JBL Charge 3 Review

COMPLETE REVIEW

JBL is a reputable electronics company. It was founded in 1927 in Los Angeles. It is currently owned by Harman, one of Samsung’s subsidiaries. JBL manufactures both professional studio equipment and home audio systems.

JBL Charge 3 is one of the best-selling Bluetooth speakers on the market. It has an impressive battery life, it is waterproof and comes with a built-in speakerphone. It is available in several colors: blue, black, red and others.

Here are its main specifications:

• Battery: 6000mAh Li-ion
• Weight: 800g (1.76 pounds)
• Dimensions (W x D x H): 213 x 87 x 88.5 mm
• Frequency response: 65Hz – 20kHz
• Signal-to-noise ratio >80dB
• IPX7 Waterproof

The JBL Charge 3 allows you to connect up to 3 devices to it.

The design of the speaker is pretty similar to that of the previous model. It has a cylindrical shape and it is covered in rugged rubber. The IPX7 rating means you can submerge the speaker in water (up to 1 meter) for half an hour, which is an upgrade from the previous model, which was only splash proof.  

Although it is not that big, the Charge 3 is quite a heavy speaker. It is portable enough, but you will feel it in your backpack. Of course, on the bright side, the speaker has an impressive battery life: it can run for up to 20 hours on a single charge.

The JBL Charge 3 is a simple and straightforward speaker. You only have a few buttons, placed on top of the speaker: the Bluetooth pairing button, power and volume and a play or pause one. There is also a button that lets you connect multiple JBL speakers and amplify the sound.

The speaker sounds better when it is horizontally placed. Its biggest strengths in terms of sound are its volume, as it is a very loud speaker, and its deep, present bass. If you are all about that bass, this is definitely a speaker worth taking into consideration. It has a good overall sound as well, although highs aren’t as crystal and crisp and the midrange is also a bit muffled. It does sound louder than the Charge 2+, but not necessarily better. The passive base radiators in the speaker will vibrate when playing music, especially when there’s a heavier bass.  

The speakerphone in the Charge 3 allows you to take calls and it is noise and echo cancelling, according to JBL. To be fair, we didn’t encounter any issues during our tests, so it does a great job. If you want to use the speaker wired, you can use an audio cable and plug it into the 3.5 mm port.

Just like with the previous Charge models, the battery life of the speaker is indicated by the row of 5 LED lights. When all 5 of them are lit, it means the speaker is fully charged. The lights also show you how much until the speaker is fully charged. As its name suggests it, one other capability of the JBL Charge3 is to charge other devices via USB, thanks to its generous 6000mAh built-in battery.

Overall, we find the JBL Charge3 to be a great speaker with an impressive battery life, nice features and a durable design. We didn’t necessarily notice any improvements in sound quality compared to the Charge2+ model, but there are other upgrades, such as the IPX7 rating and the companion app, which was not compatible with the previous model.