Get Them Here:
Sony ULT Field 1: https://amzn.to/4dwMxJX
JBL Charge 5: https://amzn.to/4dDTGIr
JBL Flip 6: https://amzn.to/3ygPfTV
So for the last few years, both the JBL Flip 6 and JBL Charge 5 have been my favorite speakers to recommend cause thanks to their woofer and tweeter setup, these speaker sound very good. Plus they’re portable and durable. But now, Sony has copied the woofer and tweeter set up that found in both of these JBL speakers and the ULT Field 1 actually sounds better than the Flip 6 and the ULT field 1 really gives the JBL Charge 5 a real run for it money. So today, lets see if JBL should be worried about the new Sony ULT Field 1.
Regarding pricing, both the JBL flip 6 and Sony ULT Field 1 have a retail price of $130… where as the Charge 5 has a retail price of $180. However both of JBL’s speakers like to go on sale on a regular basis and I expect the same for the Sony ULT Field 1 as well. Nonetheless, if you want to pick any of these speakers up they’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button.
So first lets talk about the design of these speakers. Now the Flip 6 is still the smallest speaker here, but then theres the Sony ULT Field 1 which is just as thick, but its noticeably longer than the Flip 6. But then there’s the Charge 5 which the largest and heaviest speaker here. Nonetheless all of these speakers are great options to take on the go with you to the beach or on a trip cause they dont take up too much space in your backpack. However with the ULT 1 it does have a built in carry handle that you can use in one or two ways. So either you can easily carry this speaker around, or you can very Dailey attach it to something. But when it comes to durability, these speakers are the same. They all have a mostly fabric wrapped body which can stand up to constant abuse from bumps and scrapes, and all of these speakers are water proof. So if they fall in the pool or if a drink gets spilled on them, they’ll be fine. But personally, I am leaning a little towards the ULT 1 here cause of that carrying strap, plus this speaker is small enough so you can easily throw it into your back pack’s water bottle holder.
Now when it comes to battery life, both the ULT field 1 and JBL Flip 6 have an advertised battery life of 12 hours. However this advertised battery life is with these speakers playing at 50% volume. Real world use with both of these speakers playing at 80% volume they’re both going to be good for about 8 hours of playback time. However, 80% volume on the ULT field 1 is noticeably louder than 80% volume on the Flip 6… and this 8 hours on the ULT 1 is with the ULT feature turned on.
But then theres the JBL Charge 5 and this speaker has an advertised battery life of 24 hours… but real world use with this speaker playing at 80% volume its going to be good for about 10 hours of playback time. And keep in mind that this is a 40 watt speaker so it is going to get noticeably louder than these other two smaller speakers.
But when it comes to ports, all of these speakers charge via a USB C port as they should… but this is actually the only port that you’ll find on both the Flip 6 and ULT 1… where as with the Charge 5 there is a USB A port so that you can charge your own devices. Now I think its great and all that the charge 5 has a USB A port… but I wish that you could charge your own devices with the USB C port on these speakers cause most phone these days come with USB C to USB C charging cables. But unforutnly, the USB C ports on all of these speakers is strictly used for charging the speaker.
But more importantly, none of these speakers have an audio jack on them, so you cant use them with a wired connection. Now peronsally I am sad that none of these speakers have an audio jack… but this is the standard now for speakers of this size.
But when it comes to Bluetooth connectivity, all of these speakers can be connected to 2 devices at the same time so that you and a friend can both be DJ. Latency is not an issue for any of these speakers so they can be used to watch videos with on your phone. And when it comes to audio codecs, both of JBL’s speakers only have support for SBC where as the ULT Field 1 has support for SBC and AAC.
But with all of that out of the way, lets talk about what really matters and thats sound. Now when it comes to speaker set ups, all of these speakers have a frontward firing woofer, a frontward firing tweeter and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. Except, on the Charge 5 it is larger. But it is a very big deal that all of these speakers have a woofer and tweeter set up cause this is still rare for a speaker of this size. And this type of set up is going to help with overall sound quality cause the woofer is going to handle the mids and the tweeter is going to handle the highs. But so that you can see what im talking about lets me just show you.
Tweeter demo
So like you may have just seen the Woofer handles the mids and the tweeter handles the highs, and this is going to help with overall instrument separation, your speaker is going to sound more open and you’re going to have more detail in the highs. Now with all of these speakers you can go in and you can adjust their EQ to your liking, and I do recommend that you increase the bass on the flip 6 cause it does lean towards a bright sound signature but with the Charge 5 I like to use it with its stock EQ. But then theres the ULT Field 1 which has its ULT button. Now this ULT Button has one level to it unlike with Sony’s other ULT speakers that have 2 ULT settings… but nonetheless, with the ULT 1 you’re going to get more bass when ULT is turned on. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test, all of these speakers are playing at 87% volume, and all of these speakers are playing with their stock EQ’s.
Sound test
So from a sound quality stand point, I simply have to say that the ULT field 1 sounds much better than both the JBL Flip 6 and JBL Charge 5 cause the mids sound way fuller. All of these speakers have similar instrument sepreaiton, and all of these speakers sound much more open than your more typical speakers that just have dual frontward firing woofers… but both of JBL’s speakers sound hollow when compared to the ULT Field 1. And when it comes to max volume performance, the Sony ULT field 1 gets noticeably louder than the JBL Flip 6 and it also has more resonance in its bass. However, the JBL charge 5 gets louder than the Sony ULT field 1 and it has more bass than the Sony. However, even though the JBL Charge 5 gets louder than the Sony ULT Field 1… the Sony ULT field 1 sounds meatier cause its mids sounds a lot fuller. So overall, I feel the Sony ULT field 1 easily out performs the JBL Flip 6 here when it comes to sounds… and the ULT field 1 gives the Charge 5 a real run for its money. But persoanly i really hope that we see an ULT field 3 that can properly compete against the Charge 5.
But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up to other speakers. Now with all of these speakers, if you have two of the exact same speakers than you can wirelessly pair them up to one another and get them to play in left and right stereo mode… However, even though I really like how the Sony ULT field One sounds… sony really dropped the ball here cause this speaker does not have party connect. Meaning that you cant wirelessly pair this speaker to Sony’s other speakers that are also using party connect like the Sony ULT field 7, Sony XG500, XG300, XE300, XE200, or to an XB43, XB33 or XB23 or to any of Sony’s larger box speakers that are also using party connect.
Where as with both the Flip 6 and Charge 5, both of these speakers are using Partyboost, so you can wirelessly pair them up to other Partyboost speakers like either a Boombox 3, Boombox 2, Xtreme 3, Charge 5, Pulse 5, Pulse 4, flip 5 or Flip 6… and you can also pair them up with JBL’s up coming aura cast speakers like either an Xtreme 4, Clip 5 or Go 4.
But unfortunately, you can not connect any of JBL’s smaller party boost speakers to any of JBL’s larger partybox speakers… but nonetheless, if you plan on getting multiple speakers or if you plan on growing your collection of speakers… right now you are better off going with JBL here, cause the ULT 1 doesn’t have party connect. And sometimes, just having 3 or 4 small speakers paired together is better than have one big loud speaker.
But with all of that being said, if you’re trying to choose between the Sony ULT Field 1 and the JBL Flip 6… the Sony ULT Field 1 is the clear winner here. This speaker sounds fuller and gets louder than the JBL flip 6. And I also really like the built in carrying handle. The only reason why you should get the Flip 6 over the ULT 1 is if you plan on getting more than 2 of the same speakers or if you plan on getting a second larger speaker. And then theres the Sony ULT Field 1 vs JBL Charge 5. The Charge 5 is still the way to go if you need a longer battery life. But when it comes to sound quality… again the ULT 1 sound fuller than the Charge 5. Personally I am really impressed by the Sony ULT Field 1, and I really hope that we see an ULT field 3 thats louder and has a longer battery life.