Cell Phone Speakers Suck

JBL Charge 3

You lay out the cardboard. The weather is perfect. The hot chick is watching. You have prepared yourself for this moment for a least a week and easily 20 minutes of total practice time. Your routine is flawless, your technique perfect...it is time to show the world a new level of breakdancing. But you only brought your cell phone for your music! How is someone supposed to spin without some bass? The hot chick is leaving. I hate crappy speakers. The JBL Charge 3 is far from a crappy speaker. In fact, it is excellent. In fact, it would make that hot chick turn right back around even if you can't dance at all...like me.

I would say over the years I have probably owned about 15 or so bluetooth speakers. Some of them were free, others just cheap ones I would pick up hopeful that they could add a little volume. Most either sound like you are listening to a speaker in an aluminum can, have major distortion or they don't have enough battery life to rely on them. You don't want to be the person in charge of music and then have your speaker die before folks at the party are at a point they won't remember who killed the jams.

I picked up the JBL Charge 3 after a ton of research. I actually waited until I had enough points on my Amazon amount to lessen the out of pocket cost of the speaker. While there are far more expensive options it still seemed like a lot based on my past experience with bluetooth speakers. They are really not that great...so why pay that much?

So, what makes it so great? A few things set it apart from the rest.

1. Sound - This speaker isn't small but it can produce some serious volume without any distortion. In most locations you could never use it at the high end of the volume without making someone angry. It also has a great balance between the highs and lows. It puts out an impressive amount of bass, great mids and while I would say treble is a little muffled (perhaps because of the waterproofing but I am not sure) it still sounds amazing. I haven't heard anything in this small of a package that even comes close to this. So while it has a lot of power it also sounds excellent to the point that most folks who hear it will ask you about it.

2. Waterproof - This is actually really important for any speaker that is going to be used outdoors and if you are buying a bluetooth speaker you probably intend to use it outside. I have had this outdoors in rain, snow, sleet, ashes from the fire, a tipped over canoe that sent it swimming and spilled a drink or 2 on it. If floats and if you get a bright color like I did when it does end up kicked off the dock or dumped out of a canoe you can find it easily. I would maybe even consider a brighter color after having one to make it easier to find in the dark. Yes, you could follow the sound...but what if the battery dies? To gauge the waterproofing it is IPX7 which means it can be fully submerged for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter. Since it floats the depth probably isn't much of a concern and unless you fall asleep floating down a river you probably will know it is swimming along side you and save it before your 30 minutes is up.

You can also do this which is fun. I should have turned the volume up as it gets a lot crazier. That music making the water dance is The Flame Is Gone by The Dear Hunter. If you are not familiar with them go buy every album they have ever made and if you are on Spotify get started. You have a lot of catching up to do. My JBL Charge 3 has likely played The Dear Hunter about 83% of the time.

3. Battery life - Up to 20 hours! While I don't think I have made it to 20 hours because I have the volume up when it is outside we leave it on our countertop in the house and I don't feel like I ever have to charge it even though we use it all the time. I hate cords so I don't leave it plugged in. You can even charge your cell phones with it. When we were in Canada I would charge it with a solar charger then use it to recharge my cell phone for taking pictures. It's a nice bonus if you don't have another option.

I did also buy a Khanka Carrying Case for it which is absolutely worth $12 when you are protecting a $100+ speaker. The speaker is durable but it is also nice to keep the charging cord with it and be able to just throw it into the back of the truck or wherever without having to worry about damaging the speaker.

I almost forgot to mention you can connect multiple devices to it at the same time which doesn't seem like a big deal but when you have friends over and you can all control the music being played it is actually really cool. Basically everyone has the remote and you don't have to be adding songs to a playlist. I think the Charge 4 limits this to 2 devices. You can also pair 2 speakers together for stereo sound but as mobility was the reason I got it I haven't considered buying a second one to try it out.

They did come out with a Charge 4 too and while it looks similar they did switch to USB-C, have a lot more colors and dropped the phone support which I think is kinda pointless anyway. I can't say it is worth the extra money but I also don't own one to try it.

Absolutely recommend this speaker if you are looking to get something portable with really good sound, great battery life and that is occasionally going to end up in swimming laps. I have had mine for 2 1/2 years and have no complaints at all.

PRODUCT

JBL Charge 3

PRICE

Around $100 USD

FEATURES

Sound is legit for all types of music

20 hour battery

IPX7 Waterproof

Charge your cell phones

Friends can connect too

Lots of volume to play with

DIMENSIONS

9.1 x 3.5 x 3.5 in (it feels about the size of a sub sandwich the wasn't cut to the proper 6 inches or if you are having a bad day maybe what should have been a footlong and you got ripped off)

WEIGHT

1.8 lbs.

CARE

I just wash it off from time to time with water and a little Dawn soap.

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