I've owned a small Jambox for some time now and love it to death. It goes everywhere with me and I use it only with Live Audio turned on because it gives me extended bass and an excellent spacial sound as long as I sit a couple of feet away from it.
I needed more volume and as the Big Jambox was not released in the UK yet, I pre-ordred it and waited.
In the meantime, a friend had bought a Soundlink and when he went away for a 3 week work contract, I borrowed it from him and used it. I have to say that the bass was superb and overall, the sound was full, rounded, perhaps a little lacking in high frequency but not by a huge amount.
Over the next couple of weeks I used the Bose a lot and really enjoyed the sound but I was happy to wait for Big J to arrive because I knew it would kick the Bose's ass!
Eventually, Big J arrived and what can I say. The sound is dull, lacking any depth. The bass is poor and although the top end in razor sharp, there's not much else that's good. As for Live Audio, Jawbone, what the hell have you done to it? It sounds totally different and nowhere near as effective as Small J!
I spent week comparing the Soundlink and Big J and on nearly every count, the Bose came out ahead. I asked quite a few of my friends for their opinions and every single one said that the Bose was a better sounding product. Two of them are sound engineers for the BBC!
I addition to this, I found the Bluetooth connection to be flaky and for no reason at all, cutting the music every now and then.
I've now returned the Big J and bought a Soundlink. I still love and use my Small J every day at work though! All I wanted was a Small Jambox that was much louder and i'm afraid that for me, the Big Jambox was simply nowhere near that.
If you are in the market for either a Big J or a Soundlink, make sure that you are in a position to hear both if you can. As for a standoff between the Bose and Big Jambox, Big J has bought a water pistol to a gunfight and the sales figures will prove this.
