JBL - Charge 3 Portable Bluetooth Speaker - Red

Before I get into reviewing the JBL Charge 3 I want to point out that I have TRIED the Bose Soundlink mini 2, Fugoo XL, UE Boom, UE Roll, Beats Pill+ So im going to touch bases with the factory specs.. I was able to get 14 hours (+/-) at 70% volume and it took 3.5 hours (+/-) to fully charge with factory charger. Bluetooth connection was instantaneous and had no problems connecting to my iPhone, iPad, Macbook. IPX7 waterproof testing was done in my pool for only 20 minutes, did not want to try and reach the claimed 30 minutes in fear of damage. Speakerphone function work as advertised, person on the other line will hear some echoing, your typical speakerphone.. just do not use it for calling your bank, doctor, etc.. to conduct business. So... why did I chose this over the others? I wanted something portable and rugged and this fits, it didnt take much room in my backpack and it didnt weight me down. Battery life is a win! having LED indicators and charging through standard USB is a bonus, I can basically charge anywhere. Ok ok.. so for the sound this gave the Bose, both UE, Beats a run for its money, well balance sounds.. clean highs, mids, with bass you can feel. The JBL was a mismatch with the Fugoo XL, but to be fair the Fugoo XL should be compared to the JBL Xtreme. So there you go.. if you want something portable with excellent sound and good battery life? The JBL Charge 3 is a win! Go get one if you have been waiting for a solid all around speaker you can take with you on the go. So what were my reasons of turning my back on the other speaker? Fugoo XL - Its BIG and HEAVY - mediocre battery life - lacking highs and mids - not portable - battery meter was shown in series of flashes - must use Fugoo charger - rattles when in its sleeve - did not connect to my Macbook even after update UE Boom - lacks bass - no battery meter - not sturdy when put on its side (lay flat) UE Roll - lacks bass - no battery meter - sound is always shooting upwards unless strapped to an object - low battery life - does not float Bose Soundlink Mini 2 - not loud ( Bose 100% = JBL 70%) - low battery life - not waterproof - flimsy grill and easy to ding, scratch body Beats Pill+ - sound is not true ( a lot of digital processing happening) - flimsy grill and easy to ding, scratch body - not waterproof

First off I'd like to say I bought the original charge when it came out. It still works to this day and I really could tell you how, I love that little guy, I think it was built better. I like the mettle grill and size and shape, it's the perfect bike speaker because it cup holders well. It's come out on a bike ride and was run over just slit ly by a car Tire, hit another car and went down the road a good forty feet, passing me up going down the road but you know what, it never stopped playing living dead girl. Must have been Rob Zombie magic but it survived, I picked up out of a puddle of wate. It's been dropped many times and still works with all the character scares to boot. I love that little radio. Most recently it took a swim in the Gulf of Mexico in a backpack that held water till I got to shore and dumped it all out. It stayed in salt water for a good 20 minutes and even then I just shook it a couple times, threw it in the car and caused about it. I sat it on the shelf at home as a relic, a trophy of its own amazing longevity and ability to take my destructive abuse that the last couple years has seen it. I bought the new charge and I like it, I hope to fall in love but it's hasn't happened yet. It sounds amazing but it's way bigger than the original so I'm going to have to get the smaller module for the bike. Or will I? You know that SOB Charge one still Flipping works. I still can't get the sand off of it but I tried it for the heck of it and dang Thang worked, and I swear it sounds better than it did. Buy a charge one, it doesn't have as much bass but it's louder and apparently bullet proof, although I'm not shooting it. Okay, the charge 3. That's what you want right? It's a great speaker, I like it a lot and it's a nice looking, solid feeling speaker. It's got good tone and I really like the way it fills the room, it's not quite as loud as I'd like it for outdoor use and that really where I need it to shine. I think that I'd have been happier with a smaller unit with the waterproof rating but I'm not mad it this one. Like I said, I need more time with it to fall in love but with the good service I got out of the last speaker I'm hoping for the same with this one. The one thing I don't like about this unit is the passive bass, idk, speakers on the ends. I see this exposed soft area the place where it will fail. I'd have liked it better if it had a little more protection there. And the clothe cover to the rest of it I just know I'm going to mess up in no tile.

Audio speakers have a purpose of outputting audio at a greater volume than the original device. As a consumer, it is important to invest in a product that provides the best performance. The audio company JBL is recognized for manufacturing a popular product known as the Charge 3 Portable Bluetooth Speaker. With a purpose of delivering quality sound coupled with high performance, the Charge 3 is without a doubt a worthy investment. While searching for a speaker that is suitable for events where multiple people come together, a friend of mine informed me about the JBL Charge 3. She mentioned the product’s high-quality sound at an affordable price. The product maintains high and low pitches at crisp sound with the advantage of not distorting during the higher frequencies. The speaker is also known for its incredible bass which makes the product truly shine in genres filled with lower frequencies, particularly hip-hop. Aesthetically, the Charge 3 packs powerful sound at an impressive size. Lengthwise, the speaker is slightly longer than the average smartphone at about 8 inches. At such a pocketable size, an important aspect to note is the size of the battery. The Charge 3 packs a 6000mAH battery that is capable of a performance between 16 and 20 hours depending on volume. With a battery of this size, it is mandatory to charge the product for about 4 to 4.5 hours before use for a full charge. The Charge 3 has another pro of being water resistant. This aspect increases the utility of the product. With the ability of being used in locations consisting of a lot of water, the Charge 3 is suitable for trips to the beach, waterpark or even family gatherings at the pool. Personally, I often tend to use the speaker while I am cleaning. With the water-resistant aspect of the product, I am comfortable with carrying it around wet places like the bathroom when I clean. Like all products, the Charge 3 has its fair share of cons. A major problem that I found with the portable speaker is its durability. Due to the Charge 3 being a wireless electronic, the speaker contains waterproofing coupled with Bluetooth technology. The overabundance of engineering with new technology results in a product that is easily broken. One drop from over 4 feet is likely to make the Bluetooth aspect of the device either dysfunctional or broken altogether. Also, the exterior of the speaker uses a soft plastic that is easily scuffed regardless of the severity of the drop. Another problem to note is the wireless range of the product’s Bluetooth capabilities. Regardless of the battery life or climate conditions, the audio quality of the speaker often tends to distort when the Bluetooth source is greater than 15-18 feet away. I have personally found a way around this problem by removing any obstacles between the source and the speaker itself, however, the average consumer may not want to partake in any extra tasks when utilizing the product. Reasons for investing in the JBL Charge 3 are the product’s impressive sound quality, size, versatility and strong battery life. Reasons that may discourage a purchase of the Charge 3 may be the absence of durable materials used externally and the overabundance of features that result in a lower durability factor internally. The JBL Charge 3 has been a worthy investment in my opinion. The product has proved to be a useful tool during times of special occasions, work and even casual relaxation. I also feel that the pros of the product greatly outweigh the cons by a longshot. At only $150 The JBL Charge 3 offers a high-end experience at an affordable price.

If you are looking for bluetooth speakers with full, vibrant, heavy bass with depth, that are also capable and responsive enough to handle a virtual EQ, look no further than these, as all roads lead to this JBL speaker with impeccable sound quality. I was browsing bluetooth speakers at bestbuy when I came across the sony cube, which impressed me enough to do some research on bluetooth speakers on the market in general. A few youtube outdoor sound-test videos later, I found myself enamored with the JBL Charge 3 and decided I had to have it. Crazy part is that as good and convincing as the sound test were online, they were NOTHING in comparison to the actual sound of these speakers once I got them home and used them in person! The absolute clarity and power of these speakers will blow you (and anyone else who hears them) away, as it did with my family and friends at our new years eve gathering. The sound could easily be mistaken for an actual full stereo system with woofer, and when you add in the fact that they are waterproof and provide about 20 hrs. of entertainment per charge, there is absolutely no reason to refrain from getting these. You can also pair it with another JBL if you want even more intense power from the system. This was one of the best purchases I've made (next to a bluetooth Sony headphone set with Extra Bass) and I was able to get them for $82 . Do yourself a favor and get these ASAP! I Highly and Enthusiastically Recommend these speakers to all music lovers! JBL completely outdid themselves with this one!

I got this speaker as an upgrade from the 808 thump that I originally got to just test the waters with. I never dreamed I'd use it as much as i do. From streaming music on my patio while I grill out to podcasts I'm listening to inside, this speaker is great. The sound quality is fantastic. I stream mostly classic country music and 80's rock outside on my patio. At half volume I get crystal clean sound that sounds great as much as 20 feet away outdoors. It will get a little distortion at full volume but i can't see a reason to run it that loud. Bass is full and has good tone for the kind of music i listen to. Battery life is great also. I haven't actually kept an exact log of hours played on a charge but i used it quite a bit on and off for over 2 weeks before i decided to charge it and it was only down to 2 bars out of 5. Speaker phone function is ok. Have only used it twice when someone called in while i was listening to music. But it seemed to work fine and went back to my music on it's own after the call was over. I have not used it to charge my phone with yet so i can't comment on that. But i dont know why that could cause any issues other than it obviously using up some of the speakers battery life. I got mine on sale labor day weekend, but if I had known then what i know now after using it, i wouldn't have hesitated to pay full price for it.

This is a great speaker in terms of sound quality, loudness, battery life, and look. I have purchased two to listen in the stereo mode. That is the first portable speaker of such a small size that I can actually enjoy when listening to the music (tried different brands & models - all sound tinny and/or distort heavily). Sound quality wise, I would prefer JBL Extreme (they have separate tweeters, and high frequencies sound much crisper & cleaner), but Charge 3 is still acceptable for music listening given the small size. Occasionally, the stereo connection is unstable, but that problem isn't too bad, so it's not a deal-breaker. The only BIG CONS / AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT that I've found so far is that the speakers auto-shutdown after several minutes when aren't in use, after which they wouldn't wake up when the Bluetooth signal appears again, and you can't control this feature - you need to physically press the Power button again to turn them on and reconnect. I wish they would wake up via Bluetooth or, at least, there was a way to turn the autoshut down feature ON/OFF from the app or to set the auto shutdown timer. Also, an equalizer in the app would add much value to the product. Overall, excellent product. I hope they will last.

I was looking for a good portable speaker and originally was comparing the Charge 2+ and UE Boom 2. I noticed the Charge 3 was released and some things that made me make the purchase were: -Battery life rating: I have to say that so far it has lived up to the long battery life as advertised. -waterproof: I use this at work where there is a potential that I can get wet. After looking at YouTube reviews and seeing someone drop it in a bucket of water and watching it float definitely left a positive impression -sound: this little thing gets pretty loud. I usually only listen to it at half volume and it's well enough for me to hear. The bass doesn't kick like you would expect from a sub woofer but it does have a nice kick to it. The UE Boom 2 has nice highs where you can hear vocals probably a little better but the Charge 3 has a better all around sound in my opinion. One of the things I wish this thing would have had was a lanyard attachment point. it has some good weight on it so carrying it around can be cumbersome because it's not a small speaker. The size is good in my opinion, but I would feel more secure about not dropping it if I could attach a lanyard around my wrist like a Wii remote. If you are in the market for a portable Bluetooth speaker I would give this strong consideration.

Great sound, poor owners manual. Speaker paired and worked great right out of the box. Unfortunately, when I tried to pair it to a second phone, there were no indications in the provided manual how to do this. I had to call JBL support to figure this out (it turns out to be really easy, you just press and hold the Bluetooth pairing button for 3 seconds, and then it becomes available on the second phone's control panel). Too bad this wasn't in the manual. OK, maybe I'm dating myself, but the manual is one of those multilingual versions that is 18 pages long, but if you just have the English and Spanish, it would be about 1 page long. I would have given it 5 stars if it weren't for this. The manual reminds me of the nameplate they put on the Voyager spacecraft (yes, I'm old), using symbols instead of words, so if it were ever found by intelligent life in outer space, they would be able to understand our world without having knowledge of our languages or culture (yea, right). Even going to the JBL support page did not show any instructions for this function. The search window there even came up with the suggestion for things you can ask such as "charge 3 Bluetooth pairing", but when I typed this exact phrase in, it only returned one answered question for someone trying to use it as a speakerphone, not how to pair it in the first place to a second phone. Thank goodness the support guy could figure it out. They should take some of the paper and ink they use to make a fancy box (which I'm going to throw away), and print a useful manual.