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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

JBL Boombox 2 vs JBL Charge 5

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

JBL Boombox 2
JBL Charge 5

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 05, 2024 07:05 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Apr 14, 2025 08:40 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
JBL Boombox 2 Picture
JBL Charge 5 Picture
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Speakerphone
No
Voice Assistant
No
Battery Powered
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Speakerphone
No
Voice Assistant
No
Battery Powered
Yes
  1. Recommended in 1 article:
  2. JBL

Variants

  • Boombox 2 (Black)
  • Boombox 2 (Camo)
  • JBL Charge 5 (Black)
  • JBL Charge 5 (Blue)
  • JBL Charge 5 (Camo)
  • JBL Charge 5 (Gray)
  • JBL Charge 5 (Green)
  • JBL Charge 5 (Pink)
  • JBL Charge 5 (Red)
  • JBL Charge 5 (Teal)
  • JBL Charge 5 (White)

Review

See JBL Boombox 2 Review
See JBL Charge 5 Review
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Our Verdict

JBL Boombox 2

JBL Charge 5

The JBL Boombox 2 is a better speaker than the JBL Charge 5. The Boombox 2 can produce deeper bass and can get louder than the Charge 5. It can also play stereo content without downmixing it to mono. The Charge 5 is smaller and more portable than the Boombox 2. It's also better built with an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning it's dust-tight and immersible in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes.

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Black
Boombox 2
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Black
JBL Charge 5
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Camo
Boombox 2
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Camo
JBL Charge 5
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Blue
JBL Charge 5
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Gray
JBL Charge 5
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Green
JBL Charge 5
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Pink
JBL Charge 5
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Red
JBL Charge 5
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Teal
JBL Charge 5
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White
JBL Charge 5
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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

7.3
6.5

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.2
6.7

Soundstage 
 

7.2
5.8

Dynamics 
 

7.5
6.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

JBL Boombox 2 Style Photo
JBL Charge 5 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

8.2
9.1

Dimensions Photo  

JBL Boombox 2 Dimensions Photo
JBL Charge 5 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

1,529 in³ (25,053 cm³)
121 in³ (1,982 cm³)

Weight 
 

13.0 lbs (5.9 kg)
2.0 lbs (0.9 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC & Battery
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.5
8.3

Build Quality Photo  

JBL Boombox 2 Build Quality Photo
JBL Charge 5 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
Great

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Dust-Proof (IP6x)

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified
Show Text 

Controls 
 

6.6
6.6

Controls Photo  

JBL Boombox 2 Controls Photo
JBL Charge 5 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

JBL Boombox 2 Controls Photo 2
JBL Charge 5 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Good
Good

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Forward Only (Physical)
Forward Only (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

JBL Boombox 2 In The Box Photo
JBL Charge 5 In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.2
6.7

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.20
0.29

Std. Err. 
 

3.25 dB
3.90 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

49.0 Hz
58.2 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

19.1 kHz
18.5 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

7.2
5.8

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

5.25 dB
4.27 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

7.5
6.5

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

96.5 dB SPL
88.9 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

3.01 dB
3.16 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.9
8.7

Battery Life 
 

23.9 hrs
14.5 hrs

Charge Time 
 

3.9 hrs
3.8 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

AC
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

0.0
0.0

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

No
No

Speakerphone 
 

No
No

Siri 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

No
No

Voice Activation 
 

No
No

Microphone Mute 
 

No Microphone
No

Far-Field Performance 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone
Show Text 

App 
 

7.9
7.9

App Picture  

JBL Boombox 2 App Picture
JBL Charge 5 App Picture

App Name 
 

JBL Portable
JBL Portable

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Graphic
Graphic

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

Yes
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.3
8.5

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.1
5.1

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

146 ms
125 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

121 ms
102 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
328.1 ft (100.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
2 Devices
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

0.0
0.0

Wi-Fi Version 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 
 

No
No

Apple AirPlay 
 

No
No

AirPlay Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

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Black
Boombox 2
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Black
JBL Charge 5
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Camo
Boombox 2
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Camo
JBL Charge 5
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Blue
JBL Charge 5
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Gray
JBL Charge 5
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Green
JBL Charge 5
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Pink
JBL Charge 5
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Red
JBL Charge 5
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Teal
JBL Charge 5
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White
JBL Charge 5
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Back to Top

JBL Boombox 2

JBL Charge 5

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

JBL Boombox 2 vs JBL Charge 5: Main Discussion

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