Creative Sound Blaster Jam

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Pros Powerful audio performance with deep bass and well-defined highs. Exceptionally lightweight and comfortable. Charging cable can transmit audio from your computer.

Cons Not terribly attractive. Bottom Line They may not be beautiful, but the wireless Creative Sound Blaster Jam headphones are very comfortable and sound fantastic for the price.

By Tim Gideon Most of the Bluetooth headphones we test are intended to look cool or eye-catching in some way, sometimes to the (seemingly unintentional) detriment of the audio experience. No one can accuse the budget-friendly Creative Sound Blaster Jam of this sin—this headphone pair looks boring at best, but sounds excellent for its modest $49.99 price. Despite its light, thin, exceptionally comfortable frame, the Jam pumps out powerful bass response, and can also deliver a more balanced, nuanced sound with the Bass mode disabled. If fashion is far less important to you than strong audio performance and low price, read on. If you have more room in your budget for both style and sound quality, the Editors' Choice Jabra Move Wireless offers excellent performance and an attractive design for less than $100.

Design
If we're talking about simplicity, ease of use, and helpful extra features, the supra-aural (on-ear) Sound Blaster Jam is a winner in the design department. Its extremely lightweight build is comfortable over long listening periods, and the simple on-ear controls are laid out in an intuitive manner. 

On the right ear's outer panel, the central button controls Play/Pause, Call Answer/End, Power, and Pairing. Dedicated Volume controls (that work independently of, not together with, your phone's volume levels) double as track navigation controls, depending on how long you hold them. A "Bass" mode button along the outer rim allows users to boost the bass response with ease. Often, Bluetooth on-ear controls are confusing to operate, since you have to rely on touch, but everything on the Jam is easy to find with your fingers. The microphone is also located on the right earpiece.

So, from a layout and functionality standpoint, the Sound Blaster Jam is a success. From a visual standpoint, no one will ever look at these black plastic headphones and say: "Those look awesome!" Were it not for the word "Jam" scribbled in a font directly imported from the worst part of the '80s, the headphones would merely look bland and institutional. The Jam logo takes things to the realm of slightly cheesy. It's unfortunate, because the headphones sound and feel pretty great, especially for the price. Reagrdless, if you're looking for a fashion accessory, the Sound Blaster Jam is not for you.

The Sound Blaster Jam was easy to pair with an iPhone 5s, and you can also pair NFC-compatible devices by tapping them to the headphones. Creative estimates that it gets 12 hours of battery life from a full charge, but your results will depend upon on how loudly you play your tracks. You can also listen to audio from your PC or Mac through the USB charging cable. The included red cable is a bit longer than a typical charging cable for this very reason.

Performance
On tracks with powerful sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Sound Blaster Jam delivers deep bass that is surprisingly strong given the headphones' modest frame. The bass doesn't distort at top volume with the Bass mode activated, though it does seem to teeter on the edge of distortion on this track. At moderate volumes and/or with Bass mode deactivated, this isn't an issue, and even with Bass mode off, this track still sounds rather thunderous, with the lows sounding a bit tighter and cleaner.

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Tracks with less intense bass content, like Bill Callahan's "Drover," sound pleasantly balanced through the Sound Blaster Jam. In Bass mode, Callahan's baritone vocals get a bit more low-end boosting than they need, but there's no shortage of crisp high-mid presence to keep things well-defined and prevent the track from sounding muddy. With Bass mode off, this track sounds dramatically different—the lows take a definite backseat to the high-mids and highs, with the treble edge of the vocals and the guitar strumming basking in the spotlight. Some listeners might yearn for a compromise between the two modes, with a bit less bass response than Bass mode delivers, but more than the normal listening mode packs.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop gets plenty of high-mid presence to deliver a sharp attack that slices through the mix whether in Bass mode or not. With Bass mode activated, however, the deep lows are substantially more powerful, matching the crisp attack of the loop with deep low-end sustain and a powerful presence to the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat. The vocals on this track float cleanly and cleary above the entire mix with a bright, but never overly sibilant, presence.

On orchestral tracks, like John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the Jam sounds balanced, with an added robustness in the lows with Bass mode activated. With Bass mode off, this track sounds bright, but a tad thin at moderate volumes. Higher volumes tease out a bit more of the bass response, but this is a track that truly benefits from Bass mode. The high-mid and highs remain crisp, but the lows are brought out in a full-sounding manner.

Let's face it—many headphones today are fashion accessories. In that regard, the Sound Blaster Jam fails majestically. It's simply not good-looking, regardless of how good it sounds. If you're wanting a budget pair that's a little bit more fashion-forward, the Outdoor Technology DJ Slims is a solid-sounding Bluetooth headphone pair. If you have more room in your budget, the stylish Jabra Move Wireless remains our Editors' Choice, and the on-ear, exercise-focused Sennheiser MM 100 is another solid Bluetooth option. But for $50, it's hard to find much fault with the simple, lightweight Creative Sound Blaster Jam, other than its ho-hum design. And its looks can be forgiven considering the dearth of quality Bluetooth headphones at this low price range.

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