Jawbone JAMBOX Portable Wireless Speaker Review

JAMBOX Build Quality and Design

As an Audioholic who now spends around 150 nights a year in hotel rooms, portable sounds have become an important part of my travel kit.  (And while I love TobyMac, I'm talkin' hardware, not just tunes)  I've become a one-bag traveler, and that means getting seriously lean and efficient when it comes to packing, and more importantly, choosing which gadgets to bring along on a trip. On a recent visit to an Apple store, Jawbone's JAMBOX caught my eye.  Could this little dynamo offer me the sound quality and convenient size I have been looking for to fill my hotel rooms with music?

So what is the Jawbone JAMBOX?  It's a very portable, wireless speaker and speakerphone that actually sounds good!  JAMBOX combines two high quality dome speakers with a passive radiator to produce a very rich sound.  The output capacity of this compact package is 85db with a frequency response of 60 Hz – 20 kHz. Part of what drew me to the JAMBOX is the construction and design.  Weighing in at 12 oz, the dimensions are a tight 5.95" x 2.24" x 1.6".  It is constructed of stainless steel with an molded rubber casing that feels indestructible.  The result is a solid, sturdy block that stays put.  No sliding across the table or annoying buzz from vibrations, etc.  It is available in four colors - each with it's own distinct grill pattern.  My review sample is the Grey Hex version.  Also available are Black Diamond, Red Dot, and Blue Wave.

The top of the JAMBOX has three raised rubber buttons - a round TALK button, a "minus" button for Decrease Volume, and a "plus" button for Increase Volume.  On the side, a Micro USB port for charging straight from your computer or the included wall plug, 3.5mm audio input, and the On/Off switch.  Inside the JAMBOX you will find a stereo pair of acoustic dome speakers on the front, a passive bass radiator on the back, and a built-in microphone.

Listening Tests - Basic

Let me start by saying sound quality of the JAMBOX is very good.  In fact, it is far superior to anything of it's size, save for maybe the FoXL (which I am guessing might share the components found inside the JAMBOX), although the JAMBOX is a huge design improvement with the molded rubber casing and no flimsy grill/stand.  It's fidelity is great at normal listening levels in an hotel room - and by normal, I mean loud enough to cover the room (I can hear it while shaving in the bathroom) while working at my desk, but not so loud that the room next door will call the front desk to complain.

For me, the sweet spot of the unit is singer-songwriter material.  While it handled other genres well, the JAMBOX really shines with selections from Jonatha Brooke, Aimee Mann, Shelby Lynne, and one of my new favorites, The Civil Wars.  I loved the way the device fills my hotel rooms with music - it is such a great alternative to having the TV on while in the room, whether it be doing work on my laptop, taking a shower, packing, or changing clothes.  It is remarkable how much bass comes from the JAMBOX.  Listening to Mudcrutch's "Lover of the Bayou" cranked up while I showered and got ready for my day, I worried I might get a call from the front desk (I didn't).

JAMBOX Listening Tests and Conclusion

In addition to sounding great, the portability is fantastic.  While staying at hotel on the coast of Africa, I took it down to the beach with me, under the palm trees.  My buddies and I felt that Jack Johnson's "In Between Dreams" record was the right choice for the decidedly chill scene, and indeed the JAMBOX did not disappoint, providing a perfect soundtrack for our morning on the beach under the palms.

I found the sound quality to be better if there was some distance between me and the JAMBOX.  It was surprisingly directional, in that if it was on the desk directly in front of me, the mids and highs seemed to almost mask the amazing low end coming from the rear of the unit.  If i positioned it behind my laptop screen, for instance, the sound was diffused a bit and the blend was warmer and more pleasing when listening that close to the unit.  I moved it around quite a bit and experimented with different positioning around the room.  I found that I enjoyed the sound better when further away from it.  The bass seemed more punchy and overall it delivered a richer sound.  Placement was very consistent issue.  Out on the beach, if the unit faced me on the small table next to my lounge chair, it did not sound as smooth as if pointing away.  Back in my room, I always found that it sounded better if placed across the room from where I was seated or working. 

In addition to music, built-in Bluetooth allows you to stream music from your iPhone (or other Bluetooth enabled MP3 player), and you can also connect it to your laptop via Bluetooth for Skype calls or music as well.   When a call comes in, if you are playing music streaming from your iPhone, the volume lowers automatically so you can answer the call.  And you can do that by pressing the round button on top, which connects the call and puts it on the speaker.  Voila, you have a speakerphone on your desk that is considerably more robust than that of your Blackberry or iPhone.  This functionality also comes into play even if you are not streaming music from your phone. A call came in while sitting at my desk with my iPod hard-wired to the JAMBOX listening to music.  SInce my iPhone was still paired with the JAMBOX, it muted the music assuming I would want to answer using the speakerphone function.  This was actually quite useful even if I wanted to use the phone to take the call rather than the JAMBOX. 

As for the quality of the speakerphone, a test call with my wife had decent sound quality for both me and her, and using it for conference calls was great - I could mute my phone and get plenty of work done on my laptop while listening to the call.  It also has some very handy built-in functionality for call management.

The JAMBOX will announce to you when the battery is low.  One strange thing I experienced was having the female voice announce that the "battery is low" while I was listening to music.  I decided to use the round button on top to get a reading - when pressed it will tell you how much battery.  It told me "battery is about half full."  Weird, since it just told me it was "low."  About 5 minutes later, as I had gone back to business, it again announced that "battery is low."  I looked at the power button and it was blinking red, which is an indicator that it is time to charge the battery.  Not sure what the discrepancy was about, but I went ahead and used the USB cable to charge it while I left the room for the day. 

Another fun feature from Jawbone is MYTALK.  After installing the software (via download from the Jawbone website) on my MacBook Air, I chose "Open MYTALK" from the menubar icon and my web browser launched and took me to the site.  Here you are prompted to plug in your device and you have the option to personalize and update your JAMBOX.  I updated the software with no problem at all (not sure what the latest version added, but everything was smooth). 

MYTALK has AudioApps and DialApps for the JAMBOX.  The AudioApps allow you to personalize the voice that speaks the caller ID and battery status, etc.  I changed the default female voice to "The Ace," which basically sounds like a Bond girl - smoking' hot and confident.  You may prefer one of the many other choices, such as The Bombshell, The Hero, The Thinker, etc.  Both male and female "characters" are available.  The DialApps include several apps to maximize the use of JAMBOX as a speakerphone, allowing you to voice dial, have quick access to your favorite contacts, and even listen to email via your Voice on the Go account.

The JAMBOX allows you to have 2 Bluetooth devices paired to it at a time.  You can specify having both devices operational, or either one at a time.  An example would be having both my MacBook Air and my iPhone paired, so I could use the speakerphone function with my iPhone, and stream music from my iTunes library on the laptop. 

One issue that I noted was that the sound quality of the Bluetooth music stream from the MacBook Air was poor.  The fidelity was noticeably worse than if I connected the stereo mini-jack cable to the laptop.  In contrast, streaming via Bluetooth from my iPhone sounded excellent.  The difference between the laptop stream and the iPhone stream was night and day - it was AM vs. FM sound quality.  I posted on the Apple.com boards to see if anyone had experienced this problem, and as of this writing I already have at least one person who is experiencing the same thing.  I am not sure if there is a different Bluetooth spec on the laptop vs. the iPhone, or if something like this might be the issue.

The Jawbone JAMBOX is priced at $199.99, which ain't cheap.  The problem is, I have not seen anything priced less that can really compete with this product.  Plenty of people are happy to drop more than this on a pair of Beats headphones, so think of this the same way - as a higher end, ultra-portable speaker system.  The compact size, excellent build quality, and excellent sound quality and functionality make this a product worth spending a few extra bucks on.  If you are a traveler who wants some decent sound while in hotel rooms, the JAMBOX is hard to beat.

Jawbone
JAMBOX
$199.99
877-254-7426

About Jawbone
For more than a decade, Jawbone has produced personal wireless technologies unparalleled in their innovation, ease-of-use and sophistication of design. Jawbone is the creator of the award-winning and best-selling premium ICON Bluetooth headset and the inventor of NoiseAssassin® technology, the world's first and only military-grade noise-eliminating technology. Jawbone delivers products that innovate and improve the mobile lifestyle through ever-changing software and wearability. Privately-held and headquartered in San Francisco.

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

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Metric	Rating
Audio Performance
Performance
Function
Versatility
Build Quality
Ergonomics & Usability
Ease of Setup/Programming/Integration
Fit and Finish
Performance
Value