Why You Can Trust CNET Creative Sound Blaster Jam review: An ultrabudget Bluetooth headphone that sounds surprisingly good
Can a $50 Bluetooth headphone actually sound good? We tried out the Creative Sound Blaster Jam to find out.
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Until recently, it was hard to find Bluetooth headphones that sounded decent for less than $100. But that's changing as higher grade chips and components get cheaper.
Creative Sound Blaster Jam
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Case in point: The Creative Sound Blaster Jam, a $50 (£40, AU$70) Bluetooth headphone that's lightweight, relatively comfortable to wear and sounds good, particularly for its modest price.
True to its budget roots, the Sound Blaster Jam has a pretty no-frills design; in fact, it looks a little like the headphones that came with the Walkman back in the 80s. But there is something endearing about its throwback design.
On the downside, not everybody likes an on-ear design, and the dearth of padding on the top of the headband may bother some. They also don't fold up in any way. And while they seem to sturdy enough, I can't predict how well they'll hold up over time.
That said, they're lightweight and should fit most people pretty well.
As far as features go, there's a pause/play button that doubles as an answer/end button for cell phone calls. The requisite volume controls are on board, and when you hold those buttons down they turn into transport controls, allowing you to advance tracks forward and back. You also get a bass boost button that does just that: boosts the bass a little while sacrificing a little clarity.
Last but not least, there's NFC tap-to-pair technology for devices like the Samsung Galaxy phones that support it. Otherwise, it'll pair with any Bluetooth-enabled phone or audio source (including the iPhone) when you hold down the pairing button.
Performance
First, the bad. I did encounter a few Bluetooth hiccups, and I also didn't think this headphone worked so well as a headset for calls, particularly in noisier environments. Callers said they heard a lot of background noise when I talked, and my voice sounded a little recessed.
It's also worth mentioning that, because this is an on-ear design with simple phone pads, it does leak sound and will let some ambient noise in.
Now for the good. The headphones' battery life is solid at 12 hours and the headphone sounds quite good, with relatively clean, dynamic sound for Bluetooth. Bass was also strong, even without engaging the bass boost button, which I didn't think added anything.
I compared it to a few other Bluetooth models, including the Kinivo BTH240, which carries a list price of $50 but can be had for $25 online. Like a lot of other budget Bluetooth headphones, the Kinivo sounds dull and lacks clarity. It also distorts with more demanding music, particularly complicated tracks (rock) and tracks with heavy bass.
The Sound Blaster Jam also had a little trouble with that sort of material, but sounded significantly better overall. For instance, Calvin Harris' "C.U.B.A." sounds pretty rough on a lot cheaper Bluetooth headphones and while it didn't sound great on the Creative, it didn't sound terrible, which is an achievement.
I haven't reviewed JBL's E40BT headphone yet, but I have it in the office and the Creative sounds just as good for half the price. The truth is, sound-wise, the Sound Blaster Jam sounds as good or better than a lot of Bluetooth headphones in the $100 range. You really have to step up to $150 or more to get richer sound and obviously a more durable, slickly designed headphone.
Conclusion
While it's not without weaknesses, the Creative Sound Blaster Jam is a strong budget Bluetooth headphone, and the first one at this ultralow price we can actually recommend.