Get Them Here:
JBL Clip 5: https://amzn.to/4dQcOmp
JBL Flip 6: https://amzn.to/4dPvouZ
Sony ULT 1: https://amzn.to/3z7Mkh0
So the new JBL Clip 5 has some very big upgrades on it like Aura cast so you can now pair it to other speakers, it has a longer lasting battery life and it also gets significantly louder than its predecessor. Overall the JBL Clip 5 is a very impressive speaker… so impressive, it actually does a great job of keeping up with the JBL Flip 6 and Sony ULT Field 1. So if you’re looking for a portable bluetooth speaker, lets see how the Clip 5 stacks up to both the Flip 6 and ULT Field 1.
Regarding pricing, the Clip 5 has a retail price of $80 making this a premium micro speaker, but I feel that it can justify its price. Where as with both the Flip 6 and Ult Field 1, both of these speakers retail for $130 but they like to go on sale for like $100… and obviously these larger speakers are going to out preform the Clip 5. But 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 theres the design of these speakers. Now both the Flip 6 and UTL field 1 are small candy bar speakers and they’re easy enough to take on the go with you. Now the Flip 6 has a built in loop, so you can attach it to things… but the loop on the ULT field 1 is larger plus it also doubles as a carrying handle so its easier to carry this speaker around. But then theres the clip 5 which it noticeably smaller than these other two speakers and it has a built in carabeaner, so you can more easily attach it to things. Overall all of these speakers are portable, but one of the main selling points of the Clip 5 is that its just more portable. But when it comes to overall durability, all of these speakers have a mostly fabric wrapped body so they are going to be able to stand up to constant abuse from bumps and scrapes, and they’re all water proof, so a little bit of water isn’t going to be an issue for any of these speakers.
Now when it comes to battery life, all of these speakers have an advertised battery life of 12 hours, and this is a big deal for the clip 5. However this advised battery life of 12 hours is with these speakers playing at 50% volume. Now 50% volume is decent on all of these speakers, but 50% Volume on both the Flip 6 and ULT 1 is going to be noticeably louder than 50% Volume on the clip 5.
Now, the clip 5 also has JBL’s new Playtime boost feature which is going to extend your battery life by 2 hours, and this is similar to using the ULT field 1 with its ULT feature turned off… but playtime boost on the Clip 5 is going to really reduce your bass and its going to make this speaker sound very flat. So if you want the best sound out of it, you want to use it with its playtime boost off.
But when it comes to charging, all of these speakers charge via a USB C port as they should… but this is the only port that you’ll find on all of these speakers and you cant use them with a wired connection. However, I do want to point out that the USB C port on the ULT 1 has a cover, where as with both JBL speakers, its exposed. Now the exposed USB C port on the JBL’s isn’t a problem… however, you do have to wait for your speaker to be dry before you can charge it. Where as with the ULT 1 if its covered, you don have to worry about it. This is something that you might want to consider if you’re going to use your speaker at the pool a lot and you dont want to have to wait to charge your speaker.
But when it comes to 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, and latency is not an issue for this speaker so you can use it to watch videos with on your phone.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Now the Clip 5 has a single frontward firing 45 millimeter transducer and it puts out 7 watts. Where as with both the flip 6 and ULT 1, these speakers have a frontward firing woofer and a frontward firing tweeter and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. Now the Woofer and tweeter set up on both the Flip 6 and ULT 1 is a big deal cause this helps with instrument separation. The Woofer handles the mids and the tweeter handles the highs, but let me just show you.
Tweeter
So like you may have just seen, the tweeter handles the highs and the woofer handles the mids and this is going to help you speaker sound more open. But also, all of these speakers have an adjustable EQ, so you can make them sound however you want. But now were going to jump into the soundtest. All of these speakers are playing with their stock EQ’s, which means ULT is turned on on the ULT field 1 and all of these speakers are playing at 75% volume.
Sound test
So first lets talk about the max volume performance on these speakers. As expected, both the Flip 6 and ULT 1 are louder than the Clip 5… but thats not the point, the point is the Clip 5 does a very impressive job of keeping up with these larger speakers. And at 75% volume the Clip 5 is more than usable either as a shower speaker or if you take it on a hike or bike ride. But when it comes to the overall sound quality, yes both the Flip 6 and ULT 1 sound more open than the Clip 5 thanks to their tweeter and Woofer set up… but they also have more bass than the Clip 5 cause of their passive radiators. But in general the Clip 5 does a great job of keeping up with these larger speakers given that its smaller and it has less hardware going for it. But if you’re trying to choose between the Flip 6 and ULT 1, then I am going with the ULT 1 cause it gets the loudest here and it sound the fullest.
But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers… and sadly even though I love the ULT field 1, this is where sony dropped the ball. With the ULT 1, if you have another ULT 1 then you can pair them up and get them to play in left and right stereo mode, but the ULT 1 does not have party connect so you can not connect it to any of Sony’s other speakers that are using party connect like either an ULT 7, or 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.
But then there are these JBL Speakers which are rocking some fragmentation. Now with both the Flip 6 and Clip 5 if you have two of the same speakers then you can wirelessly pair them together and get them to play in sync, just like the ULT 1. But the Flip 6 is also using Partyboost you can connect it to other party boost speakers like either a Boombox 3, a boombox 2, Xtreme 3, Charge 5, Pulse 5, Pulse 4, Flip 5 or to another flip 6 and get them to play in sync.
Where as the Clip 5 has aura cast, and you can connect it to other aura cast speakers like either another Clip 5, a Go 4, or Xtreme 4 and get them to play in sync, and you can even connect it to JBL’s newer partybox speakers that are also using aura cast like a partybox 120, 320, or ultimate.
But unforutnly, unlike the Xtreme 4 which is also an aura cast speaker, the clip 5 wont connect to JBL’s older speakers that are using party boost, and this is weird cause the Xtreme 4 can connect to party boost speakers… so hopefully JBL will add this backwards compatibility to the Clip 5 in the future.
But nonetheless, if you plan on growing your collection of speakers, then you’ll want to go with either of JBL’s options here. The Clip 5 is the better bet here cause it’ll be compatible with future speakers… but I still prefer party boost over aura cast cause party boost is a lot more stable than aura cast.
But with all of that being said, the JBL Clip 5 is very impressive for its size. From a performance stand point, it does a really good job of keeping up with these larger speakers from a max volume stand point, it has a decent battery life for its size and aura cast allows you to grow you collection of speakers. The Clip 5 is a great option if you’re looking something super portable. However if you want something louder or with better sound, then you are better off going with these larger options cause they get louder, they have better instrument separation and they have more bass. And personally, I do prefer the ULT 1 over the flip 6 cause it get louder and it sounds fuller, I just wish that it had party connect.