So this is the JBL Charge 6 and there are some notable upgrades both on the outside and on the inside. And in general, the JBL Charge 5 has been my favorite mid sized speaker to recommend for the last 3 years or so. So today we’re going to see what the JBL Charge 6 is all about, and we’re going to see if its worth upgrading if you already have the JBL Charge 5… or maybe you even might still have the JBL Charge 4 which was also a pretty solid mid sized speaker.
So first theres pricing, and unfortunately the JBL Charge 6 has gotten a noticeable price bump. The JBL Charge 6 has a retail price of $200… which is pretty up there especially when you take into consideration that the Charge 5 had a retail price of $180 when it first came out and the Charge 4 had a retail price of $150… those were the days. Nonetheless if you want to pick any of these speakers up they’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button, and if you want to further support the channel then you can always pick up some merch.
So first theres the design of this speaker. Now the Charge 6 is a mid sized speaker and its very similar to the Charge 5. Except they have rearranged the button lay out which isn’t super important to be honest. However, what is important here is that the feet on the Charge 6 have been completely reworked, the rubber feet on the Charge 6 are a lot more durable this time around. And this is a big deal cause with the Charge 5, these rubber feet are glued on, and with very lite traveling, these feet will easily peel off. But another big upgrade on the Charge 6 is that you can now attach a carrying handle to this speaker, and this carrying strap has two positions. The only thing is, is just feel that this Pleather loop is such a hassle to put on and take off, I just really wish that JBL used clips like they did with the Xtreme 4. Nonetheless, I really like that the Charge 6 is easier to carry around and you can now more easily attach it to things if you want.
But besides that, everything else is the same, the Charge 6 is rocking an IP68 rating so its both dirt and water proof, and it has a mostly fabric body so its going to be able to stand up to constant abuse from bumps and scrapes. The only thing that I do have to point out here is, the USB C port on this speaker is exposed… now you can throw your Charge 6 into the pool and its going to be fine… however before you can charge it up again you gotta let it air dry. So if you ever try to charge this speaker and your indicator light is blinking read, dont worry, its not broken, just let it dry.
But then theres the battery life on this speaker, and this is another big upgrade. The Charge 6 has an advertised battery life of 24 hours, which is a 4 hour upgrade over its predecessors cause both the Charge 5 and Charge 4 had a battery life of 20 hours. And with Playtime boost, the Charge 6 is going to have an advertised battery life of 28 hours. However, all playtime boost does is that it lowers the bass on this speaker, so its not going to sound as impressive. So for the best sound quality, you want to use it with playtime boost turned off.
But real world use with all of these speakers playing at 80% volume, they’re all going to be good for like 10 hours of playback time. However, 80% volume on the Charge 6 is a little louder and it has a little more bass than its predecessors. So with the Charge 6, you’ll probably end up using it at a slightly lower volume than you would with the Charge 5 and you’ll end up extending its battery life that way.
And like I mentioned earlier, the charge 6 charges via a USB C port, as it should. Just keep in mind that this speaker does not come included with a USB C cable in the box… which I dont think is cool. But more importantly you can just use your phone’s charger to charge it up. And this is the only port that you’ll find on this speaker, the Charge 6 no longer has a USB A port like the Charge 5 does and it doesn’t have an audio jack like the Charge 4 does.
However, this USB C port on the Charge 6 is a lot cooler than the USB C on these other two speakers cause you can use this USB C port to charge your own devices and you can also use this USB C port as a wired connection. So battery life on the charge 6 has been upgraded and you can use this upgraded battery to charge your phone up where ever you are.
And when it comes to connectivity, things are pretty standard here, this speaker can be connected to two devices at the same time so you and a friend can be DJ and latency is not an issue for this speaker so you can use it to watch video with on your phone.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set up, the charge 6 is rocking the same speaker set up as the Charge 5. Both of these speakers have a frontward firing woofer, a frontward firing tweeter and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. Where as with the Charge 4, this speaker has a single frontward firing woofer and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. And the woofer and the tweeter set up on the Charge 6 and Charge 5 is a big deal cause the woofer handles the mids and the tweeter handles the highs like this.
Tweeter demo
So like you may have just seen, the woofer handles the mids and the tweeter handles the highs. And this is just going to help your music sound a lot more open and its going to have much better instrument separation. And in 2025, this speaker set is mostly reserved for your more premium speakers, where as more adorable speakers are still rocking a dual woofer set up. And finally the charge 6 connects to JBL app, just like how you can with the Charge 5 and you can either choose from a few premade EQ’s or you can make your own. But now we’re going to go ahead and jump into the sound test. All of these speakers are playing at 75% volume, they’re all running this stock EQ’s and they are all unplugged.
Sound test
So like you may have just heard, the both the Charge 6 and Charge 5 sound a lot more open than the Charge 4 thanks to the woofer and tweeter set up. But also, both the Charge 6 and Charge 5 have more bass than the Charge 4. Simply put, if you have the Charge 4, upgrading to either the Charge 5 or Charge 6, you’re going to get a noticeable sound improvement just cause both of these speakers have a woofer and tweeter set up. But if you’re going from the Charge 5 to the Charge 6… the main performance difference that you’re going to notice is going to be max volume performance. The Charge 6 gets noticeably louder than these other two speakers. I think the charge 5 gets decently loud for its size… but I am genuinely impressed by how loud the Charge 6 gets for its size. However, even though the Charge 6 gets super loud… I have noticed that at those higher volumes, some distortion comes in. Now JBL claims that through the use of AI Sound Boost you’re not going to get any distortion, but in my experience I have noticed that at higher volumes the highs can get a little crakelly on occasion. But regardless if you use the Charge 6 at 90% volume its going to be super loud. And also keep in mind, if you were to use the Charge 6 while its plugged in, you’re not going to get a performance boost out of it like you would with the Xtreme 4. But overall, the Charge 6 sounds good thanks to its woofer and tweeter set up, and it gets louder than the Charge 5. Just be warned that at those higher volumes the highs might distort a little bit.
But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers. Now the JBL Charge 4 is using JBL Connect plus, which is a very old speaker pairing protocol which is only going to work with JBL older speakers that are using JBL Connect plus like the Original boombox or the flip 4 or the pulse 3. Basically speakers that you cant get anymore.
Where as the JBL Charge 5 is using JBL Partyboost so you can pair it up to other Partyboost speakers like either a Boombox 3 a Boombox 2, Xtreme 3, Xtreme 4, Charge 5, Pulse 5, Pulse 4, Flip 5 to flip 6. Now you can either get two of the same speakers together and get them to play in left and right stereo mode or you can pair up to 100 speakers together and get them to play in sync.
But then theres the JBL Charge 6 which is using Auracast… so you can pair it up to other aura cast speakers like either another Charge 5 or to an Xtreme 4, a Flip 7, a clip 5 or a go 4. And again if you have 2 of the same speakers you can get them to play in left and right stereo mode or you can pair up to 100 speakers together that are also using aura cast and get them to play in sync.
But unfortunately, for right now, you can not wirelessly connect your JBL Charge 6 to your JBL Charge 5 and get them to play sync. And if you’re paying attention, you may have noticed that the Xtreme 4 is the only speaker here that connects to both Auracast speakers and Partyboost speaker. The Xtreme 4 can live in both worlds, which is think is great. However none of these other Auracast speakers are able to do this. Now I dont know if these other aura cast speakers will get upgraded in the future… but for right now, you can’t connect your charge 6 to your older party boost speakers.
However, since the JBL Charge 6 is using aura cast… the cool thing is that you can connect this speaker to JBL’s newer partybox speakers that are also using aura cast like either the Partybox Encore 2,120, 320, 520 and Ultimate… where as this is something that you just cant do with JBL’s older speakers that are using party boost.
So if you’re planning on growing your collection of speakers, then you do want to go with the Charge 6 cause it has Auracast, it looks like JBL is going to be using Auracast here on out… plus you can connect your JBL speakers to non JBL speakers that are also using aura cast.
But with all of that being said, the JBL Charge 6 has some very important upgrades that are actually pretty compelling even if you have a JBL Charge 5. Personally, I really like that the Charge 6 has a longer lasting battery… and you can now charge your own devices with its USB C port… the USB A port on the Charge 5 just didn’t cut it. Plus you can use the USB C port as a wired connection. The Charge 6 also now has that built in carrying handle, which I think is a really nice touch, I just hate how difficult it is to put on and take off. The Charge 6 also gets louder than both the Charge 5 and Charge 4, but I feel that sometimes the highs can get a little distorted if you listen closely. And the Charge 6 is now using Auracast, so if you have a Partybox, you can sync it up. Overall, the JBL Charge 6 is a great mid sized speaker that you cant go wrong with and JBL added important upgrades that makes it more useful and portable. The only thing is, you are going to have to pay a larger premium for this speaker.