Monday, May 27, 2013

HMDX Audio HX-P230RD JAM Classic Bluetooth Wireless Speaker (Strawberry)

First off, I would like to explain that this may be an ongoing review. I just bought this item last night, and being a person who understands electronics, I usually wait for my reviews. This time, I figured I would start the review, and then I can come back and edit. Therefore, you may see some updates or changes below.
Second, don't let my initial 4-star rating fool you. I was torn on how to rate this product for the value of what you pay, or vs. other speakers. I decided to put this up against much larger bluetooth speakers, and I think it speaks volumes that a $40 item is 4-stars compared to $150 bluetooth portable speakers.
I'm going to start with what most peopls call "cons", but I'm just going to note them as minor nuisances
-The cord is only about 6 inches long....BUT...its your standard android type charger. Since I'm a Samsung Galaxy boy, myself, I have a ton of these cables. It is currently charging with an old LG cable I found
-Some have mentioned a slight hum in the speaker. This is pretty common with most Bluetooth devices. This goes away when you start playing music. There have been some that said, "once you hear the hum, you always hear the hum". I purposely turned the music all the way down just to hear the hum. I listened to it at my desk for 5 minutes, and then played music again. I don't notice any hum, and I am TRYING to hear it. So, although there is, in fact, a hum, I'm not noticing it when in use.
-Its not a great bass machine, but again, is this really a con? Do people buy a prius to drag-race? Cannot really hold that against this machine, so again...that is why I said a "minor nuisance" (and that is a stretch)
-The power switch is on the bottom
-There is an extreeeeeemly loud series of beeps every time you turn it on. You know its coming, so you can try to shield it. Its still somewhat annoying, and not good for starting up in quiet places. There may be a way around this, I just haven not figured it out.
-The controls on the speaker itself are a little slow to respond, but honestly, who is going to use this? It is only a minor delay anyway. I just tested them to see what they were. I control everything from my phone.
I tried this thing out approximately 10 times in Bed Bath and Beyond. I kept messing with their display and was rather disappointed that I couldn not try my own music on their display. So, that kept me from trying it at first. Plus, I am always concerned that the display model is set up differently and it just won't sound as good at home in larger rooms...which takes me to my pros, and what I love about this (so far)
-The sound fills a room. Its not that massive BOSE sound, but its pretty close in how it fills a room. I listen to a lot of 90's acoustic rock and that stuff sounds incredible. Now, if you get to some of the newer club-rap type of music, there is not a lot of power, but it doesn't sound distorted either. Still sounds good, it just is not going to blow your hair back and rattle windows
-I had the phone about 15 feet away from the device and it played beautifully. What is funny is Pandora played clearer than my recorded music...here is why that is a pro. Because, I realized a lot of my recorded music is garbage from the internet and typically poor recordings, which leads me to believe that this device really picks out the clarity of songs. Much like a good set of headphones might actually make some of my bad recording actually sound bad because the headphones are so clear.
-The construction is very sturdy
- (pending a battery test)
- any standard charger that comes with most android phones can charge this.
-line in that will work with non-USB devices
-packaging is actually very nice. I will keep this for storage.
If you are skeptical about buying this, just buy it from a place that has easy returns. Thus far, I have no desire to return it. As far as performance goes, it is a solid 5-star product for the price. Again, I gave it four stars only because its slightly not as powerful as some bigger, more expensive speakers. I realize that may not be a fair assessment, but, again, I think it speaks more to the product that I give it 4 stars in comparing it to the larger portable Bluetooth speakers. I think the only way I would have a problem with this speaker in the future, is if for some reason performance decreases, or I find that the battery lasts a very short amount of time. I will update this, if needed, in the future. If you don't hear from me, that means its still doing well :)

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