JBL Charge 6 Review

Design

• Water and dust
• Wear a belt
• USB-C input

Like previous versions, the Charge 6 is an outdoor speaker from JBL that looks like you’d want to play American Football or catch up with it. Even though it weighs more than 1kg, you won’t want it hitting you in the face (or anywhere else for that matter).

Despite gaining weight (1.37kg), the new removable carrying strap makes carrying it feel easy. The strap is easy to attach, and once it’s done, you have something less American Football and more like a bag.

Button placement has changed to match the strap, with two rows of controls for the Flip 7’s Auracast feature, power, volume, and playback controls. The USB-A port is gone, a single USB-C port has been added which also supports lossless audio from another source. It’s a shame that JBL no longer includes a cable with the Charge 6.

The IP rating has changed from IP67 to IP68, making this speaker waterproof and dustproof (it will survive being submerged at some depth for a while). It’s also drop-proof from about a meter, so no need to worry if you’re a member of the group with strong hands.

Colors include red, scarlet, purple, blue, black, pink and white.

Battery Life

• 24 hours are required
• Fast charging
• Works with a powerbank

With both the Grip and the Flip 7, I’ve noticed that the battery life isn’t as long as expected when playing at 50% volume. Obviously, JBL’s tests are done at low volumes, but with certain speakers, that means you lose some audio performance, too.

I play music from a Spotify playlist (always shuffling) at 50% volume for several hours on a wireless speaker I’m testing. When I did this with the Charge 6, I recorded a 20% battery drop in two hours. That would suggest that the speaker can last 10 hours at 50% volume.

But the Charge 6 is bigger than the Grip or Flip 7, and it can go higher. So turning the volume down to 30% (which is still good for sound) produces better results.

After seven hours of music playback, the Charge 6 recorded an 11% drop. I won’t bother with the math, but that’s pretty good and suggests that 24 hours (JBL’s claimed battery life) is still achievable, and that perhaps the most appropriate amount of battery life is somewhere around 40% volume.

Enable Playtime Boost and that gives another four hours, according to JBL. The Charge 6 can also function as a powerbank, although JBL says there isn’t enough juice to power up a laptop. There’s support for fast charging with 10 minutes giving an extra 2.5 hours, and it’s quicker to fill the tank than the Charge 5, taking three hours to go from zero to full.

Features

• Bluetooth 5.4
• Auracast
• JBL’s portable app

Features aren’t where JBL’s Bluetooth speakers pack the most. Very simple and to the point.

I mentioned that it can work as a powerbank and can play lossless audio through its USB-C input. The Bluetooth 5.4 connection supports AAC streaming, which is par for the course at this price. Bluetooth connectivity is stellar, no issues connecting over long distances.

There’s an Auracast for pairing the Charge 6 with other compatible JBL speakers. There is the possibility of stereo pairing if you have two on hand.

With the JBL Portable app, you can check battery life, update speaker firmware, and play loud with EQ presets and custom options.

Sound Quality

• It’s clearer, more detailed than the Charge 5
• Heavy bass
• Open sound

Right from the off, the Charge 6 sounds more powerful than the Charge 5. The power has been increased from 40 to 45W, and at the same volume, you can hear the Charge 6 emitting low frequencies with greater power.

It’s a great sound and JBL has made some clever tweaks. It is less clear in the frequency range and gains more in terms of natural sound. Smooth reproduction of music, so while there are areas for further improvement, when it comes to power, voice clarity, low-end performance, and detail, it’s a clear improvement over the Charge 5.

Inside the voice, there is more depth, detail, definition and clarity. The Charge 6 is better at separating vocals from the rest of the song than the Charge 5, so vocals stand out more.

For Shaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody, in the second half of the track, the Charge 6 raises its voice with more clarity and definition than the Charge 5, which sounds louder despite its sweet tone. The sound clarity of the Charge 6 is excellent, whether it’s talking to female or male speakers.

It’s very smart in terms of pitch and treble, so while the treble isn’t the brightest, compared to the Charge 5 the highs are clearer and better defined, making the older speaker sound thinner in comparison. There is a feeling that the highs are smooth, but it means that the Charge 6 is not too harsh and tiring on the highs.

Bass is weighty, with good amounts of power and depth – dig deeper than the Charge 5 and it sounds clear. The bass is also catchy when playing music outdoors, so while it’s not at the level of the Brane X, it does well.

The Charge 6 also sounds more manageable than the Charge 5, whose sound can often come off as loud, tight and thin in comparison. Charge 6 pushes more power and power, music tracks flow better, there is more momentum (though still a lot) which makes for a better sound all around.

The Charge 6 is clearer, smoother, more fun than the Charge 5. It’s better at filling a room with sound, better at sound. It’s not the best-sounding Charge speaker in the range, credit goes to the Charge 5 Wi-Fi, but in terms of Bluetooth speakers alone, it’s the best in the series.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t areas to improve. Bass can get deeper on some tracks that need more extension, and highs can be more prominent, but these are minor issues. If you had to choose between a portable Bluetooth speaker and, say, a home Bluetooth speaker like the Bose SoundLink Home to choose from, the JBL wins.

Should you buy it?