After charging the JBL Charge 5 for a few hours with the included USB-C cable, I was eager to test it out for myself and was immediately impressed by the sound quality.

JBL Charge 6 (front) and Charge 5 Wi-Fi. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends. ... Previous Charge models used one port for charging the speaker and a second port for charging external devices.

The JBL Charge 5 is a portable Bluetooth speaker with punchy sound, now available refurbished for $89.99 on StackSocial. It features an IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating, 20-hour battery life ...

The improvements JBL has made to the Charge 6 mean we would guide you towards that if you can afford one, but the Charge 5 is still an excellent option if you’re operating on a tighter budget.

On JBL's own site, the Charge 6 currently holds an impressive user rating, ... the speaker has a 4.4-star rating based on 62 users — less than the Charge 5's 4.7 stars from 31,817 user ratings.

The JBL Charge 6 has some big shoes to fill. Its predecessor, the Charge 5, consistently got high marks for its durability, utility, endurance, and of course, its audio performance.