Jam Ultra - Review 2022 - Guerra Detuabove

The Jam Ultra bring together the ever-growing field of true wireless Bluetooth earphones. At $99.99, the cablevision-costless earphones are priced lower than much of the contest, and come with a charging case that can carry an impressive ten total charges. While they deliver incredibly strong bass response, clarity in the highs is non ideal. At times, things sound overly sibilant, while at others, the mix can audio likewise bass-heavy and murky. An extra $50 will get you a large leap in audio functioning.

Design

The Ultra's earpieces are black, with large rounded sections that printing against the ear for added stability. Once the eartips have sealed off the canal, the fit is uncommonly lightweight and secure. The design is resistant to sweat, so you lot can take the earphones to the gym.

Connecting the earpieces to an iPhone 6s was a piece of block. Once yous take them out of the instance, they automatically turn on and enter pairing mode. Selecting them from the Bluetooth menu on the testing phone was all information technology took to pair—that may seem like a given, simply plenty of true wireless models feature convoluted ways to pair both earpieces simultaneously. You can also connect a single earbud and employ it in mono style.

On each ear, at that place's a multifunction button and a status button that flashes blue when the earpieces are connected. The buttons on each ear serve identical functions—press in one case to play or suspension sound, or to reply or cease a call. Holding the button down for about 5 seconds volition ability the earphones downwards, and double tapping summons your continued phone's phonation control. What's missing, obviously, is the ability to skip tracks or suit volume, which yous'll find on near competing models.

The Ultra's charging example measures roughly 1.3 by three.ii by 1.nine-inches (HWD). It's perhaps a bit bulky for some pant pockets, but should hands fit in a coat pocket or purse. The earphones themselves tin can carry a paltry 3 hours of use per chage. Jam claims the charging example carries an additional ten charges, for up to thirty hours of use. Of course, how long the earphones last is based on your volume levels too. We noticed that the case gets quite warm while charging, which is something to watch out for.

Jam Ultra Most of the charging cases we see accept tops that flip open up, but the Ultra's case has a tray that slides out—this is where the earpieces are docked, with charging contacts that match up magnetically. The right side of the case houses a rubber-covered connection panel—there's a micro USB port for the included charging cablevision, and a USB port, which allows you to charge mobile devices using the case's battery life.

Other than the charging case, the earphones ship with 3 pairs of eartips in modest, medium, and large sizes, and a curt micro charging cable.

The mic offers poor intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could make out every word we recorded, but it was a fuzzy, afar-sounding recording, and simply played back in one ear (a common issue with many truthful wireless models).

Performance

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Pocketknife's "Silent Shout," the earphones deliver thunderous bass response. At elevation, unwise listening levels, in that location is no distortion, and at more moderate levels, the bass is still quite powerful. Listeners who love deep bass volition be pleased with the Ultra'southward power to pump out lows. The highs on this track, even so, seemed almost strangely sculpted—bright and brittle at times.

Nib Callahan'due south "Drover," a track with less deep bass in the mix, gives u.s. a improve sense of the Ultra's overall sound signature. The drums on this rails sound far more deep and heavy than they typically do. Just you lot also get uncommonly boosted highs, pushing even the tape hiss on the track forward in the mix. The mids feel scooped out of the equation hither—the guitar'south strums are the brightest and most prominent thing in the mix, while Callahan's rich baritone doesn't quite go the high-mid attention it needs, and things can sound bass-heavy and bright, but non terribly clear.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop lacks its typical high-mid presence and and so its attack is dulled. But the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with serious gusto—similar there'south a subwoofer in your skull. There are times when the vocals sound like they are distorting—as if y'all are listening to a very depression chip rate file. This has the effect of making the vocals sound overly sibilant—not ideal at all, but especially not when they are also beingness somewhat overpowered past the bass response.

Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, go far more bass response than anyone seeking an authentic audio signature will desire—the lower register instrumentation bursts forward from its supporting role in the recording and almost overshadows the higher register contumely, strings, and vocals. It's not an ideal audio signature for classical music—the highs sound deadened and the mix somewhat murky overall.

Conclusions

The Jam Ultra doesn't sound similar a $100 pair of earphones, wire-complimentary or non. Add the lack of track navigation and volume controls, and it's hard to get also excited, even for the price. Although they all cost more, the Apple AirPods, JayBird Run, and JLab Ballsy Air feature better audio operation and designs. The Bose SoundSport Gratuitous is our favorite pair, simply at $250, is substantially pricier. One thing we tin say about the nascent true wireless earphone category so far: At this phase, the good ones are not cheap.