JBL Charge 4 vs JBL Pulse 5 Side-by-Side Speaker Comparison - RTINGS.com

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Products

JBL Charge 4

JBL Pulse 5

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Oct 03, 2024 12:57 PM

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Jan 25, 2024 05:06 PM

JBL Charge 4 Picture

JBL Pulse 5 Picture

BluetoothYes

Wi-FiNo

SpeakerphoneNo

Voice AssistantNo

Battery PoweredYes

BluetoothYes

Wi-FiNo

SpeakerphoneNo

Voice AssistantNo

Battery PoweredYes

Variants

Charge 4 (Black)
Charge 4 (Black Camo)
Charge 4 (Blue)
Charge 4 (Camouflage)
Charge 4 (Gray)
Charge 4 (Green)
Charge 4 (Pink)
Charge 4 (Red)
Charge 4 (Sand)
Charge 4 (Teal)
Charge 4 (White)
Charge 4 (Yellow)

Pulse 5 (Black)

Review

See JBL Charge 4 Review

See JBL Pulse 5 Review

Our Verdict

JBL Charge 4

JBL Pulse 5

The JBL Pulse 5 is better for music than the JBL Charge 4. Thanks to its 360-degree design, the Pulse has a wider and more open soundstage. It also comes with a graphic EQ, so it's more customizable, and its RGB lights are a cool touch for setting the mood at your next party. Its battery life isn't quite as long as the Charge's.

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Black

Charge 4

Black Camo

Charge 4

Blue

Charge 4

Camouflage

Charge 4

Gray

Charge 4

Green

Charge 4

Pink

Charge 4

Red

Charge 4

Sand

Charge 4

Teal

Charge 4

White

Charge 4

Yellow

Charge 4

Main Differences for
Music

Threshold

0.10

Music

5.7

6.6

Soundstage

5.4

7.6

EQ

No

Graphic

Frequency Response Accuracy

5.9

6.1

Dynamics

6.6

7.3

Full Comparison

Music

5.7

6.6

Videos/Movies

5.7

5.9

Podcasts

6.9

7.7

Voice Assistant

2.5

3.2

Outdoors

6.9

7.5

Design

Style

Style Photo

JBL Charge 4 Style Photo

JBL Pulse 5 Style Photo

RGB Lights

No

Yes

Show Text

Portability

9.1

9.0

Dimensions Photo

JBL Charge 4 Dimensions Photo

JBL Pulse 5 Dimensions Photo

Volume

119 in³ (1,943 cm³)

142 in³ (2,325 cm³)

Weight

2.0 lbs (0.9 kg)

3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)

Power Source

Battery & USB

Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry

Yes

Yes

Show Text

Build Quality

7.5

7.9

Build Quality Photo

JBL Charge 4 Build Quality Photo

JBL Pulse 5 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality

Great

Good

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

3.6

Controls Photo

JBL Charge 4 Controls Photo

JBL Pulse 5 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2

JBL Charge 4 Controls Photo 2

JBL Pulse 5 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use

Great

Okay

Feedback

Good

Great

Music Play/Pause

Yes (Physical)

No

Call Answer/End

No

No

Volume Up/Down

Yes (Physical)

No

Track Next/Previous

Forward Only (Physical)

No

Microphone On/Off

No

No

Additional Controls

Yes

Yes

Show Text

In The Box

In The Box Photo

JBL Charge 4 In The Box Photo

JBL Pulse 5 In The Box Photo

Show Text

Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy

5.9

6.1

Frequency Response Graph

See details on graph tool

See details on graph tool

Slope

0.60

1.19

Std. Err.

5.32 dB

3.93 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

61.7 Hz

75.5 Hz

High-Frequency Extension

7.9 kHz

14.1 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

5.4

7.6

Directivity Graph

See details on graph tool

See details on graph tool

Directivity Index

4.87 dB

0.67 dB

Stereo

No (mono)

No (mono)

Show Text

Dynamics

6.6

7.3

Dynamic Range Compression

See details on graph tool

See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume

84.8 dB SPL

85.7 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume

2.12 dB

0.71 dB

Show Text

Active Features

Battery

8.6

6.6

Battery Life

13.1 hrs

7.9 hrs

Charge Time

4.0 hrs

5.4 hrs

Power Saving

Yes

Yes

Charging Port

USB-C

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 Microphone

Far-Field Performance

No Microphone

No Microphone

Ambient Noise Performance

No Microphone

No Microphone

App

6.6

7.9

App Picture

JBL Charge 4 App Picture

JBL Pulse 5 App Picture

App Name

JBL Portable

JBL Portable

iOS

Yes

Yes

Android

Yes

Yes

EQ

No

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

No

Show Text

Bluetooth

9.8

8.2

Bluetooth

Yes

Yes

Bluetooth Version

4.2

5.3

Bluetooth iOS Latency

16 ms

156 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency

15 ms

140 ms

Bluetooth Range

334.6 ft (102.0 m)

311.7 ft (95.0 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

Check Price

Black

Charge 4

Black Camo

Charge 4

Blue

Charge 4

Camouflage

Charge 4

Gray

Charge 4

Green

Charge 4

Pink

Charge 4

Red

Charge 4

Sand

Charge 4

Teal

Charge 4

White

Charge 4

Yellow

Charge 4

JBL Charge 4

JBL Pulse 5

Comments

Comparison

• Posted 1 year ago

JBL Charge 4 vs JBL Pulse 5: Main Discussion

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