The JBL Flip 7 is a five-star Bluetooth speaker – but are you better off with an older, cheaper model?

The JBL Flip 7 has arrived and, alongside the larger Charge 6, heralded a new era for the American brand. It's time for the old guard to step back and let the young bucks take charge, pun intended, something they're more than capable of doing thanks to their upgraded sound, features and design quirks. Who needs an old speaker, anyway? Time for the Charge 5 and Flip 6 to break out the tartan blanket and ear trumpet as they enjoy their retirement by sitting on a park bench and feeding the metaphorical ducks.

Or is it? While the Charge 5 may be getting older, that doesn't mean it doesn't have a lot to offer, especially now that its price has dropped significantly from its original price of £160 / $180. Major discounts now mean that the fifth-gen Charge slightly undercuts the more recent Flip, putting them in direct competition from a cost perspective.

That poses an interesting question: Are you better off going with the Flip 7, or should you stick to the old school and snap up a Charge 5 before it disappears for ever?

Flip features

There's a lot to be said for grabbing hold of the JBL Flip 7. It's the newer speaker, after all, so there's a sense of prestige and trendiness that comes with owning the hottest tech on the block. You wouldn't turn up to school in last year's sneakers, would you? No, you want to be rocking the freshest kicks!

With that newness comes a host of features that you won't find with the JBL Charge 5. Auracast is the big one: this handy protocol for easily sharing audio across a range of compatible units promises to future-proof your device. If you already own a load of JBL's latest speakers, including the Xtreme 4 or a couple of Go 4s, the newer Flip makes sense. If you're still wedded to a stable of older models, it might not be such a big deal.

Then there's the build of the Flip. It's a smaller unit than the Charge, making it perfect for slinging into a bag or just carrying to the park. No larger than a can of Pringles, the lightness and portability of the Flip are appealing, as are its interchangable carabiner and finger-loop accessories. A very solid IP68 water and dustproof rating brings serious durability to the party, beating out the still-solid IP67 rating of the outgoing Charge. You'll be able to submit each speaker in water for around 30 minutes at a time – the Flip can theoretically go a little longer before it starts to struggle.

Charge 5 sound and price

The Flip 7 also benefits from the inclusion of lossless 24-bit/96kHz audio transmission via USB-C. While the quality is noticeably better than wireless listening, we understand that many users will only use their Flip without a physical connection.

The thing is, as great as we find the Flip 7's audio to be through either a wired or wireless connection, it isn't on the same level as the older Charge 5. That's to be expected – the Charge is larger, more powerful and has been a multiple Award-winner during its four-year lifespan. While it doesn't have lossless USB-C audio capabilities, its out-of-the-box performance trumps the Flip 7 for punch, scale, detail and musicality. The Charge 5's sound will carry more effectively outside, too, making it more appealing for poolside parties or backyard barbecues.

That's not bad for a speaker that, at the time of writing, costs £119 / $119 – £11 / $31 less than the Flip 7's launch price of £130 / $150. No, you don't get most of the new features or the portability of the Flip 7, but that's hardly deal-breaking considering many users won't require lossless audio from a sonically superior speaker. That said, there is no carry handle with the Charge 5 (that comes only with the latest iteration), so anyone with small grabbers and poor grip strength might find it a bit, if you'll excuse the pun, of a handful.

Stick or twist?

This is a trickier decision than it might first appear. The Charge 5 is larger, more powerful and better-sounding than the Flip 7, but it is less future-proofed, less portable and not as well furnished with tricks and features as the newer model. At the time of writing, its cheaper price is attractive, especially considering its size and sonic superiority; so if big, bold sound is paramount, it may be the one to pick.

Then things get trickier. The Charge 5 is cheaper at the time of writing, but we don't know how much further, if at all, it will drop. At some point, the fifth-gen legend is going to be gone for good, and when that happens, you'll have missed the boat unless you dig around for a second-hand unit. JBL does tend to keep many of its products in production for a good while (you can still find a Flip 5 if you look hard enough), so the multiple Award-winner may be around for a while yet.

What JBL also tends to do is offer frequent discounts, even on relatively new models. If the JBL Flip 7 is a bit too expensive right now, you could always wait a few months and see if a spot deal or Black Friday bargain brings the seventh-gen Flip closer to the £100 / $120 mark. Or, if you just can't wait, you can nab one now at full price – given its five-star abilities, we wouldn't exactly blame you.

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