hi

im happily using a squeezebox touch in the house, got dab sorted in my car now, so all thats left is sorting out a portable set up for gym/ barbie garden duties 🙂

im happy enough to use tunein radio app on my phone for 6 music, or mp3s stored on it, but just wondering about the best way of listening to it?
jambox seems quite expensive for whats basically just a speaker (albeit bluetooth) so im wondering if anyones got any experience of anything to rival it? i spose bluetooth would be better if it works seamlessly, but im happy enough to plug the phone into something if it sounds better.

any advice?

thanks

After playing about with a Bose one on Comet, I bought a cheap Logitech Z515 Bluetooth speaker.
It’s OK rather than amazing, but does the job when required.

Got a jambox, it’s ace. As you say, you pay for that aceness. Probably pay too much if it was my own money, but I got it as a (very nice) gift. Maybe worth it if you can get one cheap. It’s a nice high quality bit of kit though, a proper “treat”. Sometimes it’s nice to treat yourself to a bit of needless luxury and not worry too much about the “value” though, if you want an excuse 😉

If you want portable sound, rather than portable good sound, look at the x-mini capsule speakers. No-where near the quality or volume, but enough for a lot of situations, and a lot cheaper so you can take them more places and worry less about them. E.g. good in a tent, knocking about the garage etc.

hmmm tempted to treat myself 🙂 what else can it do that others cant maybe? is it just a speaker, or can it do other stuff too? go on, tempt me! 🙂

thanks

Other stuff? Err, it’s very dense, so it makes a great paperweight? Ideal for garden working at this time of year 😉

It’s got a mic in it, so you can use it for speakerphone/conference calls etc. Voice dialling etc works through it too. Not as good as a proper conference phone, but better than just putting the phone on speaker. Handy feature on occasion.

You can download new voices etc. to it, as it speaks to you when battery is low/pairing etc.

It comes in the nicest box/packaging I’ve ever seen, like a little origami cardboard chest of drawers in the bottom section. You get a little case with it, USB charger, long and short USB cables to charge, a flat compact 3.5mm lead for wiring stuff up.

When other folk see/hear mine in action, the usual response is “wow, that sounds ace, is cool….how much?” …. 😯

I’d say try one out, john lewis etc. often have one on display. To try with your own kit, power it off with the switch on the side, then slide it up and hold, it’ll say “jambox in pairing mode” then you can pair with your phone and play with it.

go for a mini rig – just a speaker/amp, VERY loud and clear for what it is. Decent sound as it uses a cable – that and my phone and I’m sorted for garden, decorating, fettling in the shed….

I have a jambox. It’s not a portable nightclub, but it’s as good as a typical portable DAB radio, eminently suitable for sitting on your desk or in a hotel room or something and providing tunes. There are probably better wired options but I can have this on and still sit on my bed with the laptop on my lap, unencumbered by wires.

just had a look at those mini rigs, they look decent too. spose its a straight choice between that and the bluetooth jambox at double the price. so how much do i value no wires? 🙂

does the bluetooth work seamlessly on the jambox? or can it be intermittent. ive always been led to beleive bluetooths a bit rubbish (certainly the old car adaptors were), but if things have got better these days then im tempted.

thanks

I’m all about bluetooth these days, bluetooth headphones (BH505s), BT receiver for the stereo, jambox… but then I have the wired xmini too.

Wires can die in a fire. Tangles in your bag, accidentally pulling things off desks etc. If you’re using your phone as a source, wireless is pretty handy as you often want to use the phone for other stuff. E.g. BBQing? music playing, phone stays in the pocket. Need to take a quick snap? No bother.

in a hotel room

This is a good reason for a jambox, it’s nice when away working etc. to get back to the hotel room, get a few of your own tunes on and relax.

One downside about bluetooth is sync with video. BT isn’t a great solution for watching video, as the audio can be very slightly out of sync from the processing delay. Some folk don’t notice it, some do. Having said that, you have the wired option too with the jambox if it bothers you.

Another option if you go wired is a BT adapter for when you want wire free, but then you still have the nest of cables situation. E.g. no reason one of these:

http://europe.nokia.com/find-products/accessories/all-accessories/headsets/bluetooth-stereo-headsets/nokia-bluetooth-stereo-headset-bh-214

couldn’t have your speaker plugged in rather than headphones, and they’re pretty cheap. A big plus for the jambox is the uncluttered simplicity of it. Just a brick in your bag, and your phone, no fuss.

Oh, and there’s also the nokia play360:

http://europe.nokia.com/find-products/accessories/entertainment/speakers/nokia-play-360

I’ve used one of these too, comparable to a jambox, though can be better as they have a neat trick if you have two, you touch them together and they pair to form a stereo set. They are however more bulky and a bit less portable than a jambox IMO (compare the dimensions). Can be had a bit cheaper though (~£90 on amazon). Don’t have such a quality feel either, as they’re less dense, but still seem solid. No mic either. Sorry, I’m not helping your decision am I? 😛

I bought the BOSE one at the weekend for a bit of outdoor and holiday action, really pleased with it. I think the sound is excellent an I just like how simple it is.

Jambox is fab- colleague has one & raves about it.
X-mini stuck to a spare Smart mount makes a great speaker for bar-mounted mobile. Had TMS streaming on my commute back last week – most excellent!

X-mini stuck to a spare Smart mount

I keep thinking of modding a bottle, so the xmini is at the mouth of it facing out, then the phone can go in the bottle itself with some padding, placcy bag over the top to keep the crap out.

does the bluetooth work seamlessly on the jambox?

Seems pretty good. I do get drop-outs from time to time but I suspect that’s my broadband.

There is a better thing that’s a little black oblong (forget the name but it’s mentioned in all the jambox reviews) but it’s £150!

Seems pretty good. I do get drop-outs from time to time but I suspect that’s my broadband.

?? isnt broadband seperate to bluetooth?

There is a better thing that’s a little black oblong (forget the name but it’s mentioned in all the jambox reviews) but it’s £150!

i was thinking that was a jambox at £150? i spose i ought to go googling and find the real price, but i was thinking they were around £150. if its cheaper that may have made my mind up 😀

i was thinking that was a jambox at £150? i spose i ought to go googling and find the real price, but i was thinking they were around £150. if its cheaper that may have made my mind up

I was looking at one of those in Bath’s Apple Store, small rectangular box, and very heavy for its size. Had it running fairly loud via my iPod, (wired), and it was actually vibrating across the table top! Blutac needed, on a shiny surface, I think… 😀
Very impressive sound, even in a shop full of families playing with the shiny toys!
Yes, it was £150
Edit] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jawbone-JamBox-Wireless-Bluetooth-Speaker/dp/B004L4EDGS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338319246&sr=8-1
£116 on Amazon.

it was actually vibrating across the table top

Some pendulum at full volume on a varnished table will have it slowly rotating itself round in circles 🙂

Normally not an issue though, as you say it’s pretty dense and has a rubbery bottom.

i was thinking that was a jambox at £150?

Oops yes.. you are right.. the one I have is a Logitech Boombox, cost £70. All my comments apply to that 🙂

I keep thinking of modding a bottle, so the xmini is at the mouth of it facing out, then the phone can go in the bottle itself with some padding, placcy bag over the top to keep the crap out.

A little awkward to answer any calls or check GPS?
(My spare bottle contains tube, tyre lever & battery pack, so no space.)

Don’t tend to need to check a GPS except very rarely. It’s also rare for someone to call me on a ride, and if they do, they can wait – I’m riding 🙂

Oh yeah and when I said about the music dropping out I was listening to live streams rather than mp3s.

Quite funny. Bought a Logitech one on sight last night. Seems good. The boy has taken it to school camp where it will probably get nicked of course :-/

Now. Do I pair my boombox with my phone so I can get a nice handsfree thing going if I get called, or do I pair it with my laptop and listen to XFM?

Now. Do I pair my boombox with my phone so I can get a nice handsfree thing going if I get called, or do I pair it with my laptop and listen to XFM?

Now, if you had a Jambox you could connect it to pc and set the option to allow two devices to pair. Then you stream music from the laptop and when a call comes thru on the phone, it pauses music on the laptop and lets you take the call handsfree on the jambox.

Which is I guess a feature other stuff doesn’t have?

Not actually ever done this, but the feature’s there…

Had a play with one of these in HMV a few months ago;

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/05/creatives-new-bluetooth-speakers-sound-vaguely-familiar/

I think it’s basically the same thing as the Jambox, but considerably cheaper (not sure why).

My only concern with these types of thing is that I find bluetooth tends to drains batteries pretty quickly (although I guess that may vary from handset to handset).

Hmm that’s interesting. I did not know you could do that with a Jambox.

My only concern with these types of thing is that I find bluetooth tends to drains batteries pretty quickly

Doesn’t seem to makes much difference compared to a wired headset IME. I’ve only actually measured the current consumption difference on symbian though, and roughly (by battery drain rate) on an SGS2. Don’t have the tools for iOS or WP7 handy.

bit of a thread resurrection, but i havent bought one yet, and now i may have access to wifi where i work. bearing in mind ill mainly be using it for 6 music duties, do any of these bluetooth speakers also connect through wifi?
ive seen a few names alongside the jambox, such as logitech boombox, (i have a squeezebox at home, so any advantage of one of these too?), and x-mini now does a ‘kai’ which seems wireless.

the others such as bose are out of my price range. anyone got any experiences of any of the others?

thanks