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Soundcore Boom Go 3i: https://geni.us/GC-SoundcoreBoomGO3i
JBL Go 5: https://geni.us/GC-JBLGo5
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 Soundcore Boom Go 3i, which is a speaker that gives you a very big bang for your buck and its very versatile as well.
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. Where as with the Soundcore boom go 3i this speaker has a retail price of $80, but it does like to go on sale for $60. Either way, I feel this speaker gives you a big bang for your buck. 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 also hit the subscribe button.
So first there’s the design of these speakers, and they are very different from one another. Now the JBL Go 5 is smaller than the Soundcore, plus it also feels more premium cause this speaker has a fabric wrapped body, so bumps and scrapes aren’t going to show up as easily. Where as with the Soundcore, it has a plastic body, but this is a very dense plastic. Nonetheless both of these speakers feel very durable and they are both water proof so they are great options to take on the go with you. However, with the Soundcore Boom Go 3i, this speaker has much better attach ability than the JBL Go 5 cause it has a rubber strap on the back. So you can easily attach this speaker to your back pack strap or you can just was easily attach it to your bike handle bar and you can also hang it from something, all without needing any extra equipment. Where as with the Go 5, this speaker has a loop, and well this loop isn’t as versatile cause its not elastic. Personally I think JBL should have included a crabeaner with the Go 5 instead of adding a light feature.
But 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.
Now a new feature on the JBL Go 5 is that it now has a built in light feature, and though JBL’s app you can go in and choose from a few different lighting modes. However this light feature pales in comparison to the Soundcore Boom Go 3i, and in general, JBL has been adding pretty pointless light features on their new portable Bluetooth speakers. However, the light features on both the JBL Go 5 and Soundcore Boom Go 3i can also be useful for safety, cause you can use them to let people know where you are if you’re walking at night or ridding your scooter. However, with the Soundcore Boom Go 3i, this light feature is simply more vibrant and more impressive.
But when it comes to battery life, these two speaker are very different from one another. The JBL Go 5 has an advertised battery life of 10 hours… however that’s with its playtime boost turned on which is going to severely reduce your bass. For the best sound quality, you want to use it with its playtime boost turned off and then its going to have an advertised battery life of 8 hours.
Where as with the Soundcore Boom Go 3i, it has an advertised battery life of 24 hours… which I feel is great, but that’s 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. So overall, the Soundcore Boom Go 3i has a much better battery life than the JBL go 5.
Now both of these speakers charge via a USB C port, as they should. But another thing that makes the Soudncore Boom Go 3i special here is being all to charge your own devices. Now this speaker isn’t going to be able to fully charge your iPhone… but if you need an emergency 50%, then the Soundcore Boom Go 3i can help with that. 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 as well.
Now you can only use these speakers with a Bluetooth connection, but both 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 with all of that out of the way, lets talk about sound. When it comes to speaker set up, both of these speaker have a frontward firing transducer and they both have passive radiators. And through their apps you can go in and either choose from a few premade EQ’s or you can make your own. But now we’re going to jump into a soundtest, both of these speakers are playing at 75% volume wit their Stock EQ’s.
So like you may have just heard, these two speakers sound and perform very differently from one another. Now in general, I think the SOundcore Boom go 3i leans towards a slightly brighter sound signature than the JBL go 5, cause the highs aren’t as over emphasized like with the Soundcore. But other than that, the Souncore Boom Go 3i gets louder and has more bass than the JBL Go 5. With the JBL go 5, this speaker at 50% volume is good for like ambiance, but you’re most likely going to have to use this speaker at max volume on a regular basis if you’re going to use this speaker while you’re in the shower, or if you’re ridding your bike or if you’re cleaning the house. Where as with the Soundcore Boom Go 3i, this speaker gets noticeably louder than the JBL, and I think that 80% volume is a decent volume for this speaker if you’re using it while you’re ridding your bike. But again, with the Soundcore Boom go 3i, this speaker is giving you a bigger bang for your buck than the JBL Go 5.
But finally lets talk about paring these speakers up with other speaker. Now with both of these speakers if you have 2 of the exact same speakers then you can pair them up in stero mode, but they have to be 2 of the exact same speakers. You can not stereo pair a JBL Go5 with a Go 4.
Now both of these speakers are using auracast, however you can not pair these soundcore speaker with any of these JBL speakers. With the Soundcore Boom Go 3i, you can pair it up to the Soundcore Rave 3S cause both of these speakers are using aura cast… but more importantly, you can not connect the Boom go 3i up to lets say a Soundcore Boom 2, Boom 2 plus or Boom 3i cause these speakers are using party up.
Where as with the JBL Go 5, you can pair it 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 or Clip 5 up to any of JBL’s older speakers that are using party boost. But overall, if you are planning on growing your collection of speakers, then JBL go 5 is the better option here.
But with all of that being said, the JBL Go 5 is portable, it feels premium and its a great option if you plan on growing your collection of speakers. However I feel that the Soundcore Boom Go 3i gives you a much bigger bang for your buck and its more versatile as well. The Soundcore Boom go 3i gets louder and it has more bass. It also has a much longer lasting battery life. Plus with the Soundcore you can use it as an emergency battery bank and thanks to the strap on the back, is much easier to attach this speaker to lets say your bike handles bars without needing any extra equipment. And finally the Soudncore Boom go 3i has a better looking light feature which can be useful for night time safety if you’re riding your bike at night.