1.   Try searching by:
    1. Category (Best $100 Headphones, Best 50 Inch TVs, …)
    2. Brand (Sony, Samsung, LG, Bose, …)
    3. Model (S405, QC 35 II, …)
    4. Etc...
Get insider access
Get insider access
Preferred store
Notice: Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
Best
Bluetooth Portable Outdoor Bose Loud Home Shower Parties Alexa Small JBL Brands Budget And Cheap Bluetooth For Bass Waterproof Bluetooth Golf Bluetooth For Sound Smart iPhone Karaoke
Tools
Compare Table Review List Review Index Graph Custom Ratings
Popular
JBL Boombox 3 JBL Charge 5 JBL Authentics 500 JBL Flip 6 Bose SoundLink Max Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3 Sonos Move 2 Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 JBL PartyBox Stage 320 Sonos Era 100 JBL PartyBox 310 Sony SRS-XB100 Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 4 JBL PartyBox Club 120 Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM Sonos Era 300 Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM JBL Xtreme 4 Bose SoundLink Flex
165
Speakers bought and tested
Supported by you via insider access, and when you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Driven by data, run by a passionate team of engineers, testers, technical writers, developers, and more.
We are hiring!
  1. Home
  2. Speaker
  3. Compare
Notice: Big Spring Sale Deal: The Amazon Echo Pop has dropped by 25% on Amazon.com. See all Speaker Big Spring Sale deals.
  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 MEGABOOM 3 vs JBL Pulse 5

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3
JBL Pulse 5

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Oct 24, 2024 02:14 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Jan 25, 2024 05:06 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 Picture
JBL Pulse 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

Variants

  • MEGABOOM 3 (Blue)
  • MEGABOOM 3 (Dusk)
  • MEGABOOM 3 (Jungle Grey)
  • MEGABOOM 3 (Moon)
  • MEGABOOM 3 (Night Black)
  • MEGABOOM 3 (Purple)
  • MEGABOOM 3 (Sunset Red)
  • Pulse 5 (Black)

Review

See Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 Review
See JBL Pulse 5 Review
3 
0 

Our Verdict

Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3

JBL Pulse 5

The Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 is better than the JBL Pulse 5. While it lacks the JBL's eye-catching RGB lights, the Ultimate Ears' sound quality makes it the better choice overall. It has a more balanced sound, and it can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono. Plus, it gets louder, and it has a longer battery life. If you like RGB lights, the JBL may be more suitable for you.

0 

Check Price

Blue
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
Black
Pulse 5
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Dusk
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
Black
Pulse 5
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Jungle Grey
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
Black
Pulse 5
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Moon
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
 
Night Black
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
 
Purple
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
 
Sunset Red
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
 

Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

7.0
6.6

Soundstage 
 

9.1
7.6

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.3
6.1

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 Style Photo
JBL Pulse 5 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
Yes
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.1
9.0

Dimensions Photo  

Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 Dimensions Photo
JBL Pulse 5 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

104 in³ (1,710 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 
 

9.0
7.9

Build Quality Photo  

Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 Build Quality Photo
JBL Pulse 5 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
Good

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
3.6

Controls Photo  

Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 Controls Photo
JBL Pulse 5 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 Controls Photo 2
JBL Pulse 5 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Good
Okay

Feedback 
 

Good
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
No

Call Answer/End 
 

No
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
No

Track Next/Previous 
 

No
No

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 In The Box Photo
JBL Pulse 5 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 
 

-1.13
1.19

Std. Err. 
 

4.07 dB
3.93 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

72.3 Hz
75.5 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

18.2 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 
 

9.1
7.6

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

1.74 dB
0.67 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

6.8
7.3

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

89.9 dB SPL
85.7 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

2.91 dB
0.71 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

9.0
6.6

Battery Life 
 

17.7 hrs
7.9 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.5 hrs
5.4 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 Microphone

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 MEGABOOM 3 App Picture
JBL Pulse 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
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

7.6
8.2

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

Unspecified
5.3

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

181 ms
156 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

71 ms
140 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

282.2 ft (86.0 m)
311.7 ft (95.0 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 

Check Price

Blue
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
Black
Pulse 5
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Dusk
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
Black
Pulse 5
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Jungle Grey
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
Black
Pulse 5
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Moon
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
 
Night Black
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
 
Purple
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
 
Sunset Red
MEGABOOM 3
Searching
Finding store
 
Back to Top

Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3

JBL Pulse 5

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 vs JBL Pulse 5: Main Discussion

What do you think of these products? Let us know below.


Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.

Follow Discussion0 followingSee All Soundbars & Speakers DiscussionsCopy link
0 
PreviewBack to editorFormat guide
No comments yet, refresh to see new ones
You have 9/10 free reviews left
To access
unlimited full product reviews,
product prices
and
other exclusive site features
Become an Insider
We make money directly from you via insider access (which gives you access to extra features) and when you buy a product after clicking a link to a retailer. Learn more about how we work.
We buy our own products, just like you, mostly from the United States. When a product is discontinued or no longer popular, we sell the review units locally. You can see what products we currently have for sale here.
© 2025 9298-5266 Quebec Inc. All Rights Reserved. Visit our corporate site.