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Anker 7 In 1 Base: https://geni.us/GC-Anker100WBase
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Soundcore Boom Go 3i: https://geni.us/GC-SoundcoreBoomGO3i
JBL Flip 7: https://geni.us/GC-JBLFlip7
JBL Grip: https://geni.us/GC-JBLGrip
Personally I think the JBL Grip is pretty odd, its not as versatile or as portable as the JBL Clip 5 and it doesn’t sound as good as the JBL Flip 7. And the JBL Grip also has a built in light feature which I feel is pointless cause you can’t see it from the front. But still, the JBL Grip is marketed as something to consider if you’re looking for something small and durable. But instead today we’re going to compare the JBL Grip to the Soundcore Boom Go 3i which I feel is a lot more versatile, and we’re also going to compare it to the JBL Flip 7 which is a step up over these other two speakers.
Regarding pricing, the JBL Grip has a retail price of $100, which is a lot, but it can be found on sale for $70, not bad, but still a little hard to justify. Cause with the Soundcore Boom Go 3i, this speaker has a retail price price of $80 but it already likes to go on sale for $60. Not bad at all. But then there’s the JBL Flip 7 which has a retail price of $150 and sometimes it goes on sale for around $120, but the Flip 7 is in a different league. 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 watch some of the related videos in the description down below.
So first there’s the design of these speakers, now both the Flip 7 and Grip are cylinders and the grip is a little smaller than the Flip 7. But honestly I think the size difference here is negligible. You’re going to be able to easily place these speakers in your water bottle holders in either your back pack or on your bike… but if you’re going to try to attach them to something, you’re going to have to get a little creative. Cause with the Grip, it has a loop but you really can’t do much with this loop. Where as with the Flip 7, it also has a loop, but more importantly you can swap out this loop for a carabeaner. But still you’re going to have to get creative if you’re going to attach this speaker to something. Where as with the Soundcore Boom Go 3i, first off this speaker is shaped like a puck… so you can’t slip it into your water bottle holder as easily… however this speaker does have a rub strap on the back. And thanks to this strap, its going to be super easy to attach this speaker to your backpack strap or bike handle bars without needing to get any extra equipment. So when it comes to attach ability, the Soundcore easily wins here.
However I will admit that both of JBL’s speakers feel more premium cause they have fabric wrapped bodies, where as the Soundcore has a mostly plastic body. However this plastic feels very dense, so the Soundcore is still super durable, and all of these speakers are water proof, so you don’t have to worry about them getting wet. But nonetheless, all of these speakers are doable and portable… but I do feel that the Soundcore Boom Go 3i is the most versatile speaker here cause its much easier to attach this speaker to things without needing any extra equipment needing to get creative like you would with either of JBL’s speakers.
But something that’s very surprising about the the Soundcore Boom Go 3i is that this speaker also has a built in light feature. Now this light feature looks good and you can choose from a few diffrent lighting modes… but I actually really like this light feature cause it makes this speaker more versatile cause you can use it at night while you’re jogging or ridding your bike, and other people can see you. So this is one of those rare cases where the light feature isn’t just for looks, its actually pretty useful for safety. Now, the JBL Grip also has a light feature, but I feel that this light feature is pointless because first off, its on the back of this speaker so you can’t actually see it all that much. But more importantly, this light feature isn’t as dynamic as Soundcore’s. The lighting modes are limited and even the colors. However just like the Soundcore, you can use this light feature for night time safety… but overall this light feature isn’t as impressive as Soundcore’s.
However, if you decide to use the light feature on this speaker, that is going to take its toll on the battery life. Now the soundcore Boom Go 3i has an advertised battery life of 24 hours… which I feel is great, but that with this speaker playing wit the light feature turned off, with the volume set to 50% and with the bass up feature turned on. Which I do feel is fair, cause 50% volume on this speaker is a decent volume… and bass up means you’re going to get a good amount of bass.
And soundcore claims that if you were to use this speaker with the light feature feature turned on, and at max volume and with bass up turned on, its going to be good for 6 hours of playback time, which again is very impressive. And with my real world use with this speaker playing at 75% volume, and with the light turned on, and with the bass up turned on, I’ve been getting 12 hours of playback time.
But also, this speaker has an eco mode… now eco mode is going to turn off your light feature and its going to lower your bass… but at 50% volume, its going to be good for up to 40 hours. So overall, battery life on this speaker really varies, but its still very impressive for its compact size, plus its super durable… and they even managed to squeeze in a decent light feature, its important to say decent light feature… cause there are some other speakers out there with pointless light features. JBL Grip, JBL Boombox 4.
Where as with the Grip, this speaker has an advertised battery life of 12 hours and the Flip 7 has an advertised battery life of 14 hours. And with both of these speakers you can also extend their battery lives with playtime boost by about 2 hours, but that’s going to severely reduce your bass. But real world use with both of these speakers playing at 80% volume, the grip is good for about 6 hours of playback time, and the flip 7 is good for about 8 hours of playback time.
But then there’s the USB C port on the speakers, and they’re actually very different. Now the USB C port on the Grip is strictly used for charging, and that’s it. Where as with the Flip 7, you can also use its USB C port as a wired connection so that you can get lossless audio. Now that’s nice and all, but with the Soundcore Boom Go 3i, you can use its USB C port to charge your own devices. Now you’re not going to be able to full charge your iPhone… but if you need an emergency 50% than the Soundcore can help. So again, this speakers is a great versatile option for someone looking for something to hike with. Cause not only do you have your light feature so people can see you at night, you have an emergency battery bank, and I think its nice and all that the Flip 7 allows you to use a wired connection, but I think being able to charge your phone in an emergency is more important.
But when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, all of these speakers can be connected to any two bluetooth devices so you and a friend can both be DJ and latency is not an issue for any of these speakers so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone.
But now lets talk about sound, when it comes to speaker set ups, all of these speakers are fairly different. The Soudncore Boom Go 3i has a frontward firing driver and passive radiators that shoot out the front and back of this speaker. Where as with the Grip, this speaker has a single frontward firing driver and it has dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. And honestly, the Grip is like a JBL Flip 5. And then there’s the Flip 7 which has a more premium speaker set up cause it has a frontward firing driver, a frontward firing tweeter and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. And thanks to the woofer and tweeter setup found on the FLIp 7, its going to have better instrument seperation cause the woofer is going to handle the mids and the tweeter is going to handle the highs, like this.
So like you may have just seen, the woofer handles the mids and the tweeter handles the highs, so that going to help the Flip 7 sound more open than these other two speakers. But now we’re going to jump into the soundtest. All of these speakers are playing at 75% volume with their stock EQ.
So when it comes to sound quality, both the JBL Grip and JBL Flip 7 sound better than the Soundcore Boom Go 3i. Both the Grip and Flip 7 sound more open and the both have more bass than the Soundcore Boom Go 3i. But with the Flip 7, this speaker does have a lot more bass than these other two speakers cause it does have the largest passive radiators here, and its also sounds the most open thank to its Woofer and tweeter set up. Where as with the Soundcore, this speaker does sound the most narrow and the most nasally by comparison. Now don’t get me wrong, the Soundcore Boom Go 3i sounds good and its great for outdoor use, but with both of JBL’s speaker you are going to get a noticeably better sound.
But when it comes to max volume performance, the Soundcore does get a little louder than the JBL Grip cause it does leans towards a brighter sound signature… but the JBL Flip 7 does get noticeably louder than the Soundcore Boom Go 3i. But overall, the Soundcore Boom Go 3i sounds good and it gets decently loud. But with both of JBL’s speakers, you are going to get Noticeably better sound quality. But with the Soundcore Boom Go 3i, this speaker isn’t about just sound, some people will forgo the improved sound quality for the extra features that just aren’t found on these JBL speakers.
And finally there’s pairing these speakers up with other speaker. Now all of these speakers are using aura cast. So if you want you can get two of the same speakers and get them to play in left and right stereo mode. Or if you want you can pair a Grip with Flip 7 and get them to play in sync… or you can even pair them up with any of JBL’s other larger speakers that are also using aura cast 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. But none the less if you’re planning on growing your collection of speakers, then JBL is a good option to consider.
Where as with the Soundcore Boom Go 3i, even though this speaker is also using Auracast, I haven’t been able to pair it up to any of my JBL speakers. And you can’t pair this speaker up to any of Soundcore’s older speakers that are using Partycast like either the Boom 3i, or the Boom 2 or Boom 2 plus… the only other Soudncore aura cast speaker that I have been able to connect this speaker up to its the Rave 3S, which is pretty under rated.
But with all of that being said, both the JBL Grip and JBL Flip 7 sound noticeably better than the Soundcore Boom Go 3i. They sound more open and the have more bass. Both of JBL’s speakers are also the better option if you’re thinking about growing your collection of speakers. However for me its hard to justify the Grip cause its a wired middle child between the Clip 5 and Flip 7. And with the Flip 7, this speaker better sound better than the Soundcore Boom Go 3i just given its price. But personally, I think the Soundcore Boom Go 3i is the best speakers here to consider if you’re looking for something to constantly travel with. Cause not only does this speaker sound more than good enough, its has features that these JBL speakers just don’t have like being much easier to attach to things, it also has a much longer lasting battery life, it also has a light feature that’s actually worth using and it can be useful for night time safety. And you can also use this speaker as an emergency battery bank. The only issue that I have with the Boom Go 3i is that you can’t pair it up to the Soundcore Boom 3i or the Boom 2 or Boom 2 Plus.