Bluetooth speakers are a category that has seen some explosive growth lately, with good reason. When the device in question can let any smart device piggyback onto its audio capabilities and play your music for you, it’s a pretty fair purchase. Within the segment, JBL has been steadily expanding their portfolio, with solid budget offerings like the Go, to larger options with a lot more bling, like the Pulse.
The subject of this particular review sits somewhere in the middle of the line-up. The Clip 2 is an extension of the company’s travel-friendly Clip line-up, following the original Clip and Clip+, which added splash-resistance to the mix. This time around, JBL has put more thought into the device, and upped its resistance to the elements, by adding IPX7 waterproofing. The metal clip, bright orange like the JBL logo, has also seen a slight redesign, making it easy enough to attach to objects, but sturdy enough that you don't have to worry about it falling off. The overall design is also more mature than the slightly-plasticky look of the earlier Clips.
Around the circumference of the speaker, you find a power button, a micro USB port for charging, a Bluetooth sync button, volume controls, a microphone for telephony and a button to answer calls with. The charging port is covered by a large rubberised flap to help with waterproofing. The Clip also features an aux cable that is securely wrapped around the device, which can be plugged into your smartphone to play music directly if you so choose.
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The Clip delivers a clear and quite punchy sound for its size, with a slightly richer tone than the smaller Go. Acoustic tracks retain all the ambient sounds, while bass-heavy songs feature the underlying kick that adds to their groove. Despite the larger size, it is not that much louder than the Go, though this can probably be attributed to the waterproofing. It still gets pretty loud and can handle music duties when you have a party in your living room with friends. The clip gives the speaker much-needed versatility, as you can hang it up pretty much anywhere.
But living rooms are not what the Clip was built for, and I took it along on a 1,400km motorcycle trip. On a particularly beautiful stretch that demanded a soundtrack, attaching the clip to a bag and letting it do its thing provided a whole new dimension. The sound does filter through road and engine noise, and through a helmet as well, at moderate speeds, though this stretch also highlighted a couple of shortcomings. The clip is not large enough to attach to slender handlebar crossbars, and the tiny light that indicates its state is located behind the speaker underneath the clip, meaning you will have no visual warning when it runs low on charge. The buttons, which can only be identified by the recesses that house them, require a little effort to press, and a physical differentiator for the often-required volume buttons would have been useful to find them on the move without having to look.
All said and done, the JBL Clip 2 offers plenty of functionality and a crisp audio experience for its roughly Rs. 4,000 asking price. It’s not the biggest or loudest in that class, but the added functionality provided by the Clip and the waterproofing mean this should be on every travel-loving audiophile’s wishlist.
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