The JBL Flip 4 and JBL Essential 2 share similar names and look alike at first sight. This leads to the idea that the JBL Flip Essential 2 might offer similar quality to the popular Flip 4 but at a lower price. Our testers have carefully evaluated JBL Flip 4 vs Flip Essential 2. The JBL Flip Essential 2 and the Flip 6 are both excellent speakers, showcasing JBL’s top quality in the speaker market. In a side-by-side comparison, Digimigia will determine if the Flip Essential 2 is truly a worthy option compared to its pricier JBL counterpart.
JBL Flip 4 vs Flip Essential 2 Overview
The JBL Flip 4 is a completely waterproof Bluetooth speaker made for people who love the outdoors. It offers much better sound quality than the JBL Flip 3, delivering impressive midrange, clear highs, and strong bass that feels impactful. The speaker has dual external passive bass radiators on its sides to boost the bass, ensuring lively beats in outdoor settings to keep the fun alive. The JBL Flip 4 portable Bluetooth speaker weighs 0.51.5 kg.
JBL Flip Essential 2 features a black cylindrical shape. The outer part is covered with a soft, skin-like material, while the speaker area is made of woven fabric. Its dimensions are 175x68x77mm, and it weighs around 0.52kg. On the back, you’ll find buttons for Bluetooth, volume control, and playback. BL Flip Essential 2 speaker can stand upright. The speaker’s frame has a power button, a battery indicator light, a waterproof cover for the USB-C charging port, and a lanyard.
Comparing JBL Flip 4 vs Flip Essential 2
Check out our comparison review of the JBL Flip 4 and Flip Essential 2 in the following parts:
Sound Quality
The JBL Flip 4 vs Flip essential 2 sound quality impressed us with its sound quality. It offers clear midrange and sharp highs, along with strong bass thanks to its passive bass radiators. Music played on the Flip 4 is clear, balanced, and can get louder than the JBL Flip 3, which is a nice upgrade. The sound is rich and detailed, and you can turn up the volume on this outdoor speaker without any distortion, even at high levels.
The large driver unit and JBL Essential 2 great acoustic design create deep, powerful, and responsive low frequencies in music. This makes listening to rock drum beats, electronic tracks, and other genres a fantastic experience. Vocals sound full, and at regular volume, there’s no annoying hiss in the high frequencies. Overall, the distortion is low, and the sound is rich in detail. The JBL Flip Essential 2 has a wide soundstage. For outdoor use, the Essential 2 performs well too. Its 20W output power is enough for both indoor and outdoor settings like parks or camping. The only downside is that the sound quality may drop a bit at higher volumes.
Battery Life
The battery life of the Flip 4 is okay but not great. We won’t pretend that the 12-hour rating is always true. Like many portable speakers, the Flip 4 has a small 3000mAh battery designed to last a reasonable time at a moderate volume. Luckily, you probably won’t want to turn the volume up too high anyway unless you enjoy distortion, so the battery should last longer. The battery life of the Flip 4 varies a lot based on the volume level, making it hard to get a steady test. Usually, it lasts between four and ten hours. It takes about three hours to fully charge the battery, so keep this in mind if you plan to take it with you.
The JBL Flip Essential 2 has a battery capacity of 3250Ah (11.7Wh) and can play music for up to 10 hours. This is great for a day-long outdoor party. You can also use the speaker while it’s charging, so I suggest plugging it in when using it indoors.
Price
JBL Flip $ has a less price in comparison with Flip Essential 2. The price of JBL Flip 4 is nearly 90$ in JBL original company; whereas, Flip Essential 2 is almost 130$.
Which is Better, JBL Flip 4 or Flip Essential 2?
We’ve covered the main differences between the two speakers. Now, let’s see which one fits your budget. The key question is: which one is worth the price? If we were you and had a little extra money, we would choose the Flip Essential 2. It provides new Bluetooth version, and higher output power. If you’re on a tight budget and want a good speaker for longer battery life, stereo speaker, and an AUX input, the JBL Flip 4 is a great choice. You’ll be happy with it. However, if you can spend a bit more, we suggest going for the JBL Essential 2.
Conclusion
Digimigia tried to compare JBL Flip 4 vs Flip Essential 2 in this blog in order to help to choose the best one according to your needs and preferences. We hope you’ve decided which one to pick. If you’re still unsure or have questions about the speakers, feel free to ask in the comments.