Customer Reviews

Jawbone JAMBOX (Blue Wave)

5 star:		(217)
4 star:		(73)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(41)
1 star:		(53)

 

 

I decided to try out this highly rated bluetooth speaker for my iPad and iPhone and was shocked at its ease of use, sound quality, small footprint, portability and long battery life. I liked the choice of colors which makes these small speakers standout and easy to spot. When I first opened the package, I was pleased that the company included several high quality cords including both short and long micro USB cords for recharging and computer synching, charge adapter, and a tangle-free audio cord for non-bluetooth sources. You can create an account on the Jawbone MyTALK site to download voice profiles and apps. In pairing mode, it easily connected with all of our iPads and iPhones. I tested the iPad first with Netflix, Pandora, Hulu+, Air Video Server, and iTunes. Considering that the speaker is only the size of 2 stacked Wii controllers, the sound was surprisingly strong, clear, full-bodied, and free of hisses or pops that I have experienced with other bluetooth speakers and maintained the bluetooth connection without a single drop. Next, I paired both an iPhone 4 and 3Gs and both easily paired with the speaker. I ran Pandora and tested the speakerphone function which worked nicely. You can program a quickdial number that can be immediately dialed by pushing the round botton on the top when paired with a phone. You can download apps for voice commands which I didn't try since I rarely ever use, but the transmission and receiving sound quality is quite good. The next day, I went to work in the operating room and everyone was curious when I pulled out the small speaker and placed my iPhone by its side. There's no need to bring any cords which is the real advantage of using this speaker for true convenient portability. When I started playing my Pandora selections from the iPhone, no one in the O.R. could believe it was coming out of this small speaker. It obviously isn't going to challenge a Bose SoundDock or Dr. Dre Beatbox, but we all had a pleasant day in the operating room doing a full day of cases with great tunes and the speaker lasted the entire day using only 50% of the battery life. At home, I was surprised when my son was playing games on the iPad downstairs and the sound was coming through the Jambox speakers located upstairs with perfect clarity. I researched all of the bluetooth speakers currently available, and this stands out by far. Personally, I prefer using this small speaker which I can pull out of my labcoat, rather than carrying around a large heavy sounddock with cords shoved in a bag. I now leave the sounddock in my office. The only reason I didn't rate this 5-stars is due to the sticker-shocker price which I personally feel is a bit excessive and would be more competitive in the $150 - $170 range. At the $200 pricepoint, most people are audiophiles and will likely make the unfair comparison to larger sounddocks. On the other hand, this is perfect for people like myself willing to sacrifice a bit of room-filling base-rumbling sound for a truly portable wireless speaker with accurate sound reproduction. Overall, I am very pleased with my purchase and will buy another when and if the price drops.

*****update 9/18/2011******
True to my word, when this went on a Gold box deal for $149, I purchased a second speaker for the kids who used them on camping trips to watch movies on their iPads with their friends. I've been using this daily over the past year with only a few minor issues. I am not a big fan of the latest downloaded software update to add "Live Audio" sound processing which really dampens the sound volume too much to be effective and have only noticed a subtle difference for certain music files. I suspect there will be more reviewers who will knock this device due to dissatisifaction with the Live Audio update, but don't realize that this can be simply toggled on/off by depressing and holding the minus and plus buttons together a few seconds. After purchasing a second one for the kids to use with their iPads, I had to change the bluetooth device names to distinguish multiple speakers since it is default set as "JAMBOX by Jawbone." If you have already synced your i"Device" you will notice that it will keep the old name. Simply go to Settings/General/Bluetooth and select the Not Connected icon and select "Forget this device." This will reset the name for the device and you can simply rescan and resync with the speaker to update the name in your bluetooth device list. I don't understand why there are so many poor reviews for syncing problems which I have never experienced using iOS devices. Other reviewers have also recommended the Soundfreaq SFQ-1 which has equal (to my ears, slightly superior to others) bluetooth sound quality and comparable pricing. I like the SoundFreaq, but I still prefer the JAMBOX due to its smaller size and simple rectangular shape which easily fits in my coat pocket for portability. The sound quality coupled with design factor make this a much more flexible purchase. Ignore reviews that make unfair comparisons to larger expensive office/room audiophile speakers which serve different purposes. I use both the Bose SoundDock and Dr. Dre Beatbox and also really enjoyed the inexpensive, but discontinued Griffin Amplfi speaker which all give a wider and fuller sound experience but are all impractical to drag around with you.

*** update 10/10/2011 ***
The new Jambox 2.1 software upgrade has fixed all the problems with the previous LiveAudio upgrade. The new SoundClarity algorithm is really nice and preserves the higher volume levels. I turn the LiveAudio off when we're in the operating room and it gives nice spatial sound and turn it back on when I'm alone in the office for a softer, but improved sound. I've noticed continued bad ratings complaining of frequent bluetooth connection drops. I have 2 Jambox speakers (blue and black) and have used them daily for 10 months with our iPhones, iPads, and recently an Asus Transformer android tablet and honestly have never had a single connection drop. I use the devices to listen to music in the operating room for 8-10 straight hours and we have have never had a dropped connection. I wonder if folks were unlucky to get a bad speaker or perhaps their problems are actually with their media devices that have outdated bluetooth protocols (i.e. non iOS devices).

I originally wrote a review entitled, "Monstrously dissatisfied." Out of the box, my Jawbone Jambox sounded horribly distorted when playing my laptop's music. Before returning it I searched the web one more time to see if there was anything that could be my fault and found a useful thread called, "Terrible Sound Quality" (link below) on Jawbone's site. There I discovered that my Apple MacBook Air had two different drivers and the wrong one was selected, not that I was prompted at any point in the installation by either Jawbone or Apple. I also read that no one knew how to select the right driver on my operating system, Snow Leopard 10.6. With a little poking around I figured it out and now I think the Jambox is behaving the way it's supposed to.

I give the Jambox 4 stars because:
(a) it does a good job as a bluetooth speakerphone with my iPhone, improving a bit on the iPhone's capacity to do that job itself. I used it in my hotel room while it was charging, right out of the box. It was a couple of feet away from me as I worked and I could hear the other parties clearly and they could hear me. Then again at a meeting in an office when a speakerphone was needed impromptu, I whipped it out and there was no fuss, just performance.
(b) As an external bluetooth speaker it provides fine quality - not superb - but, for its size it's better than any of the other solutions I have purchased over the years. It's handy to have no cords (a corded set of speakers by the same price would outperform the Jambox). However, it is wonderful to have this wireless box for both my iPhone and laptop when I work around the house (my home office), and I have even used it in the car enjoyably.

On another note, my 12 yr old just picked it up and took it downstairs to see how far it could travel from my laptop and still pump out the music. It was impressive. He made it all the way downstairs to the other side of our house before losing the connection.

[...]

I already have two Foxls from Soundmatters. The Jambox is based on the same acoustic design from Soundmatters but inside a different body and as claimed by Aliph with optimized and reinforced body design. Therefore I hoped the Jambox would give me some improvement in sound, but i was wrong.

Both of my Foxls are different versions, the first one is version 2, the new one version 2.2 and there are significant differences in sound between both. The first Foxl had horrible bluetooth quality, apart from that my main criticism was the somewhat weak maximum volume. This improves a lot when plugged in, but from battery the Foxl was not loud enough for my taste resulting in distorted sound as soon as turned up a bit strogner. The newest Foxl is different, bluetooth quality has improved and the sound is more refined. Treble is less harsh while at the same time bass is stronger in the upper frequencies, as mids are clearer than before. Unfortunately the newest Foxl suffers even more at higher volume levels. The previous version applied some kind of compression/limiting to the music when turned up louder to avoid distortion. This is the typical effect you also get when listening to FM radio stations. To achieve maximum volume and drown any background noise, most radio stations apply compression to the music. The new Foxl doesn't do that anymore, so it distorts more quickly especially with peak-sounds like kick-drums etc. It tries to avoid distortion differently. When there is lots of bass, it lowers overall volume noticeably, which results in a somewhat "pumping" effect. I am not sure if I really like the new approach better than before. The previous compression was more "musical" and added a bit of "punch" to the music at higher levels.

Now to the Jambox: It sounds more or less like the previous Foxl version with improved Bluetooth streaming quality. But the unit I received has additional problems with the housing that resonates when deeper bass notes are played. Compared to the newest Foxl the Jambox sounds inferior by all means when listening to both at normal levels. Bass from Foxl is stronger and cleaner at the same time, bluetooth quality is similar with both, but compared to a wired connection both still sound noticeably worse through bluetooth. At higher levels the Jambox behaves the same as the old Foxl, it seems to apply the same compression and sounds louder and less stressed than the newest Foxl, but overall I was not able to detect any improvements in sound compared to the "original". Despite of the bigger size, the Jambox still has the same low output like the Foxl. There is no dynamic sound adjustment depending on the output level. I was begging for this for a long time. Adding a bit more bass at lower volume and taking a bit of bass away at higher volume to optimize output at all listening levels.

The only real difference is the design. So if you really want a blue, red or grey brick, you will be better off with a Jambox, otherwise i suggest you to take the Foxl. If you don't need loudest output, the newest Foxl version sounds definitely better and is smaller at the same time. But the differences in maximum volume between Foxl and Jambox are in reality not that huge. Both are not suitable at all for outside listening. It should also be mentioned that when plugged in, output is cleaner and louder from the Foxl. It plays with double power (2x4 Watt) then, unlike the Jambox which only has 2x2 Watt regardless if running from battery or plugged in.

I am sending my Jambox back, as I see no real advances. Despite the rubber coating, the Jambox also dances around when playing bass-heavy music. You also have to use some cloth or additional rubber mat (like the one included with the Foxl) to avoid this.

I am still hoping for an improved Jambox version. *crossingfingers*

Update:
Meanwhile Jawbone has done 2 firmwareupdates. Version 2.0 was quite a disaster, because it lowered maximum volume quite a bit according to many disappointed users. I hadn't done the update as i didn't want to screw up the volume of my Jambox. But some weeks later Jawbone came up with a fix and announced firmware 2.1. The volume issue has been fixed and the user can choose now between clarity ON and OFF. OFF is the way how it was before, but ON makes the output considerable lower, thus all the complaints, although Jawbone still claims this is to provide a clearer distortion-free sound and is not lower at all... Well, I prefer it louder to tell the truth and have set clarity to OFF.
The more interesting feature is the new "Liveaudio" setting. Pressing both volume buttons simultanously you can switch between both modes. With Liveaudio the Jawbone sounds considerably larger at low volumes. The frequency response has been tweaked for a more bassheavy clearer sound, which is much broader at the same time. You have the impression if the sound was coming beyond the small Jambox. Unfortunately with active Liveaudio the maximum volume is as low as it is with clarity ON and the other problem is that Liveaudio distorts at higher volume levels. It sounds pretty good with low levels up to speech volume, but turn it a bit louder (still far from maximum volume in normal mode) and Liveaudio distorts heavily, especially noticeable with bassdrum sounds, or low bassnotes etc.

I still hope Jawbone will do some further tweaks to improve sound in future. Liveaudio shows great potential, but it should adjust its sound to the volume automatically, now Liveaudio is trying to push too hard in the bass department which results in considerable distortion. It would have been better if Jawbone tuned the bass down, if you increase volume. I already complained, but nobody seems to listen...

So I picked up my Jambox a couple weeks ago based on some reviews and a need for a portable speakerphone. It has really rocked my world in a short time since getting it.

I use it primarily in my home office as polycom type device to pair with my smartphone. It does that very well. Crystal clear sound when paired and extremely easy and intuitive to use.

What came out of the purchase that wasn't expected was how amazing of a device it actually is. I use a sonos system at home that connects to the internet and streams music to various rooms. Well, this little box does quite the same. I downloaded the "TuneIn" app for my iPad and connect via bluetooth. Let me tell you it ROCKS!! I have it set up in areas that I do not have the sonos (bath, master bedroom, etc) and the quality of sound that comes out of it rivals my high end inwall speakers. This little box fills my 20x20 room with vibrant and dynamic sound. I sincerely love it.

I just went to Vegas...brought it along and streamed music in my room...plan on doing to my all my future trips as well. It really is the perfect size and if you like music playing in the background (work, play, whatever)...this is the perfect device.

Note that the accessories it comes with are awesome as well..the case is brilliant as well as the cables.

Very well done Jawbone...I look forward to whats next!

Having invested over 10K in my home audio equipment, I became interested in the Jawbone Jambox to use as a portable speaker to pair with my MP3 Player. Figured it would be perfect to use in the office, when traveling or at a tailgate.

Upon receipt of the Jambox, all was packaged well, with quality accessories included: Jambox, chargers, travel case and instructions. The construction of the Jambox is very good...built solid. This unit is so compact, but has a nice weight to it.

Charging the unit took a little over an hour, and pairing only a few seconds. Upon listening to a handful of lossless recorded songs via the Bluetooth connection...I was impressed. The Jambox produces a full, rich sound...which is surprising based on the physical size of the unit. The bass and lower frequencies is impressive.

For people who compare the Jambox to a larger speaker system...that is not fair. While the Jambox will certainly hold its own against a unit like a Bose, what you are buying with this product is a great sound in a compact format. Throw the Jambox in a suitcase, briefcase or backpack...and you are off.

Should the price be less...yes. But, it is an impressive product. I am sure the price will come down a bit after the holiday

I bought this product primarily to use as a speakerphone with my iPhone. I work from home a lot and using the built in speaker phone in the iPhone is a drag. As a speaker phone, the Jambox works great. I have it paired via Bluetooth (there is also a mini-RCA in) and the call quality is...good. Not great, just good. The microphone quality is good too, I gave a one hour talk during a conference call with the speaker about 1.5 feet from my face and everyone could hear me and I could hear them perfectly. From other reviews I have read about the Jambox, you have to be right in front of the speaker for it to pick up properly (which can be a good thing).

The controls are pretty slick, there are three buttons up top and a slider power switch on the side that glows to indicate status. You get audio feedback when pairing or to get battery information. The third button up top is programable as are the audio feedback voices.

Now for the under-whemling part...Music. For all the hot air on Jawbone's web site about the audio quality of this box, you'd think you could replace your home stereo. I didn't think that but I had high hopes for the music quality. It sounds good but there is obviously very little to no stereo separation. Also, I'm a little disappointed with the max volume and amount of bass. They advertise that this can get louder than a jet engine but I could never get the audio very loud on this thing, not that I want it that loud anyway...At it's max volume, the sound does not distort so that's a plus. The bass performance is pretty lacking considering the amount of marketing hype about this (but pretty good considering the size of this box). The speaker shakes like crazy (it will actually dance off your desk) during high bass audio but you don't really "hear" much of it.

I may update this review after a few weeks to give the speakers time to season.

Overall, I like this because my main purpose was for a speaker phone. It's pretty expensive but you pay for the design (it's compact, attractive and well put together).

UPDATE: 2/10

So I've had this for a few weeks now. I think I may have been a little harsh in my original review. The sound quality has either improved or it has grown on me. I find the sound quality for music very good (it's "warm" and full-bodied---is this coffee?). I'm very pleased with the sound on both music and phone. The directionality of the phone is still a bit odd, it almost seems like I have to be not only directly in front of the unit but in a sweet spot to get the best quality mic pick up.

Bluetooth reception is great, I take the unit into the bathroom so I can listen to music while I'm getting ready for work. The volume is not an issue, this unit gets plenty loud. I have since paired it to my iMac and the volume seems to be louder than when paired from the iPhone/iPad.

Bottom line, I'm still very happy with the unit and have upgraded my review from 3 to 4 stars. This unit is still very expensive but if you value sound quality, are OK with it's limitations and value design then this might be for you--again because you are paying a premium for the design/quality/name of the Jambox.

On 8 Oct 2011, I received a Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speaker as a gift, which my husband purchased for me on 6 Oct 2011 from Amazon. It was a great product, with good sound clarity. I was very impressed with the speaker's range and capabilities, although I did feel the usability left a few things to be desired. However, I had a problem in that it didn't seem to hold a charge. I contacted Jawbone's support via e-mail (form on their website) on 29 Nov 2011 for assistance. Unlike many other support services, their agent seemed to be truly reading my e-mails and not just scanning for keywords and sending form responses. However, once we got to the point that we determined an RMA was in order, support informed me that they were "out of stock" and couldn't promise when they'd have a replacement unit in stock. They said I could send my unit in but they couldn't tell me when I'd get a replacement. They could not even give me a range, e.g., 4-6 weeks, 2-3 months.

However, at the same time as they were telling me they were out of stock and could make no promises, they were selling my exact model on their website with indication that they are "in stock", so the claims of being out of stock ring false. When I pointed this out to the support representative, he provided no explanation for the discrepancy but instead continued to say they were out of stock. He recommended I continue to "check in with them" periodically to see if a replacement was available. I asked if, per their stated Warranty, if they could offer a refund since a replacement or repair seemed to be unavailable. Unsurprisingly, they declined that option.

This feels to me very much like an attempt to get out of honoring the warranty by putting the consumer off and/or making it so unappealing as to discourage pursuit of the warranty. At best, I suspect that they're simply "out of stock" of replacement units, i.e., re-furbished units, even though the warranty says replacement will be either new or re-furb and not limited to re-furbished units. I don't think that it's honoring the spirit of the warranty to delay replacement on that basis. I further think it's against the spirit if not the actual wording of the warranty to refuse to replace a faulty unit in any way when the unit failed in less than 60 days from the point of purchase. Finally, I think it's beyond the sense of reason to tell a customer with a ~$200 product that is now a paperweight that it's up to them to keep contacting you periodically to find out when the warranty will be honored. Admittedly, I've been lucky enough to not have very many issues requiring warranty service with my other electronics, but when I have, I have never run into this sort of shenanigan.

After this, there is no way I will spend money with them again, and I advise others to do the same. It may be within Jawbone's legal right to handle warranty requests in this way, but I think it shows an unwillingness to stand behind the quality of the product as well as a lack of caring about their customers once the sale is complete. As for my specific situation, I'm basically out of luck. I'm past the return window (30 days) to return it to Amazon. I'm not the only person who has run into this battery issue, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was part of the cause of their "out of stock" issue on replacement units. Buy at your own risk, because you may or may not ever be able to get Jawbone to actually honor their warranty.

This product is awesome. My wife gave it to me as a gift: I had no idea it existed. First the packaging is slick: appears to be all cardboard, cleverly designed (and hopefully recycled material--didn't check the fine print) which gives you that same feeling when opening Apple products: "Ok, even the packaging is well designed, so I'm feeling good so far." Then you turn it on (batteries already charged thank you very much; read: attention to detail) and it makes cool quirky noises and you can immediately feel you have a quality product in your hand by both it's heft and how it shivers in your hands from the bass drivers kicking in. Not a hiccup in setting it up: paired immediately to my iPhone 3G. I think the music and surprisingly sharp and deep for such a small unit. Great for a small room, but this ain't surround sound mind you. It went directly in the car the next morning; I drive a 13 year old car which does not have an auxilliary port for my iPod/Phone and those FM units are a joke in the big city (SF). Set this little baby on the dash or on the instrument panel ledge and you got good, clear sound, without any interference. Phone rings: and now the value add. Excellent in-car bluetooth speaker phone. Hang up--music returns. Sweet. And if you want to put audio signal directly into it just use the provided connector (miniheadset out/in) and voila. Added bonuses: 1) the top and bottom of box is a no-slip rubberish compound which deadens the vibrations and keeps it in place wherever you put it. 2) slick carrying case.

No major caveats thus far. Not sure how long the battery's going to last, so I'll post again when I know for sure given various conditions and use. Since my main use will be in the car for speakerphone and then music, I call prefer to call it the Jabberwokie since it's great for jabbering on the phone while driving.

Way to go dudes/dudettes at Jawbone.

From the minute you open the box, you can tell this is a quality product. It has stylish and sophisticated packaging, but it doesn't stop there. You'll need to charge it for about an hour, but after that you're off to the races. When you turn it on, it bleeps and gives a slight shaking feedback jolt. You really feel like this is a product from the future! It paired easily to my iphone and I was rocking out to tunes only seconds later.

The sound on this box is phenomenal given the size. As another reviewed mentions, you need to take size in to consideration. This isn't going to compete against a classic stereo system, but I challenge you to find another portable sound device that performs as well as this one. The highs/mids are very crisp and the bass packs a punch. The portability of this product is really the key advantage, as I can bring it with me to the park, or toss it on my overnight bag to use in my hotel room while on a business trip. The included protective case with magnetic clasps is a really cool too!

This device can also act as a bluetooth speaker phone. This was novel to use a few times, but the quality is not superior to other bluetooth headsets out there, so I don't use it for that purpose. But it's a nice bonus for anyone who might want to use that feature.

I agree the current $200 price tag is a little steep. I bought my Jambox on Black Friday through the Apple Store and was fortune to score it for only $150. Hopefully this product will come down in price after the holidays.

Rock on!

It is a very good remote Bluetooth speaker with solid features. Good quality for a small box and plays well in a personal space ... even the bass is strong. The sound will fill a very large living room or conference room. Easily pairs with iPhone and iPad as well as Blackberry.

Playing music through Pandora or iTunes is an effortless setup and the sound is amazingly very good for a unit this small. If a phone call comes in, it interrupts the music and turns into a remote mic/speaker for multi-person conference calls ... good call quality. It also carries "personalities" that are downloadable through the MYtalk online site ... just for fun. I can fit it into my PC bag and it travels well. Good battery life. The top and bottom are cushioned protecting it against falls and bumps. The grill looks professional for a polished look. I can take this to an executive meeting and "wow" clients while the JAMBOX blasts out audio from a presentation. I can also take this to my girl's birthday party and play their favorite music from my iPhone. It will go to the beach when the weather gets warmer. I can hook it up to a non-Bluetooth iPod with a cable so it's very versatile. I also have the JAWBONE Icon so the JAMBOX completes my mobile toolkit along with the iPhone.

It has what I look for - good design, high quality, and solid performance. No complaints ... its a rock star with a cool attitude. Great innovation in a small package. Jawbone JAMBOX (Black Diamond)