Speaker Comparisons
Riva Arena vs. Concert: How to Choose Between Riva’s Brilliant Home-and-Travel Smart Speakers
The Riva Arena and Riva Concert speakers appear quite similar, but were released at different times and with slightly different marketing, so it can be difficult to untangle what are real contrasts and what is just confusing, useless hype. We’re here for you. The speakers are actually quite similar; both offer fantastic, room-filling sound from …
The Best JBL Portable Bluetooth Speakers: A Side-by-Side Comparison, Mini-Reviews, and FAQ
We’ve done in-depth reviews of all current portable JBL Bluetooth speakers, but understandably you folks don’t want to read all that. So here’s a quick set of comparisons, mini-reviews, and an FAQ to help you choose the right JBL sonic portable delight for you. JBL makes great-sounding, well-regarded, very reasonably priced portable Bluetooth speakers that …
JBL Pulse 4 vs Pulse 5: The Trippy, Lava-Lamp-Style Speaker Gets a Bit Better
The JBL Pulse line of speakers has been a bit better with each version, so we had been looking forward to finding out if the JBL Pulse 5 would improve on the JBL Pulse 4. The JBL Pulse 5 was announced by JBL in January of 2022 and they promised a release of the speaker …
JBL Boombox 2 vs JBL Boombox 3: Improvements to the Portable Bass-Pounding Delight
The JBL Boombox 2 has been a critical darling of reviewers since its release in April, 2020 and so expectations have been running high for the JBL Boombox 3. JBL announced in January of 2022 that they would indeed release the latest version of this outdoor-ready party monster in the summer of 2022; it now …
Is JBL’s Small, Powerful Speaker Upgrade Worth It? The JBL Clip 3 vs Clip 4
The latest ultra-light clippable bike or backpack speaker from JBL is the JBL Clip 4, and it’s as you might expect a slight step up from the previous JBL Clip 3. In a nutshell: A few features have been gained, a few minor features have been lost, and the sound is overall improved and slightly …
JBL Flip 5 vs Flip 6: A Slightly Improved Ultra-Portable Speaker for a Decent Price
We’ve been following the JBL travel speakers closely for years now, and the Flip line is now on its sixth iteration. Once again JBL has made a few excellent, small improvements. We’ll detail what’s different going from the Flip 5 to Flip 6 below in a nutshell and give you our take on who should …
The Xtreme 3 vs JBL Boombox 2: Choose the Right Size for Your Outdoor Party
Do you want the finest bass and loudest-but-still-smooth sound from a portable speaker for tailgating, yard parties, and beach dances? The two best speakers out right now for these purposes are both from JBL: The JBL Xtreme 3 and Boombox 2. Which should you get? Depends on things like whether you need extreme battery life …
JBL Boombox vs JBL Boombox 2: Is the Slight Upgrade Worth the Cost?
The JBL Boombox 2 was released in spring 2020 as as an update to the original portable outdoor party companion, the JBL Boombox. Both of these are at the larger, and more outdoorsy end of the biggest, loudest portable speakers we’ve reviewed. And they’re expensive. In this article we go through what all reliable critics—not …
JBL Flip 4 vs Flip 5: Is the New Version Worth It?
This article covers previous-model speakers. For the latest from JBL, check out our comparison review of the JBL Flip 5 versus Flip 6. The JBL Flip 5 was released August 1, 2019 as an update to the JBL Flip 4 — already one of the better affordable portable Bluetooth speakers out there. While the Flip …
The JBL Xtreme 3’s Small Upgrades from the JBL Xtreme and Xtreme 2: Worth it?
The JBL Xtreme, Xtreme 2, and Xtreme 3 speakers offer an excellent, portable, rugged route to serious bass oomph and to getting a quite loud outdoor party going. This series has long been a favorite in terms of ruggedness among the largest, loudest Bluetooth speakers we review; we think that for people who party a …