HMDX Jam Speakers blast with impressive variety
I was pretty pessimistic upon first entering the HMDX booth at CES 2013. Their line of speakers, branded “Jam”, gave me an immediate impression that the company was piggy backing off the success of Jawbone’s Jambox. Surely these were the same dime a dozen speakers made cheaply, found throughout the huge conference’s show floor.
It didn’t take long to figure out I grossly underestimated the product line.
Their basic speaker, the “Jam”, retails for about $50 and is a small desktop speaker that can fit in the palm of your hand as seen above. Connect via bluetooth, crank the volume up to high, and you’re suddenly blown away by a loud and vibrant sound. The little Jam speaker packs an incredibly powerful punch considering it’s size and price, something for which I wasn’t really prepared.
A nice added feature of the Jam speaker is the ability to play two simultaneously: connect one via bluetooth and then you can pair a second speaker with the first, doubling the sound and filling the room. Unfortunately you can’t pair more than two but this is something we may see in the future. It’d be great to fill a huge room or party or even use for retail stores and/or businesses.
And this was just the start of it. Branching off the Jam speaker is a set of speakers designed for different circumstances. My personal favorite: the Jam XT.
This is exactly like the basic Jam speaker with two exceptions. First, it’s exterior is a water-resistant rubber material that is more durable. Second, it’s got a clip for attaching to your belt or carabiner, making it perfect for hiking or other adventures where you’re on the go.
It would be nice if the Jam XT was waterproof, but that’s a quality reserved for only the Jam Splash, which they’re marketing as a shower speaker of sorts.
Affixed with a hanging string and suction cups you could easily make this your goto speaker for bathroom tunes, but it’s probably my least favorite of the Jam offerings. Probably because the concept seems very 1990s to me for some reason and I just don’t see this as the most practical thing in the world. I’d much prefer they waterproof the XT and offer a suction cup for shower use. But I digress.
The XT will cost $70 and the Splash will cost $80.
The Jam Party, costing $120 and seen above, gives you the old school boom box feel to perfection. The handle collapses in and the kickstand closes up, allowing you to either carry it around, keep the retro look, or make it more of a sleek box. But “sleek” is a bit misleading of a term: these things are all LOUD in more ways than one. The entire series has vibrant colors scream that scream with personality.
The Jam Fusion is the most different of all of them: they’re headphones. They’re pretty stylish looking and they fold up nicely although I haven’t been able to test the sound quality.
The Jam Fusion will retail for $90.
HMDX announced a couple other products but they above are by far my favorites. The company definitely has something here with the Jam speakers and in the past 4 months they’ve risen to become one of the best selling speakers on the market. When these products become available in the coming months, look for the HMDX Jam speakers to start dominating the market.
