JBL Charge 3 Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker (Black), 1

JBL Charge 3 adds new dimension to old favorites. Awesome sound and power in our convertible and our boat, utilizing Sirius XM app from my I phone. When we are home, it is connected to Alexa, as the sound in our Echo 8 is greatly improved. Great value and eliminated the need to update our older audio systems. Extended battery life allows for playing all weekend between recharges. I would definitely buy another one.

This is my 4th JBL product in 18 months, so I guess you can say Ive drunk the Kool aide. I bought a set of wired JBL in ear headphones from a discount store on a whim, and was highly impressed. Then I bought the JBL Tune500BT Bluetooth on ear headphones (awesome). Then I bought the JBL Clip 3, I liked it but my son liked it better so I gave it to him which gave me an opportunity to upgrade to the Charge 3. FIRST OFF, this speaker came in the mail today. I was impressed with the box it came in. It felt like I was opening up some kind of treasure box...lol Seriously speaking though, THIS little one and a half pound box of sound is IMpressive. I dont have crazy little gadgets to measure this, that, and the other thing, but I have my ears and my ear knows when Ive got something going. I am a little hard of hearing (due to a LOT loud music) so for those of you who are concerned with the amount of loud: you have NOTHING to worry about. This little thing is LOUD because I had to turn it down to finish my testing. I have a few song I like to listen to to judge the sound of my speakers so I listened to them via my cell phone and Youtube (it was the quickest route to music). I was impressed but not completely blown away. I want speakers that can recreate stereo but I was thinking that the Charge3 sounded like it was not doing a good job of this, so I played I Feel Love by Donna Summer because I can judge the amount of stereo reproduction because you can hear the separation of the left and right channels in this song. So I switched from my cell to the computer, where all of my music is and This was where everything came to life. I listened to everything from Pop to Country to Gospel to Rap/Hip Hop, to classical, to Drum n Bass, to Opera and then some, and I gotta say, with few song exceptions, ALL music was reproduces fantastically. Earlier I said I had to turn the Charge3 down because it was too loud. Yeah, too loud... CHILDREN, If you buy this speaker you will NOT go wrong. I want a second one after having heard this one only 3 short hours ago, and I am having a hard time stopping myself from clicking BUY NOW for #2. I hope my review was helpful. Sign me a VERY Happy camper, and then some.....

Fantastic speaker. Ive had it for about a month now with no major complaints. I would love if I could hear a bit more of the mids. Its fairly bass-heavy, but then again, so is most of the music culture these days. Overall the sound is very good & it gets plenty loud. No distortion, even at maximum volume, which is great. It doesnt have the loudness to fill my whole condo, but certainly more than enough to fill the largest room. And much more than what I need to fill the garage. The point of the battery-powered speaker is that I can take it anywhere. If Im going into a different room, I can just pick it up and bring it with me. No need to fill the whole condo. I once borrowed a co-workers same model JBL Charge 3 & tested the stereo function & it worked great. The two speakers together make for a fantastic setup & very cool feature. I would love to have this at all times, but one of the points of having a battery-powered bluetooth speaker is so that I can take it places. And I dont have the space in my bag to lug around 2 of these things. Its already big-enough as it is. Big, but manageable. Possibly one of the greatest features about the Charge 3 is that the battery lasts FOREVER. Its awesome. I can watch movies on my tablet (which needs to be plugged in after 4 hours), but the speaker just keeps on going and going. More than anyone should ever need in one session. The other great thing about this guys battery is it has removed the need to carry an additional portable phone charger during long trips. I can use this bad-boy instead. Only issue is on planes it makes a loud startup & shutdown noise. Then again, that can be somewhat muffled & the plane is already somewhat loud itself, so its not the end of the world. Also, planes these days have plug-in chargers, so if youre really reluctant to use this to charge your phone on a plane, then youve got a work-around. And if youre thinking 20 hours of battery life seems excessive, then perhaps you havent considered the life-span of the speaker. My last bluetooth speaker was the Jabra SoleMate. It was a great little speaker with weather resistance & an 8 hour battery life. The thing was great for the first year. However, after a year, that 8 hour battery life was more like 6 hours. And after 2 years it was more like 4 hours. If extrapolation is true across all batteries (but it probably isnt), then I would expect the Charge 3 will only last about 10 hours in 2 years. And I will be okay with that. That is still a great amount of battery for a whole day using the thing. Anyways, thats kind of like worst-case planning. Before buying this I did a bunch of comparative research. The closest competitor I found was the UE Boom 2. Its smaller/slimmer and at least marketed as durable during drop. My co-worker had one that he let me borrow to test. I think at medium volume that the UE Boom 2 sounded better. Very warm mids, no muddiness, great overall clarity; however, there was a lot of distortion above ~75% volume. If I cant use the full loudness range of the speaker, then why does UE even allow it to go that loud? Especially such a great-sounding speaker at medium volume? Very disappointed that their audio team wasnt allowed or able to push harder to fix this. Another, more minor downfall of the UE Boom 2 is that it doesnt float. So although it is waterproof, if you bring this thing out on the lake and accidentally drops in the water (God forbid), then someone better catch it before it sinks to the bottom & busts from excessive water pressure. And the last benchmark where the Charge 3 had the Boom 2 beat was the battery life. 15hrs for the UE Boom 2. Quite admirable, but it didnt match up to the Charge 3. So thats how I ended up with this bad-boy. TL;DR: Great speaker, buy it.

While I am seasoned in writing Amazon reviews to help my fellow millennial shoppers and older alike... I dont know where to start with this bad mamajama. So Im going to give you an unbiased review of this awesome speaker from this point on... OK. Overview- I got the JBL Charge 3 in black. It is a bulky design for your more extravagant consumer. The red JBL plate on the front is almost reflective, making it look like it lights up under indirect light. The Charge 3 is 100% water submersible and the bass subs on either side are able to house water which bounces to the tunes when your particularly bassy hip-hop starts booming. Has a stand built in on the bottom made of rubber to prevent rolling. 6 buttons on the top, four protruding to make it easier to know what youre pressing while not looking, and two flush. Behind the rubber tab on the back (built for waterproofing) houses an auxiliary port, probably 3.5mm, a micro USB port for charging the speaker itself, and a USB port for charging your mobile device (can be used as a power bank). There are 5 LED indicators for battery on the bottom of the frontal side. They are covered by rubber so they provide a very matte, non intense light. Same goes for the dual connect (read later) and the power indicator. A non voice activated pairing system uses various pulses, light coloring and sine waves to notify you when it is searching, pairing, and paired. It does not have NFC. The dual pairing feature allows you to pair two JBL speakers together. It has a built in speaker phone, I havent tested it myself, but uve heard from many people theres no difference in sound quality from a normal phone microphone. Specs- The loudest read I got on the Charge 3 (using the app Sound Meter not an SLM) was around 88 dB while playing Congratulations by Post Malone (see pictures). A step up on the 75 dB from the original Charge. With a 6,000 mAh power bank and a 13 hour battery life at full and 25 hours at half (measurement I took myself), the playtime is above most available speakers on the market today. The Charge 3 has a rated power of 2 x 10W and a frequency response of 65Hz-20kHz. Application- Amazing outdoor/pool speaker. Great for rain or shine because you dont have to worry about splash damage. However, if you want a travel speaker, Id go with the JBL Flip 4 ($100) or the Bose Soundlink Mini II ($180, an oldie but a damn goodie). Or if youre just that guy, Id recommend the JBL Extreme or the JBL Pulse... theyre for the flashier of people. Biased- For the price, it cant be beat. For the partying, rock n roll, hip-hop, rap, EDM listener. The bass cannot be beat in a speaker this size if you like your music bassy (part of us all do). For a relatable example of the bass, at full volume, if you cup your hands around the subs while playing the song Feel the Bass by DJ MagicMike, you can feel the vibrations in your legs... crazy power. I hope that this review has made an impression on your choice of what speaker to purchase. If not, I highly recommend Jims Review Room on YouTube for highly professional, unbiased reviews! Have a wonderful day.

I bought this bad boy back in 2017, and WOW it is still in perfect condition. I absolutely love this bluetooth speaker - it has survived 120+ degrees in a car for hours, complete submersion in water, and being dropped multiple times. The battery is still in great condition and it holds a charge for seemingly as long as when it was new. I can’t recommend this speaker enough - it sounds great, connects to any device easily, and lasts forever.

A couple years in to owning it, the speakers start to give up. The aftermarket non-JBL options are junk and take modification to fit. JBL needs to offer replacement drivers.

Muy excelente

I enjoyed the excellent Charge 2 plus for 3 years or so. With repeated recharges and frequent use (I am semi retired and listen to a lot of music for multiple hours per day) the battery got tired and would not hold a charge very long. Instead of purchasing a battery, thought I would upgrade to the JBL Charge 3. I opted not to purchase the newest Charge 4. JBL decided on the 4 to go to one larger transducer, and not the left right channel separate drivers. In essence, a mono speaker. Hello 1958. Some pro reviewers say you cant notice the difference anyway but I disagree. Even when there is not a dramatic separation effect due to small distance of the separate transducers in the case, there is an overall improved clarity in the different instruments. So I went with the older but similar and stereo version, the Charge 3. Its bulkier than the 2 plus, but still portable. The battery life is amazing. Im on about hour 11 now and 4 out of 5 led lights (power indicator) are still showing. JBL claims 20 hours. The Charge 2 is about 12. Your mileage may vary of course depending on volume levels, etc. Features include built in phone monitor capability. Also what is called Connect Plus, to pair it with another JBL speaker with the same capability. Unfortunately my older Charge 2 Plus does not offer that feature to my disappointment. Now the important issue: the sound. THE GREAT: If you enjoy a big boomy feel it type bass response this will blow you away, especially if you utilize any of the many free EQ apps for your smart phone. The Charge 2 plus also performs well in this category, but the 3 takes it to another level. Pretty amazing for what can still be called a portable speaker. THE GOOD: The Mid Range tone is very lush and most vocals would be in this category as well as most stringed instruments. THE NOT AS GOOD: Compared to the more bright sound of the Charge 2 plus, the highs are somewhat muted. Not muffled at all, and some might prefer this analog sound as opposed to overly crisp high hat for example. Still, I was a bit surprised at the difference. The casing is very heavy to make it totally waterproof, and perhaps that effects the high end. Not a deal breaker for me, as the overall BIG, RICH sound is impressive considering the size, price. JBL only makes quality stuff and they did it again. WARNING: Make sure the dealer Amazon utilizes is approved by JBL, or you run the risk of getting knock off junk as other reviewers have noted. Just Google the phrase JBL APPROVED DEALER for the list. Finally as I mentioned above, to receive the best sound experience for any blue tooth speaker, download an Equilizer App. They are free with minimally annoying ads. You can add or minimize bass, mids and highs and your music will sound so much more dynamic.

Nice piece of equipment. But I didnt like the sound, which is the entire point, so I sent it back.

I have owned a my speaker for almost 4 years now. I bought it as a cheaper way of listening to music from my phone on the road than buying a new stereo system specific to my old car. Now it gets daily use at home and work, and it’s still going strong. The good bass and volume mean I can hear my stories from another room. The waterproofing was put to the test when I accidentally left it outside overnight in a rain storm. We got over an inch of rain and one end had water puddled on the exterior, but it turned on and worked like nothing happened. It’s been through the dirt of two house remodels and dropped many times, but still continues to perform with amazing sound quality. The battery still lasts without charging for my whole 10 hour work day. That’s what I’m looking for in a speaker.