If you’re looking for a portable speaker with superb sound, this Audio Pro P5 review is the right place to be. It has definitely earned its place as one of the best Bluetooth speakers around.
Not too long ago, the Audio Pro Addon C10 MKII and Audio Pro G10 impressed me with big sound and stripped-back good looks, so I was excited to get my hands on their first small portable Bluetooth speaker.
The Audio Pro P5 packs everything we know and love about the Swedish brand into a much smaller package, that includes a modern design and jaw-droppingly accurate audio. So to cut right to the chase of this Audio Pro P5 review, their first bag-friendly speaker seems to be a resounding success.
Here, you can find out about everything about it from its price, design and battery to more about how it sounds, and what extra features the speaker has to offer. Let’s get down to it.
Audio Pro P5 review: price and availability
The Audio Pro P5 is available to buy now in the UK and Australia from a few different retailers including Amazon. It costs £140 in the UK and AU$247 in Australia. When it’s available in the US, it’ll set you back about $150.
Competing against the likes of the Marshall Emberton and the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 in terms of price, the Audio Pro P5 isn't cheap but I wouldn't say it's expensive either.
Audio Pro P5 review: design and battery
When it comes to looks, Audio Pro isn’t one to show off with over the top design quirks. The Audio Pro P5 is no different, it keeps things simple with a black rubberised back and matching plastic front speaker grille with a discreet logo on the bottom right.
Despite the design being stripped back, the speaker feels quite durable as well, you get the impression it can take a few knocks and bumps here and there without getting damaged. It’s also IPX4 rated which means it’ll survive splashes, I wouldn't chuck it in a pool though.
While this speaker is small, at 97 x 220 x 53 mm, it’s not tiny. You easily be able to put it in a backpack or suitcase but you’ll be hard pushed to find a pocket big enough to squeeze it in. It weighs 720g so it is portable but it's not actually that light either.
In the box, the Audio Pro P5 does come with a handy wrist strap to carry it around which is a very useful addition and makes it easier to take with you to places like parks or beaches.
Above the speaker grille, you’ll find a tiny LED light alongside buttons integrated into the rubber- these include the power and Bluetooth pairing buttons, as well as volume controls. To control the music you will have to reach for your phone because there aren't controls for that on the speaker. To nitpick slightly, the buttons that are there are quite firm and didn't always register presses the first time although if you're mostly using your phone to control it anyway then that doesn't matter so much.
On the side of the speaker is a rubber flap that covers the USB-C charging port and the 3.5mm aux input.
With the volume on full volume, you’ll only get about 4 hours of music from the Audio Pro P5, but if you keep it at about 50% volume then you’ll be able to get about 14 hours from it. That’s nowhere near the 20 hours offered by the likes of the JBL Charge 5 but it’s not terrible either.
Audio Pro P5 review: sound quality and features
If you want a speaker with energetic, accurate and punchy sound then the Audio Pro P5 does not disappoint. You can hear every detail across the lows, mids and highs, something that portable speakers aren’t always able to get across, especially with the amount of volume you get here. It goes really loud! That’s all thanks to a 1-inch tweeter, 3.2-inch long-throw woofer and 35W amplifier.
The design of the speaker with the front grille means the sound is directed, with the speaker stood up you won’t get the same level of sound from behind it as you do from in front of it. But there’s a very simple solution to that problem, you can just place it on its back with the speaker facing upwards to give the same experience no matter where you are in relation to it. It’s really well thought out, actually.
Supporting MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC files and even Apple Lossless (to please Apple Music subscribers) this is a speaker that has everything you need to listen to your music as it was meant to be heard.
As mentioned above, you get the choice of using Bluetooth 5 or a 3.5mm audio cable to connect your devices to this speaker. The Bluetooth 5 works very well, the audio never dropped out and my phone stayed connected even when I wandered off into the next room.
While there aren’t many other features to speak of, you can make the sound even bigger by connecting two Audio Pro P5s together to play them in stereo.
Audio Pro P5 review: verdict
You don’t get loads of features from the Audio Pro P5, it’s not fully waterproof and it’s not small enough to fit in your pocket - but, and it is a very big but, you do get really fantastic sound considering it weighs just 720g.
So is it a bad thing that Audio Pro has kept everything else simple here? I don’t think so, the focus is well and truly on the sound quality and that’s quite refreshing. What makes it even better is that it's not that expensive either. It would be hard not to recommend this speaker!
Audio Pro P5 review: also consider
If money is no object then the best Bluetooth speaker you can buy is the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 v2. It’s a lot pricier than the Audio Pro P5 but it is smaller, has excellent audio quality and it’s waterproof. Not only that but you can use the app to customise the audio and you can access Amazon Alexa through it too. It impressed us so much that it actually won Best Portable Speaker at the T3 Awards 2021.
On a tight budget? The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 is the portable speaker you should buy in that case. It’s tiny, waterproof and has surprisingly good sound - it’s not perfect though, you won’t get anywhere near the same level of audio quality as you get here. It is much cheaper though so you win some, you lose some.
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