the Jazz mini is a beautiful and compact aluminum stand for your smartphone that
even holds tablets up to 8 in Click now to learn more welcome to the first in a
series of desktop speaker reviews I've been at work on these for quite some
time and your feedback is welcome on how we can continue to improve them so first
up is the very famous and very sexy
Bowers and Wilkins mm ones starting off
we've got the I/O they've got an integrated DAC which means they'll run
off a single mini USB connector to your PC or Mac but if you prefer you can also
use a 3 and 12 mm analog connector which will override the other audio Source the
left speaker connects to the right via a hardwired cable that then plugs into the
bottom of the back of the right and routes through the rubber base of the
speaker detachable would have been better for me on this side but I guess
it's not that big of a deal you would never run the left speaker by itself
each speaker has a premium feeling cloth material covering the business stuff
aluminum accents and clearly imprinted R
andl indicators to show which speaker goes where with simple Bowers and
Wilkins branding and a grippy rubber base that isn't going to go anywhere
there is no doubt that they're stylish I actually didn't appreciate how great
they look until I set them up I am doing
all of my listening tests on my xps2 2in1 Ultrabook and then when you combine
one sexy minimalistic piece of hardware with another one it gives you a much
better appreciation for the thought that went into the design of these things
with style out of the way though I don't feel ergonomics are a very strong point
the right speaker contains the DAC amp and controls but while I appreciate its
Simplicity and clean looks I feel like some of the functionality is compromised
I mean the headphone Port is actually behind the speaker on the back and the
power button which also serves as a mute button and volume control while being
sexy and built into the aluminum strip that goes around um when you push on the
sides you actually physically move the speaker so I found that you'll pretty
much have to use the fortunately included handy dandy remote if you're
making any changes to you know volume or power or actually you can change tracks
and stuff on it as well so that's a fairly nice inclusion now getting into
the listing tests uh maximum volume is a weak point of the mm1's cranking them
past around 70 to 75% volume on my PC tanks the sound quality I mean it's not
crackling or something other kind of obvious Distortion and I'm not sure if
it's a power limiter or something else but the mids seem to completely
disappear and the effect actually persists if you quickly lower the volume
to a more reasonable level it takes a few seconds to recover and then they
sound good again they're fine for sitting at your PC listening to music
while getting some work done but if you're expecting to bother your neighbors with them then you better
sneak into their house tape the mm1's to their unsuspecting heads and then start
rocking out if you want it to to have that sort of effect more listening tests
where I really felt like these sha for me was their stereo Imaging when
listening to music coming into this series of reviews my experience has been
with mostly computer speakers notably the clips promita Ultra 5.1surround
like it's coming out of an imaginary centered Channel well now I know they
perform in incredibly well in that way and it really surprised me that I was
getting a sound like that out of something this small speaking of sounds
out of something this small the base performance of the mm1's actually
surprised me as well it does feel a bit
one-dimensional as if a lot of engineering went into reproducing a
limited albeit well controlled and Punchy range of lower frequency sound
but that they just couldn't do more than that due to the size and design
constraints I mean this was expected though size trun all when it comes to
making big sounds and low frequency sounds but it just ended up being
disappointing sometimes because the highs sound so clean and detailed that
in quieter parts of the track as it builds towards the crescendo you know
and the hair start to rise on the back of your neck and you're expecting a wave of immersion in the music and then they
fall short in that way it's like a sneeze that's coming and doesn't I mean
I don't know my music just sounds less full than I'm used to hearing it and
forget about action games and movies there's simply no Rumble to them so I
guess this negative point and it is a negative point but could also be seen as
a positive point though I mean I'm criticizing a product for being
dramatically better than I expected in one area which Drew my attention to its
shortcomings in another where it would have been physically impossible for it to really be much better so it might be
unfair but it just doesn't change the listening experience other than the
aforementioned power limiter issue mids and highs performed very well and at
reasonable levels they really do sound great with a wide variety of different
music he's in particular again we're just playing clearer and more accurate
sounding than anything else in my upcoming review series female vocalists
just sing through these I I mean du they're singing But but they sound
really good as my point uh males do get lost a little bit by comparison and if
you want to get the most out of your WAP collection then you might want to grab
some Bose Companion fives instead but that doesn't change that the mm1's
really surprised me all right so we're getting close to the end now but before I get into the conclusion I do want to
address something I've seen many comments about in user reviews of these
speakers Earth to the people buying these yes the right Speaker gets warm on
the top and it's okay who cares I mean
what are you doing licking it it is smart design to use a stylish aluminum
construction as a heat sink and that's all they're doing here there's an amp in
there so anyway there are much more valid complaints to make about the mm1's
the most important of which are their dated feature set and that bizarre power
limiter feature that limits them to about 75% volume so I think the real
conclusion for this product comes down to how you're going to listen to them um
whether they live in an apartment or not
some people don't itch to turn the volume knob clockwise some people want
what looks good next to their MacBook and will pay handsomely for something
that does and if it also performs pretty well then great but while I understand
I'm not the Target customer for the mm1's and dropping $500 on something
that doesn't have a subwoofer in the name of getting something that delivers
accurate well balanced sound very little cable clutter and admittedly beautiful
ID and a super tiny form factor is just not my thing I do see why someone would
want the mm1's and actually be very happy with them for those folks I will
say this though the simple audio listens are also worth a look they are bigger
and subjectively not as good-looking but they perform similarly in the mid-range
deliver stronger and more detailed BAS and while they and everything else in
this Roundup lack the same crystal clear detail in the highs they sound Fuller go
much louder without strange behavior and are a more modern design with their
touch sensitive controls and built-in Bluetooth connectivity with that out of
the way there are other combinations that the bang for the buck crowd will be
interested in for about $500 compared to either of those two but I'm going to
make you stay tuned for the rest of the series if you want all of the answers
speaking of the bang for the butt crowd we have a new sponsor in this cookie
jar sound effects Hulu Plus hooked me up
there that was my joke Hulu Plus hooked me up with an extended trial normally
it's only one week and I get to give you guys one too head over to Hulu plus.com
Linus or click the link in the video description and you can try it out for
two weeks make sure to get the Plus Part
in there unlike regular Hulu Hulu Plus is available on devices like phones game
consoles and streaming boxes and gives you access to tons of wicked content
they've got current seasons of kids shows like Shark Tank The Vampire
Diaries and Sleepy Hollow and back cataloges of your favorite shows like
Doctor Who South Park and American Dad okay those are my favorite shows not
yours and admittedly those first three weren't kids shows but it's not like I see you making a list and sending it to
me why are you people so critical I'm trying to do something here
anyway you can watch stuff you're familiar with already or check out
exclusive of Originals like dead beat a comedy about a pot smoker who talks to
ghosts which is available starting April 9th I haven't watched it yet though
obviously unless I could film this in the future and come back and release it
now or did I but anyway I think the
bottom line is at $7.99 per month it is a lot less expensive than all the Doctor
Who swag and cookies you're going to need every time they change doctors and mess up your world while you get used to
the new one and the twoe trial is free so check it out at Hulu
plus.com guys like and share this video if you liked it dislike if you disliked
it and leave a comment on the line is Tech tips Forum Linked In the video description if you want to discuss this
product or you have constructive criticism for me and my team also linked
in the video description is our support link with options to buy T-shirts give us a monthly contribution or give us a
kickback whenever you buy random junk on Amazon check it out if you enjoy our
videos it helps us a whole bunch and as always guys thank you for watching and
don't forget to subscribe
he