JBL have been releasing smart speakers now for a number of years and the JBL Link Music
represents their latest offering in the compact smart speaker world. It faces some
tough competition though from the likes of Amazon Alexa and Google Nest Audio. So, should you still
consider buying this if you're on the lookout for a new smart speaker? Well, here I’m going to take
you through the unboxing, how to set it up and its features, how it sounds, and finally give you my
verdict on whether I think it's worth buying. Welcome to My Tech Gear, let's get into it!
Straight out of the box we have the speaker itself standing at 134cms or 5.3” tall.
It's a great compact little speaker covered in a very slick looking grille that wraps around the
speaker. Its minimalist design and dark color means that it will blend in well with any room.
On the top you can see a button for the voice assistant, with the volume buttons on either side.
On the back we have the mains power socket along with the mute button and the Bluetooth
pairing button as well. The box also comes with the mains power cable, and that's pretty much
it. There are some instruction manuals as well but seriously you're not going to need it.
Now, setup for this couldn't be easier. Just plug the speaker in and wait a minute or so for it to
finish starting up. You'll be able to tell when it's finished as the lights on the front will stop
pulsing. That probably is one of the negatives of this speaker though as it's not exactly the
quickest of speakers to start up, but then most smart speakers aren't to be honest.
After that simply open the Google Home app on your mobile phone and there should be a
set up ‘JBL Link Music’ button on the main page. Just click that and the app will take
you through the setup process step by step. You really can't go wrong. It will ask you
a number of questions including which network you want to use, which music
and video services such as Spotify and Netflix that you wish to associate with your speaker,
and whether you want to set a voice match so that the assistant can distinguish yourself
from anyone else in your household. Most of this is optional though so it's up to you whether
you're set up now or set up later. That's it! Your speaker is now all set up and ready to go.
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So let's have a look at the features on offer here. Well, with the speaker set up, all of
the standard Google voice assistant commands and features are now at your beck and call.
Ask for the time, the weather, or even a joke, and Google Assistant will happily oblige.
For me it is the most natural sounding of all the voice assistants out there
and does well understanding a range of voices and accents even whilst playing music.
The Google Assistant button on top serves a couple of functions here. You can use it to play
and pause your music with a single press, which provides a quick and easy way to pause your music
without needing to use your voice. Alternatively if you hold it down for two seconds then it will
activate the assistant. You can also activate the voice assistant by saying ‘Hey Google’, but it's
good to be able to have a physical button for it as well. It's not just Google Assistant that
this speaker supports though as it also supports Chromecast, Airplay 2 and Bluetooth. So, even
if you don't use or want to use Google Assistant this speaker still offers plenty of other options
for streaming your music. It's that versatility that certainly makes this an attractive offering.
The up and down volume buttons are on either side of the Google assistant button as well.
There are also two pinholes on the top of the speaker which show the locations of the mics
used for the voice assistant. Now these can be disabled or enabled using the mute button
on the back of the speaker. You'll be able to tell when the mics are disabled as the LEDs on
the front of the speaker will show up red. Above the mute button is the Bluetooth button which,
if you press it, will place the speaker into Bluetooth pairing mode so you can pair it
with any other Bluetooth device such as a mobile phone or a pc. Oddly enough though
even though the speaker has microphones you can't use those mics over Bluetooth.
So you can pair the speaker with a mobile phone for instance but can't use it to take calls.
It's audio output only. It would have been a nice feature if JBL had added that.
Now for the most important aspect, the sound. At its core it's a single 20 watt downward firing
speaker with two passive radiators on either side providing a frequency range of 60 hertz
to 20 kilohertz. Due to that downward firing speaker it's also able to offer what it calls
360 degree audio. So that's you hearing the same sound whether you're in the front of the speaker
behind it or to the side. Now this certainly isn't a unique feature as other speakers like
the UE Boom series of speakers have been doing this for years. It's actually because of them
that I was apprehensive of that feature being on this speaker. I was never a fan of the 360
degree sound on the UE Boom speakers. I thought it made the sound very thin and not engaging at
all. It lacked that detail and fullness that comes from directional speakers.
However, I have been completely surprised here, because here it actually works really well!
There is a slight sound variance between the front and the side of the speaker,
probably due to the passive radiators being on the side, but it is a minor difference and you'll
only notice it if you really are trying to listen out for it. For the most part it is an even sound
stage around the speaker so it is a speaker that performs best when it's the center of attention.
It would be great in the middle of a table at a party for instance.
The sound profile of the speaker means it is at its best whilst playing pop rock and other music
that sits in the lower-mid range. More delicate music does lose some detail in the mids to highs.
Now I am being hyper critical here though and you would probably listen to it and have no issues.
It's just a speaker that is happier in a pop and rock world.
For its size the speaker also gets impressively loud,
it really does. And it does so without any significant distortion.
It performs at its best in mid volume though as at higher volumes the bass gets thinned out
a bit to prevent distortion. Even mid volume though it's plenty loud enough to fill a room.
When choosing any speaker it is important to stack it up against the competition
so here's a couple of quick comparisons for you to consider…
Now if you're in the market for a pure Bluetooth speaker then my go-to portable
Bluetooth speaker was, and still is, the JBL Charge 3. There is a Charge 4 available now
which is a slightly updated version. Anyway, I use it to play music in the bedroom, the study,
outside, it really is a great versatile speaker. I’ve got it somewhere, hang on!
There we go, JBL Charge 3!
Now I thought this sounded good for what it was. However, compared to the JBL Link Music
it is falling far behind. The Link Music just has much more clarity and fullness to its sound
that the Charge 3 just completely lacks. It's a
shame that it didn't make a Link Music Portable otherwise I’d probably switch.
Well actually JBL did, they created the JBL Link Portable! A portable, waterproof,
Bluetooth smart speaker with an 8 hour battery life. Maybe that's a video for another time…
Now if you want the best compact smart speaker that you can buy then the Sonos One really is
the best there is. But it is also over twice the price of the JBL Link Music.
So comparing the two side by side and I was actually surprised how close the Link
Music got. It absolutely does not beat the Sonos One. There is a richness of frequency
range that Sonos One has that the Link Music just completely lacks. However, it does get
pretty close. If I didn't have the two side by side I’d actually be quite happy with either.
So, with all that said and done, should you buy it? Well, with the Google Nest Audio
and Amazon Echo speakers costing only $100 or £90, it's hard to recommend the JBL Link Music
at its retail price of $120. Fortunately though it's often discounted down to $80,
and at that price it becomes a more compelling purchase. It's now cheaper than the other two and
only $30 more expensive than the Google Nest Mini or Amazon Echo Dot, but with significantly better
sound. It is never going to beat the best compact smart speaker on the market, the Sonos One. But,
at less than half the price it's sonically far closer to the Sonos One than it has any right to
be. The JBL Link Music is one of the best sounding compact smart speakers I’ve heard to date,
it is fantastic value for money. I’d definitely add it to your shortlist.
I do hope this has helped you decide whether you should consider the JBL Link
Music for your next purchase. Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed the video please
don't forget to like and share it. Consider subscribing if you're not, and as always…
See you in the next one!