If you're looking for one of the best Bluetooth speakers but don't want to spend too much money, head to Walmart — it's currently offering over $50 off the JBL Charge 5 speaker, which is down from the usual $179.95 to just $128.04. That's a decent savings of $51.01. Amazon is close with a price of $135.
If you like the way it sounds but live in the UK, Amazon is currently making the same speaker for 28% off, bringing the price down from £179 to £129. The discount doesn't apply to all variants – some don't. are in stock and others, like the pink and gray ones, are a little more expensive, between £141 and £144, but you can get that price in the black, blue and camouflage versions.
Is the JBL Charge 5 worth buying?
Yes. We really like the JBL Charge, and in our review of the JBL Charge 5 we said that it is a speaker based on a winning formula of balanced sound, high volume and long battery life. And although those strengths have not changed in this fifth version, it does improve on its predecessors in several aspects. At its normal retail price we gave it four and a half stars out of five; At over $50 off the regular price, you could easily argue that this is a five-star speaker.
We think the JBL Charge 5 is one of the best Bluetooth speakers on the market. He's evolved from a bass monster to something a little more mature; As long as you don't overcook the volume (we found 50% to 60% to be the sweet spot, providing more than enough oomph without becoming too harsh), it delivers clear mids, plenty of low-end punch, and warm high frequencies. That level is also the sweet spot for battery life: in our tests, continuous playback at 50% easily met the quoted 20-hour battery life.
The Charge 5's name is a big clue to its other key feature: you can also use it as a power bank. Of course, that has an impact on overall listening time, especially if you use it to recharge demanding devices, like smartphones with large batteries. But it means the Charge is a great travel speaker: it sounds great, it's not too big or too heavy, and it means one less charger to pack.
