So the soundcore boom 3i is a super durable bluetooth speaker that gives you a very big bang for your buck. Its soundcore’s first small sized speaker that has a woofer and tweeter set up, it has a built in light feature, its super durable, and it doesn’t just float in water… it floats right side up so you can still hear your music. I think the Soundcore Boom 3i is a very imrepssive speaker, but today we’re going to compare it with both the JBL Flip 7 and the sony ULT field 1
Regarding pricing, the JBL Flip 7 has a retail price of $150, the Soundcore Boom 3i has a retail price of $140 and the Sony ULT field 1 has a retail price of $130 but all of these speakers like to go on sale on a regular basis. 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 watch some of the related videos in the description below.
So first theres the design of these speakers, now all of these speakers are smaller sized speakers, and therye all super easy to take on the go with you. However something the boom 3i does have going for it is that it has a shoulder strap… now this speaker doesn’t need a shoulder strap, but its still very nice to have. Plus with this shoulder strap you can easily attach it or hang it from something. Where as with the JBL Flip 7, this speaker has a loop or you can switch it out for a carabiner. Its useful, and it gets the job done, but its not as versatile. And then theres the sony, this speaker has a larger loop or you can use it as a carrying handle. So I feel the Sony is a little more versatile than then JBL. Nonetheless, all of these speakers are great options if you’re looking for something to take on the go with you.
Now when it comes materials, both the JBL and Sony has a mostly fabric wrapped body, they’re super durable, but the Soundcore Boom 3i has a super dense plastic outer shell, making it more durable than these other two speakers, however, the boom 3i doesn’t feel as premium… but I dont think that matters too much. Now all of these speakers are water proof, which is great, but the thing that really makes the soundcore boom 3i special here is that this speaker always floats right side up… which means if you were to use this speaker in the pool or in a calm lake… you’re actually still going to be able to hear your music. Now your music isn’t going to sound perfect… but its still usable.
But also, the Soundcore Boom 3i has a built in light feature, but more importantly, this light feature actually looks good and it has a decent flooding affect. And this is something that these other two speakers just dont have. So if you want a light feature for some reason, then the Boom 3i has one thats actually worth using. However if you do decide to use this light feature, that is going to take it toll on the battery life.
Now when it comes to battery life, the Soundcore Boom 3i has an advertised battery life of 16 hours, where as the JBL Flip 7 has an advertised battery life of 14 hours and the Sony ULT field 1 has an advertised battery life of 12 hours… however, this advertised battery life of 16 hours on the Soundcore is with it playing at 50% Volume and with the light feature turned off and with its bass up feature turned off as well.
But real world use with this speaker playing at 80% Volume and with the light feature turned on and with the bass up feature turned on… its good for about 6 hours of playback time. But if you were to use it with its light feature turned off, then its good for about 8 hours of playback time, which is in line with both the JBL and Sony. So even though that light feature looks good and I think its great for camping, it does take its toll.
But all of these speakers charge via a USB C port as they should, however you cant use the USB C port on any of these speakers to charge your own devices, but with the JBL Flip 7, you can use this USB C port as a wired connection if you want… where as with these other two speakers, you can only use them wirelessly. But when it comes to Bluetooth connectivity, all of these speakers can be connected to two devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ and latency isn’t an issue for any of these speakers so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. When it comes to speaker set up, all of these speakers have a frontward firing woofer a frontward firing tweeter and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. And this is a big deal for the Soundcore Boom 3i cause this is the first small sized speaker from soundcore that has this set up. Cause for the past 3 or so years, this type of speaker set up has been reserved for your more premium speaker brands like Sony and JBL. And this tweeter and woofer set up is a big deal cause this helps with overall instrument separation, like this.
Tweeter demo
So like you may have just seen, the woofer handles the mids and the tweeter handles the highs, so this just helps with overall instrument separation and openness. And like I said, I expect this type of speaker setup for sony and JBL, but this is new for soundcore. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test, all of these speakers are playing at 75% volume with their stock EQ’s.
Sound test
So when it comes to sound quality, I think all of these speakers sound good, however they do sound different from one another. With the Soundcore Boom 3i, the instrument separation isn’t as good as these other two speakers and the bass doesn’t hit as hard as these other two speakers. The JBL flip 7 does sound better than the Soundcore Boom 3i… but the JBL Flip 7 does lean towards a brighter sound signature, where as the Sony sounds the most balanced here cause the highs aren’t as empshised, and the bass hits a little harder. So overall, the soundcore boom 3i does a great job of keeping up with these other twos speakers, but both the JBL and Sony sound more open, and I feel that the Sony is the best sounding speaker here. And when it comes to max volume performance, all of the speakers are good for like a 5 person get together.
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, and with the Sony, thats it, you can’t connect it up with any other sony speakers unfortunately.
Where as with the Soudncore Boom 3i, this speaker is using Partycast 2.0 so you can pair it up with other speakers that are also using Partycast 2.0 like either the Soundcore Boom 2 or Soundcore Boom 2 Plus and get them to play in sync.
But then theres the JBL which is using aura cast, so you can pair it up to other aura cast speakers like lets say the JBL Charge 6, Xtreme 4, JBL Boombox 4, Flip 7, Clip 5 or Go 4 and get them to play in sync as well. But you can also pair it up to any of JBL’s Partybox’es that are also using Aura Cast like the Partybox Encore 2, Partybox 120, 320, 520, 720 or ultimate and get them to play in sync as well.
Just keep in mind that you cant connect this JBL speaker to any of JBL’s older speakers that are using Partyboost like lets say the JBL Boombox 3, Boombox 2, Xtreme 3, Charge 5, Pulse 5, Pulse 4 or to a flip 6 or Flip 5. But if you are planning on growing your collection of speakers then you do want to go with the JBL Flip 7 here.
But with all of that being said, I really like the Soundcore Boom 3i and this is a very easy speaker to recommend if you’re looking for something durable and portable. The included shoulder strap is a very nice plus the makes this speaker more versatile. That fact that this speaker always floats up right is very neat, and it has a decent looking light feature. This speaker gives you a very big bang for your buck. However when it comes to sound quality, both the JBL Flip 7 and Sony ULT field 1 do sound better than the Soundcore Boom 3i. They sound more open and balanced. And I think that if you’re looking for the best sound, you should go with the Sony ULT field 1, or if you’re looking to grow your collection of speakers, then you do want to go with the JBL Flip 7.