Charge 5 Wi-Fi SE

Auracast that is a game changer for the Charge 5 SE!

I ended up getting the Charge, and I am very happy with it! The clarity from it playing thru Wi-Fi is phenomenal! In fact it sounds so good, I might get another for stereo pair! The Charge 5 SE outperforms my JBL Xtreme 4 at least indoors under 50% volume! I had it paired with my JBL Partybox Club 120 thru Auracast watching Apple TV, F1: The Movie, and it shines!

I hope you're digging the Charge 5 SE. I'm having fun with mine being incorporated into my ever growing list of Auracast speakers!

This Costco JBL Charge 5 Wi-Fi is a better buy than the standard JBL Charge 6, it has the best of all of Jbl's connectivity options, making it valuable for folks already heavily invested into their existing JBL speakers!

Those citing cheaper prices for the Charge 5 Wifi off eBay, etc.... note that the SE is a completely new version of the Charge 5 Wi-Fi. The SE includes auracast, which is a big deal to many

Not Advertisement: I just installed this speaker into Home Assistant. I already have Google Cast integration installed. After following the installation instructions with the ability to discover other devices this speaker installed itself into Home Assistant as a Media Player and also a google cast player. The sound depth is unbelievable. Costco has this on sale until the 26th for $139 ($40 off). I highly recommend. I also discovered as many others that there is no charging cable. It's a standard jack so you probably have a charging cable though.

The Auracast feature as I read it was for synching other JBL speakers with this one. They have a huge line of speakers. I literally just unboxed this half an hour ago. I'm dancing. I already had scripts to use the google nest mini's for my playlists. I'll let you know about the battery. I've got so many google nest mini's I really don't need this but wanted something for the patio. I believe it's perfect for that. The bass is unbelievable. I think the base comes out both ends. You can see the ends vibrate. I bet there are at least 3 speakers in this thing. I might get one more for the living/dining room area. There's probably battery information in the reviews.

JBL CHARGE5 WiFi SE is your best bet, otherwise the older CHARGE5 WiFi is similar but just without auracast (universal speaker pairing protocol for connecting to other speakers to play in sync). If you're willing to sacrifice a significant amount of bass for a much more portable size, the Sonos Roam is worth checking out as well-- it's comfortable to hold in the hand and light enough to hold for long periods whereas the JBL CHARGE5 series is typically around 1kg and can get fatiguing to hold.

JBL CHARGE5 WiFi SE is your best bet, otherwise the older CHARGE5 WiFi is similar but just without auracast (universal speaker pairing protocol for connecting to other speakers to play in sync). If you're willing to sacrifice a significant amount of bass for a much more portable size, the Sonos Roam is worth checking out as well-- it's comfortable to hold in the hand and light enough to hold for long periods whereas the JBL CHARGE5 series is typically around 1kg and can get fatiguing to hold.

JBL's GO4 & CLIP5 are both good current-gen options, although the CLIP5 gets louder, has more bass, and sounds sharper. If your budget is flexible, the FLIP7 or last-gen FLIP6 or CHARGE5 would all provide better sound and more bass. Either way, watch out for 20-30%off sales that happen every few months-- especially with the CLIP/GO as there may be a new release in the coming months.

I've always thought the CHARGE line is the sweet spot in the JBL lineup. The CHARGE6 adds some bass extension/fullness & volume over the FLIP7 & gets surprisingly close to the XTREME4 considering it's size, and is the largest JBL speaker I can comfortably hold in one hand. Generation wise, 1 or 2 generations old isn't a huge issue but anything beyond that you'll start to lose some performance: as of now, anything with the large JBL logo will be fairly recent (5yr max) & any speakers with Auracast are currently latest-gen in North America. Specifically for the CHARGE line, the CHARGE6 (latest) adds a carry handle, extra 3db loudness, fast charging, and some other nice-to-haves & goes on sale often: that's the one I'd recommend and it'll be a significant upgrade from your CLIP.

I would say go for charge 5 for 10k

Jbl charge 5. Ive abused two of them extremely hardly for two years and they still work. The cosmetics like the mettal logo will scratch and even fly out after big abuse but i can safely say the speaker holds 3 story drops fine and even works after burning in a fire pit for a minute. Also you can submerge it for 24h+ and it will still work fine. The battery will be the thing the gives out first but thats after 4 years or so.

105db? Thats complete bullshit, i got a jbl charge 6 louder and that clocks at 101,3db(A) and for the 250$ price tag it has worse specs/performance then a charge 6/5. It has worse SPL, worse clarity, worse battery, and worse bass response although durability is mostly equal as far as i have abused both (ranger and charge 6).

I have two charge 5’s usually use them in stereo. But I now want two Extreme 4’s.