Get Them Here
⚡️🔋 Anker Nano: https://geni.us/GC-AnkerNano
JBL Go 5: https://geni.us/GC-JBLGo5
JBL Go 4: https://geni.us/GC-JBLGo4
So just like the JBL Xtreme 5, the JBL Go 5 is here much sooner than I expected. And when compared to the JBL Go 4, the JBL go 5 is larger, its louder and it also have a built in light feature. Overall, the JBL go 5 gets the job done, but today we’re going to check it out and we’re going to compare it to the JBL go 4 and lets see if its worth it to you to upgrade.
Regarding pricing, the JBL Go 5 has a retail price of $55, which is pretty up there for a speaker of this size and it is a price increase when compared to the JBL Go 4 which has a retail price of $50. Nonetheless I do expect both of these speakers to go on sale on a regular basis, so if you want to pick either of these two 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 and you can always press the subscribe button as well.
So first there’s the design of these speakers, now both of these speakers are very small, so they are very easy to take on the go with you. You can either throw them into your back pack or bag’s water bottle holder, or even just throw them into your hoodies pocket. However, the Go 5 is a little larger and it is a little heavier than the Go 4, probably to accommodate the larger battery. But other than than, both of these speakers are the same, they both have fabric wrapped bodies so they feel premium and they’re very durable, both of these speakers are water resistant so you can take them to the pool and not worry about them, and the rubber surfaces on these speakers are very well glued or intergraded, so you don’t have to worry bout them falling off like with some of JBL’s older speakers like the clip 4. But the thing that I don’t like about the Go speakers is their loop. Their loops are very small and they aren’t all that elastic. So attaching these speakers to things isn’t super easy when compared to other speakers out there. Now yes you can attach a carabieaner, but I think JBL should start including carabeaners with their Go speakers instead of slapping on a light feature.
Now another thing to keep in mind with the durability of these speakers is their USB C port, these USB C ports are exposed, and if you plan on taking these speakers to the beach or pool on a regular basis and you know that they are going to get wet, before you can charge them, they have to be dry first, or else your indicator light is going to start blinking. I feel that if you’re looking for a speaker for the pool, maybe you’ll might want to look at something that has a grommet for the ports, plus with these exposed USB C ports, you do run the risk of corrosion.
But then there’s the light feature on this speaker, like I mentioned earlier, I would have preferred a carabeaner over this light feature. Now through JBL’s app you can go in and choose from a few different lighting modes. And personally I don’t think that this light feature is all that impressive and its not color changing. But at least it can be somewhat useful cause if you have this speaker hanging from your backpack at night, then at least people can see you if you’re walking on the street or riding your scooter. But overall, I think JBL is adding very pointless light features to their new speakers.
But when it comes to battery life, JBL claims that this speaker has an advertised batter life of 10 hours, which sounds great, however that with this speaker playing with its playtime boost turned on, which is going to severely reduce its bass. For the best sound quality you want to use this speaker with play time boost turned off, and at which point this speaker is going to have an advertised battery life of 8 hours, which is still okay for its size and it is an hour increase over the Go4. But this 8 hours of playback time is with this speaker playing at 50% volume, which is a decent listening volume for its size and it is louder than 50% volume on the Go 4.
But real world use with this speaker playing at max volume, and lets be honest, you’re going to have to use this speaker at max volume if you’re using it in the shower or if you’re riding your bike, than the Go 5 is good for about 4 hours of play back time. But overall, the Go 5 has an upgraded battery over the go 4 which lasts about an hour longer.
And to charge these speakers, like I mentioned earlier, they charge via a USB C port as they should. However the Go 5 does not come included with a USB C cable. Which is a big deal cause the Go 4 does come included with a USB C port. And again, I would prefer a USB C port over a light feature on the Go5. And this USB C port is strictly used for chargning, you can not use this USB C port as a wired connection and you can’t use it to charge your own devices, and given this speaker’s size, I think that okay.
So with this speaker you can only use it wirelessly, now this speaker 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 this speaker so you can use it to watch vides with on your phone and when it comes to audio codecs, this speaker has support for SBC, AAC and LC3. But don’t worry about it, AAC is perfectly fine.
Now when it comes to speaker set ups, both of these speakers are the same, they have single front ward firing transducers and passive radiators that shoot out the front and out the back of these speakers. The main difference is, the JBL Go 5 can put out 4.8 watts where as the Go4 can put out 4.2 watts, which means the Go 5 can get louder and it has more bass. And through JBL’s app you can also go in and choose from a few EQ’s or you can make your own, but now we’re going to jump into the sound test, both of these speakers are playing at 75% volume with their Stock EQ.
So like you may have just seen, these two speakers sound very similar to one another, which is to be expected, but the main difference here is that the Go 5 gets louder and it has more bass. Now this max volume performance is noticeable, but in general, the Go 5 is at 50% volume is going to be good for lisnteing to podcasts with while you’re at home or playing some music for ambiance… but if you want to use this speaker while you’re in the shower, or while you’re riding your bike or if you’re cleaning the house, then you are going to have to use this speaker at max volume. But overall, the JBL go 5 is a good sounding speaker that puts an emphasis on the mids so vocals are well pronounced and the bass comes in when it has to.
But finally lets talk about pairing this speaker up with other speakers, now the Go 5 now has Air touch… which looks like a new feature, but its JBL’s new name for stereo pairing if you have 2 JBL go 5’s. And in order to stereo pair your speakers, you have to have 2 of the same speakers, you can’t stereo pair a Go 5 with a Go 4.
Now both of these speakers are using auracast, so you can pair them up together and get them to play in sync, or you can also pair them up to a Boombox 4 an Xtreme 4 or a Grip or to a clip or flip 7, charge 6 or Xtreme 5 and get them to all play in sync, and you can even pair them up to any of JBL’s larger party boxes that also have aura cast like lets say a Partybox encore 2, or to a Partybox 120, 320, 520, 720 or ultimate. But unfortunalty, you can not connect your JBL Go 5 up to any of JBL’s older speakers that are suing party boost. But overall, if you are planning on growing your collection of speakers, then JBL is a great option.
But with all of that being said, the JBL Go 5 is an incremental upgrade over the JBL Go 4. The Go 5 gets louder and it has more bass, plus it also has a slightly longer battery life. Now the light feature is not all that impressive, but for the Go 5, it can be useful for safety cause if you have it attached to your back pack, then it can work for safety if you’re walking at night or if you’re ridding your scooter. However I do wish that this speaker had a more elastic loop, or came included with a carabeaner, and unfortunately, there is no more USB C cable included.