Our white review unit looks absolutely fantastic, so striking that Jawbone should have exposed it with the same transparent retail packaging it uses for its Up fitness band. A real missed opportunity in my opinion — the opaque cardboard covering Big Jambox simply can't invoke the same passionate response as the real deal.
Out of the box the Big Jawbone speaker measures Having said that, Big Jambox is still small — compact enough to be grasped with a single hand. The "Big" in its name says more about its size relative to the original Jambox than the competition. At launch, Jawbone will also sell a small travel case with a handle and slots for the AC block, cables, and Big Jambox.
Big shares the 3. It also carries over the ability to download apps, a variety of customizable voice alerts, and a programmable DSP that enables a switch to Jawbone's binaural LiveView listening mode at the push of a button more on that later.
What's new is a push-button power switch replacing the up-down toggle, a dedicated charging port and pairing button, and a series of eight rubber feet along the bottom to help reduce vibration. Each button is distinctly shaped to match its function making them quick to decipher.
Of course, things have changed on the inside as well. Big's acoustics originate from a pair of 2. Big also packs a much larger 2,mAH rechargeable lithium ion battery that bumps the hour rating on Jambox to 15 hours for Big or 12 hours according to the packing materials — less if you prefer your music, games, or films loud and thumpy more on that later.
That makes Big about half the weight and a third the size of the entry-level Sonos. The iW1 is about 50 percent larger by volume and twice as heavy. Before answering that question, we should return to a feature that Jawbone introduced to Jambox back in October of LiveAudio. Developed in the 3D3A lab at Princeton University, 3D sound creates a three-dimensional audio image by manipulating the level and time that sounds hit the left and right ears.
It then filters the audio to reduce crosstalk. In its perfect implementation, 3D sound lets you sit in front of two loudspeakers and locate the position of each audio source, be it a choir member, or instrument in a band or orchestra. It's not surround-sound, it's positional 3D audio accurate enough to create the illusion of a fly circling your head.
Jawbone's Jambox implementation of LiveAudio was more gimmick than anything. While noticeable, you had to sit directly in front of the speaker at ear-level and at a range of about three to five feet to experience the sensation. Not so with Big. LiveAudio experienced on the Big Jambox is something that must be heard to be believed.
The Cars's Moving in Stereo is one song, in particular, that exploits the feature rather dramatically, resulting in a spacious sensation of swirling audio not unlike Princeton's metaphorical fly.
Of course, the acoustical gymnastics only work if you're in front of Big, but with a range of three to ten feet it's far more forgiving to your listening position than the original Jambox.
Although LiveAudio tends to reduce the overall volume of most tracks, I find myself leaving it enabled most of the time for the perceived stereo separation and boost in detail.
Only select tracks take advantage of 3D audio. Big had a good start to the critical listening phase of the review, handling the swelling introduction and lazy cymbal crashes of So What by Miles Davis with aplomb.
The track benefits greatly from the positional audio effects of LiveAudio. Then Miles kicks in with that horn, the bass lands, and my preference immediately switches to the much fuller sound of the Sonos Play:3 I used as a reference, making the Big Jambox sound shrill by comparison. G Jambox, unable to match the incessant baseline recreated by the Sonos.
The audition finished with a bass-heavy club edit of Strobe by Deadmau5 which sounded, well, awful by comparison with the much larger Sonos. At this point, after just a few songs, I realized that for the same money the Play:3 was a superior compact wireless speaker. Each has a slightly different pattern, and the mix of colours and styles is intended to give a degree of personalisation missing from the rather uniform original Jambox. Not only does this look and feel great, it should also help to avoid any rattling joins when the volume is maxed-out although any of that sort of thing would raise serious construction-related eyebrows.
Whether or not this has any huge impact on battery life given that even with Bluetooth 4. It lasts for up to 10 hours — less at maximum volume. You charge the battery using a standard microUSB port on the side. Jawbone is keen to reiterate that this speaker is much more portable than average — it fits in a pocket.
A jacket pocket or bag if much more likely to make a good home for the Mini Jambox. Thanks to the pinhole mic on the right edge, the Mini Jambox can also function as a speakerphone. It uses a single omnidirectional mic — hence no traditional active noise cancellation, but there is pure software -based echo cancellation.
The Jawbone Mini Jambox sounds great for its size. Bass radiators are little marvels in this field, able to provide some low-end presence and warmth without needing a port like a traditional active bass driver or making a speaker too big. The Mini Jambox also takes a very dynamic approach to equalisation too, making sure music sounds good at very low volumes as well as when blasting out tunes. However, there is another issue. The radiator does not distort, but the small active drivers do at top volume.
The Mini Jambox sounds a little strained at max volume regardless. This is a bit of an issue because top volume is not ear-shatteringly high. The dissipation of sound outdoors is not something the Mini Jambox is well-equipped to handle. The new feature is a worthwhile addition and addresses some of our earlier concerns about the speaker's sonic limitations.
One of the most overlooked features in any laptop, iPad, smartphone, or iPod Touch is Bluetooth music streaming.
Sure, everybody loves the idea of music without wires, but in reality stereo headsets are often awkward, and Bluetooth speakers typically sound wimpy. Enter the Jawbone Jambox--a rechargeable speaker that breaks our preconceptions of what Bluetooth can do and how good it can look doing it. Just as importantly, the Jambox includes an integrated microphone, capitalizing on Aliph's expertise in wireless voice communication.
Design The Jambox comes in four colors, black, red, blue, and gray. The top and bottom have a nonslip rubber coating, and the middle is covered with a wraparound metal grille embossed with a geometric pattern.
On the whole, it is a seriously solid design, with a reassuring ounce heft. Total dimensions are 2. Even after knowing this, you're still likely to be shocked by how small the Jambox is when you glimpse it in the wild. At the very top you have three oversize buttons--two for volume control, and a multipurpose button that gives the battery status, answers and ends calls, engages voice dial when available , and can be programmed as an autodial button when paired with your phone.
On the side, there's a three-position power button that triggers the pairing mode when you hold it up. Beneath that you have a minijack aux input for use with non-Bluetooth audio devices, and a Micro-USB port for recharging the speaker or connecting to a computer.
Features You'll have a difficult time finding a portable Bluetooth speaker with more features than the Jambox.
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