JBL Grip Review

Design

• Size of a Coca Cola can
• Hang loop
• Ambient Light bar

The name ‘Grip’ serves as a clue for the use case of this JBL speaker. It’s designed to be held in one hand, practically the size of a Coca Cola can, making it easier than the Flip to transport if you simply just want to pick up and play some tunes.

It does come with a loop stap, though unlike the Flip 7 this isn’t detachable but built in. While the Flip series works both horizontally and vertically, the Grip seems intended for vertical positioning. Playback controls are towards the top of the speaker, with more power, Bluetooth, and the Auracast buttons positioned on the top surface.

Elsewhere, the Grip is like a smaller version of the Flip. It carries the same look, the same abrasive fabric wrapped around it, though the USB-C port is just for charging with no USB-C audio support that the Flip 7 features.

There is a difference between the Grip and Flip with a light panel on the rear side of the speaker, turning it into a potential glow stick party speaker if you wanted to take it to a rave.

Its IP68 rating signals that it’s waterproof and dustproof, and as long as you don’t drop it from a height higher than a metre, JBL claims that it’s drop-proof as well. Like the Flip 7 it’s made from recycled plastic and fabric, with FSC certified paper packaging as the Grip endorses more sustainable materials.

Like with most JBL speakers, there’s plenty of colours to choose from: Purple, Squad (or Camo), Red, Black, Blue, Pink and White are your (current) options.

Features

• JBL Portable app
• Claimed 14 hours battery
• Auracast Bluetooth

Like the Flip 7, there isn’t much in the way of features with the Grip; though the light panel does come with added customisation in the JBL Portable app.

The Ambient Light feature, as JBL calls it, features several main ‘Light Shows’ in Trim, Switch and Neon, Freeze, and Bounce. You can customise the colours from a choice of pink, purple, blue and red, but you can’t do this with the Neon option, which cycles through a series of pink, blue and green colours.

Other means of customisation include adjusting the brightness of light, which will likely have an impact on the battery life too.

The Bluetooth 5.4 support includes Auracast, which means you can connect with multiple other JBL speakers that support the Bluetooth format. You can also stereo pair two Grip speakers too.

I didn’t experience any issue in terms of the wireless connection which held up over long distances. I did note that the speaker isn’t particularly loud – it’s quieter than the Flip 7, which shouldn’t be a surprise given its smaller size.

JBL again claims the Grip can offer up to 14 hours on a single charge, with two additional hours possible if you engage the Playtime Boost feature. However, streaming at Spotify playlist at 50% volume and the JBL Grip fell from 100% to 79%, which is about five hours.

Again, it seems JBL is not being specific in terms of the volume the Grip needs to be played at to reach 14 hours. Based on my testing, lower volumes will help the speaker last for longer, as will potentially turning the light show off.

Sound Quality

• Lean, energetic sound
• Punchy bass
• Can sound bright

The Grip’s sound is not as balanced or as clear as the Flip, but over the course of testing, I found it to be an energetic, brash and enjoyable performer. There are areas where it struggles, but if you have to take into account the size of the speaker, after all.

With GoGo Penguin’s Ascent, the bass can sound a little tubby and lacking depth – the Grip can’t communicate the same level of weight or punch the Flip 7 can. This isn’t an outdoor speaker that can reach deep with bass.

Katy B’s Katy on a Mission sees bass come across as flat and lacking weight, while Massive Attack’s Angel sounds a bit hard and hollow. With tracks that demand big bass, the speaker jabs rather than slams, the tuning of its sound is focused on the mids and highs.

The treble response is better than I expected, with good levels of detail and a bright response that some may find a little grating, but I enjoyed it.

With The Jackson Sisters’ I Believe in Miracles, the track is conveyed with lots of energy and punch. The speaker’s midrange reveals itself to be a little sharp, leading to a bright and sharp sound. It gives the speaker energy, but at the same time, it could sound a little thin.

But it’s the Grip’s sense of energy that is its defining characteristic. With Magnetic’s ILLIT, it carries a bouncy sense of energy and a punchy sense of bass that engages all throughout the track.

With Veronica Swift’s The Man I Love, her voice comes through crisply and clearly – it does hover on being a little bright and sharp, but the Grip retrieves and reproduces detail well, and this solemn, slower track shows that the Grip can hold attention just as well when it doesn’t have bundles of energy to deal with.

It’s capable of a decent amount of dynamism to go with its energy, and for its size, it can sound big and spacious. I’m impressed by the Grip – a few quibbles aside, it’s one of the more accomplished speakers I’ve heard at this price.

Should you buy it?