I've had many JBL speakers and have found the sound great and the speakers long-lasting and reliable.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] So impressed with the JBL Charge Essential 3 SE. The compact size allows me to easily carry from room to room or out in the garden. Doing chores is a lot more enjoyable when I play my fav 80's music. The speaker being waterproof means I don't have to worry about splashes from doing dishes or watering the garden. Rubber pads on bottom make it durable and slip proof. Buttons are big enough and easy to find but not distracting from clean look. I find the charge lasts a long time, almost a whole day of use. Audio is clear and great bass sound. Nice extra perk the built in power bank allows me to charge my phone if needed. Overall I am super happy to have a portable Bluetooth speaker that is durable, waterproof, and delivers quality sound!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] We had the pleasure of bringing the JBL Charge Essential 3 SE with us on our vacation to San Diego, and we absolutely loved having it! We used it constantly while hanging out in our hotel room and on the patio. We would start our mornings playing music outside while enjoying coffee and the San Diego views, and it ended up being such a nice addition to our trip. The sound quality was great, especially for such a compact and travel friendly speaker. The bass was surprisingly powerful, and the sound projected really well. We could turn the volume up pretty loud without sacrificing clarity or sound quality. The battery life was also excellent and easily lasted through long stretches of listening without us having to worry about charging it. One of my favorite features was being able to use the speaker to charge my phone. That was honestly a godsend whenever we were outside and my phone battery was running low. Between the sound quality, great bass and volume, long battery life, and portability, this was the perfect speaker to bring along on vacation and one we'll definitely be traveling with again!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I'm impressed with the JBL Charge Essential 3 SE. The sound quality is excellent for the price, and the bass hits hard without overpowering everything else. Pairing it with my phone was quick and easy, and I had no problems using the JBL Portable app to customize the EQ. The battery life is another big plus. It's rated for up to 20 hours, although I didn't fully test that claim. I also like that it can double as a power bank if I need to charge my phone. And the IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating makes it a great speaker for taking outside. My only minor gripe is that it doesn't have a built-in handle or strap. It's compact enough to take with you, but I found it a little awkward to carry from place to place. A handle would have made it even more convenient for a speaker that's designed to be portable. Overall, I'd give it 5 out of 5 stars. It delivers excellent sound, impressive battery life, and useful features at a budget-friendly price. While I wish it had a handle, that small inconvenience isn't enough to take away from an otherwise great speaker.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Big JBL sound out of this little speaker. From the punchy bass to the clear high notes, it sounds great! Long 20 hour battery life is impressive. The refreshed design is very sophisticated and looks great in a variety of settings. Tried the Auracast with a Partybox speaker, what a great feature to spread the music around, and super easy to pair speakers. Love the recycled material used in the packaging too.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I received the JBL Charge Essential 3 SE free in exchange for my honest review. I was not paid for this review. After using it at home and on a construction site, I've been impressed with the sound quality for its size. The sound is well balanced, vocals stay clear, and it produces surprisingly good bass without overpowering everything else. I tested it with several types of music, bass-heavy tracks, and frequency sweeps. At higher volumes the bass seems to level off while the rest of the sound continues getting louder, which helps keep the sound clean. Even at full volume, I didn't notice any clipping or obvious distortion. Bluetooth performance has also been excellent. I tested it at roughly 60 feet line-of-sight at work without losing the connection. One of my favorite features was being able to use it together with my JBL PartyBox 720. Pairing the smaller portable speaker with the much larger 720 was a fantastic addition and gave me another way to expand the sound depending on where I was using them. Battery life has been impressive so far, and the JBL One app makes it easy to adjust the EQ and check the speaker's settings. The IP67 rating is another big plus for me because I actually use portable speakers outdoors and around construction sites. Overall, it's a very good combination of sound quality, portability, materials, durability, and battery life. It won't replace a large speaker if you're looking for huge bass, but for a portable speaker this size, it performs extremely well.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I've only had the JBL Charge Essential 3 SE for a day, and it's given me a great first impression. The sound is full and powerful. The base is very punchy for the size, and compared with my JBL Flip 7, I actually prefer the Charge Essential 3 for all of my daily uses. It's bigger, has better overall sound, and a very strong low end. It has that older sleek JBL look but the smaller square logo, which I personally prefer. The woven exterior ergonomics are great, and the rubberized ends are durable. JBL also uses recycled plastic in the construction and paper packaging which is appreciated. The functionality is great, Auracast is a huge plus, and the battery life is excellent. Overall, this is a very well rounded speaker for the money, strong base, solid materials, long battery, life, and useful features without making the design overly complicated.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Setting up this speaker was a breeze in one, two steps. My first impression was that it looked great and the color was perfect. This product is durable and appears to be rugged on one side. Cosmetically it is very smooth and very strong and secure on both tiled and wooden surfaces. The audio is amazing and easy to adjust with or without the app. I listened to mostly hard rock on it at first and it did not disappoint. The ability to handle all frequencies and at high sound pressure levels makes it valuable. I can feel the power every time I turned it on and adjusted the levels at will. I only went to about 84 decibels at first. My location of choice for listening was the kitchen and the family room.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Speaker sounds good and holds a good battery life. Waterproof for light rain and is compact enough to travel and sit anywhere. The aura cast works ok with the JBL PartyBox 130 if you keep the phone close to the partybox. Does not do well over 20 feet away from phone with aura cast. But on it's own bluetooth, it can go 50 or more feet away with walls in between. When aura cast with partybox, it does not connect with microphone or guitar, only works with Bluetooth music. Would be nice if aura cast worked for microphone speaking to create a more surround sound in a large room.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This has become by new golf speaker! It is a little bit larger than I would like but does still fit snug onto the front of the cart or even in a cup holder depending how you place it. The build quality is excellent which is what I've come to expect from JBL. The materials are good looking and durable and easily cleanable. It already took one spill off the cart into some dirt and mud but cleaned up easily and looks like new. The sound won't disappoint at all and this speaker has a fantastic range with a generous amount of bass. One thing I really appreciate is how it maintains such a full sound even at low volume. You don't have to have it cranked to 11 to enjoy it. You get a rich full sound even with the volume turned down low which is great for anyone that might just want music at their desk or while relaxing or having a conversation outside. Make sure to download the app too. I'm sure a lot of people skip it but it's syncs up quickly and gives you access to customize the EQ to your liking which I think is necessary as the sound is slightly flat out of the box. But after some fine tuning with the EQ it sounds great. Battery life seems pretty great too. I have yet to charge it but I did test try the power bank function and got my iPhone 17 Pro Max from about 30-80% and still had about 60% battery in the speaker. It's great for someone who maybe wants to have it as an option but I wouldn't use it all the time personally. It's also limited to about 12watts for device charging so not really a “fast charge” by today's standards but good enough. The only thing I don't like? Most people probably won't care, but I wish it had some sort of RGB lighting. It's just kind of boring anymore to not have it! I know I'm splitting hairs here.. but honestly with such a saturated market and everyone having Bluetooth speakers I feel like JBL needs to do just a bit more to stay competitive especially given the price point. Even just a couple lights on the sides would be make the speaker really stand out. All in all though? It's an excellent well made and well supported product. If you're not interested in an RGB light show but rather looking for portablilty, great sound, durability and a power bank to boot… this is your speaker!