Author: Slick Choad

★★★★☆ The Echo Link Amp is the next product needed to round out Amazon’s Echo audio product lineup. If you have any old (or new) pair of speakers laying around all you need is the Echo Link Amp to make them 100% modern again. The Echo Link amp as them name suggests has an amplifier built-in so you don’t need any additional equipment to make your old speakers sing again while streaming music from Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music and AM/FM radio through the internet or one of the hundreds of other services. If you don’t have any other Echo products you will need to pickup an Echo Dot to make the voice control work since the Echo Link Amp doesn’t have a built-in mic.A unusual and useful feature of the Link Amp is that it has both analog and digital inputs AND outputs. The digital input allows you to connect your TV and have the Link Amp automatically switch between streaming music and listening to your TV. The inputs have a priority to them, streaming music is the 1st priority then the digital input then the analog input. So, you could use all three inputs but the analog input won’t be activated unless you turn off your TV (or other source connected to the digital input). See my video review of the Echo Link (non-amp version) for an example of the priority in action.Pros:Built in amplifier brings your speakers of choice to lifeDigital audio input for connecting your TV's soundAutomatically switches between inputs (steraming, digital, analog)Digital audio output allows you to send high quality sound to your own DAC or AV receiverCosts 40% less than the original Sonos Connect Amp (50% less than the new Sonos Amp)Sound quality through speaker outputs is solid (go with the digital out & your own amp for better sound)Cons:The audio inputs can’t be sent to other rooms (a real oversight by Amazon and something Sonos does)The app is control is not as smooth as SonosNo mic built-in so you need another Echo device nearby to use it (like a $20 Dot)Can’t play your music files stored on NAS or PC/MACThe Competition:SONOS AMP(new one) - Twice as expensive but has some real advantages 1) App control is better 2) can send analog input to other speakers 3) twice the power 4) has HDMI ARC input making it a little easier to connect your TVSONOS Connec-Amp - 40% more expensive but has better app but about the same amp power (no HDMI input), you can't connect your TV's audio.Others to consider: Bluesound Power Node, Hoes Amp, Klipsch Power Gate.Bottom line: If you are already an Echo user get the Link or Link amp, otherwise think about going with Sonos for a bit more money. If this review was helpful, hit the "helpful" button!

★☆☆☆☆ I’ve been waiting for this echo amp to round off my multi room music. I paid a lot of money for my speakers, and listen to most of my music on them through my Harman amp, with a dot connected. When I entertain, I like to have them playing with the other echoes in my house. With this new echo amp, I could be anywhere in the house and command any of my Alexa devices to play music ‘everywhere’, and wouldn’t need to run to the cabinet to turn on my existing Harman amp. Set up was simple. It was up and running in about 20 min. The sound is much better than what the dot was sending to my other amp. I was pleasantly surprised! The app is easy to use, basic, and responsive. I was finally whole! Until, POP! Yep, sounded like a cannon fired! The issue? When the amp wakes, or sleeps, it pops my speakers!! Soooo disappointing!!! I’m returning for another, thinking this first one might be defective. I certainly hope Amazon doesn’t think that is normal. It’s NOT! That alone, is my reasoning for the one star. If I continued to use this first one, it would blow my speakers. NOT GOOD! We’ll see what happens with the replacement. If it works, I will update my review and change this to five stars.

★★★★☆ I posted my detailed review and measurements to audiosciencereview. Some surprising finds were frequency response being limited to 24 kHz. From audibility point of view this is fine but be mindful that you would be wasting your money playing any high resolution/high sample rate content. Distortion is average for the amplifiers I have tested which means not so great.When pushed, you literally hear the distortion through the case. Likely some coil is resonating.Software configuration was problematic and took a number of tries. I was disappointed that I could not just use it with Ethernet and had to resort to setting up wifi which was difficult to get going. Seems Amazon has gone backward in reliability and simplicity of the original Echo devices.I was surprised that there is no way to select inputs in the app. Worse yet you can't change the volume! Why oh why? Yes, there is a volume control but that only works for content you are playing from the app. The volume control is digital so why can't it be controlled remotely?The overall functionality and build quality pushed me to put it on my recommended list but with reservations. Search for Amazon Link Echo Amp and audiosciencereview and you will find my detailed report.

★★★★★ Sound quality:Compared to the JBL Flip 5, highs are more detailed and male voices sound more natural. A single Xtreme 3 sounds much better than a pair of Flip 5 speakers in stereo. It sounds about the same as a Sonos Play:1Partyboost and app:It's easy to join multiple Xtreme 3 and Flip 5s in mono without using the appTo start a partyboost session, press the ♾ button on one speaker. The oval around the power and Bluetooth indicator will light up. Press the ♾ button on additional speakers to add them to the session, they will play a rising or falling tone to indicate success or failure. Additional speakers don't need to be paired with the same Bluetooth source device to join a sessionAs far as I know stereo mode is only accessible in the JBL connect app, which is slow and terribleCharging and USB C:The speaker comes with a surprisingly compact 60 watt USB-PD power supplyThe speaker has a charge out port, external devices can charge from either the USB A or USB C port. From my testing, charge out is limited to 5V/1AFrom my testing, it looks like the speaker can take power input at 5V/1.5A (7W) and at 20V/3A (60W), but in USB-PD mode it requires at least a 60 W chargerThe speaker charges at 7 watts from a good quality USB type A charger with an A-to-C cableThe speaker charges at the same rate from a Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 charger, indicating it doesn't support QC3.0I wasn't able to charge the speaker from an Anker 30 or 45 watt USB-PD supply, the chargers went into overcurrent protection and shut downI was able to charge the speaker from a 65W Lenovo laptop power supply indicating it does support third party USB-PD chargers as long as they can supply 60 wattsNew logo design:I was put off by photos of the new branding with the huge "JBL" on the front of the speaker, but in real life I find it's subtler than the old red square branding

★★★☆☆ This is my opinion about this speaker and there is no right or wrong but hopefully information that helps other people figure out if they are wiling to pay the price for what they will get (I think it is pricy three-fifty at the time of this review). Either this speaker is over-hyped or there was something wrong with mine. It had a good amount of bass (not low, but mid bass) and very poor mids. The highs were somewhat tinny sounding and a little hissy at much over 50 percent volume. Most vocals sounded like the singer was singing into a cup or soup can and there were many mid range sounds (keyboard, guitar, etc.) that you could barely hear ...they were very muffled. It sounded meh at best with club music, but rock, country, acoustic or any other music with emphasis on vocals, strings and keybaord instruments wasn't great. Ever listen to Van Halen and barely hear Eddie's guitar? How about Kenny Chesney sounding like he has a coffee cup in front of his mouth? Or, what about a very dull sounding ukulele with Iz singing Beautiful World? That isn't good my ears. I will admit that I am into sound and have had quality equipment (I played nice electric guitars through Marshall half stacks with tube heads and a lot of effects like Rockman-Scholz, Alesis, and listening to music with B&O H9i headphones, Focals in my HD, etc). That isn't meant to act like I'm better or have better audio abilities than anyone but is meant to give examples of fairly good quality audio products that I've used and like (yet no where near top of the line obviously). I prefer a warmer or richer sound and that's just what I like. It doesn't mean I'm right if it isn't what you like and prefer so my point is that it is fairly subjective. I like deep clean bass, warm vocals and clean realistic highs that aren't tinny or hissy sounding. The sound that I heard from the Xtreme 3 was a decent mid level bass punch for a portable speaker, but not low bass (as the specs say so it is to be expected), a very dull or muffled mid range and then a tinny sounding high with piercing and hissy extreme highs (at higher volume levels). Because of that, I couldn't recommend this speaker for many types of music. Maybe some club songs would be ok. I believe youtubers can easily mislead (or lie) even if they don't mean to. I watched many reviews and speaker comparisons but the problem with doing that is that it isn't known how the speakers were recorded and how the sound was processed for the video. I never saw the microphones used and they aren't in the videos when the speaker comparisons were played so where were they placed in relationship to the speaker(s) to record the sound ...what distance, what angle to the speakers, etc. After recording the sound, how much was the recorded sound processed (like people using photoshop and lightroom to process photos and make a photo look nothing like the real life view did). I'm not saying they did, but I could take a set of 5 thousand dollar speakers and a single portable speaker (like the Xtreme) and record both, use Audacity to modify the sounds recorded from each and make a video claiming that the Xtreme sounds better by using the modified sounds to 'prove' it. To add to that, what speakers are being used to listen to the comparisons (I used both my Bang & Olufsen H9i headphones and my computer's Logitech Z623 (nice affordable 2.1 computer speakers)? They'd have to be better audio quality than the speakers being tested in order to be able to reproduce the sound (example: you can't listen to a 35Hz sound that a video is making if your speaker can't go below 60Hz). How would you know that the speaker sounds warm if your speaker playing the video isn't capable of reproducing that warm sound? If you are looking for a speaker that is fairly portable this may serve you fine and you may love this speaker but honestly, I'd take my cheap little Bose Mini II SoundLink (4 years old) out to the pool before carrying this one since I don't need it too loud and the overall sound quality is richer sounding (less bass but better mids for general music) ...but if you were wanting loud, the Xtreme 3 blows it out of the water (no waterproof pun intended). It really comes down to your expectations and what you are willing to pay. If I had a max of three fifty to spend and wanted something this size or smaller I would probably get the first or second gen instead ..put the saved money towards more music or whatever (or a second speaker to pair together). I think that if the sound produced by either of those is great to you then it probably isn't enough better sound quality to justify getting the Xtreme 3 for the price difference. Without playing them side to side (like may videos), you probably wouldn't hear enough difference to justify the cost. Maybe there was an issue with the Xtreme 3 I received so take this all as my opinion and possibly a defective product (all manufacturers have occasional bad ones). If you already have an Xtreme 3 and love it, that's great and all that really matters. But for people trying to figure out which Xtreme generation to spend their hard earned money on, I would get one (or a pair) of the older ones over this 3rd gen. I will return this and try the Aiwa Exos-9 which is bigger but less money (of course, it sounds a lot better in youtube video comparisons, but I only take that for what it's worth ..wink, wink).

★★★★★ WOW! WOW WOW WOW!!!Earlier this week I bought the Sony XB43. It had good reviews and is a bit less expensive. 15minuyes after receiving it from Amazon, went to kohl's to return it. Complete audio garbage. I have two Charge 3 speakers, those are both just amazing speakers. Should've known to just stick with JBL. Way more bass, and respectfully louder than the XB43. Audio is more crisp. It's just a way better speaker overall. Now if you want pretty flashing lights and don't care about audio quality, then go get the XB43.Seriously, this speaker is Xtreme.