UE Wonderboom 3
JBL Flip 6
The Design
The Wonderboom speakers has changed little over the years, and with good reason. It’s a design that works well. At around 4” tall and wide, the Wonderboom 3 is a great compact size, and only weighs 420g. Whilst the JBL Flip 6 might be thinner, it is 3″ longer and 550g. So it feels more cumbersome to carry than the Wonderboom 3.
Both are rated IP67 which makes them dustproof, and waterproof in a meter of water for up to 30 minutes. The Wonderboom 3 does have one advantage though, because unlike the Flip 6 that sinks, this floats. This makes the Wonderboom 3 the better option if you’re taking it out on a boat for instance.
Connectivity
Both speakers have a solid connection over bluetooth, and support multi-point, so you can connect either speaker to multiple devices. They can also both be paired up to another speaker, like another Flip 6 or another Wonderboom 3, for true stereo playback.
The Flip 6 adds onto that though with support for JBL’s Partyboost. This allows it to be connected to up to 100 other Partyboost compatible JBL speakers, like another Flip 6, or a Charge 5, or a Pulse 5. This is something that the Wonderboom 3 lacks.
The Sound
The Wonderboom 3 is equipped with two 40mm full range drivers and two passive radiators. Their positioning also provides 360 degree sound. This is great for listening in a group as the music is going to sound the same regardless of where you are sat.
The Flip 6 on the other hand comes with an 80mm woofer dedicated to the bass frequencies, and a 16mm tweeter dedicated to the higher frequencies. This provides more detail in the bass, and the treble, as there is a driver dedicated to each. The consequence of that is that you are getting mono sound from this speaker. The Flip 6 is also very directional sounding. So you really do need to be sitting right in front of it to hear it at it’s best.
The Wonderboom 3 might not go as loud as the Flip 6 but it does exhibit a more balanced sound. This makes music more pleasant to listen to, especially for long sessions when it’s just playing music in the background.
There is an outdoor mode on the Wonderboom 3 that’s aimed at improving sound quality if you are listening outside. Essentially it’s an EQ mode that just recesses the bass and pushes up the treble so you can hear vocals and instruments more. It does a good enough job but I wouldn’t use it inside as it makes the music sound quite harsh.
At low to medium volumes both speakers do well. If you push either to higher volumes though they start to sound harsh and the bass drops off. So, stick to low to medium volumes and you’re going to be fine.
Battery Life
The JBL Flip 6 and Wonderboom 3 come with 12 and 14 hours of battery life respectively. This is good given their size. They also both take around 2.5 hours to charge back up to full.
The Flip 6 also features an LED strip that indicates battery level. This makes it easy to see when the speaker needs charging. There are no LED indicators on the Wonderboom 3. It does play a noise when you press the volume button to indicate how charged it is though. It just isn’t particularly intuitive.
One of the few things that annoy me about the Wonderboom 3 is how it charges. The Flip 6 chargs over a USB-C port, but the Wonderboom 3 uses a micro USB port! For a speaker that came out just last year, to equip it with micro USB, is both annoying and unacceptable.
The Extras
There’s no mobile app support on the Wonderboom 3 so you get what you see, and nothing else. The Flip 6 on the other hand does have mobile app support. This allows you to use the 3-band EQ to tweak the sound if you need to. It doesn’t give you lots of control, but at least it is some. You can update the firmware of your speaker with it too. So app support is a nice little addition as the speaker could improve over time with those updates. Having said that, the Wonderboom 3 really didn’t need any adjustment as it sounds pretty good out the box.
Which to buy?
Which one you buy really depends on what you want from a speaker. If you want a fuller bass, and to be able to connect to other Partyboost speakers, then the JBL Flip 6 is the right choice. It retails for $129 USD but is quite often on sale for $99 or less.
On the other hand, if you want a more balanced sound, or 360° sound, then the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is a good choice too. These retail for $99 USD but are often on sale for less.
Whichever one you go for, both are good options and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with whichever one you buy.
