Filip Brož Of all the portable speakers, I liked the JBL ones the most. It is perhaps also for the reason that it was once my first experience with a portable Bluetooth speaker. I have several at home and in the time I've been using them they have never let me down. Above all, he grew close to my heart JBL Flip 2, who has already traveled a bit with me and filled many rooms with sound.
For that reason, I was very pleased when I recently got my hands on the new successor to this speaker – the JBL Flip 3. The Flip speaker series has only been on the market for about two years, but I have to say that they have come a long way in that time. It's clear that the engineers, both sound and design, are constantly working on the Flip speakers. I still remember to this day on the first generation, which at the time was excellent except for battery life, but it cannot be compared with today's products.
JBL Flip 3 is a step further than its predecessors in all respects. On the other hand, there are also a few details, especially regarding the accessories, which in my opinion were a little better before. But it's fine.
At first glance, it is obvious that JBL has unified the design of the new Flip. Compared to previous versions, the JBL Flip 3 is completely made of plastic and apart from the two active bass ports, there is no metal on it. The waterproof surface is also new. Here, the developers were certainly inspired by their flagship captain Jbl xtreme, which is also waterproof and uses exactly the same technology.
JBL Flip 3 can easily handle rain or light contact with water. The speaker has an IPX7 certification, i.e. the same as, for example, the Apple Watch.
In addition to the already mentioned two active bass ports, which are completely uncovered for the first time ever, small rubber protrusions on both ends are also new. At JBL, they thought, so you can easily place the speaker on both sides without any mechanical damage.
Another novelty is also the design of the control elements, which are not just like ordinary buttons on the bottom of the speaker, but again, following the example of the JBL Xtreme, you can find them on top. The buttons are clearly visible, large and, above all, raised on the surface, so control is again a little easier.
Compared to its predecessors, the JBL Flip 3 thus looks like a soaked athlete that is suitable for the terrain. Bratříččci were rather stylish and elegant intended for office and residential spaces. The new Flip even has a practical strap with which you can carry the speaker or hang it somewhere.
In addition to the classic buttons to control the speaker (volume, on/off, Bluetooth pairing, answer a call), JBL Flip 3 also has a JBL Connect button with which you can pair multiple speakers of this brand. In practice, it looks like one speaker serves as the right channel and the other as the left channel. The outputs for "charging" microUSB and AUX are then hidden under the plastic cover.
JBL Flip 3 communicates with any device using Bluetooth. The connection is extremely stable and you can rely on it without any problems. Pairing is as always very easy and intuitive, just send a request from the speaker and confirm in the phone settings.
Sounds good for its size
Right from the start, I can state that the sound quality is very surprising considering the dimensions and weight. The sound sounds very good regardless of the genre or whether you are watching a movie or playing games. Flip 3 also has very high-quality bass, which, however, reacts according to the surface on which the speaker stands. The highs and mids, which are clean, also do well. However, I noticed a slight noise in the treble when listening to tracks in FLAC format, a lossless audio compression format that is characterized by very high sound quality.
However, with each new model in the Flip series, the sound quality also increases, so the "three" is a hair better than the previous Flip 2. However, the Flip is still not good for high volume. Not that he couldn't handle it, but the quality drops sharply in this case. For that reason, I recommend listening at 60 to 70 percent volume. Nevertheless, even Flip 3 can sound a smaller room, for example at a house party.
The JBL Flip 3 is also similar to the Charge 2+ model in many ways, not only in appearance, but especially in durability. According to the manufacturers, the battery in the JBL 3 lasts about eight hours. In practice, I measured a little over seven and a half hours of continuous play, which is not bad at all. I also have to praise JBL for being one of the few speaker manufacturers to put quality batteries in their devices that don't discharge themselves when idle, which can't always be said about the competition. Specifically, the Flip 3 can be found with a battery with a capacity of 3000 mAH.
Two 3W drivers are hidden in the bowels of the JBL Flip 8, and the speaker maintains a frequency range from 85 Hz to 20 kHz. Flip 3 weighs less than half a kilo, so you can take it with you in your pocket or backpack without any worries. But this is where we come to the minor negatives that I encountered while using the Flip 3.
With all previous speakers of the Flip series, the manufacturer also supplied a protective case in the package in addition to the speaker. In the first generation, it was ordinary neoprene, and in the second, on the contrary, a sturdy plastic cover. This time I didn't find anything in the box, which left me quite disappointed, despite the fact that the new Flip is more durable than its siblings.
Also with the charging cable, there used to be a charging adapter that made it easy to charge the speaker from the mains. Now you only get a flat USB cable in the color of the speaker, so if you don't have a reducer, you can only charge from your computer.
JBL offers the latest Flip 3 in eight color variants - cerne, blue, Grey, orange, pink, red, turquoise a yellow. In terms of price, it is only slightly more expensive than the new Flip 2 was about a year and a half ago. Behind the JBL Flip 3 you will pay 3 crowns and if you have a good experience with this line like me, there is no reason not to buy it. I myself am thinking about switching to the latest model, with the idea that I would let the older Flip 2 continue to serve in the family.
Thank you for borrowing the product JBL.cz.
yet another use