Small in Size, Big on Sound: Why the JBL Clip 3 Speaker Is Your Ultimate Sound Solution!

First Impressions

If you’re caught up with the past Clip speaker releases from JBL, the JBL Clip 3 mightn’t look like a new portable mini speaker. It has a lot of similarities in terms of design with the JBL Clip 2.

But that’s a good thing, as the design of the Clip 2 was one of its main highlights. However, Clip 2 failed to deliver some of the most crucial aspects, which is precisely where the Clip 3 improves on.

Build Quality and Durability

As mentioned earlier, the overall build and design of the Clip 3 mightn’t really seem that different from the Clip 2. However, if you take a closer look, you’ll notice that there are some subtle differences.

Yes, it does have a carabiner like the JBL Clip 2. However, the carabiner of the Clip 3 is built into the frame. As it’s not a tiny piece of metal triangle that’s hooked into hard plastic like before, the carabiner of the Clip 3 feels more durable and capable of handling some proper abuse.

Other than that, the overall build of the JBL Clip 3 is pretty solid. That is, it can withstand some accidental drops with ease. It even comes with an IPX7 rating, making it capable of resisting water at 1 meter depth for 30 minutes. In other words, you can take it with you near the pool or in the shower if you want to.

Portability

Like the other Clip speakers from JBL, the JBL Clip 3 is extremely portable. You can throw it inside the smallest pocket of your backpack and expect to have space left for other things.

Additionally, the Clip 3 is exceptionally light in weight. Thanks to that, you can carry it around for the entire day in your backpack or pocket without facing any fatigue or discomfort.

Another thing that’s quite important to note for this speaker is the built-in carabiner. After all, it has “Clip” in its name. Thanks to this carabiner, you can easily clip the speaker on a rope, the sling of your backpack, and any other place where you can use a carabiner on.

Overall Sound Performance

The audio quality of the JBL Clip 3 isn’t that different from the predecessors. So, if you’ve had the chance to listen to some music on the past Clip speakers, you probably already know what to expect from Clip 3 in terms of sound.

Also, even though the speaker is highly compact and light in weight, it can get reasonably loud. You won’t really feel the need to get something more powerful if you’re in a small room or not in an open area. Even in large spaces, the speaker will seem loud enough if you keep it near you.

Bass Performance

If you like to listen to music that’s full of bass, such as EDMs, the Clip 3 will disappoint you a bit. There’s a very hard drop in the frequency response in the lower range. This drop makes the drivers less capable of delivering the thumping bass that most look for.

However, if you consider how small the outdoor wireless speaker is, there’s basically the right level of bass on the playback.

Mid Performance

Although the bass performance isn’t that great, the JBL Clip 3 offers a superb mid-range performance. Listening to songs that emphasize the vocals and lead instrumentals will be very pleasing with this wireless speaker.

Moreover, the speaker can deliver vocals and guitars reasonably loud. Most importantly, there’s minimal distortion, which ensures better clarity and depth.

This sound profile of the Clip 3 also means that you’ll enjoy listening to podcasts on this wireless speaker. The same thing applies to acoustic music sessions.

Treble Performance

Out of the box, the treble performance of the JBL Clip 3 is very average. But the good news is that the speaker comes with Bass Mode.

Once activated, both the treble and the bass performance of the Clip 3 improves by a little. And with that mode on, the overall sound experience gets much better than before.

Controls and Ease of Use

It’s relatively easy to use the JBL Clip 3. Everything is pretty straightforward, from pairing to controlling playback to powering the device on and off.

Also, props to JBL for including an indicator light. This indicator light lets you know the speaker’s state, whether it’s turned on, paired, or out of battery.

Moreover, Clip 3 features built-in buttons for controlling the volume and playback. It also has a dedicated button for power and Bluetooth.

Battery Life

For a speaker that’s super compact, the JBL Clip 3 has a very impressive battery life. And even though JBL says that you can get up to 10 hours of battery life out of it, you can push it to 16 hours.

Of course, you need to keep the volume at a moderate level to achieve such a high runtime with a single charge.

Connectivity

As the Clip 3 is a relatively dated portable speaker, you shouldn’t expect to get class-leading wireless connectivity from it. The speaker comes with Bluetooth 4.1, which can offer about 10 meters of range.

And for a speaker of this size, that range is perfect. In addition to that, you can rely on wired connectivity through the 3.5mm input jack.

Conclusion

To wrap things up, the JBL Clip 3 is an excellent wireless speaker that you should consider, especially if you’re looking for something super compact. It has almost everything you can expect from a mini Bluetooth speaker.

And while the sound performance may not seem great out of the box, the Extra Bass Mode does help. So make sure to turn that on. Also, don’t forget that it comes with a microphone. You can take calls directly from this wireless speaker!

This post was last updated on 2025-03-21 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.