound can be rather 1 dimensional sometimes where the bass and main speakers are not homogenised (ie. the sound can only be homogenised when you are directly in front of the speaker). Nonetheless, for the price point, I would say it is extremely worth it.

This speaker is amazing, I love it!I use it everyday paired to my Samsung j5 phone. Perfect for around the house/garden, in the car, camping. I took it to work and paired it with 3 different phones (iPhone and Samsung) without issue, allowing everyone to change volume or tracks whenever they wanted. The volume is substantial but not overly loud. It seems crisp enough in quality with a decent amount of bass and the blue tooth range was pretty terrific.So far so good! My plan is to take it out kayaking so fingers crossed it's as water resistant as they say!!!

I bought this to use with my Spotify account via my Samsung S7 Edge smartphone. It's perfect for using in the house or in the garden. I wanted something that would have a bit of kick behind it seeing as I tend to play music which has a heavy beat like Trance/Tech, House etc and it doesn't disappoint. The sound is amazing, battery life is unbelievable at around 15hrs - 18hrs depending on volume levels! You can even charge your smartphone into it which is handy. Highly recommended if your needs are as above. Next step.. the waterproof test - wish me luck!

I really mean it when i say there is nothing better. Dont waste your time even trying to compare this with any other speakers. You may find 360degree sepakers and all that but nothing can beat this.Great build product, awesome sound and battery life with the added advantage of a power bank.It says splash proof but never tried that. :D

I purchased this for my daughters birthday after I had read a load of reviews for this and similar models. This model and brand came out as one of the best PIL speakers, ticking all the different sound boxes.It is a fantastic product, would def recommend

Been looking for a while for decent bt speaker with a meaty sound to it. Sitting outside with cool box! Looking ahead. Had tried some of supposed top ones but this one is way best sound, easy to use etc. Def recommend

The sound is OK but the companion App REQUIRES location to be turned on otherwise it will not launch. I cannot find a reason why would a speaker app need my GPS location. also, it's disappointing that it does not support LDAC or aptX and that there are no equalizer settings.