Robert Wagner | Review: Jawbone Jambox Wireless Speaker

I haven?t been listening to a whole lot of music lately ? and by ?lately? I mean the past couple of years. I love listening to music while I work, but for whatever reason I can?t stand either: a) wearing earbuds around the house or at work, or b) having the music I?m listening to blaring straight at me from the computer I?m using.

And who owns a stereo anymore?

I finally broke down and went shopping for a portable speaker; the idea being that I could put it somewhere else in the room but still play music off of either my Mac or my iPhone.

I decided right away that I wanted something that worked using Bluetooth rather than AirPlay. As deep as I am into the Apple ecosystem; I?m not fond of proprietary protocols. After taking a look at what?s available, I quickly narrowed down my choices to either the Jawbone Jambox or the Beats Pill; both are right around the same price and both seem a lot less cheesy than some of the other like products out there.

And neither one is made by Bose, which is important to me. I hate Bose.

After spending some time reading up on the Bluetooth connectivity issues the Pill has with iOS 6, I decided to skip it, saving myself $20, and went with the Jambox. The same reviews all seem to agree that the Pill sounds a bit better than the Jambox but I?ll take a little less bass over dropped connection issues any day of the week.

Unboxing

?The Jambox comes with:

• Micro-USB cable (used for charging only)
• 3.5mm stereo audio cable
• AC wall charger (USB)
• Carrying case of negligible value
• Quick start guide

While I applaud Jawbone for using a standard micro-USB connector for powering/charging the Jambox, the case they included doesn?t feel substantial enough to provide a whole lot of protection beyond saving the unit from mild scratches. It?s a thin, tight-fitting collapsable box ? almost tube-like in a way ? with a pair of magnetized flaps on either end. I?m thinking I?ll trust my backpack to keep my Jambox in good condition, the case seems more tedious than worthwhile.

The material on the case itself attracts dust like crazy too ? the photo below is how dirty it was right out of the box.

The quick start guide was more than adequate to get me up and running. I referred to it only once for a few seconds to find out how to pair the Jambox with my iPhone 5. Pairing took all of 10 seconds; it was painless with the minor exception of a LOUD and VERY ALARMING female voice that blared instructions at me when I plugged the Jambox in for the first time. I?m not sure if Jawbone deliberately decided that the Jambox should be CRANKED TO FULL VOLUME right out of the box or if it was just my particular unit, but IT WAS LOUD to say the least.

Also worth noting, my Jambox had absolutely zero charge when I unboxed it ? sort of a rarity anymore; I can?t recall the last time I bought a gadget with a rechargeable battery that didn?t have at least a 50% charge when I took it out of the box.

Connectivity + Construction

The Jambox itself has a pretty substantial feel to it. The top and bottom are rubberized, I assume so that it doesn?t go traveling across your desk while your pumping bass-heavy tunes through it. The downside of the rubber material though is that it, like the carrying case, shows dirt almost immediately (see above). There?s not a whole lot that can be done about it unfortunately, it just looks dirty in daylight no matter what you do with it.

Charging the Jambox took just under 3 hours and a full charge lasts over twice that when used via Bluetooth. I assume it probably lasts a bit longer if you connect directly to it via a 3.5mm audio cable but why would you buy a wireless speaker in the first place if you were going to go that route?

Bluetooth range is good as well ? I was able to stay connected with my iPhone up to approximately 30 feet with no issue. 35+ feet gave me noticeable drops. 40+ feet lost the connection altogether.

Sound Quality

Let?s be clear: the Jambox?isn?t going to give you heavy bass. Period. I don?t think it was designed for it and it certainly doesn?t deliver it. You?re trading deep bass for size, convenience, and battery life. For $120 more you can move up to the Big Jambox and get a bit more bass but even that isn?t going to come close to a full size boombox or home audio shelf system ? if that?s your thing look into the Sony?Muteki Hi-Fi Music System, it sounds nothing short of incredible.

What the Jambox excels at is casual music listening ? like in a home office or an apartment. It sounds decent at low volumes and great at midrange volumes. It?ll never blow out your windows or give enough rumble in your ass to make you feel like you?re clubbing; but again, it?s tiny ? and it?s only $179. Think of it as a personal audio device that?doesn?t sit in your ear holes and you have a pretty good idea of what it delivers. It ain?t going to wake the neighbors, and sometimes that?s exactly what you need. In my case it works perfectly ? I can listen to my Spotify playlists and podcasts without irritating the crap out of the people on the other side of the cardboard walls ? either at home or at work.

Verdict

I?m about 85% happy with my purchase. While I wish the Jambox had just a tiny bit more bass to it, I?m more than happy with the ease in which it connects and operates. I?ve had enough bad luck with Bluetooth devices over the years to be a bit weary of cheaper products and the hassles of dealing with connection drops and the like. I?ve had none of those troubles with the Jambox; it?s a well constructed, high quality piece of audio gear. It might not be for everyone ? and as I said, there are alternatives if you want to spend twice as much ? but it serves my purposes very, very well.

Source: http://robwagpdx.com/review-jawbone-jambox-wireless-speaker/

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