In this piece, we offer our JBL Flip 2 review, portable Bluetooth speaker, specs, features list. We cover this metal grill speaker’s performance, usability, and accessories. The Flip 2 sounds pretty nice and goes fairly loud. One drawback though is when playing at top volume, the built-in rechargeable battery lasts less than five hours per recharge. The bass is a bit lacking also.
JBL Flip 2 Review, Specs, Features
Other than that, this JBL 2 Bluetooth speaker is a decent buy as a refurbished unit or used on eBay for under forty US dollars. It’s no longer available new, unless you buy it as new old stock.
Nonetheless, given its extreme popularity, we explore its high and low features below. We’re sure that after that, you’ll agree that for the low cost, the JBL Flip 2 is a good value portable Bluetooth speaker over all. Get one as a first Bluetooth speaker, for decent sound at a low price.
JBL Flip 2 Review of Advantages, Benefits, Pros, and Features
As we’d expect from JBL, this Bluetooth speaker has far more advantages than disadvantages. So first, we tackle a little of that good list of features.
Fits Well in your Hand
The speaker is small and light enough to tote around without much extra burden. Plus, it’s handheld, and so, easy to take from party to party.
Useful Accessories Included
With this Bluetooth speaker, you get the following: A USB charger power adapter and cable, a carrying case, a quick start guide, and a warranty card. Unfortunately though, since we bought ours used, we did not receive these accessories, and so, have no pictures of them to show.
Easy to Work Controls
This second version of the JBL Flip wireless speaker has five buttons. These include Power, Play-Pause, Volume UP and DOWN, and Pairing.
Multi Function Lamps
The Button Lights
Three of the control buttons on the control panel end of the speaker, light up to show current speaker operating mode.
Note the glowing white power button on this Flip JBL 2 speaker in the picture above. When you turn the speaker on, this button lights white, meaning that the speaker is powered up.
Further, there’s the lamp that looks like the Bluetooth symbol. This blinks when you put the speaker into Bluetooth discovery mode. And, when successful pairing happens, this light glows a solid white, as shown next.
The phone shaped lamp glows when you’re talking on your paired phone through the JBL Flip 2.
The Battery Status Gage Lights
There’s also a battery level gauge on the silver input port panel. It’s comprised of five LED lamps, as shown next.
The battery status gauge shows how much charge is left in the internal rechargeable battery. More lights glow to indicate that the battery is fuller. The less full the battery becomes, the fewer lamps glow white.
Also, when the battery drains to critically low levels of charge, the lamp on the far left of the status gage glows red, as shown next.
Built in Rechargeable Battery
The JBL Flip 2 battery that comes in this Bluetooth speaker fully charges in under four hours. Further, with medium play volumes, this battery lasts roughly five hours per complete recharge.
Micro USB Charge Port
How to charge JBL Flip 2? This Flip has a micro USB recharge port, as pictured next, pointed at by the green arrow.
Connect the BT speaker with a USB charger with the included USB cable. We suggest using a 2.0 amp or greater USB AC adapter.
Then, plug the adapter into AC power, and let charge for about three and a half hours.
JBL Flip Charging Cable Included
The JBL Flip 2 comes with a micro USB charging cable, although many cables from other vendors work well too.
Can Act as a Speakerphone
When paired with a smart phone, you can answer calls with buttons on the JBL Flip 2. The sound on these calls is quite clear too, owing to the built in microphone and noise reduction circuits. Has SoundClear® noise and echo reduction when on a call to enhance call sound quality.
NFC Feature
NFC is used to quicken Bluetooth pairing time.
Bass Port
JBL tuned this port to enhance the speaker’s bass response. In fact, you can feel the bass if you place the back of your hand close to this port while the Flip2 is playing.
Stereo Sound
You get 6 watts of audio power per channel, for 12 watts total sound output. Stereo separation and imaging is quite impressive on the Flip 2, especially given how closely spaced the driver speakers are on the front of the unit.
Supports Various Bluetooth Sources
Supports most streaming mobile devices, paired one at a time.
Comes in at Least Several Attractive Colors
You gen buy the JBL Flip 2 Bluetooth speaker in red, blue, yellow, and gray-white, that we’ve seen.
JBL Flip 2 Review of Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, Drawbacks, and Limitations
Metal Grill Easily Dents and Collects Dings
The perforated sound grill that surrounds most of the speaker is fragile. It can dent if you bump the speaker into a hard or sharp corner. Plus, the paint can chip off when this happens, leaving the exposed silver metal showing.
No Stand
The Flip 2, when laid horizontally, can roll. The port panel on it often does not stop this rolling. JBL might have attached rubber feet to to this model, to keep the speaker more clean and to prevent rolling.
No JBL Connect+ App Support
The JBL Connect Plus app does not recognize this speaker. Further, you cannot include the JBL Flip 2 in a group of more than one speaker, as it has no JBL Connect+ button. So, this speaker cannot receive the same audio as other speakers in a group at the same time with speakers that support the JBL Connect+ protocol.
Our Rating in this JBL Flip 2 Review
We find the JBL Flip 2 Bluetooth speaker a reasonable value. This is a solid portable speaker. It never goes out, except when the battery goes dead. It works well even when nearby radio interference sources are strong.
Over all, we like the workmanship and thoughtful planning that went into this JBL product. Its acoustic design make it a high fidelity speaker in spite of its little appearance. So we rate the Flip 2 by JBL at 92 out of 100.
Where to Buy the JBL Flip 2 Wireless Speaker
We bought ours on eBay for roughly $30. But you can also find it for sale on Amazon, and the JBL site among other outlets. JBL Flip 2 price ranges from around $15 to $50 currently.
Other Posts About the JBL Flip 2 Speaker
- JBL Flip 2 Battery Life, How Long the Battery Should Last
- How to Charge JBL Flip 2 Portable Bluetooth Speakers
- JBL Flip 2 Review and Features of this Bluetooth Speaker
- How to Tell if JBL Flip 2 is Charging
- JBL Flip 2 Reset Button Location, Where to Find It
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References for this JBL Flip 2 Review
Revision History
- 2020-04-20: Added more tags.
- 2019-05-14: Tuned the targeting for ‘JBL Flip 2 Review’ and added tags.
- 2019-03-05: Added link to our specs page for the Flip 2.
- 2019-02-28: Shortened key phrase, added tags, and updated for 2019 in general.
- 2018-07-31: First published.