JBL Flip 7 Review

Design

• Multiple colours
• Detachable strap
• IP68 rating

It’d be easy to describe Flip 7, at least in its black version, as looking unremarkable. You could say the Flip 7 looks like any other wireless speaker, but the look and vibe of its design are something JBL has been nailing for years.

It’s easily holdable in one hand, and the Flip now comes with a strap for added security. It weighs around 800g, but doesn’t feel that heavy to hold; the weight adds to its heft and solidity. It’s rated at IP68, so it’s both waterproof and dustproof, and JBL claims it’s also drop-proof (from 1m height).

Controls are on top (in its horizontal position) and cover playback, volume, power, Bluetooth and Auracast. It’s all very accessible and not especially challenging to pick it up and start playing music. A neat visual touch is that you can see the woofers at either end vibrate when the Flip 7 deals with a bassy track.

Around the rear is a light bar that signifies how much charge is left, as well as the USB-C charging input. You can use the USB-C input to play lossless audio, adding another string to the Flip 7’s bow to connect directly to a laptop or other device for use as an external speaker.

As well as holding the speaker, you could choose to hang it via a carabiner (included amongst the accessories) or aforementioned hang loop/strap, both of which can be detached and swapped through JBL’s PushLock system.

While the black version looks slightly unremarkable, there are colours to choose from in pink, blue, red, squad (or camo), white and purple for a more striking look.

Features

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

There aren’t a huge number of features on the Flip 7. Most of what’s there you can find in the JBL Portable app, through which you can update the speakers and monitor battery life.

I’ve mentioned lossless audio through the USB-C connection, and there’s Aurcast streaming that replaces JBL’s PartyBoost. This allows the Flip 7 to connect to other JBL speakers, and, hypothetically, speakers from other brands that support Auracast.

On a smaller scale, you can connect two speakers for a stereo pair, and in the app, you can toggle on Playtime Boost to extend battery life.

Speaking of battery life, JBL claims 14 hours on a charge with Playtime Boost that offers an additional two hours. However, I don’t think those claims ring true.

Having played a Spotify playlist for two hours at 50% volume, the Flip 7 fell to 70%, which would put this Bluetooth speaker at just over six hours. If you want to eke 14 hours of charge from this speaker, you’d need to play it at about 20/25% volume. At 50% the Flip 7 sounds loud, so you could possibly get away with a lower volume.

The Bluetooth performance has been excellent, with no dropouts and a stable connection throughout testing, even when my smartphone was more than a dozen metres away.

There are EQ modes to play with, from JBL Signature to Chill, Energetic, Vocal, and a Custom option that offers a 7-band graphic EQ to customise lows, mids, and highs.

Sound Quality

• Weighty bass for its size
• Clear, natural sound

Sound is an area where JBL has been ahead of its rivals, in particular with its cheaper options. Others can sound crude and tonally unnatural, but JBL strikes a balance of clarity, detail, and a natural tone that’s still class-leading.

The Flip 7 offers excellent clarity with voices. Sandi Thom’s in I Wish I was a Punk Rocker rings out loud, clear and true. It’s a crisp tone with a bit of smoothness to the sound and a good sense of detail. It’s not the most detail-rich performance, but the Flip 7 seems to know what to prioritise in each track.

That might be down to the presence of JBL’s AI Boost, which apparently analyses music in real-time to deliver “maximum acoustic” performance with less distortion. There’s good power to the low frequencies for a speaker of its size, and the scale of the sound is bigger than the speaker itself. This is a small speaker with a big sound.

It sounds spacious in either vertical or horizontal orientation (I mainly used it vertically), with good separation between midrange and bass. It’s a balanced sound too – Nelly’s Hot in Here has a strong, assertive sense of bass, but the JBL keeps the vocals intact throughout the track.

A play of Jay-Z’s Hard Knock Life, and while the Flip 7 won’t rumble any floors with its bass performance, it’s a good effort. It can’t reproduce sub-bass, but no speaker at this size and at this price can achieve that.

You’ll get better bass reproduction indoors with the reflections that indoor surfaces can offer, but there’s still enough to enjoy when used outdoors. Turn the volume up to max and the bass bottoms out, with a little distortion creeping in as the sound gets thinner. It wouldn’t be wise to raise the volume up to max as the JBL Flip 7 loses composure.

With GoGo Penguin’s Ascent, I’m impressed by the clarity, the variety of the highs, and the detail the JBL can extract. It can encounter some trouble with the bass effects in the track – some of the ripple effects don’t sound true. It can run aground with treble, as with Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles, the highs sound a little smooth and dull, lacking a little bit of detail, but the sense of punch and energy of the sound makes up for that.

There’s decent dynamism with Norah Jones’ inflexions in I Don’t Know Why, and with every track I’ve put through the JBL’s drivers, it’s sounded smooth but natural and clear with vocals. It’s a versatile little speaker that works well across a range of music genres.

Should you buy it?