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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

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 vs JBL Charge 5

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3
JBL Charge 5

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 30, 2024 02:43 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Apr 14, 2025 08:40 PM

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Walmart.com
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 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

  • BOOM 3 (Dusk)
  • BOOM 3 (Green)
  • BOOM 3 (Jungle Grey)
  • BOOM 3 (Lagoon Blue)
  • BOOM 3 (Night Black)
  • BOOM 3 (Peach)
  • BOOM 3 (Sunset Red)
  • BOOM 3 (Ultraviolet Purple)
  • BOOM 3 (Unicorn)
  • 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 Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Review
See JBL Charge 5 Review
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Our Verdict

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3

JBL Charge 5

Depending on your preferences, you may prefer either the Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 or the JBL Charge 5. The Ultimate Ears is better built and has a wider and more open-sounding soundstage, thanks to its 360-degree design. It can also play stereo content without downmixing it to mono. That said, the JBL has a better-balanced sound profile that can produce more extended low-bass than the Ultimate Ears out of the box. It can also get slightly louder, though some compression at max volume may affect the clarity of your audio at louder volumes.

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Green
BOOM 3
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Green
JBL Charge 5
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Dusk
BOOM 3
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Black
JBL Charge 5
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Jungle Grey
BOOM 3
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Blue
JBL Charge 5
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Lagoon Blue
BOOM 3
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Camo
JBL Charge 5
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Night Black
BOOM 3
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Gray
JBL Charge 5
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Peach
BOOM 3
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Pink
JBL Charge 5
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Sunset Red
BOOM 3
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Red
JBL Charge 5
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Ultraviolet Purple
BOOM 3
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Teal
JBL Charge 5
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Unicorn
BOOM 3
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White
JBL Charge 5
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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.4
6.5

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.4
6.7

Soundstage 
 

9.0
5.8

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Style Photo
JBL Charge 5 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.2
9.1

Dimensions Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Dimensions Photo
JBL Charge 5 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

59 in³ (966 cm³)
121 in³ (1,982 cm³)

Weight 
 

1.3 lbs (0.6 kg)
2.0 lbs (0.9 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

9.0
8.3

Build Quality Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Build Quality Photo
JBL Charge 5 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
Great

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

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

Impact Resistance 
 

Yes (IK rating unspecified)
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

Yes
Unspecified
Show Text 

Controls 
 

5.8
6.6

Controls Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Controls Photo
JBL Charge 5 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Controls Photo 2
JBL Charge 5 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Good
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 
 

No
Forward Only (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 In The Box Photo
JBL Charge 5 In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.4
6.7

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-1.49
0.29

Std. Err. 
 

5.41 dB
3.90 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

92.4 Hz
58.2 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

15.8 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 
 

9.0
5.8

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

1.82 dB
4.27 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

6.9
6.5

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

86.9 dB SPL
88.9 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

1.91 dB
3.16 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.9
8.7

Battery Life 
 

13.7 hrs
14.5 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.6 hrs
3.8 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

Micro-USB
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  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 App Picture
JBL Charge 5 App Picture

App Name 
 

Ultimate Ears
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 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.9
8.5

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

Unspecified
5.1

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

7 ms
125 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

34 ms
102 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

259.2 ft (79.0 m)
328.1 ft (100.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
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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Green
BOOM 3
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Green
JBL Charge 5
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Dusk
BOOM 3
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Black
JBL Charge 5
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Jungle Grey
BOOM 3
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Blue
JBL Charge 5
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Lagoon Blue
BOOM 3
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Camo
JBL Charge 5
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Night Black
BOOM 3
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Gray
JBL Charge 5
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Peach
BOOM 3
Searching
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Pink
JBL Charge 5
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Sunset Red
BOOM 3
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Red
JBL Charge 5
Searching
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Ultraviolet Purple
BOOM 3
Searching
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Teal
JBL Charge 5
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Unicorn
BOOM 3
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White
JBL Charge 5
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Back to Top

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3

JBL Charge 5

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 vs JBL Charge 5: Main Discussion

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