JBL Flip 7 vs Xiaomi Sound Outdoor 30W, kinda same league but way cheaper Xiaomi

I have gotten impressed by a recently released portable speaker from Xiaomi, which was the Xiaomi Sound Party 50W. That Sound Party 50-watt speaker slightly outperformed JBL Charge 6, which costs way more than Xiaomi. So I wanted to take a look at their another smaller speaker, which is the Xiaomi Sound Outdoor 30W. I know that the Sound Party 50W will win against the JBL Flip 7 easily. However, I want to see how the smaller more portable 30-watt Xiaomi Sound Outdoor performs against Flip 7 - this article is all about that research.

The Xiaomi Sound Outdoor is slightly taller than the JBL Flip 7. When I compared the Xiaomi Sound Party with JBL Charge 6, both kinda had a premium look. However, here the Xiaomi Sound Outdoor doesn't have that premium vibe. It is not a cheap looking or feeling portable speaker, just has a decent design and build. On the other hand, The JBL Flip 7 has a premium build and design. I really like the JBL signature design for their portable speakers.

JBL Flip 7 has a removable carrying strap with push-lock system. There is also a carabiner included in the box with Flip 7 speaker. The Xiaomi Sound Outdoor also has a carrying lanyard but no special accessory in the box like the Flip 7. Flip 7 is IP68 water and dust-proof, also drop-proof from 1-meter vs Xiaomi Sound Outdoor is IP67 water and dust resistant. The passive radiators on Flip 7 look very high quality with better design and branding. Overall, the Flip 7 looks and feels like a more premium and expensive product.

Both the JBL Flip 7 and Xiaomi Sound Outdoor are mono sounding speakers. They don't have 2-way or 3-way systems. Stereo tracks are being fed into the mono configuration and the ultimate output is a mono sound from both. So, both with a similar configuration have one woofer and one tweeter in terms of active drivers. For passive radiators, both have 2 of them on the left and right sides. The JBL Flip 7 is rated at 35 watts vs Xiaomi Sound Outdoor's 30-watt rating. Flip 7's 35-watt is divided into 25 watts for woofer and 10 watts for tweeter. Xiaomi Sound Outdoor has a 20-watt woofer and a 10-watt tweeter. JBL Flip 7 is slightly more powerful on paper.

From 60 Hz to 20 KHz is the official frequency response range on both of them. For low level listening around 40% volume or below, Xiaomi Sound Outdoor has pretty much the same bass performance of the JBL Flip 7 speaker. Xiaomi Sound Outdoor has more mids and Flip 7 has more highs. The Flip 7 sounds more open and airy with a slightly better refined sound. Overall, both speaker sound pretty close, but I think JBL Flip 7 sounds slightly more high-quality than Xiaomi Sound Outdoor for low-level listening.

As we increase the volume, around 60% the JBL Flip 7 starts to show more punch in the bass performance. So, the Flip 7 has a bit more bass around average listening volume. However, the bass is significantly more boomy on the Flip 7 speaker. The boomy bass on Flip 7 can contribute to a bad listening experience under some indoor listening scenarios. That boomy nature makes the JBL Flip 7 a better fit for outdoor listening - because you notice the boom more in indoors. Even though the JBL Flip 7 sounds slightly more powerful, they both have different strengths.

The Xiaomi Sound Outdoor seems like a better performer for indoors when compared to the Flip 7. As we go to higher listening volumes around 80%, the bass becomes out of balance on both - they sound bass-light. They mids and highs increase, and so does the perceived loudness, but bass doesn't increase relatively. At these higher volumes, the Flip 7 becomes very bright and high-end heavy. It sounds kinda harsh, which makes the Flip 7 sounding unpleasant for indoor listening. The Xiaomi Sound Outdoor also becomes very bright but not as much as the Flip 7. The Xiaomi has more mids, but Flip 7 has a high-end push contributing to its harshness and loudness.

Both speaker get pretty loud for their size. However, the JBL Flip 7 is a bit louder than the Xiaomi Sound Outdoor at maximum 100% volume. Both are bass-light and kinda unpleasant sounding. As the Flip 7 has more loudness, the bright nature in the sound is more prominent on the JBL Flip 7 speaker. So, Flip 7 is better for outdoors at higher volumes. In my opinion, Xiaomi is better for indoor listening as it is way less boomy than Flip 7. Overall, Flip 7 is louder at max, more powerful and more refined at low levels, but Xiaomi Sound Outdoor isn't far behind costing $100 less.

The JBL Flip 7 has a 17.43-Wh Li-ion battery at roughly 3.6-V and 4800-mAh vs Xiaomi Sound Outdoor's 7.2-V 2600-mAh capacity. If you convert them to equivalent 3.6-V, then the Xiaomi is around 200-mAh higher in capacity. So, you should expect similar kinda battery performance form both but the Xiaomi should last a bit longer. However, the official claim is 12-hours of playback for Xiaomi Sound Outdoor vs 14-hours of playback for JBL Flip 7 - both around 50% volume. Both take around 2.5-hours to fully charge at 5-V 3-A rate.

Check out those articles from above, you can click on those linked images to read the articles. A while ago I published a review of the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G smartphone, check that out if you are into budget phones. In case you are interested in portable speakers, I compared 3 Boombox type speakers from 3 different brands such as Soundcore, Tribit and JBL. So don't forget to also check out that detailed comparison article about the JBL Boombox 3 vs Tribit Stormbox Blast vs Soundcore Boom 2 Plus.

You can get almost 90% of JBL Flip 7 with Xiaomi Sound Outdoor in terms of sound-quality and performance - check Techder Audios, I agree with his assessment. If you are getting nerdy about it, then for sure the JBL Flip 7 is clearly a more superior product but the price difference is $150 vs $50. You will get similar bass performance plus a less boomy and more details in the mids, that type of sound with Xiaomi Sound Outdoor. The Flip 7 has an advantage of sounding a bit more louder with a bit more bass at max volume. Check out the Xiaomi Sound Party 50-watt speaker for even better value.

So, the Flip 7 clearly has more power but not a huge difference in sound-quality. Also, the Xiaomi Sound Outdoor doesn't look like a cheap speaker. Even though the JBL Flip 7 has a more premium design and build, the $100 price difference isn't justified - more like a $50 difference. You can buy 2 units of Xiaomi Sound Outdoor and play them in TWS, that would easily outperform the single JBL Flip 7 unit. You will get nice immersive stereo sound with Xiaomi in TWS that single mono Flip 7 can't come close. Pick 2 units of Xiaomi Sound Outdoor instead of a Flip 7 even if you have the money.

Also, please check out the JBL Charge 6 vs Charge 5 story for highlights.
IF you're interested in mid-sized portable speakers, check my JBL Charge 6 vs Bose SoundLink Plus article. The JBL Charge 6 did better in the head-to-head comparison.