Sound Quality Review [ Edited ]

[jwood138]

Opened up my Jawbone Jam Box this morning and was so excited... then I tested it out. The sound quality is absolutely terrible. Sure, it's wireless but I would rather listen to awesome sounding music, not static. To put it in perspective I would rather listen to my music on my MAC speakers (which I thought were bad - before I hooked up the Jam Box). 

Anyone know of any trouble shooting tips for this problem? I am currently letting it get a full charge hoping that will help... If you know any tips I sure would love the help!

Jon

*A moderator has edited the title of this post so that members of the community can find it more easily.

[aphasian]

Hi Jon, I have the same problem, but it is only with my MacBook Air. When I use the Jambox with my phones or stereo it works beautifully. According to this thread, it is because the metal casing of Apple notebooks interferes severely with Bluetooth transmission:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2231119

[fargilan]

I have a new Air and have noticed that there are two drivers installed. One is for stereo (Bluetooth Headphones) and the other is Mono (Bluetooth Headset). If you select the headset then it sounds very weak and is probably what others are describing as 'static'. If you select Bluetooth Headphones then it sounds just as good as when connected to the iPhone. I think there are probably some driver issues that need to get worked out since my Air gets confused sometimes and it is difficult to switch to the correct output. Just be persistent and you should eventually be able to get it selected and working.

[aphasian]

Thanks fargilan, selecting the Stereo options works great. Do you know if there is any way to delete the Mono driver? I'm new to Macs...

[ljr]

As an FYI, I have the same problem with static as soon as the bluetooth connection has been established with both an iPad and iPod Touch (3rd gen).  Amount of static is very noticeable at low volume.  Adjusting the volume controls on either the Jambox or the iDevice doesn't make a difference.

[fargilan]

There is a way if you are on 10.5. Unfortunately I haven't found a way using 10.6. If you are on 10.5 you can open the bluetooth system preference, select JAMBOX and click on the action menu (gear icon at the bottom of the window). From there you should find a menu item for configuring the device. I think you can just uncheck the mono driver and you're good to go.

NOTE: If anyone on this forum knows how to disable the mono driver on 10.6 please post.

[GreenSlime]

I am using a 1st generation MacBook Air, running Snow Leopard, 10.6.6. My first experience out of the box in the hotel room was that the sound quality of my new Jawbone Jambox was truly awful. Distorted. Today, before returning the unit to the store I found this thread. I went into System Preferences/Bluetooth. I could not find an option for stereo (headphones) / mono (headset). So, I turned the Jawbone off, and saw on the screen that it was disconnected. When I turned it back on I got a message with the BlueTooth icon saying, Would you like to use the Bluetooth "JAMBOX by Jawbone (Mono)" as your audio device? There were two options: "Disconnect" and "Use This Device" I chose "Disconnect"  

Then a new message appeared that looked identical to the first, only this one read Would you like to use the Bluetooth "JAMBOX by Jawbone (Stereo)" as your audio device?  This time I answered "Use This Device." Lo and behold, the sound quality has dramatically improved - no more distortion.

[nickb]

If you accept the 'Mono' option, then press the round button on the Jambox, you'll be offered the stereo option.

This is just a workaround and needs to be resolved. Pairing in general with the Jambox is very hit & miss and moving from my Macbook to my iPhone involved all sorts of jiggery-pokery. Not happy!

[littlesnow]

i have the same problem but i noticed that my notebook detected my jawbone as a headset, obviously that will sound very crappy.

i'm trying to get my notebook to detect jawbone as a speaker...mono or stereo, i don't mind, but i still can't get my notebook detect the Jambox as speaker instead of headset. 

i am pretty sure this is the problem causing the terrible sound quality i'm having as well. 

[littlesnow]

and btw, the jambox works perfectly find with awesome sound quality when paired to my ipad and iphone.