Sound quality: JBL's Charge 2 had good overall sound quality. Bass has good impact, but is somewhat pronounced, boomy, and crowds the lower midrange; deep bass is lacking. Midrange is a bit dark, nasal, and grainy, and treble is somewhat recessed. This model does a so-so job of recovering room ambience--the sense of an acoustic space, such as the hall or room in which a recording was made--sounds a bit congested, and lacks fine detail. We found no significant difference in sound quality whether we used a wired or Bluetooth connection. This model can provide a decent volume level in a small to medium-sized room
Ease of use: The speaker's ease of use was only fair overall. Bluetooth pairing was easy, but the speaker has low-contrast controls, making them hard to see. The wired audio input port isn't labeled, and there is a long audio delay when switching between Bluetooth and wired sources. The speaker will emit tone alerts for various functions, such as Bluetooth pairing. The sound level of the alerts isn't particularly loud, but they can't be turned off or adjusted, so they may be annoying to some users. This model doesn't come with a remote control, which isn't an issue if you're nearby or using it a with portable Bluetooth device that can act as a remote. It could be inconvenient in other situations.
