With more of us heading off on staycations of if your lucky a holiday overseas spending time outside with friends and family can only be improved when listening to some great music. The Bluetooth Speaker market is stacked with brands offering you everything for a variety of budgets.
In this review, we are covering the JBL Clip 4 which is a waterproof speaker (IP67 rated) perfect for the outdoors at the affordable cost of £49.99 that also comes with a built-in carabiner perfect for travelling around the great outdoors.
Design
The JBL Clip 4 comes in 7 different colour options:
- Blue & Pink
- Red
- Pink
- Blue
- Black
- Yellow & Green
- White
In this review, we have the Blue/Pink version that measures 5.3 x 3.4 x1.8 inches (HxWxD) the speaker is very lightweight at only 0.24kg. The speaker as mentioned comes with a built-in carabiner that is part of the frame of the speaker making it ideal for clipping onto a backpack when your off on your travels.
Under the carabiner on the front panel of the speaker, you have a large JBL logo on the speaker grill and above that, you have 3 raised rubber buttons which are the following controls- Play symbol that is your play/pause with a plus and minus either side which controls the volume.
If you want to skip a track you have to double press the play button but you will have to use your phone to skip back a track. Am surprised they just did not double up the volume controls to handle track controls. Seems like a missed opportunity if you ask me.
At the top of the speaker under the carabiner is the power button as well as a Bluetooth pairing button.
On the back of the speaker, you have some rubberized strips that keep the speaker stable when you have it laying on a desk and also allowing music to come out of the speaker clearly.
When you need to charge this speaker you will notice there is a rubber covering that underneath protects the USB-C port. They do this to help with the fact this speaker is waterproof and can be submerged up to 30 minutes ideal if you drop the speaker into the pool by mistake. It’s also dustproof due to the fact it’s IP67 rated.
The JBL Clip 4 is paired to your phone using Bluetooth 5.1 and supports AAC codecs but you don’t get AptX codec which is a little disappointing. The speaker also comes with 10 hours battery life and at a recent party we had with family we used the speaker all day and it still had plenty of battery life. The battery life is excellent if you’re taking it out for the day for maybe a picnic or a trip to the beach.
Audio Quality
The JBL Clip 4 offers intense sub-bass and this is showcased when listening to something like out go to review track “Alice Merton- No Roots” you get decent low frequency when the volume at about 50% but if you increase that volume towards the max it will distort quite bad so keep the volume at 50 -70% for an enjoyable experience. When listing to this track the vocals are delivered very clear without much added sibilance.
I have tried a number of different tracks and ones that are a little less bass-heavy offer a listening experience that is rich, bright and clear sound profile without leaving out the bass.
Verdict
If you are looking for a portable speaker that will handy with the unpredictable UK weather and will handle being at a beach or when having a picnic at the park. The JBL Clip 4 gives you that IP67 rating that offers you a speaker that is waterproof and dustproof. The audio quality if the volume between 50-70% offers a decent sound allowing you to enjoy some quality music due to the 40mm 5 Watt drivers.
Battery wise at 10 hours it will give you plenty of juice to last the day and to charge the speaker for 3 hours is slight be longer than you might expect but at £49.99 for a portable speaker, I can live with that. I also found the carabiner ideal for those who want to pop it on a bag and head out on an adventure.
Product Rating:
Overall Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Thanks for reading this review, please continue to support us and check out our other reviews and follow us on Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter below.
Recent Comments