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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 Pulse 4 vs JBL Pulse 5

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

JBL Pulse 4
JBL Pulse 5

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 04, 2024 07:11 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Jan 25, 2024 05:06 PM

SEE PRICE
Samsung.com
JBL Pulse 4 Picture
JBL Pulse 5 Picture

Variants

  • Pulse 4 (Black)
  • Pulse 4 (White)
  • Pulse 5 (Black)

Our Verdict

JBL Pulse 4

JBL Pulse 5

The JBL Pulse 5 is the next generation of the JBL Pulse 4 and is the better speaker overall. While both speakers have similar designs with built-in RGB lights, the Pulse 5 has some extra features, such as ambient noise settings and a graphic EQ in the app. It's also able to reproduce a bit more low-bass than the 4. However, the 5 doesn't have play/pause or volume controls on the device like the 4, so you have to control those settings through the app, which isn't always ideal.

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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.1
6.6

EQ 
 

No
Graphic

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.8
6.1

Dynamics 
 

6.4
7.3

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

JBL Pulse 4 Style Photo
JBL Pulse 5 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.1
9.0

Dimensions Photo  

JBL Pulse 4 Dimensions Photo
JBL Pulse 5 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

81 in³ (1,324 cm³)
142 in³ (2,325 cm³)

Weight 
 

2.6 lbs (1.2 kg)
3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.1
7.9

Build Quality Photo  

JBL Pulse 4 Build Quality Photo
JBL Pulse 5 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
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 
 

6.7
3.6

Controls Photo  

JBL Pulse 4 Controls Photo
JBL Pulse 5 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

JBL Pulse 4 Controls Photo 2
JBL Pulse 5 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Okay

Feedback 
 

Great
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 Pulse 4 In The Box Photo
JBL Pulse 5 In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.8
6.1

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.10
1.19

Std. Err. 
 

4.09 dB
3.93 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

91.1 Hz
75.5 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

17.5 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 
 

7.6
7.6

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

0.88 dB
0.67 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

6.4
7.3

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

83.3 dB SPL
85.7 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

1.99 dB
0.71 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.0
6.6

Battery Life 
 

11.5 hrs
7.9 hrs

Charge Time 
 

6.4 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 Pulse 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 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.2
8.2

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.1
5.3

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

154 ms
156 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

93 ms
140 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

187.0 ft (57.0 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 Pulse 4

JBL Pulse 5

Comments

  1. Comparison

JBL Pulse 4 vs JBL Pulse 5: Main Discussion

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