JBL Charge 4

We don't typically have music performances where I work, but last month we did—and I am so glad we did. Here's why: I came in early and the stage crew was setting up the speakers, sound board, lighting, etc. for our outdoor amphitheater. I went inside to put my things away and when I came back outside they had the music jamming while they worked. It sounded great. I walked around to find what was playing the music since they hadn't set up the sound equipment yet… And there it was, a JBL Charge on top of an amp box! I was so impressed, I ordered one on the spot. It's been a month since I got it and I love it. I take it to the office, use it at home, the beach—I take it everywhere.

The JBL Charge 4 is pretty impressive for such a small bluetooth speaker. Amazingly it only uses a single 50mm x 90mm driver that produces 30W of power. The single driver is accompanied by two passive bass radiators that assist to produce bass notes as low as 60hz. At first you may think why would JBL take the approach of using a single driver rather than dual divers? Well I can assure you that the single driver inside the Charge 4 is a high quality driver that produces excellent sound. The whole package just works and sounds great. I compared both the Charge 4 with its predecessor for hours and hours and this is my conclusion. The previous generation is a great sounding speaker however the Charge 4 sounds even better. Now you may think, how can a mono speaker outperform a stereo speaker? It's simple, the drivers in most small bluetooth speakers are so close to each other that is difficult for you to hear the stereo separation to begin with. To really hear stereo separation from a stereo speaker the left and right channels need to be further apart from each other. I found that the best listening position is vertically with the J from the JBL logo towards the bottom. The JBL Charge 4 sound is well balanced with clear vocals, great treble and great bass. The mid-range frequencies are pushed forward and crystal clear. The Charge 4 is powered by a 27Wh battery rated at 7,800mah and is rated at 20 hours play time between charges. The JBL Connect+ allows you to pair additional JBL speakers with the same feature flawlessly. This is a great feature for syncing several speakers throughout a party area. Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity is good with long range and the speaker is IPX7 water proof just in case you need to submerge it in water. The materials and build quality is excellent as usual. The charging port has now been upgraded to USB C and the speaker can charge your phone via a standard USB A connector. All in all the JBL Charge 4 is an excellent all around bluetooth speaker with improved sound quality over its predecessor. Pros: Well balanced sound with clear vocals No distortion at maximum volume Battery life IPX7 water proof USB C charging port Cons: No speaker phone [This review was collected as part of a promotion.]