One of the great outdoor speakers, JBL Flip 5 vs UE Boom 3 are of a cylindrical-shaped Bluetooth speaker which has managed to do great in various types of roundups held by different types of reviewers. Even, it is also one of the most re-known budget JBL speakers available.
JBL Flip 5 has a cool outlook along with a carrying strap so that you can carry it with you where ever go. Plus, this cylindrical Bluetooth speaker along with black; comes in different colors, unlike many other speakers. In short, it gives you the chance to pick the color that suits you better. To learn more about the same kind of Bluetooth Speakers, check out the JBL Charge 5 and JBL Charge 4 reviews.
On the other hand, UE Boom 3 or the Ultimate ears boom 3 is a very high-quality Bluetooth speaker which is small and very light in weight that helps you to carry it comfortably with you on the go. Interestingly, UE boom 3 has been ranked 3 out of 20 in a roundup named “Best Bluetooth Speaker”. Moreover, it has a rating of IPX7 which means it has water and dust resistance. Also, it has many great features, like you can use the graphic EQ and presets, that will help you to adjust the sound in the Ears apps.
Choosing a good Bluetooth speaker requires a good amount of research. A quality speaker will provide you all the updated features on your PC speakers and smartphone. And also, there are many more things and tips you need to know about the two mentioned Bluetooth speakers which are also among the most desired speakers in the market. So, without further ado let’s get to know more about JBL Flip 5 vs UE Boom 3 in order to know which Bluetooth Speaker is worth buying.
JBL Flip 5 vs UE Boom 3: Feature Difference
What is in the Box?
Generally, no one wants to miss anything from the purchased product and in order to ensure that you have got your product right, you should definitely know what comes with the box, including the product itself.
So, the JBL Flip 5 contains the following things in the box:
- The user manual
- JBL Flip 5 speaker
- USB-C to USB-A charging cable
The UE Boom 3 contains the following things in the box:
- The User Manual
- Micro-USB charging cable
- Ultimate Ears Boom 3 speaker
In-Depth Review of JBL Flip 5 vs UE Boom 3:
Lets talk about JBL Flip 5 with comparative analysis to others bluetooth speakers.
JBL Flip 5
JBL Flip 5 is a brand new addition to the JBL family, which is also known as the leader in the Bluetooth speaker market. They have a massive range of products at different prices in order to fulfill the demand of the occasion.
The brand JBL is mostly known for its durability, high-quality design, and sound quality. Besides, do you know by selling a hundred million Bluetooth speakers JBL has broken the world record! So the question is, how the latest product in JBL flip series, that is JBL Flip 5 is?
Personally, I think JBL Flip 5 is better than its predecessor, although they look quite identical. Also, the sound quality and the features are better. Let’s know about JBL Flip 5 in more depth.
The Design
The JBL FLIP 5, a cylinder-shaped Bluetooth speaker comes with a fabric that is sort of tight-knit and is wrapped around the speakers. Plus, the user can easily place the speaker vertically or horizontally, however, they want. Moreover, the JBL Flip 5 has a removable strap which makes it more user-friendly.
As mentioned earlier, the Flip 5 comes in a lot of different and unique colors, so that you choose the one that suits best you. Also, don’t worry if you can’t find the desired color in the list, as using the JBL’s website you can easily personalize the speaker’s design. Isn’t it great?
Furthermore, this Bluetooth speaker is exceptionally lightweight; even it’s lighter than the Sony SRS-XB23 (!) which makes it portable as well as travel or tour friendly.
Also, this speaker uses a battery, which can be replaced or bought out without any difficulty. The occupied volume by the speaker that is calculated from its length, width, and height is 771 cm³ approximately. Again, the total weight of the speaker measured with the cable, base, and charger, that is, all the accessories needed for using them are only 0.2 kg.
In addition, JBL Flip 5 runs on both USB and battery. Also, this speaker has a handle-like substance that can be grabbed and moved around, which again proves the portability of the Flip 5. You should also find out about this UE Boom Remix Speaker which has similar kind of features.
Build Quality
The JBL FLIP 5 has a great build quality. Although it’s mostly composed of plastic, it feels and looks very sturdy and solid. Also, a tight fabric is wrapped covering its speakers, which gives a feeling that the speaker won’t rip easily. Again, the buttons of the JBL Flip 5 speakers bear a rubber texture which indicates their longevity. While for the USB-C port there’s no cover which I felt a bit unusual and didn’t like as well.
However, the speaker is IPX7 rated which is why JBL Flip 5 is water resistance.
So if you are thinking or planning on using the speaker outdoors, near water, or in the shower then you can use this Bluetooth speaker as it is submersible.
Moving on to the weight, the JBL Flip 5 is slightly lighter whereas its competitor, UE Boom 3 is slimmer. So in between Boom 3 vs Flip 5, the call is totally yours whether you choose the slimmer or the lighter one.
Both the speakers have the same cylindrical design, and they are lightweight as well as compact, which makes both of them very portable. The best thing is that they are made the very good quality plastic, as a result, they very durable. Interestingly, they contain a feature tough exterior, that saves them from accidental drops.
Controls
The controls in any device indicate whether the speaker has touch input or buttons to start and stop the music and also it tells how easily a speaker can be used physically or by the touch controls. In order to ease the experience of using any device, one must know where the buttons or interfaces are located.
Many wireless speaker users do not even like the speakers which can not be controlled by the touch buttons. In that case, they will definitely like the Flip 5 of the JBL series as it lets you control the speaker fully by using the touch controls, where you don’t need to use a smartphone app.
Again, having knowledge about the location and functions of the control buttons is also very important in order to know how clear and good the click of the buttons is. In short, feedback corresponds to the experience of releasing the control, including the visual, tactile, or audio feedback.
The JBL Flip 5 allows you physically to touch inputs for controlling the playback volume. But this speaker does not have an option to track skipping by the physical inputs. So, when you want to use the speaker’s touch or physical controls to skip to the next or previous track, you might feel a bit of disappointment.
Overall, the Bluetooth speaker of the JBL series has sub-par controls. Here, you can turn off and on the speaker, adjust volume, pair a Bluetooth device, and turn off or on the ‘Party-Boost’ mode, which lets you link more than one ‘Party-Boost’ compatible Bluetooth speaker.
However, in this speaker any call-related controls are absent. Nevertheless, by pressing the play button twice the user can skip the track forward.
Moreover, there is a chime that lets you know when you have gained the max volume. Also, on the vertex of the power and Bluetooth buttons, there are lights to give you a signal when it’s on and appended to a source. Plus, there’s also a light indicator that indicates that the speaker is charging.
Sound
The average, compensated in-room frequency response or the spectral balance of this speaker is not bad. This frequency response shows how extended the bass is, as well as how well-balanced and accurately the dialogue and the instruments are reproduced by the speaker.
The frequency response has a great impact on the perceived accuracy and exorcism of sound. However, it does not display how loud and wide the sound is.
If the user desires an accurate sound reproduction with deep bass and clear instruments then he/she might find JBL Flip 5 fair and passable.
Moving on to the values, the lowest frequency of the speaker at which the frequency response reaches -6dB of the target response is 68.2Hz. This value mainly shows how elongated the speaker’s bass is.
So basically, when you want to experience the deep punch, thump, and rumble of electronic music, even the film, sports commentary, movies, and games, then the accurate lowest frequency is very important.
Frequency Response
Besides, the highest frequency of the speaker at which the frequency response reaches -3dB of the target response is 13.7kHz. This value shows how extended the speaker’s treble is.
So, when a user wants to experience the brightness, presence, and sparkle of dialogue, cymbals, and other sounds then a decent high-frequency rate is important.
In short, the JBL FLIP 5’s frequency response accuracy is tolerable. When you will place the speaker horizontally, it battles to reproduce low-bass which sounds a bit boomy.
Coming on to the raw and uncompensated in-room frequency response of the speaker which is measured at 32 different positions in the room with a two-channel stereo signal at a moderate volume. The average response is indicated by the blue line, and the gray lines indicate each of the 32 measurements.
This feature is really important for the more advanced level users who can evaluate and read an in-room frequency response without compensation and also for those who want to analyze its positional variance and accuracy.
As you know the sound-stage is a very important feature of a speaker or any musical device. It tells the perceived width and size of the sound created by the speaker, the direction of the sound, and also tells whether the reproduction of sound is stereo or mono.
This thing actually matters when you want to feel immersed in a wide, large, and natural sound-stage with great instrument separation. Note that, having a good sound-stage is critical for movies, music, and video games.
Dialogue or Speech
For dialogue or speech content_say, the news or the podcasts, a large and wide sound-stage is not that important; however, if you listen to the speaker from multiple directions then a 360° sound propagation may be desired.
Now, the directivity index tells us how narrow is the sound-stage. Also, it tells how directional the propagation pattern of the speaker is.
The fact is, the larger the directivity index, the more directional and the narrower is the sound-stage. Interesting fact: The speakers that provide a 360° that means an omnidirectional sound, will have a comparatively smaller directivity index.
The directivity index of JBL Flip 5 is 3.29 dB. Now the question is, why this index is really important?
The answer is quite simple, if you want to enjoy films or movies and music then you need a large sound-stage which is why a directivity index is required that will provide you with an omnidirectional sound-stage.
So in short, the JBL Flip 5 speaker has a mediocre sound-stage. Unlike the Anker Soundcore Motion+, this speaker has to down-mix the stereo into mono in order to play this content, which sounds a bit problematic.
Otherwise, Its directivity is great, though, producing in a wide sound-stage. But if you want a speaker that can get almost as loud with less compression at max volume, then you might like the JBL Charge 4.
Coming to the dynamics of the speaker, indicates how loud the speaker can get and whether the sound quality of the speaker degrades at loud volumes or not.
If you want to listen to songs, dialogues, or audios at loud volumes then it is important for your speaker to have great dynamics. Again, if you have a large, crowded, and noisy environment then you must have a speaker with great sound, and for which dynamics is important as well.
The sound pressure level produced by the JBL Flip 5 speaker with its volume set to maximum is 85.5 dB SPL.
And, the amount of difference between the speaker’s frequency response at 76dB SPL and at Max Volume is 3.74 dB.
Remember, too much compression will result in compression and pumping might artifacts in the sound.
Battery
life indicates how long the speaker will run. Battery test in any speaker is done by setting the volume at 80dB SPL in 1m.
Clearly, we all know why long battery life is really important. For this, we always prefer devices that have great battery life.
When it comes to JBL Flip 5 vs UE Boom 3, the JBL FLIP 5 has an ‘OK’ battery performance, according to me. This speaker was advertised to last around 12 hours approximately, but sadly it lasts a maximum of 8 hours only, which is a kind of a disappointment for me.
However, battery life may vary on its usage, so you may come out different from that of mine. Moreover, the Flip 5 speaker turns off automatically after 20 minutes approximately with no audio file in order to help conserve battery life. Therefore, if a long and good battery life is important to you, consider the other JBL speakers say, the JBL Xtreme 2, which lasts more than 14 hours just on a single charge. Again, the hours may vary depending on your usage.
App
The speaker JBL Flip 5 comes with a smartphone app that provides you with different types of features. This app enables you to control the speaker using your Android smartphone or iOS from a distance.
The name of the JBL Flip 5’s smartphone app is JBL connect. This Bluetooth speaker has an app for iOS as well as Android. Thus you can use it from almost any phone.
Moreover, the Flip 5 speaker’s app contains no EQ, which is why you can not customize the frequency response or the sound of the speaker to fulfill your tastes, requirements, or content.
Moreover, the speaker’s app lets you pair 2 speakers of the same brand or model to create a stereo pair. This feature is especially desired when the user wants a wider and a stereo sound-stage, especially when compared to the narrower or mono sound-stage of a speaker. Plus, this is an essential feature for movies and music.
Pairing Capacity
Also, JBL Flip 5’s app allows you to pair more than 1 speaker of the same brand to cover a large bound, such as a backyard or a restaurant.
So if you want to play music or want to party at a restaurant without using any large speakers or loud volume then JBL Flip 5 is the ideal one.
Notwithstanding, the Flip 5 series of JBL does not allow you to connect multiple speakers of the same model wirelessly throughout your home.
For this reason, you won’t be able to stream audio and music wirelessly throughout your home, which is indeed a negative side.
Overall, JBL Flip’s app, that is ‘JBL Connect’ is well-performing. Most importantly, it is compatible with both iOS and Android. You can also link many units to play the same audio across a larger area along with pairing 2 units to create a stereo pair.
However, in between Flip 5 vs Boom 3, the Flip 5 lacks an EQ, for this reason, you can not tweak or customize its sound profile.
If you want to know how to connect the JBL speakers, watch this video:
Connectivity
Connectivity means whether the device uses wired or wireless inputs and outputs in order to send or receive any data. Since we are dealing with a speaker, our main concern is how the audio is being passed.
Knowing about the connectivity of any speaker is especially important when you are eager to know if you could send or receive audio to the speaker by using a TRS/aux/XLR connection. Even, some speakers have support for guitar and microphone inputs for exercising programs like karaoke.
Moving on to JBL Flip 5, it has no USB Audio or Aux inputs. Plus, this Bluetooth speaker can not be used with a wire, that is it is not wired. But, as mentioned earlier the Flip 5 comes with a USB-C to USB-A cable for charging purposes.
Coming on to the most important feature of this speaker, that is which version of the Bluetooth protocol is supported by the speaker.
The recent Bluetooth speakers give additional features such as improved range 4.2 and improved battery life.
Moreover, I have measured the latency of this speaker with the help of an Apple iPhone 11 pro max using the YouTube app and the value is 154 ms. Let me tell you, sometimes other apps might have a different latency than the YouTube app. At present, the iOS devices only support AAC and SBC codecs.
The purpose of doing this test is, if you desire to watch any video content on your speaker with an iOS device, this latency value might be important, since the value of latency of the same speaker may vary momentously depending on the device.
Again, when the latency is measured with the help of a Samsung Galaxy S10e using the YouTube app, the value came different. Here the obtained latency value is 96ms. Note that, Samsung Galaxy S10esupports aptX, LDAC, SBC, and AAC codecs.
If a speaker clinches more than one codec, it is measured using the codec that the phone automatically chooses for that speaker.
Similar to iOS, if you want to watch some video content on your speaker using an Android device, this latency value would be important to know.
Besides, the range of this wireless speaker that can reach before dropping any audio is 67.0m or 219.8ft.
So overall, the FLIP 5 of the JBL series has great Bluetooth connectivity. Also, it can pair with up to 2 speakers at the same time, unlike the OontZ Angle 3 ULTRA. Moreover, this speaker has a low audio latency value on Android devices, which is favorable if you like to stream video.
On the other hand, the latency rate on an iPhone or iOS is a little higher. But remember, sometimes few apps compensate differently for latency, so your experience may differ. Except for Bluetooth, the JBL FLIP 5 is not compatible with a Wi-Fi connection.
Know more unique features of JBL Bluetooth Speakers here.
JBL Flip 5 vs UE Boom 3: Other Competitors in the market
I have always stated and believed that one should have a minimal idea about existing popular headphones in the market in order to buy the best one for themselves. So this segment is basically designed for that purpose. Let’s have a look.
JBL Charge 4 vs JBL Flip 5:
So, the JBL FLIP 5 is a comparatively better speaker than the JBL Charge 4. As the FLIP has better sound quality, directivity, a wider soundstage. Overall, it also has a balanced sound profile. However, the Charge 4 has an AUX port and longer battery life.
Know more about JBL charge 4 if you are interested.
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2 vs JBL Flip 5:
So, the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2 is a better choice than the JBL FLIP 5. Because of its better built, stereo content playing ability, and wider soundstage. Also, it can get louder and has longer battery life. Megaboom 3 and Megablast: 2 Amazing Bluetooth Speakers are also worthy of your attention.
Bose SoundLink Micro vs JBL Flip 5
I found the JBL Flip 5 to be a slightly better speaker for having a better sound profile than Bose SoundLink Micro. The Flip 5 has a better-balanced sound profile which will increase your audio experience. Also at max volume it can raise louder, although with more compression artifacts. Moreover, the JBL has longer battery life. However, the opponent, I.e Bose supports voice assistants, which is a plus point. Checkout some similar kind of Bose speakers here Bose SoundTrue Ultra and SoundSport
In-depth Review of Ultimate Ears Boom 3:
The Ultimate Ears Boom 3 or The UE Boom 3 is probably one of those speakers that have gone through a lot of changes in order to upgrade the brand. If you compare between UE Boom 3 vs JBL Flip 5, Boom 3 is quite bigger in size. However, many audiophiles consider it as the best mid-sized speaker.
Again, similar to JBL Flip 5 this speaker, I will say this speaker is also better than its predecessor. Because, some of the features like wireless charging, increased durability, strong build quality, and the water and the IPX7 certification have made the UE boom 3 a better one. Moreover, this Bluetooth speaker has many other features that you should know about. So, have a look below.
The Design
The UE BOOM 3 is a smaller as well as a cylindrical speaker which is meant to sit vertically. On its front face, this speaker has visible volume buttons which are large as well. And with slightly similarity with Flip 5, there is a small built-in hook in this speaker for which you can easily attach it to your portmanteau. Besides, the Ultimate Ears Boom 3 comes in many types of different color variants, from which you can choose the one that suits your style.
Moreover, the portability Volume of this speaker is 966 cm³ or 59 in³. It has a weight of 1.3 lbs or 0.6 kg. In addition, the Ultimate Ears Boom runs on both USB and battery. Also, this speaker has a handle or a hook (as previously stated) so that can be grabbed and moved around, which proves its portability.
Therefore, this speaker has excellent portable ability as it is smaller in size and lightweight, so you can easily carry it with one hand.
Build Quality
The build quality of Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 is amazing. Its top and bottom are made of rubber, and the speaker is wrapped around with a tight fabric wrapping which increases its longevity.
Moreover, It’s also rated IPX7, which makes it dust and water resistance, however the IP rating of dust resistance is still unspecified. Also, the manufacturer claims that the speaker is drop-proof from a height of 3 feet, which we haven’t proved yet.
Otherwise, it has great material quality, impact resistance and ability to slightly floats in water.
Controls
The controls of this speakers are well built and easy to use. It gives you feedback on battery level and has many other options like to play or pause the music, to turn up or down the volume etc. But unlike few speakers, it doesn’t have some features, such as answering or ending up the call, turning the microphone on and off and no buttons for skipping the tracks.
Overall, the Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 has fair controls. There are very visible volume buttons on the front side of the speaker. Moreover, there is a button which can also be called as “Magic” button, on the top of the speaker. This button allows you to play and pause your music, also lets you to skip the next track, and allows to launch a playlist set in the speaker’s app named Ultimate Ears.
Besides, there’s a small Bluetooth present on the vertex of the speaker which lets you to pair with other devices. You can at once press both the volume buttons to get audible feedback on the battery level. But however, I haven’t found any way to know the volume level. Also, unfortunately you can’t use the controls in order to skip the previous track.
Sound
The frequency response accuracy slope of UE Boom 3 is -1.49. The Std. Err rate is 5.41 dB and the low-frequency extension and high-frequency extension is 92.4 Hz and 15.8 kHz respectively.
I must say, the Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 has not that great frequency response accuracy. It has a bass-heavy sound profile, although it struggles to reproduce a rumbling and thumpy low-bass.
Here, lead and vocals instruments are present which sound a bit dull and dark. However, Unlike JPL Flip 5 there is presets and graphic EQ in the Ultimate Ears app which will help you to customize sound profile.
Moreover, the sound-stage directivity index of this speaker is 1.82 dB.
So, the UE BOOM 3 has an excellent sound-stage performance where it can play the stereo content, and also it has great directivity, so that the sound-stage is perceived as large, natural-sounding and wide.
Furthermore, the dynamics SPL and DRC of the speaker at max volume is 86.9 dB SPL and 1.91 dB respectively. So, this Bluetooth speaker has a passable dynamics performance where it does not get to much loud, which is why at max volume there aren’t that much of compression artifacts present. This thing ensures a clear and clean audio reproduction.
Battery
Moving on to the battery of UE Boom 3, the battery life of this speaker is 13.7 hours and the charge time is 2.6 hours. Also, this speaker has a power saving mood which is automatically turned on when the battery is low, which can help you to conserve the battery life.
In short, the Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 has an excellent battery performance. But it is advertised to last for 15 hours just off of a single charge, but when tested it only lasted for 13.7 hours which is also incredible. Note that, battery life can vary from user to user depending on the usage, so your experience might differ.
Further, similar to Flip 5 this speaker does not have voice assistant support.But if you prefer this voice assistant feature from a similar type of speaker with built-in support for Alexa over the Wi-Fi, then check out the Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST speaker.
App
The UE Boom 3 also has an app of its own. The App name is Ultimate Ears
This Bluetooth speaker has an app for iOS as well as Android. Thus you can use it from almost any phone like the Flip 5.
Moreover, the UE Boom 3 speaker’s app contains EQ and presents, which will let you to customize the frequency response or the sound of the speaker to fulfill your tastes, requirements or the content.
Unlike JBL Flip 5 the speaker’s app does not allow you to pair 2 speakers of the same brand or model to create a stereo pair. This feature is especially desired when the user wants a wider and a stereo sound-stage, especially when compared to the narrower or mono sound-stage of a speaker. Plus, this is an essential feature for movies and music, however, it is not that important for content related to speech or dialogues, such as podcasts.
Like the the Flip 5 series of JBL, UE Boom 3 does not allow you to connect multiple speakers of the same model wirelessly throughout your home. For this reason, you won’t be able to stream audio and music wirelessly throughout your home
Overall, the Ultimate Ears app is fair. The plus point is that it comes with the presets and graphic EQ, which is nice. However, the negative point is, here you can not pair 2 BOOM speakers together in order to create a stereo pair, which can be disappointing for few listeners.
Connectivity
UE Boom 3 can not be used wired. However, this speaker comes with a micro-USB cable, but that’s just for charging purposes.
The Bluetooth version of this speaker is unspecified. Moreover, the iOS latency of this speaker is 154 ms. sometimes other apps might have a different latency than the YouTube app.
The purpose of doing the latency test is, if you desire to watch any video content on your speaker with an iOS device, this latency value might be important, since the value of latency of the same speaker may vary momentously depending on the device.
Again, when the Bluetooth latency of an android is 34ms. So, this speaker has very low latency with both Android and iOS devices, which makes it more suitable for watching videos. But, I repeat some apps compensate for latency in a different manner, so your real-world experience may differ.
Besides, the range of this wireless speaker that can reach before dropping any audio is 79.0m or 259.2ft.
Moreover, this speaker does not allow multiple device pairing.
Therefore, the Ultimate Ears Boom 3 has good Bluetooth connectivity. Especially its outstanding range is actually praiseworthy. It can stay connected to your paired device even the device is not located that close to the speaker. Lastly, like JBL Flip 5 this speaker is not Wi-Fi compatible.
Other Competitors in the market
JBL Charge 4 vs UE Boom 3 vs Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2
Compared with the JBL Charge 4, UE Boom 3 is a better speaker. Because it has a better-built, and good battery. Moreover, it also has great soundstage performance, and it has an option to play stereo content without even having to downmix it to the mono. In addition, the Ultimate Ears Boom 3 has presets and graphic EQ for sound customization.
I found the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2 better as it has better-built, and more neutral sound.
Expert Review
The Verdict
Both of the mentioned speakers are medium-sized, but the JBL Flip 5 is slightly lighter where as the UE Boom 3 is slimmer.
Also, they bear a similar cylindrical design, and they are compact as well as very lightweight, which makes them very portable. The best thing is that both speakers are very durable and feature a tough exterior, which protects them from accidental drops.
On the basis of aesthetics, the UE Boom 3 is way more eye-pleasing than the JBL Flip 5 even though the Boom was released 2 years before the Flip.
Moreover, the Boom 3 has a cool and modern design that works well with various color options.
Even though the JBL Flip 5 is the latest release among these two, but it feels a bit outdated. You will especially feel that if you have expected more from the JBL series than I did. Its design is almost identical to all other previous Flip models.
Further, with an IPX7 rating, the Flip 5 is waterproof, which can be submerged in water for 30 minutes up to 3 feet. This feature is the same for Boom 3 as well.
Another superb thing about the design of the Boom 3 is that when you drop the speaker in water, you will see that the speaker is floating. On the other hand, once the JBL Flip 5 falls in the water, it might get damaged if it gets submerged in deeper than 3 feet.
So, overall for me, the winner is UE Boom 3.
Even though both the speakers have many similarities, in the audio quality there is a slightly notable difference.
First of all, the UE Boom 3 has a stereo sound. On the other side, with passive bass radiators the JBL Flip 5 has only one 20W speaker driver.
Both the speaker’s audio quality is great, however, we cannot expect the same audio from both the high-end Bluetooth speakers.
Despite their smaller size, they both have a rich and powerful sound profile.
But if you ask me to pick one, I will go for UE Boom 3 as it is louder than the Flip 5 of the JBL series and it also has more intense bass. Additionally, on the UE Boom 3, you can access the EQ settings and customize the sound profile to fit your music taste.
Coming to the battery, both devices have different approaches to charging. For very fast charging the JBL Flip 5 uses a USB-C, whereas you can charge the UE Boom 3 wirelessly.
Given that, both the speakers have great battery life. But if you ask me to choose one, I will go for UE again. The reason is that the JBL Flip 5 has a playtime of 12 hours, on the other side the UE Boom 3 has playtime of 15 hours.
Finally, on the basis of connectivity, UE Boom 3 is winning. Although compared to the UE Boom 3 which has Bluetooth 4.1 version, the Flip 5 has 4.2 Bluetooth, but still, it has a smaller wireless connectivity range.
However, both the speakers are good in their own ways. You can choose any of them if the following things check all the right box:
Choose the Flip 5 if you want:
- sharper and precise sound.
- faster charging.
- When maximum friends of your uses JBL, and you want to pair.
- Durable Bluetooth speaker.
- Lighter and portable Bluetooth speaker.
Choose the UE Boom 3 if you want:
- More cool and eye-pleasing design and colors.
- Louder Bluetooth speaker.
- A battery life that will last long.
- Wireless charging.
JBL Flip 5
Pros
- Waterproof
- Clear and precise sound
- Can be paired with other JBL Speakers
- High built quality
- Wide sound-stage
Cons
- Aux port absent
- Same design as previous versions
- Lacks in low-bass
UE Boom 3
Pros
- New and elegant design
- Portable
- Floats on water
- Waterproof
- Loud sound profile
- Durable
- Wireless charging present
- Long-lasting battery
- Good sound-stage performance
Cons
- Sound quality could have been better
- The wireless dock has to be bought separately
Which one is better and why so?
Ultimate Boom 3 is better than JBL Flip 5, because
- It has stereo speakers- Devices with stereo speakers offer sound from independent channels on both the left as well as right sides, generating a richer sound and a great experience.
- 3-hour long battery life- The device’s l battery life provided by the manufacturer. With longer battery life, you do not have to charge the device more often.
- Wireless charging- The manufacturer has offered a branded wireless charging kit with the speaker. To charge the device, you can just put it down on the charging base.
- It is 108mm narrower- The width illustrates the horizontal dimension of the product. Users most often consider smaller width better because it ensures easy maneuverability.
- It has a 1-year manufacturer warranty- When covered under the manufacturer’s warranty in the case of a malfunction it is feasible to get a replacement.
JBL Flip 5 is better than Boom 3, because
- Low-frequency rate of 25Hz- The lowest frequency at which the device generates audio. The lower the low-frequency response, the juicier and stronger the bass is.
- 2.5 hours shorter charging time – This is the time taken to fully charge the battery.
- Uses USB type C- The Type-C USB features reversible cable direction and plug orientation.
- Has sleep timer feature- a sleep timer is a function that turns off the power after a scheduled amount of time.
The Bottom Line:
Finally, in between Boom 3 vs JBL Flip 5, I picked the UE Boom 3 because I found it louder, better-built quality, and a better soundstage.
Besides, in between JBL Flip 5 vs UE Boom 3, I can customize the sound in Boom 3, which is a very very important feature to me. Also,I am more of a party animal, so I preferred the louder one. However, choices and requirements may vary.
If you like a balanced sound profile, then the Flips 5 speaker is undoubtedly a good one. The call is only yours.
Moreover, there are few complaints and negative reviews on the UE Boom 3 on amazon, such as, it has short play time, it is not worth of the price, it is very loud but has a low sound quality, and on the opposite, another customer feels that it has a very low and tiny sound. Similarly, there are a few complaints about Flip 5 as well.
Therefore, experience many differ. I found the Boom 3 amazing and didn’t find any errors there. But this does not necessarily mean that it has to be true for you too. So, you should know why and for what desire you actually need a speaker for and buy it accordingly.
So tell me, ‘What do you desire?’ And if you are still confused about what to buy and also on a budget, take a peek at Best Bluetooth Speakers Under $30.
FAQs of JBL Flip 5 vs UE Boom 3
This section of the article is all about problem-solving some of the matter that you might encounter while walking on the pavement of these types of comparison.
Whether it be directly built-in on the bar or from a connected third-party device does the JBL Flip 5 supports any voice assistant integration?
this speaker does not support any voice assistants.
Is the Flip 5 speaker loud enough so that I can hear it sitting on a boat?
It actually depends on the distance of the boat from you.
In JBL Flip 5, what is the maximum distance in order to connect it to Bluetooth?
It is approx 30 meters or 100 ft.
Does this speaker (Flip 5) work with an iPhone X?
A big YES, it even works and sounds great on iPhone.
The JBL Flip 5 is how many decibels?
20watts
Does the so-called “Magic button” of UE Boom 3 works?
As far as I know, yes it does. More specifically my one did!
In Boom 3 speaker what is the wattage?
It’s not sure, but it might be around 12 volts.
Between boom and the Blast, which one is a better speaker?
Both of them are quite identical, however, if you want the voice assistants to listen to you then get the Blast.
Student and Tech journalist.
