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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 Flip 5 vs Sony SRS-XB23

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

JBL Flip 5
Sony SRS-XB23

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 09, 2024 05:25 PM

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Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Apr 18, 2024 03:05 PM

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JBL Flip 5 Picture
Sony SRS-XB23 Picture

Variants

  • Flip 5 (Black)
  • Flip 5 (Black Camo)
  • Flip 5 (Blue)
  • Flip 5 (Camo)
  • Flip 5 (Gray)
  • Flip 5 (Green)
  • Flip 5 (Pink)
  • Flip 5 (Red)
  • Flip 5 (Sand)
  • Flip 5 (Teal)
  • Flip 5 (White)
  • Flip 5 (Yellow)
  • SRS-XB23 (Black)
  • SRS-XB23 (Coral Red)
  • SRS-XB23 (Light Blue)
  • SRS-XB23 (Olive Green)
  • SRS-XB23 (Taupe)

Our Verdict

JBL Flip 5

Sony SRS-XB23

The Sony SRS-XB23 is a better speaker than the JBL Flip 5. The Sony is better built, can play stereo content, and has longer-lasting continuous battery life. It also has a companion app with a graphic EQ so you can tweak its sound to your liking. However, the JBL can get a bit louder with fewer compression artifacts.

0

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.0
6.3

Soundstage 
 

6.3
7.9

EQ 
 

No
Graphic

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.3
6.1

Dynamics 
 

5.8
5.2

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

JBL Flip 5 Style Photo
Sony SRS-XB23 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No

Show text

Portability 
 

9.3
9.2

Dimensions Photo  

JBL Flip 5 Dimensions Photo
Sony SRS-XB23 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

47 in³ (771 cm³)
71 in³ (1,167 cm³)

Weight 
 

1.2 lbs (0.5 kg)
1.1 lbs (0.5 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.5
8.1

Build Quality Photo  

JBL Flip 5 Build Quality Photo
Sony SRS-XB23 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
Decent

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Dust-Proof (IP6x)

Impact Resistance 
 

No
Yes (IK rating unspecified)

Floats In Water 
 

No
Unspecified

Show text

Controls 
 

6.6
8.0

Controls Photo  

JBL Flip 5 Controls Photo
Sony SRS-XB23 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

JBL Flip 5 Controls Photo 2
Sony SRS-XB23 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Good
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
Yes (Physical)

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Forward Only (Physical)
Yes

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

JBL Flip 5 In The Box Photo
Sony SRS-XB23 In The Box Photo

Show text

Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.3
6.1

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.31
0.08

Std. Err. 
 

3.76 dB
3.70 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

68.3 Hz
71.3 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

13.7 kHz
7.0 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 
 

6.3
7.9

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

3.29 dB
3.98 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
Yes

Show text

Dynamics 
 

5.8
5.2

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

85.5 dB SPL
84.9 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

3.74 dB
4.79 dB

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

7.3
7.9

Battery Life 
 

8.2 hrs
9.2 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.6 hrs
2.8 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

USB-C
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Voice Assistant 
 

0.0
1.7

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

No
Yes (Requires Smartphone)

Speakerphone 
 

No
Yes

Siri 
 

No
Yes (Requires Smartphone)

Voice Assistant 
 

No
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

No
No

Microphone Mute 
 

No Microphone
No

Far-Field Performance 
 

No Microphone
Bad

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

No Microphone
Bad

Show text

App 
 

6.6
7.9

App Picture  

JBL Flip 5 App Picture
Sony SRS-XB23 App Picture

App Name 
 

JBL Portable
Sony Music Center

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 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No

Show text

Bluetooth 
 

8.4
9.0

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2
5.0

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

154 ms
52 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

96 ms
90 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

219.8 ft (67.0 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

JBL Flip 5

Sony SRS-XB23

Comments

  1. Comparison

JBL Flip 5 vs Sony SRS-XB23: Main Discussion

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