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So I’ve been eyeing for a relatively good speaker system for my gadgets for sometime now – yes, I need my Bach, Mozart and Britney Spears blasting through some better sounding ones that are available on board. Quite fortunately, there are a million and two strangely branded ones from China and then…

There was of course Bang & Olufsen Beosound 8

Which looks sexy, sounds freaking awesome but stupidly priced… 5 million gajillion ringgit – okay fine – it’s 5,000 ringgit. Still too expensive.

Then there’s the latest offering from Bose… the Bose Soundlink

Which doesn’t look bad at all – comes in two variants – premium & standard. The premium model comes with a really nice leather cover that ‘closes’ the device.

Price tag about 549 Singapore Dollars for the standard model ~ RM 1350.

Honestly, it does sound pretty good for its size and being Bose – you’d expect pretty good bass, mids, highs and go pretty loud. I tested the unit in BestBuy – a huge electronics store in the US which was packed with people and it still sounded solid.

Problem is, I don’t see myself plonking close to 1,400 ringgit on a speaker – I’d rather buy a new phone…

The truth…
Truth is, something that is also square-ish like the Bose, looks good and sounds pretty LOUD for it’s size just like the Bose (a good friend of mine – @walauwei demo-ed to me once), portable and has that cool factor… I’ve been eyeing this for a while…

I really did like it BUT there was the price tag of RM 749 – oh mai gash… until I saw this deal during my recent US trip – just 149 USD after discount which translates to about 500 ringgit! YEEHA! I grabbed it immediately and now I have it

JAMBOX by Jawbone First impressions…

The Jambox as you can see from the pics, it is shaped like a brick.

There’s a cool designed metal cage that wraps around the speaker with the top and bottom of the device covered with rubber. In short, it gives you a pretty good grip both in the hands and on all sorts of surfaces.

It’s got 3 simple buttons at the top… talk, volume up and volume down

On the other side is the LED lit power switch, a line in for gadgets that don’t have bluetooth and a USB port for charging & firmware upgrades

Quick specs

• Supports Bluetooth audio streaming profile
• Supports Bluetooth handsfree profile – YES! You can make & receive calls
• Firmware upgradeable – to enable new features (more later)
• 10 hours of battery life on a single charge

It ‘vibrates’ sexily when you turn it on
I’m not kidding. Turning it on gets me a little excited every time – not in a bad way. The first time I turned it on, it gave this BLEEP and the bass activates giving you a firm vibration. I love it.

Pairing…
Getting it hooked up with my toys were relatively easy as well. I hate reading manuals so I didn’t bother. I turned it on and this lady asks you to search for it on your bluetooth device. After a quick search, I saw “Jambox by Jawbone”, wacked connect and within seconds – no PIN number asked – I was connected!

Firmware upgrades
Why would a speaker require firmware upgrades? My Jambox didn’t come with these 2 features – LiveAudio & Sound Clarity BUT thanks to the free firmware upgrade, I now have both!

• Live Audio – Basically gives you a 3D listening experience – ie. concerts like you’re there
• Sound Clarity – Automatically cleans up audio that distorts at higher volumes

How loud can it go?
It’s designed to go up to 85dB – unless you’re a sound engineer – you’ll probably wonder so I did some research. Apparently our human ears shouldn’t take loudness above 90dB for a long period of time otherwise we’ll have hearing loss.

In short, it’s LOUD. Loud enough for my wife to scream at me when I’m enjoying my Britney Spears at max volume

The downside?

Screen - It’d be nice to have a screen or some indicator to show battery level. It’s not a big issue though – one tap at the ‘talk’ button and the lady will say sexily “battery is 3/4 full”… sometimes I wish I could reply “would you like coffee or tea madamme?”

Distortion at higher volumes - That’s what I experienced when pumping up the volume too loudly with certain songs – I haven’t tried it but apparently it gets fixed when you turn on the “Sound Clarity” feature in the latest firmware.

Price tag – At RM 749 – it’s not the cheapest but it’s really one of the best premium portable Bluetooth speakers in its class but of course, cheaper is always nicer

Get or not to get?

Scenario 1 – If you’re rich and you want only the best and don’t care how stupidly priced an item is – go for the Bang Olufsen. Good news is, Bang Olufsen products unlike any other electronics brands out there – their prices appreciate over time. They are like diamonds

Scenario 2 – If you want really loud, solid sound but no Bluetooth handsfree capability and don’t mind plonking about RM1,350 – go for the Bose

Scenario 3 – If you’re looking for solid sound, slightly lower power than the Bose but boasts upgradeability, Bluetooth handsfree functions and are not looking to pay more than 800 ringgit – this is going to be one of the best investments you’ve made for your listening pleasure.

So, would you be getting one soon? Leave your comments below and I’ll try to reply to all!