Beantown Review

Boston's Digital Lifestyle & Consumer Tech Site

  • Technology
    • For the Home
    • Computing
      • Hardware
      • Software
    • Automotive Tech
  • Sight & Sound
    • HDTV, 4K & Beyond
      • For Your Eyes Only
    • Hear This
      • Headphones
      • Speakers
    • Lights, Camera
  • Mobility
    • Apps
    • Phones & Phablets
    • Case Protection
    • Laptops
    • Wearables
    • Apparel & Bags
  • Beantown Gaming
    • Consoles
    • Gaming Hardware
    • Game Reviews
  • Entertainment
    • The Interviews
    • Blu-Ray Releases
    • Film Reviews
    • Digital Hollywood
      • Cable TV
      • Network TV
      • Streaming Services
    • Kool Stuff
    • Ping Pong Time
    • Toying Around
  • Lifestyle
    • Clothing
  • Giveaways
You are here: Home / Archives for JAM Audio

Preview: JAM Voice Portable Speaker featuring Amazon Alexa

11/20/2016 By Hakan Can

JAM Voice portable speaker

JAM Enters the Amazon Alexa Foray with the JAM Voice Portable Speaker

It wasn’t that long ago when Amazon introduced Alexa, their voice assistant platform, to the world. Now with over 3 million Alexa-enabled products in use in the U.S. alone, and growing by the day, you knew it wouldn’t be long before other brands jumped on the Alexa A.I. bandwagon. About a month ago, the folks at JAM Audio announced their first Alexa-based smart product, the JAM Voice portable speaker.

According to John Mikkola, Director of Product Development, “Since the inception of JAM Audio, our mission has been to provide consumers with high-quality products that utilize the latest technologies at significantly lower prices. Our latest offering, JAM Voice™, provides everyone a chance to enjoy the convenience of a virtual assistant, making daily life tasks easier.”

[envira-gallery id=”6823″]

The Jam Voice portable speaker with Amazon Alexa has the following features:

On-Product Features:
• Microphone Button
• Play/Pause Button
• Volume Down/Previous Track Button
• Volume Up/Next Track Button

• On/Off Button
• Reset Button
• Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Mode Selector
• Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Light
• Battery Light

After downloading and logging into the JAM WiFi and Amazon Alexa apps to your mobile phone or tablet, you’ll be able to ask Alexa a question, play music from Amazon library, and stream music from Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Pandora. The JAM WiFi app also allows you to play music on multiple JAM Voice speakers. The JAM Voice™ even can act as an intercom to other connected speakers, create alarms and timers, and control certain smart home products.

Read:   JAM Audio Xterior Max Speaker Review

Specifications

• Model Number: HX-P590
• Product Dimensions: 3″ x 3″ x 3″ or 0.37 Feet³
• Color Options: Black and White/Gray
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Ready

• Operating Time: 4 Hours
• Charging Time: 3 Hours
• Weight: 0.61 lbs
• Warranty: 1 Year Limited

Package Contents: speaker, USB charging cable, and documentation.

[envira-gallery id=”6830″]
Read:   Triby Review: Alexa Smart Speaker

Summary

The JAM Voice™ Wi-Fi/Bluetooth speaker can be purchased directly from the JAM Audio website for $79.99, or from Amazon (see below.) Check Amazon often as we saw the white/gray speaker priced for $20 less.

Now through December 11, everything on the JAM Audio website is 30% off with coupon code CYBER.

What are your initial thoughts on the JAM Voice portable speaker with Amazon Alexa? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

Feel free to follow JAM Wireless Audio on Twitter and Facebook as well as this very blog on Twitter and Facebook.

This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.

All photographs are the copyrighted property of Jam Wireless Audio © 2016.

Read:   Caseco Shock Express Metallic Case, Core 360, and Mountie Car Mount Review

Filed Under: Speakers Tagged With: bluetooth, JAM Audio, JAM Voice, Speaker 12/07/2016

JAM Audio Xterior Max Speaker Review

09/26/2016 By Jonathan Dery

JAM Audio Xterior Max speaker review

Beat by Beat: JAM Audio Xterior Max Speaker Review

If a heart were augmented to transmit music and amplify the sound throughout two floors, it would be a close neighbor to the Xterior Max Portable Bluetooth Speaker from JAM Audio. From dynamic quality to refreshing sound clarity, JAM Audio has done it again. They stand as an underdog in a competitive field; with their newest device, they now have a beating heart. Let’s take a closer look in this JAM Audio Xterior Max Speaker Review.

JAM Audio Xterior Max speaker review

If you’re about to make a purchase on a JAM Audio product, what I say next will be music to your ears. Right now, JAM Audio has a 30% off sale sitewide. Enter the code: CYBER during checkout.

Pros:
• Great Sound, Strong Bass
• Water-Resistant Protection
• Battery Life of 12 Hours
• Solid, Rugged Construction and Feel
• Attractive Price ~ $100

Cons:
• Lack of Color Options

Read:   New Speck Apple iPhone 7 Case Designs Are Introduced
[envira-gallery id=”6203″]

Xterior Max Body: Design and Features

Black and gray are separated on a dense, ergonomic rubber. This material fulfills two functions: dexterity and desire. On one hand, the material sufficiently clings to the fingertips and is drop, dirt, and waterproof. On the other, it is the perfect balance of smooth with the slightest degree of friction, enticing touch, and satisfying fruition.  The speaker has an IP67 rating with dimensions of 7.87 x 3.35 x 2.76 inches.

The two wider sides, implanted with holed panels to disperse sound, are zigzagging grids. Not only does this addition enhance the speaker’s grip, but it also causes the aesthetic to be more dynamic, robust, and meticulously finessed. A creative multi-serving installment to not only reinforce the speakers but the consumer’s confidence in their purchase.

On the underside, there’s a screw mount to adapt the speaker to a bicycle rack or something more stationary such as a stand.

There are six buttons on top: Power, Skip Back, Play/Pause, Skip Forward, Decrease Volume, and Increase Volume.

In addition to the top button scheme, there’s an Aux, DC, and battery jack on the left flank, all ergonomically spaced, sized, and labeled. Happening upon a device both simple and versatile is rare. Charging time was approximately an hour.

JAM Audio Xterior Max speaker review

Jam Xterior Max feels like a standalone device, not a rough stand-in version, built deficiently and disposable, to force consumers into purchasing the newest model the following year. A brave and noble act by a company swamped in a market of greed.

Also, there’s just something about its precise weight, 2.85 lbs to be accurate, that feels… masculating. (⇐ This is a word, just not familiar enough to be marked as one.)

Be careful with the Xterior Max. While it’s built and shaped like a brick, it too will sink like a brick if you drop it into a swimming pool. It’s not a floating speaker.

Read:   The New Case Logic Urban Commuter Laptop Backpacks for Men and Women

What’s In The Box?

  • Xterior Max Speaker
  • USB Charging Cable
  • USB Adapter
  • Manual

The Pulse

JAM Xterior Max calls to your heart, or at least reverberates within your chest.

At the maximum volume setting, JAM Xterior Max confidently straddles the line between gorging and shattering the consumer’s eardrums. However, it may land the user in a bit more trouble if they cannot hear the police knocking at their door. In this writer’s case, the Emerson College Police.

Even at the highest volume setting, coupled with the quaking bass, it is still possible to discern each sound within a song. The power and clarity of JAM Xterior Max transcends sensory ingestion to produce one pure effect: palpability. It vibrates through you. From Kanye West to Beethoven, this speaker is just as versatile as it is powerful.

JAM Audio Xterior Max speaker review

Playlist

  • Rap/Hip-Hop: Drake, Frank Ocean, Kayne West.
  • Indie Rock: Glass Animals, Oh Wonder, Simon and Garfunkel.
  • Classical: Beethoven and a few German-composed symphonies.
Read:   Speck's New Back To School Backpacks for 2016

Overall

Decades ago, avid and casual listeners, alike, would click a record into their record player and listen to sensational songs through the device music deserved. Since then, there has been an apocalyptic decline in this listening format, as well as the quality of current speakers, in comparison. So far, it seems that the JAM Xterior Max portable Bluetooth is a welcome runner-up in this digital age.

Though the sound quality still cannot match that which is produced from record players, the device is compact and attractive, convenient and intuitive, and geared with such crisp, booming quality that it is clearly a formidable contender in the speaker market. JAM Xterior Max is not a generic forearm sized pill with a “b” slapped in the middle, along with a gross overprice. It is cost efficient, security efficient, and sound efficient to a degree far above its towering competition.

With appeal and quality like this, JAM Xterior Max just hit the perfect note, and hopefully, for its competitors, struck the wrong chord. It’s difficult not to get behind such an earnest heart.

The JAM Xterior Max speaker can be purchased directly from the JAM Audio website for $119.99, or from Amazon (see below) for $99.99.

What do you think of the Xterior Max portable speaker? Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

Feel free to follow JAM Wireless Audio on Twitter and Facebook as well as this very blog on Twitter and Facebook.

FTC Disclosure: JAM Audio Inc. provided Beantown LLC with one (1) Xterior Max Bluetooth speaker sample for review purposes. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.

All photographs are the copyrighted property of Beantown LLC © 2016.

Read:   Triby Review: Alexa Smart Speaker

JAM Audio Xterior Max speaker review

Filed Under: Speakers Tagged With: JAM Audio, Speaker, Xterior Max 12/05/2016

JAM Audio Transit Micro Wireless Earbuds Review

06/08/2016 By Jonathan Dery

JAM Audio Transit Micro Wireless Earbuds Review

Versatility Running Through Your Ears: JAM Audio Transit Micro Wireless Earbuds Review

The main ubiquitous problem with sport headphones mirrors one of the main reasons for refusing to go to the gym: they’re a hassle. The short, knotty wiring, the prone-to-dislodging earbuds, the limited functions available on the mid-strip remote (if there even is one); these culminating irritations nearly persuade users to forego their headphones when heading out to the gym, or worse, make staying home and further indenting their couch cushions sound much more appealing. JAM Audio’s new sport earbuds seek to alleviate all these discouraging irritations, as well as providing functions that are designed for exercise. The question remains, do the JAM Audio Transit Micro Sport Wireless Earbuds rise above and beyond the couch of their mediocre peers, or do they make a bag of chips sound more appealing than the music they play? Let’s take a look in this JAM Audio Transit Micro Wireless Earbuds Review.

JAM Audio Transit Micro Wireless Earbuds Review

Aesthetic

Right from the start, the user will be delighted to see that they don’t need to use their aggressive hands, teeth, a pair of scissors, nor the sharpest steak knife to access these headphones. JAM Audio Transit Micro Sport Buds reside intricately coiled inside a standard BPA-free sport water bottle showcasing both the 3-dimensional look of the headphones, as well as the secondary intent of this particular JAM Wireless Audio product: fitness.

Further than the exercise purpose of these headphones, the look embodies the qualities of fitness. Sleek, compact, modifiable, adaptable; it is obvious this product was designed to accommodate every user and any terrain. There are two ear grip accessories with small, medium, and large sizes for each. One that fits in the inner ear canal as well as another that rounds the rim of the whole ear.[Tweet “Sleek, compact, modifiable, adaptable; it is obvious this product was designed to accommodate every user and any terrain. @JamSpeaker”]

Additionally, these earbuds are practically wireless; the only wire is a one-foot long reflective chord, coiled around a small curved plastic plate in the middle, that connects the two earbuds to each other. This wiring is ultimately extremely useful. The length provided enough space to add an attached basic remote: two volume buttons and a play-pause button, and be just long enough that in the case of the headphones dislodging from the user’s ears, they should hang around the back of the user’s neck. This feature can be a life-savor, especially when using JAM Audio Transit Micro Sport Earbuds during exercise.

However, the short length of the wiring can make it difficult for the user to move their head freely without the headphones falling out. This short length is most likely the secondary reason for the addition of the multiple ear-grip styles and sizes, though the standard small-medium-large format will require the user to try each size and style to ultimately determine which suits them best. This requirement can be both an inconvenient expense of the user’s time and result in the user still ending up unsatisfied with their most compatible headphone accessory arrangement. The amount of trial and error necessary to construct a viable set up not only detracts from the headphone’s appeal but is ultimately indicative of the design error on Jam’s side.

These sport earbuds are available in 3 color patterns. If the blue/black combination doesn’t suit you, there are a green/black and pink/black color combos as well.

JAM Audio Transit Micro Wireless Earbuds Review

Read:   Audio-Technica ATH-CKX9iS SonicFuel Headphones Review

Wireless Functionality

Despite the few nonessential design errors, the JAM Audio Transit Micro Sport Buds are the Swiss army knife of consumer-centered functions.

The Bluetooth functionality is exceptionally competent and stable. It only takes a second to link a device to the headphones, and the connection rarely disrupts or disconnects. However, the connection disrupts most frequently when the user moves at faster speeds.

The Bluetooth is activated by holding the play-pause button on the mid-wire remote panel. On the remote panel are the increase and decrease volume buttons as well. JAM Audio elevates the functionality of these buttons by engineering them to be multi-functional. While playing music, if the increase volume button is held, the playlist will skip to the next song; if the decrease volume button is held, the playlist will skip back one song. If the headphones are connected to a phone, the play-pause button can be pressed to answer an incoming call or held to reject the call. Despite these implementations seeming like common sense and rudimentary additions, they are rarely included, though welcome add-ons. Especially considering how the aim for these headphones is to be used during exercise, these buttons are incredibly convenient and useful.

A thoughtful bonus innovation is the music cancellation button found on the left earbud. In any case, the user would like to hear their environment clearly while still listening to music (i.e. running on a road), they can press this button and stop the music in their left ear while it resumes in their right. Small extra, substantial increase in potential safety.

The one nearly detrimental caveat is that the user must recharge the headphones. The JAM Audio Transit Micro Sport Earbuds have a 10-hour battery life. Understandably, this is the one way the headphones can be wireless, however, if the user is working out in the gym, running in open terrain, or too far from their home without the charger, they are hopeless. Even if the user did carry the charger and had outlets at their disposal, they would still need to remove the headphones and let them charge for at least thirty minutes. This inconvenience can be the deciding factor between purchasing these headphones or going with a wired or more expensive wireless pair of headphones.

JAM Audio Transit Micro Wireless Earbuds Review

Read:   Review: Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT1iS Headphones

Wireless Sound Quality

These earbuds are designed for exercise use and multi-functionality. While the list price of these buds is $79.99, the Amazon selling price is closer to $50. Though being the fundamental purpose of headphones, the sound quality must be evaluated respectively. Wrong. Correct, yes, yet unnecessary with the JAM Audio Transit Micro Sport Buds. The sound quality on these headphones not only match that of SkullCandy’s Smokin Buds 2 (which are designed primarily for sound quality) but ultimately surpass them pertaining to particular elements. Both the heaviness of the bass and the distinction between sounds are superior on the JAM Audio Transit Micro Sport Buds. This statement holds true across genres. From the elaborate Hip Hop/R&B hit “Monster” by Kanye West to the elegantly robust concertos of Felix Mendelssohn, the earbuds’ fidelity and power are unwavering.

It would take months to truly test this or any other comparison, however, after an adequate number of trials, it is clear that this product does not just stack up to the competition; it is above the rest. Ultimately, the Jam Audio Transit Micro Sport Buds are a top contender; it wasn’t until I heard new lyrics and sounds from songs I have heard numerous times that I discovered the earbuds’ exceptional heights. The same outcome was found with my fellow evaluators, as well.

Read:   SMS Audio BioSport Earbuds Review

Verdict

Though these headphones may not be qualified to compete against the sound quality of Dr. Dre’s Beats and the likes, they provide an exceptional plethora of convenient functions and dominate top selling headphone brands designed purely for outstanding sound. It would be a mistake not to purchase these headphones built for any consumer in practically any terrain (though, I recommend having a spare wired set of headphones if the juice runs out). JAM Audio Transit Micro Sport Buds don’t just emerge from their couched competitors; they exceed so far until the rest might as well fall by the wayside. They even provide a water bottle – how refreshing.

JAM Audio Transit Micro Sport Buds kick it up a few notches for each feature. They have established themselves as a formidable competitor.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media on our Twitter or Facebook pages. We’d be eager to hear your thoughts.

FTC Disclosure: JAM Audio Inc. provided Beantown LLC with one (1) Transit Micro Sport Buds sample for review purposes. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.

All photographs are the copyrighted property of Beantown LLC 2016.

Read:   Review: Adidas Sport Supernova In-Ear Headphones by Monster

Filed Under: Headphones Tagged With: Earbuds, JAM Audio, Sport Earbuds, Transit Micro 06/12/2016

FOLLOW BEANTOWN

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Tweets by @BeantownReview

Amazon Deals and Promos


Copyright © 2023 Beantown LLC - All Rights Reserved