HOW DOES IT SOUND? | JBL Flip 5 audio review

VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION

Hi today, I'm reviewing the ever-popular JBL Flip series. This is the no. 5. It's got 12 hours play time. It's an all-weather companion, meaning it is waterproof. And it's also got a JBL party boost. If you're new here, my name is Streaky. I've been an audio professional mastering engineer for the past 25 years and I'm in my professionally treated studio so that we can listen to the JBL Flip 5. And I can give you an honest opinion through my especially trained ears to how this sounds.

So what's in the box? Well, a little bit of a bump and a, a USB-C connector. So that's charging with the USB-C, which is helpful. Most things are now. So that's one side. Now we're onto the little case bit plaque so you're not going to use this often. Once this out is going to be out for good, I think. I mean, you could take that around with you, but doubt it. So bit a hard shell there. Now, next on to the speaker itself. So how is the form factor of the Flip 5? Well, it is slightly bigger than the Flip 4, but it still has these radiators on the side. It has some grooves around those radiators and these are rubber to protect those against. Obviously, you're going to throw this around.

You're going to be using this by the pool. You're going to be using it on the beach. You're going to be using it outside. It's waterproof to about 5ft, something like that. So you are going to be able to throw water over it and get away with it. So it's pretty tough. It's got this grill going round. It like the others, which protect the tweeters and stuff inside, which is good. So it's pretty rugged. It's the throw around job and you're not going to smash it. You're not going to break it. It's still going to work.

So onto the buttons, we have a play and pause button. We have a up and down for obviously level, and we have this little loopy thing here, which means that you can link a few of these together. So if you've got a quite a large outdoor space or around the house, you can bang them all together. So they're all playing off the same device. There is an on and a Bluetooth. So let's switch that on, pair it up to my phone. Makes a nice little sound. I think, big guitar action. Very nice. There we go. Okay. So we're linked up. It's pretty quick. That tells you how much battery life you've got left in there. And so let's get playing, get listening. We're in a proper soundproof mastering room. So we are going to give this a proper test for how it's going to sound. (Music playing).

For the techie nerds, I was getting a 90 SPL on my SPL meter. For anybody that isn't techie, that's about a good listening level for big speakers that you've got in a studio like this. Some of the front of the studio, I have the Flip 5, that's going on this speaker stand at the front. Now I'm not expecting miracles out of this because I'm going to compare them to my big key speakers I have in my studio. These are 30,000 pounds. This is 80 pounds. So I think there's going to be a slight difference in the sound quality, but it will give you a kind of perspective on how it sounds compared to ultimate sound. And then what we're winning and losing from it. And level as well. So how loud we can go. First of all, I'll play the JBL off my phone. So let's give that well. (Music playing).

So you can hear it. There's obviously a massive bass difference in this, but it's not too bad. Even the top end. (Music playing). It's very middly. It's very bright sounding because that's really picking up where our ears mainly pick the sound up. So around the mid, which is lot sort of pop music and things like that. Worked really well. So if you're looking for something that's going to be thundering bass out. I don't think this is it. You probably want to go for one of their larger models and it's going to have some bigger woofers on it. But just for getting a general sound. Let's go outside and hear what it sounds like in the garden. So here we are in the garden. Ready to test how the JBL sounds in its natural environment, in someone's garden at a picnic, or by swimming pole. So let's kick in with the same track and see if it's any difference in the sound quality here.

So I actually listening to it in its natural environment. It's got a little bit more bass. It sounds like it's a little bit clearer and it sounds like it's sort of pumping. I think it's got really good little sound to it, especially for the money. So if you're looking for a great gift idea for 80 quid, this is an absolute bargain and you can link it up with a few others. So if you need it to go louder, just get two of them. But this goes plenty loud enough. And also it's throwing out a fair bit of bass in the garden. In the studio, it was a little bit bass lacking, but we are putting up against a massive set of expensive, perfectly tuned speakers. But you can hear the difference between the two. So yes, it's not the most Hi-Fi of Hi-Fi speakers, but it does the job great. It's waterproof. You can throw it around and it's 80 quid. So back into the relative darkness of the studio. These are great. As I said, I think is probably going to sell by the ton. I think if you're looking for a present, this is the one for you. I love it. And why I think it comes in black to that is the JBL Flip 5 studio tests. So until next time.