This speaker is the best one for the money
I did thorough research comparing the JBL "flip", "charge" and "extreme" product lines. I also compared them to the Bose SoundLink Flex. I wanted something portable, but with good sound quality and didn't want to spend a lot of money. I'm a big Bose fan, but it became clear to me that the JBL Charge 5 was the best for the money. The sound quality of the Bose is more comparable to the flip 5 or 6,. The Charge 5, being physically larger that the Bose, just outperforms the it having better sound quality and a wider range. The JBL extreme is a good product, but it's less portable than what I wanted and costs significantly more. I bought the Charge 5 under "Amazon Renewed" at a significant discount. I actually got it cheaper than the Bose which, as I said above, is more like the smaller JBL flip product line. When I received it, it appeared completely new. There was no way to know that the product was "renewed". So I highly recommend "Amazon renewed" if you're looking to save a few bucks. As for the speaker itself, the Charge 5 is less portable than the JBL flip. It's clearly not designed to be carried around when hiking or jogging and such. It has no handle or strap, though one can be purchased separately for about $15. It has set of rubber "feet" on its bottom that keep it from rolling when placed flat. It's ideal for sitting on a table or bench when having a picnic or BBQ party (this is what I use it for). It has very good bass and mid-range sound and it's plenty loud. Even at high volumes, I don't hear a lot of distortion. I would rate the speaker sound performance as very good. They claim it will play for 20 hours. I've never used it for that long, but I've used it for several hours at high volume and it never died. It also recharges to full battery in just a few hours. It's very quick to link up via Wi-Fi and I've walked a good distance from it and it doesn't lose connection. There are cheaper Wi-Fi speakers on the market, but from what I've read, the sound quality isn't usually as good as this product. I would recommend spending a few extra bucks for this one. If you want something you can walk around with, look at the JBL flip 5 or 6. If you want a huge block-party type speaker, this one might be a little small. However, if you're in the middle and want a nice backyard speaker, this is definitely the one. When used indoors, it is really loud. Read more