The Jam Storm is looking to take on other Bluetooth speakers with an interesting feature: a storm button that increases the bass via vibrations through the surface it’s placed on.
This isn’t a new trick, it’s something that’s made the budget Techevo S10 mini speaker the low cost speaker to beat, but it’s great to see it on a more premium portable speaker.
Credit to the packaging team at Jam, the Storm’s packaging has been designed to be reused and recycled as a storage box rather than just chucked away.
The Jam Storm itself is a nice looking little unit which has a premium feel to it (as it should for the price) and the main unit sits on a smaller pad which is used to generate the bass. Also on the bottom is a small switch allowing you to change the language the Storm uses to provide feedback (e.g. to let you know it’s paired with a device or that you’re getting an incoming call) and the power input socket.
It comes with a power adapter that has both UK 3 pin and European 2 pin plug, very handy if you want to take it with you on holiday, however unlike a lot of Bluetooth speakers it’s not charged via USB which means you’ll need to carry another cable and plug around with you rather than just using your mobile charger.
Surprisingly there is no aux. input, something fairly standard on even the cheapest of Bluetooth speakers but perhaps Jam have realised it’s not often used.
On the top are a range of controls, volume, skip etc, but unlike other speakers there is one special addition: the middle button allows you to ‘bring on the storm’ and kicks in what Jam describe as ‘explosive bass’.
In use the results will vary depending on the type of surface you place the Jam Storm on, but generally speaking you’ll get a much better sound with this active as it vibrates whatever it is sat on. In the video below you’ll see it placed on a wooden table and the vibrations could be felt through the seat next to it, like a minor earthquake had struck!
Sound quality is generally very good, but only really comes into it’s own when you can take advantage of the additional bass on offer, without this it’s just an average bluetooth speaker that can sound a little tinny or flat if it’s not taking advantage of a vibrating surface to enhance the bass.
The Jam Storm is a decent speaker that easily fills the room without taking up much space. It relies on having the right sort of surface for additional bass and so can sound a little flat when that’s not available, but overall you’ll be impressed such a compact speaker can cause the chair you’re sat on to vibrate!
Available now from Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/1IeaVMs and Amazon com: https://amzn.to/1u3v7WW
