JBL just upgraded two of our favorite Bluetooth speakers — one’s big and powerful, and one’s cheap and portable
- JBL drops two new rugged speakers
- JBL Go 5 is a pint-sized pocket speaker for $49 / £39 / AU$59
- JBL Xtreme 5 is chunky party speaker for $379 / £329 / AU$499
We rank JBL’s outdoor speakers among the best Bluetooth speakers you can buy, and one of our top picks has seen an upgrade, so let’s start at the successor to the JBL Go 4.
The JBL Go 5, which looks set to match its predecessor’s $49.95 / £39.99 / AU$59.95 price (judging by the UK price, which is confirmed to be £39.99), brings a few upgrades over one of our favorite pint-size options.
JBL has apparently upgraded the sound, to increase the volume and offer deeper bass than before, both by a claimed 10%. It has an extra hour of battery life over its predecessor, and a new EQ preset lets you get another two hours.
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JBL has also made it easier to pair multiple Go 5 speakers: you just need to tap them together and then they can play in stereo, instead of messing around in the app.
Since these are the kind of cheap speakers you can easily buy to take on days out, wild picnics or walks, there’s a good chance your friends might have a few too. Soon, you can be playing in unison.
And then there’s the Xtreme
The other new speaker is the JBL Xtreme 5, which as you can imagine is an upgraded Xtreme 4. The predecessor cost $379.95 / £329.99 / AU$499.95, and we know that the 5 will match that price in the UK.
The Xtreme 5 has also seen some performance changes: it’s been redesigned to allow its drivers to sing, and also has an enhanced output to get the most out of its specs. Perhaps most importantly to bass fans, it has a subwoofer too.
These changes let the Xtreme 5 match the Go 5’s upgrades of, according to JBL, 10% more bass and 10% higher volume. There’s also a new SmartEQ Mode, which identifies what you’re listening to and applies an appropriate equalization preset, and a sound booster to reduce distortion at higher volumes.
These two speakers launched alongside JBL EasySing Mics, which are karaoke mics designed to work with the brand’s speakers. Their built-in tech can remove vocals from tracks, immediately turning them into karaoke-able songs, and last for 10 hours on a single charge.
We’ve seen them before, most recently alongside the PartyBox On-The-Go 2 Plus, and they seem to work across most JBL speakers. The UK price is £129.99.
The best Bluetooth speakers for all budgets
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JBL drops two new rugged speakers JBL Go 5 is a pint-sized pocket speaker for $49 / £39 / AU$59 JBL Xtreme 5 is chunky party speaker for $379 / £329 / AU$499 We rank JBL’s outdoor speakers among the best Bluetooth speakers you can buy, and one of our…
