We’ve reviewed JBL’s, both Flip and the Flip 2 before and have loved the performance. The Flip 2 though a little better, hardly featured any changes in terms of the design. Now we have a third iteration to the Flip and this one seems to be quite an upgrade, in terms of the both design and features. The Flip 3 looks more sporty and also features the two bass reflectors on the side, much like the Charge 2. The speaker is priced just under Rs. 7,500*. We find out if it is worth the extra buck over it predecessor.
Design and Build
Unlike the previous model, the Flip 3 comes with some noticeable changes. For starters, it is a little bigger and heavier than the previous model. It’s mostly because of the bass radiators seen on either side, which seem to have been picked up from the Charge 2. The speaker feels pretty solid and quite stylish as well. Like the old variants, JBL gives you an option to choose from a whole range of funky colours to match your style.
A major modification has been made to the grill. It’s still made of metal, but comes with a splash proof fabric coating on top it. Aesthetically, it makes the speaker look good and also allows you to use it outdoors, even on rainy days. You can even wash the speaker with water. However, JBL doesn’t recommend submerging the speaker completely. That said it still makes the Flip 3 an extreme outdoor speaker. JBL provides you with a wrist strap to carry the speaker, but a carry case is not included.
JBL seems to have paid a lot of attention to detail with Flip 3. It’s easy to notice this, when you see the Bluetooth button, volume rocker keys and the call buttons embedded neatly into the grill. The circular edges of the speakers are made of plastic. The matte finish on it provides a pretty good grip to hold the speaker. The On/Off switch is placed next to the JBL Connect button (A feature we’ll be speaking about a little later in the review). There are five LEDs that notify the battery level. For better protection, the micro USB port and the 3.5mm Auxiliary input are covered with a thick flap.
Features
JBL has made few changes with the internal hardware as well. Underneath the grill, the Flip 3 comes with two drivers, both powered at 8 Watts. What’s interesting though are the bass radiators we mentioned before. A clear sign of heavy bass. We won’t be surprised if the output is similar to the Charge 2. However, we can guarantee that it’s going to be loud. The speaker comes with 3,000 mAH battery that JBL claims will last for a good 10 hours. For the size and the output, the Flip 3 seems to be better equipped for outdoors in every way.
The speaker comes with Bluetooth 4.1, which promises to offer seamless audio streaming. Like many other Bluetooth speakers, the Flip 3 also comes with a stereo feature, which allows you to connect two JBL Flip 3 together and use them as stereo speaker. This features is called the JBL Connect. However, JBL gives you the option to control both speakers together with the help of the app on the smartphone. The app goes by the same name, JBL Connect. There are different modes and plenty of other features to explore in the app.
Performance
After comparing the two, it was obvious that the Flip 3 is louder than the Charge 2, even though it’s smaller in size. The output is loud enough to let you host a party both indoors and outdoors. You do not necessarily have to sit close to get the best sound either. No matter how you place the speaker, there’s still ample of sound, unlike many portable speakers that seem to have one directional output. Compared to the Charge 2, we also found the sound to be much sharper. We played Mogwai’s ‘Superheroes of BMX’ on both speakers and found the bass to be very crisp and clean, all thanks to the bass radiators. The speaker managed to hold the ample amount of bass quite well, especially with the grudgy bits in the background. However, we did experience some distortion at the end of the song, when the bass got really heavy. With Emika’s ‘Wicked Game’, we really liked the depth of the music. Emika’s vocals sounded really clean. The best part though were her the vocal echos. Every one of them could be heard clearly, even with all the layers added to the song in the background. Overall the song, sounded really well balanced as well with the all the layers.
We also heard Textures’ ‘Awake’. Here the bass guitar was quite prominent. The vocals also stood out. They weren’t over powered by the music in the background. However, some of the finer details were still lost because of the heavy elements in the song. That said, it was still quite good for a speaker the size of the Flip 3. JBL claims that the microphone reduces noise and echo. We made a couple of voice calls with the speaker to see if that was true. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to work all that well. People talking on the other side could hear plenty of noise. The voice was still audible and we found the microphone to work well even from a distance of 5 feet.
Verdict
The Flip 3 no doubt is one of the best portable speaker you can buy for outdoor use. It has breath-taking output, which is not only loud, but is also versatile enough for a variety of genres that you'd want to play on it. There might be the problem of a little distortion, but for around the price of Rs. 7,500, you can easily overlook that problem. Not to mention the splashproof design, just gives the speaker an edge over most of its competition. The Flip 3 offers great value for money.
