JBL Pulse 3 Review in 2018 – Leader In Portable Speakers

JBL has been a leader in portable speakers for years because of their sheer variety of products, both in price and size and in their dedication to sound quality. And because they have a wide range of products to choose from just means that there will be a speaker that will fit your needs.

Want something that charges your phone and has decent bass, get a JBL Charge 3, want something tiny to get JBL Clip 2, but if you’re going to have a great speaker with the right balance and that can get loud and entertaining everyone that you see the best option would be JBL Pulse 3.

Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker Comparisons Table

Pulse series has been around for a while but never seemed to impress us because it appeared that something is missing, although they were good speakers Pulse 3 is the first one of these series speakers that managed to impress us.

And this mainly is because JBL managed to make it sound louder, extended its battery life, introduced new features and made the design smoother more like a fluid that is more pleasant to watch.

Performance

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First testing the JBL Pulse 3, we did not expect to get much from audio quality out of it and believed that it would be unbalanced party speaker. But, once again JBL proves its worthiness in their position because Pulse 3 due to its designed seemed to be heavy on bass, but don`t be fooled like we were as it sounds excellent and has great audio balance.

Comparing to Charge 3 where it highlights the bass a bit too much and cuts the highs a little bit, the Pulse 3 managed to keep it together and seemed to be better balanced. The highs are still bit off, but most instruments sound great.

Bass is rich and provides a decent thump but seemed to fade a little bit in mid-range, and on the higher volume, you can hear that deep bass is thinned out to prevent distortion.

Pulse 3 has 360-degree audio, which is perfect for those environments where you will be moving around a lot like by the pool or the beach. This speaker will ensure that everyone gets the same experience and makes you worry less about its placement.

Pulse 3 also has Connect+ capabilities, which allows pairing the speaker with other speakers that have Connect+ feature for more volume. But because to match them you need a Connect+ feature you will not be able to connect it to older speakers that lack this feature.

Battery life is average providing only 12 hours of playback with the lights on, which is short compared to other speakers like Charge 3 which produces around 24 hours or UE Boom 2 can provide about 16 hours.

The playback time can extend by turning the LED light show off, but whom we are kidding we got it not because of its balanced sound, but because of the light show.

Design

The casing of the speaker is mostly made out of smooth plastic which acts as a great light dispenser for the LEDs, and the company’s signature cloth cover is the visual proof that JBL Pulse 3 may be waterproof. And it is, by being IPX7 certified waterproofing it can sustain submersion in water up to 1 meter for some time which ensures that it can be taken to pool or beach.

At the top and bottom, there are bass radiators, which has no real protection and should not be touched to ensure that they are not damaged. But by being “naked”, they offer another cool visual feature that is fun to look at as it vibrates with the music.

And this makes it more difficult to place it because Pulse 3 can only be played upright and it sounds the best when placed on a flat surface (like a table)

Every control button that you should need to operate this speaker is located around the back. There are buttons for volume, power, Bluetooth pairing, JBL Connect+, voice assistant, play/pause. And there is a button to cycle thru light modes, and by holding it will shut down the light show, but we don`t want that, don’t we?

Conclusion

JBL Pulse 3 provided a pleasant surprise for us. While the light show makes you believe that it will be heavy on bass, it offers a very well balanced sound. The highs are slightly off, and the bass provided a decent thump but faded a little bit in the mid-range. Speaker is capable of really loud volume, but on higher volume bass gets bit thinned to prevent distortion. But if you are not an audiophile none of this not really matter because this speaker sounds good and can get loud.

For a speaker that provides a light show, JBL Pulse 3 is the best option available on the market because of its balanced audio and overall capabilities.

So, if you want to have a Bluetooth speaker that sounds great and can be a conversation piece this speaker is one to get.

Last update on 2024-05-03 at 13:42 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API