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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

Sony SRS-XB43 vs JBL Charge 5

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Sony SRS-XB43
JBL Charge 5

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 04, 2024 07:30 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated May 22, 2025 04:31 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Sony SRS-XB43 Picture
JBL Charge 5 Picture
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Speakerphone
Yes
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Speakerphone
No
Voice Assistant
No
Battery Powered
Yes
  1. Recommended in 1 article:
  2. JBL

Variants

  • SRS-XB43 (Black)
  • SRS-XB43 (Blue)
  • SRS-XB43 (Taupe)
  • 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 Sony SRS-XB43 Review
See JBL Charge 5 Review
0 
0 

Our Verdict

Sony SRS-XB43

JBL Charge 5

Full comparison details regarding individual product score sets can be found in the section below
0 

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Black
SRS-XB43
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Black
JBL Charge 5
Searching
Finding store
Blue
SRS-XB43
Searching
Finding store
Blue
JBL Charge 5
Searching
Finding store
Taupe
SRS-XB43
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Finding store
Camo
JBL Charge 5
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Finding store
 
Gray
JBL Charge 5
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Finding store
 
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 

6.5
6.5
No major differences between these speakers for music. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Sony SRS-XB43 Style Photo
JBL Charge 5 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

Yes
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

8.8
9.1

Dimensions Photo  

Sony SRS-XB43 Dimensions Photo
JBL Charge 5 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

285 in³ (4,677 cm³)
121 in³ (1,982 cm³)

Weight 
 

6.4 lbs (2.9 kg)
2.0 lbs (0.9 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.9
8.3

Build Quality Photo  

Sony SRS-XB43 Build Quality Photo
JBL Charge 5 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Great

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

Dust-Proof (IP6x)
Dust-Proof (IP6x)

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.0
6.6

Controls Photo  

Sony SRS-XB43 Controls Photo
JBL Charge 5 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Sony SRS-XB43 Controls Photo 2
JBL Charge 5 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Good

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

Yes (Physical)
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
Forward Only (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Sony SRS-XB43 In The Box Photo
JBL Charge 5 In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.6
6.7

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.71
0.49

Std. Err. 
 

3.71 dB
3.75 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

55.8 Hz
59.1 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

10.2 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 
 

6.1
5.8

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

7.34 dB
4.27 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

6.7
6.6

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

91.1 dB SPL
90.2 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

3.19 dB
3.15 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.6
8.7

Battery Life 
 

15.0 hrs
14.5 hrs

Charge Time 
 

4.5 hrs
3.8 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

USB-C
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

2.9
0.0

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

Yes (Requires Smartphone)
No

Speakerphone 
 

Yes
No

Siri 
 

Yes (Requires Smartphone)
No

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
No

Voice Activation 
 

No
No

Microphone Mute 
 

No
No

Far-Field Performance 
 

Poor
No Microphone

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Poor
No Microphone
Show Text 

App 
 

7.9
7.9

App Picture  

Sony SRS-XB43 App Picture
JBL Charge 5 App Picture

App Name 
 

Sony Music Center
JBL Portable

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Graphic + Presets
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 
 

8.7
8.5

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.0
5.1

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

63 ms
125 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

116 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

Check Price

Black
SRS-XB43
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Black
JBL Charge 5
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Blue
SRS-XB43
Searching
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Blue
JBL Charge 5
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Finding store
Taupe
SRS-XB43
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Camo
JBL Charge 5
Searching
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Gray
JBL Charge 5
Searching
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Green
JBL Charge 5
Searching
Finding store
 
Pink
JBL Charge 5
Searching
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Red
JBL Charge 5
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Finding store
 
Teal
JBL Charge 5
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White
JBL Charge 5
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Back to Top

Sony SRS-XB43

JBL Charge 5

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Sony SRS-XB43 vs JBL Charge 5: Main Discussion

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