You have to be either really dumb or really bad at comparison shopping to buy a Jambox. Pretty much anything at that price point sounds better. I got a Photive BT1000 on sale at Amazon for $30 (it's on sale for $50 now) that blows the Jambox away. The speakers are about 25% bigger in diameter than the Jambox (so they're a lot bigger in area) so it can be louder with less distortion. The battery life is advertised as 8 hours, and I've never killed it while using it at a pool party all day. And it looks as good if not better than the Jambox.
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Jawbone Debuts Thinner 'Mini Jambox' for $180
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Yup.... there's a reason why Bose doesn't disclose the specs on their speakers. Because they are highly expensive mediocre-sounding speakers.
Not a completely fair analogy. The components making up computers, have been miniaturized to the nth degree over the years, and rather than a decrease in quality, these newer infinitely smaller components making up the latest computing devices, do the jobs they are created for, much better and faster than the computers of even five years ago.
But to create sound, you have to move air, a lot of it. A larger transducer can do that much better, than a smaller one, the laws of physics dictate that. Also the size of the cabinet, and it's internal design, play a large role in the realism of the created sound.
If you are gonna spit out 180 bucks for this, I'd highly recommend taking a look at the UE Boom for 20 bucks more. This thing amazes me, I've already sold a half dozen people on one when I bring it out. Logitech owes me commission. Just kidding, they sell themselves. 
i bought the UE boom, the jambox large and small, and the bose. i brought all three to my place and "AB'd" them (that mean rapidly switching back and forth). I am a sound engineer and i can tell you without a doubt, the quality of the audio on the jambox is better. im not talking about loudness or "spread", simply the quality.
The bose has a richer sound in the lower "bass" spectrum but its because it sacrifices the crispness of the higher ends. youll find you wont get both on any of these speakers. but the bose sounded a tad artificial in how it goes about it. and the lower frequencies have a tendency to "reverberate" in certain rooms, giving you a boomy sound that is rather unpleasant. ("resonant frequency" if you want to research something cool)
The UE boom was simply horrible. Its like someone just stamped an equalizer setting into the hardware that they liked and tried to give it a "flavor" instead of going for a flat response. very ugly sound. this unit is an example of throwing out the baby with the bathwater in an attempt to get both high and low frequencies at equal loudness levels.
The jambox does a very level job at representing the frequencies the best of them all. it has a "live mode" which will add spacial width but sacrifice loudness. im not sure about the mini but i can say unequivocally that for the money the best bet would be the jambox. no i do not work for them but i went through a LOT of trouble trying to figure this out and thought i would share..
The bose has a richer sound in the lower "bass" spectrum but its because it sacrifices the crispness of the higher ends. youll find you wont get both on any of these speakers. but the bose sounded a tad artificial in how it goes about it. and the lower frequencies have a tendency to "reverberate" in certain rooms, giving you a boomy sound that is rather unpleasant. ("resonant frequency" if you want to research something cool)
The UE boom was simply horrible. Its like someone just stamped an equalizer setting into the hardware that they liked and tried to give it a "flavor" instead of going for a flat response. very ugly sound. this unit is an example of throwing out the baby with the bathwater in an attempt to get both high and low frequencies at equal loudness levels.
The jambox does a very level job at representing the frequencies the best of them all. it has a "live mode" which will add spacial width but sacrifice loudness. im not sure about the mini but i can say unequivocally that for the money the best bet would be the jambox. no i do not work for them but i went through a LOT of trouble trying to figure this out and thought i would share..
Not impressed with Jambox's audio quality. Tinny and not loud, definitely overpriced at $180. I was impressed by the Bose SoundLink Mini though - essentially the same price as the Jambox and much louder and fuller. No, I'm not expecting audiophile quality (I have my B&W/McIntosh system for that ), but I'll trade natural sound for some volume any day.
I recently moved into a new place, and wanted/needed some way to listen to music, podcasts, and Netflix before I was able to get my real sound system set up. I was looking at getting the JBL Flip, which has very good reviews, but ended up with a refurbished Braven 600 for, get this, $45 shipped. It sounds better than the Jambox, but doesn't go as loud or as deep as the SoundLink Mini. On 'bass' notes (note the quotes) the entire aluminum chassis reverberates and the sound gets boomy rather than actually bassy, and the overall volume from the Netflix app is still not that loud, but it's much more manageable than Netflix through my iPad 1's speaker. For $45, I shouldn't complain.
), but I'll trade natural sound for some volume any day.I recently moved into a new place, and wanted/needed some way to listen to music, podcasts, and Netflix before I was able to get my real sound system set up. I was looking at getting the JBL Flip, which has very good reviews, but ended up with a refurbished Braven 600 for, get this, $45 shipped. It sounds better than the Jambox, but doesn't go as loud or as deep as the SoundLink Mini. On 'bass' notes (note the quotes) the entire aluminum chassis reverberates and the sound gets boomy rather than actually bassy, and the overall volume from the Netflix app is still not that loud, but it's much more manageable than Netflix through my iPad 1's speaker. For $45, I shouldn't complain.
Only a sucker would pay $200.00 for that crap. The price is so inflated it ain't even funny.
The same Bluetooth tech you see in discounted Bluetooth speakers is the same stuff in Jambox and that junk called the Beats Pill( horrible) etc.
Theses companies are simply repackaging the same stuff at the price it was before the markdowns because the sales slipped. So their design teams comes up with new aesthetics tricks to make old sh** look new. Even that new Bose mini is overpriced. They'll soon come out with a Bose mini plus or whatever, discount the previous model and the game will start all over again.
The same Bluetooth tech you see in discounted Bluetooth speakers is the same stuff in Jambox and that junk called the Beats Pill( horrible) etc.
Theses companies are simply repackaging the same stuff at the price it was before the markdowns because the sales slipped. So their design teams comes up with new aesthetics tricks to make old sh** look new. Even that new Bose mini is overpriced. They'll soon come out with a Bose mini plus or whatever, discount the previous model and the game will start all over again.
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Jambox vs Bose...
While there is alot of flack against Bose (and rightfully so!), I was taken back by the new Bose Soundlink. I'm a Jambox (original) owner for the past 3 years, and I love the portability and take it on trips around the world with me. However, the Jambox has always been a hollow sound, without a lot of "beef" behind it.
That's when I saw this outdoor comparison with the new Bose Soundlink Mini and I was impressed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hca2j-aAsfA
Here is a review:
http://9to5mac.com/2013/08/17/revie...est-sounding-portable-bluetooth-speaker-ever/
While there is alot of flack against Bose (and rightfully so!), I was taken back by the new Bose Soundlink. I'm a Jambox (original) owner for the past 3 years, and I love the portability and take it on trips around the world with me. However, the Jambox has always been a hollow sound, without a lot of "beef" behind it.
That's when I saw this outdoor comparison with the new Bose Soundlink Mini and I was impressed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hca2j-aAsfA
Here is a review:
http://9to5mac.com/2013/08/17/revie...est-sounding-portable-bluetooth-speaker-ever/
Never been a fan of the smaller jambox and even have talked to s few people who own them and said the sound was so distorted it vibrated the unit so much it fell off the shelve it was on. Not giving me to much confidence in jawbone.