14 Jan
Blog

JBL Charge 5 review: Potent and portable party speaker

JBL Charge 5.

JBL Charge 5

RRP $180.00

"Everyone will hear the JBL Charge 5 as soon as you crank it up."

benefits

  • Solid build quality

  • Can get very noisy

  • Excellent water and dust protection

  • EQ offers some sound enhancements

  • Works with JBL Portable App and PartyBoost

disadvantage

  • Cannot stereo pair with JBL speakers without Charge 5

  • Does not work as a speakerphone

  • Not a huge upgrade over the Charge 4

Look for a Bluetooth speaker and you'll find a variety of sizes to choose from. It's up to you to decide which one suits your lifestyle best, but when you have a lot of options it's not always easy to find the best value for your money. JBL's speakers come in a variety of sizes, and one of their key features is playing bigger than they appear.

This is where the JBL Charge 5 comes into play. It's medium sized and packs a punch, but has JBL changed too much about the sound while tweaking a few things in both design and functionality? Let's take a look.

JBL Charge 5 speaker and box.Ted Kritsonis/Digital Trends

What's in the box

You won't find much to wade through in the box. Aside from the speaker itself, JBL only includes a USB-C charging cable and a quick start guide. If you've used previous Charge speakers you might be wondering where the 3.5mm aux-in cable is located and it's not here because JBL removed that connector. This speaker is completely wireless.

The JBL Charge 5 speaker features rubber grips on the bottom.Ted Kritsonis/Digital Trends

draft

JBL doesn't reinvent the wheel with the Charge 5 and sticks to a very familiar look that doesn't differ too much from the previous version. I'm mostly referring to the aesthetics, where aside from the more pronounced logo and battery indicator on the front, and the rubberized grips on the bottom, many of the same elements apply.

The weight and dimensions differ only slightly compared to the Charge 4, except that the 5 is more robust.

The tightly woven fabric still looks and feels good, while the bumpers on each side protect the passive radiators. The button layout on top remains the same, while the rear features the USB-C charging port, along with a USB-A port that you can use to charge other devices, basically turning the speaker into a power bank.

The weight and dimensions differ only slightly compared to the Charge 4, except that the 5 is more robust. Instead of keeping the previous IPX7 rating for water resistance, JBL added good dust resistance for an excellent IP67 rating instead. These include salt water and sand, making this speaker equally at home on the beach as it is near a pool or bathtub.

Its overall size makes it a little too big to be highly portable. You could toss it in a bag and take it on a ride, but it's definitely not something you want to carry around for long periods of time. It doesn't have a handle or any indentations to make it easier to carry, but it's the sort of speaker you can take on a trip or from one room to another with relative ease.

The buttons are on the JBL Charge 5 speaker.Ted Kritsonis/Digital Trends

setup and configuration

It was easy to pair the Charge 5 right from the start and I've noticed an improvement in connectivity. The Charge 4 ran Bluetooth 4.2 while the Charge 5 uses 5.1. This shift helps stabilize the connection and plays a key role in why the audio doesn't stutter as you move farther from the speaker.

It can also be paired with two devices at the same time, but it's no help with calls since it's not speakerphone. There's no microphone, meaning you can only hear what your voice assistant is saying and still have to speak into your phone to issue commands. Pairing with two devices means you can easily switch from one to the other when you want to hear what they're playing.

The JBL Portable app (formerly the Connect app) for iOS or Android offers limited functionality, but a key feature that wasn't present when the Charge 5 launched is the three-band EQ. It's modest in scope, with bass, mids and treble available, each with five levels you can pan and adjust. You might think it's overkill for a JBL speaker, but you might also find this speaker more understated than it looks. I found better results tipping the mids up, but if you want more rumbling bass you can always max that out.

PartyBoost returns and stays with the same formula, meaning you can pair the Charge 5 with other PartyBoost-compatible JBL speakers to play music at the same time. If you want to pair the left and right channels in stereo, you need to pair it with another Charge 5. Keep in mind that once you turn on PartyBoost and connect to a different speaker, you will lose the EQ and the connected speakers will revert to the default sound profile.

The JBL Charge 5 speaker can be placed upright.Ted Kritsonis/Digital Trends

sound quality

While testing the Charge 5, I installed a firmware update that presumably affected the audio quality, especially the bass. I've never had to test the Charge 4 so I can't be sure there's an upgrade in that regard, but the Portable app's EQ can take the sound to greater depths if you start tinkering with a balance, that works for you.

It's a resonant speaker as its sound carries further than you might expect.

The good news is that this makes an audible difference. You don't get a JBL speaker for high definition audiophile sound. The Charge 5 only supports the Bluetooth codecs AAC and SBC anyway. If you're just looking for a sound that lets tunes play loud and clear, the Charge 5 can certainly get you there due to its volume. Distortion kicks in at very high volumes but lingers long enough before you get there to entertain a group or audience.

It's a resonant speaker as its sound carries further than you might expect. In smaller rooms, you don't necessarily have to turn the volume up too high to feel it. You might consider this purely relevant to bass-heavy music genres, but I'd argue that's not really true. There's enough here to enjoy pretty much whatever you enjoy listening to, and the EQ, while limited, gives you some flexibility to tweak it to your liking.

That bodes well for parties and barbecues and people with eclectic tastes. Nobody there would expect perfection from such a speaker, but they would probably be surprised at how much they can hear when they are further away.

The JBL Charge 5 speaker has bumpers on each side that protect the passive radiators.Ted Kritsonis/Digital Trends

battery life

JBL rates battery life at up to 20 hours per charge, but don't expect to hit that. Had JBL kept the 3.5mm aux-in port it probably would have, except Bluetooth and volume are the deciding factors. I didn't have to get too loud too often, so my mileage usually ranged from 15 to 17 hours. Not bad at all, except that when it runs out of juice it takes up to four hours to fully recharge. You can also plug it in during playback when the battery is low, if you can place it near an outlet or keep a power bank handy.

The speaker's own power bank function plays its own role in battery life. Of course, if you use the included USB-C cable and flip it the other way to connect the USB-A side to the rear port to charge something else via USB-C, you'll be using up some of its lifespan for playback .

Our opinion

You can find the Charge 5 for $180, which is a pretty standard price for a mid-range speaker like this. Whether its size and price are right for you depends on your needs and budget, but your money is definitely buying a volume that works well. Its added durability also stands out, making it versatile where and when you want to play it. There are also six colors to choose from, including the standard camouflage finish.

Is there a better alternative?

Given the limited differences between him and the fee 4, it's not a bad idea to consider the latter as an option, especially if you want a 3.5mm jack. the Ultimate Ears Mega Boom 3 is more expensive at $200, but offers serious durability and more spacious 360-degree sound, as well as color options.

If you'd rather use a speaker at home than one to take with you on trips and outings, you might want to check out this one SonosMove. It's portable enough to move from room to room, but isn't the kind of speaker you want too close to a body of water. And unless you appreciate the smart speaker or the whole-home audio capabilities, the $400 price tag is hard to justify.

How long it will take?

JBL makes sure its speakers play loud without breaking, so it's a good bet you can keep them for a long time. The biggest concern is that water or salt will somehow damage the internal components, which you can avoid by rinsing off sand or salt after a day at the beach. JBL has a one-year warranty against damage, but read the fine print on water damage as the company may not cover every case.

should you buy it

Yes, especially if you don't already have such a speaker. This isn't the kind of product you update yearly. You get it and keep it for as long as you need it. I'd think twice before doing that if you already have the Charge 4, where the upgrade probably doesn't feel that significant.

Editor's Recommendations



05 Nov
Blog

Mario Party Superstars Review: The Do-Over Fans Deserve

The entire cast of characters in Mario Party Superstars stands together.

Mario party superstars

RRP $ 60.00

"Mario Party Superstars is the best game of the series and has a better selection of mini-games and fewer gameplay gimmicks."

advantages

  • Effectively nostalgic

  • Back to the basics of mechanics

  • High quality mini-games

  • Addicting bonus modes

  • Playing online is a plus

disadvantage

  • Still slow

  • Not enough boards

  • No essential unlockable elements

Mario Party Superstars is a much-needed makeover to the multiplayer series. It learns so effectively from the successes and failures of previous Mario Party games that it almost feels like it should be the final entry. We have reached the upper limit of Mario Party.

At its core, it's a nostalgia trip back to basics that revives the spirit of the original Nintendo 64 classics. But beyond that, it saves moments of brilliance hidden in the weakest parts of the series. It treats Nintendo 3DS 'Mario Party: The Top 100 (a game that had old mini-games but jettisoned the actual board game) as a clumsy mulligan and gets its "best of" build idea right. Most importantly, it's a second chance for the series on Nintendo Switch after Super Mario Party's potential has been wasted due to a lack of post-launch support.

Mario Party Superstars is the best Mario Party game ever, even if it is by default. The curated nature means players will get the best – and most – mini-games the series has to offer, although that doesn't apply to board selection. The commitment to play online at launch puts it ahead of Super Mario Party and makes Superstars the best version of what a Mario Party game can be.

If it's not broken

If you haven't played a Mario Party game since the Nintendo 64, you will feel right at home in Superstars. There are no gimmicks or formula shake-ups here. Nintendo has reduced Mario Party to the essentials: it is a board game in which players roll dice, compete against each other in mini-games and try to win the most stars. That creates a more focused and reliable party game that doesn't distract with mechanical gambling. Not an ambitious start, but after 15 years of mixed bags exactly what the series needs.

Curation is the keyword here. Previous Mario Party games invented over 50 brand new mini-games apiece, which could result in lots of duds if the series ran out of all its best ideas. This time around, each mini-game was chosen from previous entries, roughly half of which are from the original Nintendo 64 trilogy. Players get 100 of the best mini-games in the series with far fewer stinkers in the pile.

Mario and friends compete against each other in a mushroom mini-game in Mario Party Superstars.

It's nice to see how classic mini-games have been modernized here. Basically, seeing old favorites is just an effective nostalgia game – I screeched when Pushy Penguins showed up, a Mario Party 5 mini-game I played to death on a GameCube demo disc as a kid. But it also has a functional aspect. A game like Mario Party's Crazy Cutters, in which players trace a shape with a jackhammer, simply controls the Switch's Joy-Cons much better than the Nintendo 64's clunky analog stick (unless you're drifting). If you only kept your N64 warm to play Mario Party with friends, you can safely put it away.

Some games have also been tweaked to be better than their old school counterparts. In Mario Party 2, the goal of Dizzy Dancing was to snap a green note hovering over a spinning turntable while trying to navigate inverted motion controls. This time around, the game became a timed game, with players struggling to snap as many notes as possible (a change that first happened in The Top 100). The original could end in seconds, but this is a more competitive iteration that's just better at ruining friendships.

For those who gave up on Mario Party, this is a reminder that with the right mini-games, the formula can still work.

It's also nice that the package includes some real standouts from later (and weaker) Mario Party entries. As someone who quit after the fifth game, I was shocked at how brilliant some of the newer mini-games are. Mario Party 8’s Paint Misbehavin ’, for example, is an adorable, Splatoon-like turf war in which players try to paint as many Goombas as possible with colored ink. As I went through the stack and "favored" my standout games, I found that most of them were from the late GameCube and Wii era.

Wario and Yoshi compete against Mario and Donkey Kong in the mini-game Handcar Havoc from Mario Party Superstars.

This is the real success of Mario Party Superstars. It's not just aimed at die-hard N64s who want a quick nostalgic hit; It takes one long hard look at the entire franchise and celebrates the moments when it shone. For those who gave up on Mario Party, this is a reminder that with the right mini-games, the formula can still work.

Leaner is better

In terms of the overall package, Nintendo took a less-is-more approach here. Instead of filling the game with tons of semi-realized ideas, it focuses more on the core board game Mario Party. There are no special gimmicks like Super Mario Party's character-specific dice or buddy system. Instead, we get the tightest version of the N64 game with slight but smart tweaks to the general coin and item economy.

Outside of the main multiplayer game, however, there is still quite a bit of work to be done. Mt. Minigames acts as a hub where players can compete against each other in a few additional modes. Some of these are simple, like the free mini-game or a 1v3 challenge mode. Some mini-games even have their own point hunt outside of the main game, which is a fun thing. Mario & # 39; s Puzzle Party, a match-two puzzler from Mario Party 3, has its own three-minute point attack mode that has become a surprising addiction to me.

Mario wins a round of survival mode in Mario Party Superstars.

The most important feature here is the online component. Unlike Super Mario Party, Mario Party Superstars supports full online play at launch (the former didn't get this feature until years after its release). The ability to play Mario Party online with friends is crucial. Nowadays it is just not likely that people would regularly bring four people together in person to play a few rounds. Multiplayer titles are played over Discord and Twitch streams. Choosing to play online is a necessity for the series to stay relevant. It's a relief to see it included, even if it should have been taken for granted.

It's also nice that online gaming goes beyond the simple board game. Superstars offers two online specific modes: Survival and Daily Challenge. The former has the longest-term single-player potential among the extras. Players go online and try to beat as many mini-games in a row as possible. It's a high-stakes endurance test that adds smart high score tracking to a series that previously had no compelling reason to play alone.

Choosing to play online is a necessity for the series to stay relevant.

The most effective thing about the different modes in the game is that they all revolve around the same pool of mini-games. Super Mario Party included Sound Stage, a rhythm game mode that was excellent on paper. Unfortunately, it required mini-games designed specifically for this mode. It just wasn't included in the game enough to make a lasting impression, and it made the overall list of the game's mini-games feel thin. Everything you play in the side mode will ultimately be available in the board game, and vice versa.

The best it can be

When I say this is the best version of Mario Party, I have to acknowledge that the series has a certain cap. No matter how good the mini-games are, the central board game can still be excruciatingly slow. Players can increase text and CPU speeds, or fast-forward some board events, but there's no way to directly skip the slower parts of the game. The pace seems a bit faster than previous entries, but it still feels like I can take a toilet break while Toadette moves a star.

Nintendo's awe of Mario Party's past should end with his mini-games. Other parts of the series need to be modernized if the series is to continue.

The collection is also no longer the Mario Party equivalent to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It only contains five boards, all of which are from the first three games in the series. That's a smaller number than any Nintendo 64 game that had at least six. While the list includes standout cards like Space Land and Peach's Birthday Cake, it also includes something of a dud in Yoshi's Tropical Island – a frustrating beginner's card that leaves a lot to the luck.

The space land map in Mario Party Superstars.

It's strange to see the game show such a great awe for the mini-games in the series but not show the same love for its boards. Those who really want to make this a party staple will end up playing the same cards over and over again. Realistically, Switch owners will likely want Super Mario Party ready to liven up the pool.

Likewise, there are only 10 playable characters here (the list excludes characters like Bowser, who appears as an NPC in certain maps and games). This isn't a big deal breaker, especially since characters don't have specific skills this time around, but it's a shame there aren't any unlockable characters or boards to hunt down. That was a staple of old Nintendo party games that have fallen by the wayside in recent years. Instead, the game includes an easy "level-up" system that unlocks collectibles like music and stickers in a shop. Collecting enough coins to buy everything is an efficient catch for completers, but I wish there was something more substantial that could keep me playing.

The sleek character and board pickings would be fine if I felt like the game was saving some content for post launch support. Unfortunately, Nintendo has lost my trust here. I said the same thing after Super Mario Party, a game that felt like DLC but didn't get one. In fact, one could argue that Superstars should have been just a paid add-on and not a full retail game. Any Nintendo franchise could really benefit Mario Party from adopting a DLC model that will keep new games, characters, and boards going for years to come. Hopefully this will be the case here, but I've been burned before – and you'll only get burned once on the Hot Rope Jump before you're out.

Boos steal stars from multiple players in Mario Party Superstars.

Nintendo's awe of Mario Party's past should end with his mini-games. Other parts of the series need to be modernized if the series is to continue. Otherwise, superstars could be a big goodbye for fans looking to close a nostalgic chapter of their gaming childhood.

Our opinion

Mario Party Superstars is a delightful celebration of the multiplayer juggernaut's colorful past. By curating the best mini-games from the series, Nintendo has created a more consistent multiplayer game with fewer duds. The back-to-basics approach ensures a more focused experience that isn't blocked by gimmicks and experimentation. It's still as slow as ever and the selection of boards is disappointingly sparse, but that's as good as it gets when it comes to Mario Party.

Is there a better alternative?

Super Mario Party isn't such a tight package, but it does have some fun ideas that haven't been carried over here.

How long it will take?

Games can last anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes, so it depends on how often you play. The additional modes extend it. You can also track achievements in the game and buy a shop full of collectibles. I still don't have everything after 20 hours.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. Mario Party Superstars is hands down the best Mario Party game even if the package is missing in some areas. It could be the last Mario Party game you ever need to buy.

Editor's recommendations