So over the last few months, JBL has been very busy updating a lot of their speakers… but most recently they put out the JBL Grip which is a completely new line of speakers for them… but its actually very similar to the JBL Flip 5. But still I think the JBL Grip is very weird in JBL’s current speaker line up. Nonetheless, today we’re going to compare the JBL Grip to both the JBL Clip 5 and the JBL Go 4, is it even worth upgrading to the Grip?
Regarding pricing, I feel that the JBL Grip is a response to inflation cause the Grip retails for $100, which is what the JBL Flip 5 used to retail for before both the Flip 6 and Flip 7 got a price increase. Especially the Flip 7 cause it retails for $150, which I feel is a lot for a smaller sized speaker. Where as with the JBL Clip 5, this speaker retails for $80 and the JBL Go 4 retails for $50, which I feel are reasonable. Nonetheless, if you want to pick any of these speakers up they’ll be linked down below, and if you want to further support the channel then you can always watch some of the related videos in the description down below.
So first there’s the design of these speakers, now all of these speakers are super durable thanks to their fabric wrapped bodies so they can stand up to constant abuse from bumps and scrapes and they are both water proof, making them great options for the pool or beach. However I do want to point out that all of these speakers have their USB C ports exposed, so before you can actually charge them back up, you have to wait for them to be dry or else you’re going to get a notification that the USB C port is wet.
But when it comes to size, these speakers are very different. For starters the JBL Grip is a little smaller than the JBL Flip 7… but I actually think the Flip 7 is more portable than the Grip thanks to its swappable loop and carabiners. Where as with both the Clip 5 and Go 4, both of these speakers are noticeable smaller than the Grip… but more importantly, they’re a lot more versatile. One of the things that I really dislike about the Grip is its loop, its not super useful cause its very small and its not elastic, so your options are very limited here. Where as with the Go 4, this loop is larger and its a little elastic as well… so its more versatile by comparison. And then there’s the Clip 5 which has its built in carabiner, so its super easy to attach this speaker to lets say your back pack.
Now one feature that the Grip has over both the Clip 5 and Go 4 is that it has a built in light feature. But this light feature is on the back, its not color changing and it doesn’t even flash to the beat of your music. Honestly I feel that this light feature is pointless and this is the second time in a row that JBL adds a pointless light feaurtre to their speaker cause they just did it with the Boombox 4 as well. So personally I just use the Grip with its light feature turned off.
Regarding battery life, the Go 4 has an advertised battery life of 7 hours. Which is decent for its size. Where as both the Clip 5 and Grip have an advertised battery life of 12 hours, which looks better on the Clip 5 than on the Grip, and with all of these speakers you can extend their battery lives by around two hours if you use them with their playtime boost feature turned on, but that’s going to severely reduce your bass.
But real world use with all of these speakers playing at 80% Volume, both the Grip and clip 5 are going to be good for around 6 hours of playback time where as the Go 4 is going to be good for about 4 hours of playback time. And obviously, the Grip is going to be louder than both the Clip 5 and Go 4 when playing at 80% Volume.
And to charge these speakers, that all charge via a USB C port as they should… but you can’t use any of these USB C ports as a wired connection, or use them to charge your own devices like you can with the USB C port found on either the Flip 7 or Charge 6, which is fine cause these are more premium speakers.
But when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, these speakers are the same, all of these speakers can be connected to any two bluetooth devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ. Latency is not an issue for any of these speakers so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone and when it comes to audio codecs, they all have support for SBC and AAC which is standard for JBL these days,
But with all of that out of the way, lets talk about sound. Now both the Clip 5 and Go 4 have a frontward firing circular driver and passive radiator set up, except the Clip 5 is a little larger. Where as with the Grip, this speaker has a single frontward firing oval driver, and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. And the speaker set on the grip is very similar to the Flip 5, expect the passive radiators are much smaller… and for this curious, one of the biggest differences between the Grip and the Flip 7 is that the Flip 7 has an additional tweeter. But now we’re going to jump into the soundtest, all of these speakers are playing at 75% Volume with their Stock EQs.
Sound test
So first off, when it comes to max volume performance, the Grip gets much louder than the Go 4… which is to be expected just given how small the Go 4 is… but nonetheless, the Go 4 does a great job of keeping up relative to its size… and the Grip gets a little louder than the Clip 5… however, the max volume difference between the Clip 5 and Grip isn’t huge… the Clip 5 at max volume is like the Grip playing at 90% volume. Overall I think both the Grip and Clip 5 are good for like a 4 person get together, they’re both great options for the shower and therye both great options for bike rides or hikes. Where as with the Go 4, I think this is good for podcasts.
But when it comes to sound quality, since none of these speakers have an additional tweeter like you’ll find on the Flip 7… all of these speakers lean towards a warmer sound signature… and the Grip does have a little more bass than the Clip 5 cause it has dual passive radiators instead of just one… however the bass on the Clip 5 is still impressive cause the bass on this speaker will bounce off any surface its sitting on. So when it comes to sound performance, the Clip 5 and Grip are neck and neck, with the Grip you’re going to get a little more volume… but honestly I dont think its enough to justify getting the Grip over the Clip 5.
But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers. Now with all of these speakers if you have two of the exact same speakers then you can wirelessly pair them up and get them to play in left and right stereo mode, but they have to be two of the exact same speakers.
Now all of these speakers are also using aura cast so you can pair them up to any other aura cast speaker like lets say a Boombox 4, a charge 6, flip 7, Grip, clip 5 or go 4 and get them to all play in sync… or you can also pair them up to any of JBL’s larger party boxes that are also using aura cast like a partybox encore 2, partybox 120, 320, 520, 720 or ultimate and get them to play in sync as well.
However, you can not pair any of these speakers up to any of JBL’s older speakers that are using party boost like either a Boombox 3, a Boombox 2, Xtreme 3, Charge 5, Pulse 5, Pulse 4, flip 5 or flip 6. Only the Xtreme 4 is able to connect to both Aura cast speakers and partyboost speakers. Nonetheless, if you are planning on growing your collection of speakers, than any of these speakers are good options, but if you have an older party boost speaker, you won’t be able to connect it up to your new Aura cast speaker.
But with all of that being said, the JBL Grip performs well, but for me it is hard to justify over the Clip 5… with the Clip 5, this speaker sounds and gets almost as loud as the JBL Grip… while being smaller and more portable thanks to its built in carabiner. And even though the Clip 5 is smaller, its battery life is super there with the Grip. Honestly, I just prefer the Clip 5 over the Grip cause sounds just as good, its form factor is more versatile and its more affordable as well.