HMDX Jam Party Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Boombox review
The HMDX Jam Party is a Bluetooth-enabled portable wireless or wired stereo boombox capable of delivering tunes for about 12 hours on a single charge. It is also the first in the Jam product line that I’ve thought was truly a worthy successor to the original HMDX Jam.
The Jam Party is capable of being heard at a small party with no problem: it’s not quite capable of overpowering a room, but it can get pretty loud. The deeper bass that the thing produces, while not wired-speaker-level, is significantly better sounding than a lot of portable’s paper cup bass sounds.
What’s in the box
The HMDX Jam Party comes with the following:
- HMDX Jam Party Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Boombox
- 2A/5V charger
- Instruction booklet
The box itself is see-through plastic, resealable, and can be used to store the Jam or any other condiments you wish to throw into it. It’s unfortunately smaller than a breadbox, so there’s not too much repurposing that I can imagine is available other than simply storing the Jam in it.
The HMDX Jam Party features
- 30 foot wireless connectivity
- wired audio jack if you want to take it old school
- retractable handle
- pop-out kickstand to aim your tunes
- one year warranty
- four flavors (colors) to choose from
- Loud and powerful stereo audio
- Speaker volume control
- Rewind, fast forward, pause/play buttons
The HMDX Jam Party in use
I did not know that when I paired my tablet to the Jam Party, that the tablet’s volume was turned all the way up. Nor did I know that the Jam Party shipped to me with the volume all the way up. However, I do now know that the HMDX Jam Party can survive a drop of about four feet onto a floor with no apparent issues when let go, due to very loud and unexpected noise.
When it’s up about 3/4 of the way, I can hear the thing throughout most of my house. Sadly, I don’t have a decibel meter or I’d break out some specs on the volume it’s capable of producing.
While the product touts 30 foot wireless connectivity, I couldn’t get more than about 22 at my house – however your mileage may vary, as for all I know, I’m in a Bluetooth nightmare of a location. I know I couldn’t get more than 15 feet when someone was between the transmitting unit and the Jam Party, but unless you’re attempting to wander around a party with the originating audio device in your hand, chances are this is not going to be too much of an issue.
The Jam Party Boombox isn’t…
Something that should be noted pretty early on is that this is styled after a boombox, but if you’re thinking large scale party boombox (like you would see people dancing in front of or in any 1980s movie), this is not it. While this device is great for pushing audio, you’re not going to get thumping bass or be able to drown out a party with your tunes.
The Jam Party is only seven and a half inches wide, so keep in mind that it’s roughly one third the size of what it’s trying to be.
What the Jam Party got wrong
First I want to say that I love this thing, but the manufacturer made a couple of judgement calls that do not work in my opinion.
The Jam Party is designed for people who have an iPhone, iPad, or Android. These people all have USB charging capabilities, and they have microUSB, Apple 30-pin, Lightning, or USB ports. This charges on none of those, so you’ll have to keep up with its charger wherever you want to go, even though it’s using the same voltage and amperage a USB can supply.
The inability to plug the thing directly into a wall, considering its size, means you’re not just toting a cell phone and a miniature boom box that looks vaguely like a lunch pail, but you’re also packing a charger or two for your cell phone and the Jam Party. This becomes less of an issue if you’re just out for the day, but if you’re on a trip, it’s yet another thing to have to bring.
Other things that call themselves boomboxes, and do pretty well at it (like the TDK Life on Record 2-Speaker Boombox Audio System, which I had the pleasure of playing with at CES 2013) give you the ability to not only play music, but to charge the device that’s playing the music. With a battery capable of lasting through twelve hours of audio, it would have been nice to be able to charge the phone to keep it running long enough to actually reach that goal.
Wrap-up
Still, this is currently my favorite wired or wireless rechargeable portable Bluetooth speaker. While not as portable as the original Jam, coming in at small lunchbox size, it’s still extremely easy to get around with and bring the music to make the party.
The HMDX Jam Party is available from Amazon for $99.99.
