At first we would like to thank Creative for offering us a sample of their Sound Blaster Jam V2 Ultralight On-ear Bluetooth Headphones for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Creative:

 

“Creative is the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Founded in Singapore in 1981, Creative started with the vision that multimedia would revolutionize the way people interact with their PCs.

 

Famous for its Sound Blaster sound cards and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment with cutting-edge audio solutions, premium wireless speakers, high performance earphone products and portable media devices. The company's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services enable consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment - anytime, anywhere.

 

Since launching the phenomenally successful Sound Blaster sound cards and setting the de-facto standard for PC audio in 1989, Creative has been able to leverage on its leading-edge audio technology, a huge user base of 400 million, and strong brand name to expand into the exciting lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment (PDE) market.

 

Creative is now well recognized as a global leader for product innovation in the audio and PDE segments, offering consumers a complete, high quality digital entertainment experience through Creative's hardware, software applications and services. Finding the perfect balance between form and function, Creative strives for every product to be a sensory feast for the eyes and ears.

 

Today, Creative is spearheading new product categories with its groundbreaking Sound BlasterAxx audio enhancement devices and solutions, highly-acclaimed Creative D5xm Signature Series of modular Bluetooth wireless speakers, Aurvana premium headsets, Sound Blaster wireless gaming headsets, and cross-platform Sound Blaster Recon3D for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC or Mac.

 

These products and solutions are marketed to consumers and system integrators through a worldwide distribution network that includes traditional marketing channels, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the Internet.

 

Moving forward, Creative's mission is to expand its leadership role in the lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment market, using groundbreaking technology and leading-edge designs for not just the technically-savvy consumers, but for everyone who enjoys entertainment. With strong focus on user-friendly interface, multiple features and cool industrial designs, the Creative brand is synonymous with lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment.

 

Creative's global corporate headquarters is located in Singapore, in the heart of the Asia-Pacific region. It has regional business units in the US (Milpitas, California), Europe (Dublin, Ireland) and Asia (Singapore).

 

Creative is a public listed company on the main board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) since June 1994.”

 

Enjoy Premium Audio Quality Wirelessly

There's no need to sacrifice audio quality for convenience. The Sound Blaster JAM V2 features advanced audio codecs1 for all kinds of usage!

With aptX HD, savor better-than-CD quality streaming when listening to music. Hear every intricate detail and enjoy the increased clarity and depth from your music, all wirelessly via the Sound Blaster JAM V2.

The headphones also come with aptX Low Latency, a codec designed to intelligently reduce Bluetooth audio lag to an indiscernible amount without any sacrifice in audio quality. Enjoy synchronized audio and visuals when watching movies or playing games with aptX LL!

 

Seamless Connection with Two Devices

Besides the addition of the premium audio codecs, we've also upgraded Sound Blaster JAM V2 with Bluetooth 5.0 for uninterrupted wireless audio streaming.

Furthermore, you can listen to music on your laptop and answer a call on your phone with the Sound Blaster JAM V2 without having to disconnect and reconnect the devices! This can be done via the Multipoint connectivity feature, which allows you to connect up to two Bluetooth devices to the headphones at the same time, and switch between them seamlessly. Simply stop the audio on the first device and start playing on the second to switch your audio source!

 

Light but Strong

Weighing less than 100g (3.5 oz), the headphones are lightweight, but its sound quality is not. Expect a compelling audio performance with our high-performance 32 mm Neodymium drivers, which delivers rich and clean sound that is perfect for music, movies, or games.

Watching a captivating movie and want to really feel the action? Hit the Bass Boost button to pump up the bass in the Sound Blaster JAM V2! Feel the explosions pop and the ground rumble and enjoy a more immersive experience in your movies or games with just a press of a button.

 

Personalize Your Music

Music sounds best when it's customized to your personal preferences. Whether you're a bass head or more into hearing all the nuances in the vocals, the new Creative App allows you to change the EQ settings the way you like it in wired mode.

Access Sound Blaster's graphic EQ customization, SmartComms Kit, and other playback and microphone settings in the all-in-one Creative App!

 

 

Smart Tools for Smart Communications

Sick of repeating yourself or asking “Can you hear me now?” for the nth time? Online conference calls don't have to be such a drag.

Introducing SmartComms Kit, which features our brand new bundle of smart communication technologies designed to improve your online calls experience. Turn on VoiceDetect to auto mute and unmute your mic without having to move a muscle or get rid of all background noise in your own environment as well as the other parties via our two-way noise cancellation technology NoiseClean.

Simply download the Creative App and use the Sound Blaster JAM V2 in wired mode with your computer to gain access to these advanced features and communicate like a pro!

 

Double Mic, Double Clarity

Sound Blaster JAM V2 comes with dual microphones and Qualcomm cVc™ 8.0 noise cancellation technology, which work in tandem to pick up your voice and suppress background noise to bring you superior call experiences in Bluetooth mode. Be heard clearly in calls wherever you are, whether you're in office or at the mall.

 

22 Hours of Enjoyment

Always out and about? No worries, the Sound Blaster JAM V2 can last through your entire day with up to 22 hours of battery life3. When it does run out of juice, you can switch to wired listening via a USB-C cable, or conveniently charge it with the same USB-C cable for 10 minutes and you're good to go for another 4 hours!

 

Interface: Bluetooth 5.0

Weight: Headset: 84 g (2.9 oz), USB Cable: 26 g (0.9 oz)

Color: Black

Frequency Response: 20–20,000 Hz

Driver: 32 mm Neodymium magnet

Battery Type and Life: 1 X Rechargeable Lithium Polymer Battery 200 mAh

Charging Time: 1–2 hours

Bluetooth Profiles: HFP (Hands-Free Profile), A2DP (Wireless Stereo Bluetooth), AVRCP (Bluetooth Remote Control), Supports Multipoint connections for 2 devices

Bluetooth Operating Frequency: 2.4 GHz

Audio Codec: aptX, SBC, aptX HD, aptX LL

Operating Range: Up to 15m / 49 ft

Wearing Style: On-ear

Operating Temperature: 0–45°C

 

In this article we will concentrate upon another portable wireless headset from Creative, featuring support for Bluetooth 5.0 and multiple codecs: aptX HD, aptX LL, aptX, but also the regular SBC. This is the second version of the Sound Blaster JAM product, which almost doubles the battery life, comes with dual microphones but also Noise Cancellation via Qualcomm cVc 8.0.

 

The headset did arrive inside a compact cardboard enclosure, featuring a black/orange color scheme and a photo of the Sound Blaster JAM V2 in operation; Creative has listed here logos of the main features as well:

 

 

 

More in-depth technical specifications can be checked out on the side:

 

 

 

The package contents can be seen listed on the opposite:

 

 

 

The back side of the box comes with the product features explained in detail, multi-language:

 

 

 

Inside the box we will get the USB-C charging cable, the Quick Start Guide, a Worldwide Warranty leaflet, a Regulatory Information leaflet, an extra set of earcup pads but also the headset itself:

 

 

 

The Quick Start Guide includes information on the main headset components, how to perform the connection via Bluetooth or via cable, how to read the LED signals but also how to access the button functions:

 

 

 

 

The extra set of earcup pads are handy for replacement when the original ones do wear out:

 

 

 

 

The USB cable does help with charging the headset but also for using it in wired mode:

 

 

 

The headset looks like a regular call-center model, the construction being all from plastic to keep a low weight (less than 100g):

 

 

 

However, the improvements over such a mentioned headset are under the hood, by incorporating 32mm Neodymium drivers, dual microphones with noise cancellation, delivery of a decent amount of bass, multipoint Bluetooth connectivity and more! On the exterior of the right ear cup we will find a large middle control button with the status LED but also a subtle Sound Blaster logo. This button can be used for turning on or off the headset, for enabling Siri/Google Assistant, for Play/Pause or for taking calls:

 

 

 

Next to it we have the Volume +/- buttons, which do also incorporate functions as Next/Prev, for transferring calls from the headset to the mobile device, for activating microphone mute function and more:

 

 

 

A Bass button can be spotted as well, which enables a custom EQ as bass boost but also enables/disables the microphone in wired mode when double clicked:

 

 

 

The microphone ports are embedded into the chassis:

 

 

 

An USB Type-C port can be spotted nearby:

 

 

 

The left cup does come with a similar exterior design, minus the buttons and interfaces:

 

 

 

On the side of the headband we could observe an orange Creative logo:

 

 

 

The headband does not come with extra logos on top or padding on the inside, since the headset is very, very light:

 

 

 

On the inside of the headband we can also spot the L/R channel inscription:

 

 

 

The headset length can be adjusted as needed:

 

 

 

The cable travelling from one cup to the other is clearly visible on the headband chassis:

 

 

 

After turning on the headset, we could notice the activity LED lighting up, signaling Bluetooth pairing mode:

 

 

 

As instructed by the product guide, we went ahead and installed the dedicated Creative application, which enables extra functionality for the JAM V2. The main GUI menus are preset on the left, together with the volume control, but we can also access an online account by logging in from the top right corner. The Device area allows navigating to the EQ and Mixer areas as well:

 

 

 

The custom EQ does have a dedicated configuration area, where we can set up its 10 bands, but also work separately with the Preamp/Bass/Treble sliders:

 

 

 

A large list of presets is available as well:

 

 

 

The Playback/Recording volume can be modified from the Mixer as well:

 

 

 

The Playback menu allows setting the output settings but also conduct a test; the output can be configured only as “Stereo” in terms of audio channels:

 

 

 

Here are the other output values we can choose:

 

 

 

The Recording area allows adjusting the quality, but adjusting is a bit much since there is only one option to choose from:

 

 

 

 

The Settings area allows resetting the current headset settings, perform driver updates but also contact support links from the web:

 

 

 

Some application-related options can be considered as well, from the next tab:

 

 

 

We have tested the Sound Blaster JAM V2 on one of our test laptops (DELL Latitude 7470) in wired and wireless mode but also while connected to the Samsung S21 smartphone. The connection procedure can be done in just a few seconds and you are ready to go! The sound quality is noticeably better in terms of bass versus a pair of in-ear headphones, while the rest of the frequencies are clearly represented when using decent volume levels. The dual-microphone setup does well during conferences, but do not expect it to match the fidelity of a boom mic.

 

The JAM V2 can be easily used as a hands-free for taking calls, while taking advantage of the low weight and in our opinion, it is more comfortable versus a in-ear version. The battery life rated at 22 hours allows usage during multiple days and if we do recharge the headset for only 10 minutes, we will be good to go for another 4 hours.

 

The Creative application for usage when connected in wired mode to our PC offers more configuration options. The microphone is muted in wired mode by default, but you can enable it by pressing the Bass button twice (different button than the one used in Bluetooth mode).

 

Creative Sound Blaster JAM V2 benefits from increased audio quality and decreased latency thanks to the Qualcomm aptX HD and Qualcomm aptX Low Latency codecs but also Bluetooth 5.0; at the price of only 35 Euros we do find that this aspect adds a lot of product value!

 

Creative Sound Blaster Jam V2 Ultralight On-ear Bluetooth Headphones is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Creative for making this review possible!