JBL Xtreme 5 vs Marshall Middleton II

Short answer: the JBL Xtreme 5 on measured sound quality, the Marshall Middleton II on price. The Xtreme 5 ranks #2 of 120 large speakers at $399.95. The Middleton II ranks #31 at $279.99, $119.96 cheaper.

The Xtreme 5’s pros text is unusually strong for the size class. Reviewers call it a fantastic sounding speaker with excellent off-axis dispersion, quite deep bass reaching well below 40Hz, and note it beats the Soundcore Boom 2 and Tribit Stormbox Blast on bass depth and clarity while playing clean at volume, unlike the JBL Boombox 4. It also has a removable battery, a rare feature at this size. Its cons are the high price and a hole in the mid-upper bass that can’t be EQ’d out, and the default EQ presets are weak enough that reviewers recommend a custom EQ to get the best sound.

The Middleton II leans hard into bass for its size and weight. Its pros text specifically praises very deep bass given how compact and light it is, backed by a -10dB bass extension down to 38Hz. The tradeoff is tuning balance: its cons describe bass boosted enough to drown out the midrange, with a dip around 200Hz, a peak at 1kHz, and another dip at 1.6kHz creating a strange overall frequency response.

What the Middleton II adds despite the lower price:

• An aux input, which the Xtreme 5 lacks entirely.
• A built-in microphone for calls, absent on the Xtreme 5.
• Slightly longer battery life: 30 hours against 28 hours for the Xtreme 5.

Everything else favors the Xtreme 5 on paper: a newer Bluetooth 6.0 radio with LC3 codec support against Bluetooth 5.3 and SBC-only on the Middleton II, a higher IP68 rating against IP67, and a 7-band EQ against 5-band.

Buy the JBL Xtreme 5 if sound quality matters more than the price. Its own review notes rank it near the top of its class and specifically call out advantages over other large speakers on bass depth and clean output at volume.

Buy the Marshall Middleton II if the price matters more than sound quality, or if you specifically want an aux input and built-in microphone for calls.

Still deciding? The full Portable Bluetooth rankings cover every ranked option.

Prices on this page were last checked November 7, 2026 at 7:34 PM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

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Specifications Side By Side

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