Beware ...... BIG JAMBOX is UNRELIABLE !
345713
First some background on myself: I am a computer engineer with a passion for music and have listened and played (guitar and keyboard) with all kinds of gear for over forty years.  Through the years I have even built my own speaker systems so I have a some experience with audio equipment.

I have been enjoying the BIG JAMBOX for two summers and was very happy with its performance.  This amounts really to a single year of usage -- in winter I mostly play musical instruments or listen to music through my component hi-fi system.  I felt the speaker offered good balance of bass, mid and high frequencies, small footprint and a good six hours of continuous play.  After the first summer I purchased a second unit as a gift for a friend and also recommended it to my son-in-law who bought another unit.

Well, my enthusiasm for the Big J collapsed: On a family gathering last week I brought the speaker along with my iPad and after a couple hours of music the speaker started making rattling noise when driven by jazzy tracks with lower end bass.  After some tests it was clear to me that the either the built-in amp circuitry was defective or, more likely, that a woofer cone was cracked.  With little hope I contacted Jawbone's technical support.  They opened a ticket for me and suggested a series of tests to determine the source of the problem.  Eventually they arrive to the conclusion I already knew: the Big J experienced a hardware problem and, I was told, they were unable to help me because the warranty already expired.

I always treated the unit with care so it's been quite unexpected to learn about its failure in such a short time.  No doubt in my mind we are dealing with a BAD DESIGN issue. In all these years of playing music this is the first time I experienced a woofer cone rupture using powered speakers.  The reason is that its own built-in power amp limits (or SHOULD limit) the amount of wattage to drive the speaker, so to have this kind of breakdown in such a short time is inexcusable.  I should have paid more attention to the bad reviews before shelling out almost $300 for this failure-prone product.

Now I need to find a replacement to Big Jambox.  Good candidates appear to be Bose SoundLink III (great sound, very small footprint but more expensive) and Logitech UE 984 (very good sound, unbeatable price but large footprint).  One thing for sure: I will never buy a Jawbone product again!
22331
I'm resubmitting my review of Media Sonics Digital converter box!
1 has failed, and the other one also has failed as of yesterday, I bought these as an alternative for TV's that we don't
normally use, laundry area, and spare bedroom. I am hoping I can return them, or at least get some kind
of credit for another unit with better dependability, both units just had a scrambled imaged as if I lost signal, then wouldn't power up again!!
Also the remote for the unit is not very user friendly!
3393966
Nice radio when it works.  I bought this thinking it would be a top shelf product but I was sorely disappointed.  I purchased 1 for a Jeep and a second for an RV.  The Jeep one is un-usable even after a repair attempt by Pioneer.  That unit was replaced with an Alpine that so far works flawlessly.  In the Jeep the radio would go completely unresponsive and only come back one power was removed and restored.  The problem happened more and more frequently so I had to pull it and send it for repair.  Unfortunately for me, after the 90 day warranty repair, the screen started going purple with pixelated lines across the display.  This started with just album art then moved on to the entire display.  When using bluetooth, the unit would freeze for over a minute and not respond to any input.  The problem would go away for a few days or a week only to return.  I was not about to pull it again and pay the 200+ dollars for an out of warranty repair.  About a month later, the unit started to flip to different screens continuously and then go to the "display off" screen.  While flipping screens, the unit would flip XM stations (we leave it set on the XM tuner) from 000 to the high end playing a second or 2 of music on each.  Unfortunately, the volume did not respond which made the current drive so pleasant!  It would do this continuously until power was turned off to the unit.  Suspecting a ground or power issue, I checked all power cables and found no issues.  After clearing an electrical issue, I pulled the unit and replaced with an Alpine.

We have had better luck with the RV (maybe because we only use it once a month instead of daily like the Jeep).  That unit freezes as well on Bluetooth but only for about 30 seconds.  We have not seen the display issue here but it does randomly shut off from time to time and it also has a lot of trouble connecting to Bluetooth.  Random Bluetooth disconnects and dropouts are so common that we use the aux cable to play music from our iphone.  Unfortunately due to the small amount of time in the RV, the problem was not identified before teh 90 day warranty period so we will live with the issues on this one until the unit dies like the Jeep did.

Customer support was not terribly helpful but did open a case with management regarding the poor quality of the units we received.  I only put in the case today and I will update once they return my call.

In short, If purchasing this unit, make sure you can do it yourself as I wound up paying someone each time to pull it (I have the ability, not the time).  Also, make sure you open a case for ANY LITTLE THING that does not work correctly as all of my issues on 2 separate units were sporadic but I did have clues that something was not right in between (a single random lockup should not be ignored).

When it works, it was really nice so it is a shame the build quality was not better in my opinion.

***UPDATE***
I opened a customer complaint about the radio.  Within 24 hours, customer support called me back and arranged an RMA under warranty since I was only out of warranty by less than a month.  I was very happy not to have to spend an additional $200 to get it fixed to sell it.  It is not much but Pioneer could have stuck me with the repair bill but they did help out.
31240
Wish I had read the reviews about this receiver failing after two years. Without changing any of my wiring, I went to play the receiver and a beautiful thing happened... NO SOUND !!!!  ( Ok Im being a little sarcastic, but Im not a Happy Camper  ! )

Spent nearly $300 on this from Amazon in January 2012.

Brought the Onkyo Receiver TX 8050 into Best Buys Geek Squad yesterday for a sanity check to make sure that the missing Sound wasn't something I had done. Best Buy confirmed that the Receivers Speaker output was no longer working. They don't fix this and the fellow at the Geek Squad said if they did it would probably cost me as much as a new receiver.

Here's another thing I found out. Apparently Onkyo has had a recall on this receiver. When I went to the website to see if my receiver qualified ( You have to enter a serial number) , it came back and said that mine wasn't affected.

I own a Yamaha in my Cinema Room and was told that Onkyo iwas a better brand so two years ago I tried this. The Yamaha is 10 years old and is still going strong !.  Guess what I purchased at Best Buy to replace this piece of garbage??  Yamaha.

Onkyo warranty is only two year and Ive owned this since January 2012 so my warranty is non existant.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR, STAY AWAY FROM ONKYO RECEIVERS .

After two years you will be plagiarizing my review and posting this as your own!
1062941
The company making these products has gone out of business, leaving very limited support for them. Mine in particular has a mechanical defect where some of the soldering is not done properly, making it produce an awful static noise during bluetooth connectivity (as described here: http://howto.pui.ch/post/37471161448/how-to-fix-jambox-static-noise-and-no-bluetooth).

If you have one of these and get the most recent software installed, follow the guide here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Jawbone/comments/4ens0h/how_to_change_voices_on_original_jambox_or_just/
2519111
What a great package: bluetooth clock radio. Too bad it doesn't work. I've returned 2 already that stop working at 11:29 every day. Just freezes up and stops working. Really nice package, great sound, works nice, provided you don't need to be awaken by a clock! Stay away from this one unfortunately!
4533418
Very disappointing!  I had the highest hopes for this product.  But it is simply not reliable!  And in a safety product for my wife that is the DEAL BREAKER.  The alerts did not come to my phone consistently.  If she sent the alert directly from the app on her phone it worked fine.  But when she used the portable button, it only got through sometimes...AND I MEAN 10%.  Cancelations sent by pressing the button directly on her phone got through to me immediately.  So I concluded the bluetooth connection between the button and her iPhone 6 is flaky and unreliable. I am pretty tech savvy, and tried reinstalling the app, making sure the device was near my wife's phone, BT was turned on and paired, even bought a new battery thinking the device couldn't send a strong enough BT signal to reach her phone if it was an old or defective battery.  No good!  Thinking mine was a fluke, I returned it, got a second one.  Again no luck.  Same problem!  The final straw was last night as she drove from LA to our home alone.  I asked her to send a yellow alert.  She did and it never got to me....EVER!

And since Revolar apparently has no telephone help line I couldn't do anything more.  I sent a message on their web site but no answer. So I am returning this second unit too.
2834491
I've ordered 6 Angle speakers all 6 of them have had problems. I tried the old version and the new version the Angle and all of them either have a power port that was loose and needs to be fussed with or they would cut out mid song (while using the audio cable from an ipod/phone) or they start buzzing because I'm using them while they are plugged in and the power interferes with the speaker. These speakers are completely unreliable

 All I want are small speakers with good sound quality that don't go into "power save" mode and turn themselves off randomly, that also don't say "POWER ON" at top volume when they are turned on.

The most recent speaker broke after 35 days of use.... Literally, I had 30 days to return it and last night it started cutting out mid song. I'm SO disappointed.
2636270
I got mine for a Xmas present 2 years ago.  Within 6 months it acted up, making me do the ridiculous R method of resetting it over and again.  Itunes refuses to recognize it and now it tells me that I have a corrupted iPod--no kidding!  At the moment, it is sitting on my desk like a dead bug on its back, frozen.  Save yourself years of aggravation, listen to those of us who have had this for over a year...caveat emptor.
800967
Come on. Why hasn't there been a total recall of all these units by Harman  Kardon? Everyone is reporting that their "street" unit had to be returned since it turns off after 3-5 songs. Mine did.

On top of that necessary manufacturer defect, the one I got had a non functioning right speaker. It had hiss coming out of it, but it wouldn't process the feed from the iPod and output the signal to it. I tested two iPod Videos, a 4G iPod, and a iPod Mini, and they all did not help the GO+PLAY's right front and back speaker to work.

But by god, the sound of this unit far outshines any other unit on the market. I tested over 50 different units, at Frys, Circuit City and Target. I did direct A/B comparisons. I am a mastering engineer and film composer, I have finely tuned ears for audio quality. This unit is soooo worth the sound quality that I am ACTUALLY being stupid and buying a new one after having returned the old one, knowing darn well that the unit's manufacturing is so bad that people are getting broken speakers, and iPods turning off during playback. I mean that has to be some good sound quality. There simply is nothing else even in the league. I am buying it knowing darn well it could simply crap out on me at any time, the way most of them are crapping out on people before they are taking them home from the store.

So I am diving straight in, knowing the trials and tribulations I may be subjected to, and buying a second unit here on Amazon. If it too is defective, I will report back my findings by the end of the summer. If there is no post here, than "no news = good news". :)

I have a hard time recommending this unit based on it's poor physical engineering, but I suggest that if someone can't stand anything but the most supreme sound quality and is wiling to take some risks to get it, than they should buy one, and get an extended warranty on it, and be ready to return it, until you get a good one. [...].
3594244
Purchased this radio in July, 2015.

Product looks great and sounds great with all sorts of nice features and controls.

Problem is that it is unreliable in its electronics.

Several times per week you will see the display begin flashing or flickering like a small lightning storm and then all the presets and settings vanish.  The buttons stop working.

I need to either push the reset button or unplug the unit to get it to work again.

I have given up trying to keep presets in its memory as I am always having to put them in again.

If the radio would keep its settings, I would be happy as a lark.  But as it is, I will look for another radio that isn't so temperamental all the time.

I'm very disappointed to say the least.

This one isn't really ready for prime time.

I don't need another nuisance in my life.

Steve
2737953
I bought one of these when I discovered from a friend how incredibly handy an iPod is as an automotive jukebox. I wanted something from a respectable manufacturer, therefore "Monster" was a no-brainer, as they are one of the leading audio cable manufacturers in North America.

I received the unit pretty promptly, went to the car, iPod and transmitter in hand and fumbled with 3 viable presets and went for a ride. I found an inexplicable static and hiss present. I tried many additional presets, to no avail. I simply chalked it up to the nature of the device and tolerated it.

10 months later, the iPod connector failed. After complaining to a friend, he gave me an off-branded iPod transmitter that was twice the unit the Monster ever was. Even so, I got a warranty replacement and thought that maybe my first Monster was just a dud, all along. Not so! It had the same hiss and static. I used the freebie from my buddy for the past 2 years till it failed recently. I'm stuck using this horrible one again, till my Griffin iTrip arrives next week.

There are far better and cheaper alternatives than this one. Avoid, if possible!
4276528
****** WARNING WARNING WARNING !!!!!!! DO NOT PURCHASE THIS SONY PROJECTOR AM / FM RADIO. YOU WILL BE SHOCKED TO KNOW THAT WITHIN A YEAR IN A HALF IT WILL NO LONGER FUNCTION AND SUDDENLY BLINK 12:00 PM REPEATEDLY. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, YOU MAY SAY, I'LL JUST UNPLUG IT, PUT A NEW LITHIUM BATTERY INSIDE IT AND JUST RESET IT.....RIGHT? I'VE DONE IT AND WALLAH!!!! NOTHING! IT'S A COMPLETE FAILURE OF A PRODUCT!!! AND DOESN'T MEET IT'S STANDARD!!! OR QUALITY!!!!

 I ATTEMPTED TO GET THIS PRODUCT REPLACED AND THE "FRIENDLY" SONY CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVE SAID, "I'M SORRY, IT'S PASSED IT'S 1 YEAR WARRANTY..." SO, I FOREWARN YOU! DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PIECE OF GARBAGE CLOCK RADIO...UNLESS YOUR OK WITH THROWING AWAY $70 .... DON'T PURCHASE THIS CHEAP CLOCK RADIO!!!!

SINCERELY,

A MISERABLE UNSATISFIED CUSTOMER !!!!!!
1593917
I have had the Squeezebox Duet for almost 3 years now.  When it works it is the coolest thing.  I have it hooked up to 2 recievers and run speakers throughout the house.  I have almost 50 gigs of mp3's, so I put it on random and let it go all day.  But it will be working one moment and the next it won't find my computer with my files.  So, I reset to factory settings and run through the set up and sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.  I will update all the software and sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.  I check out the user forums and they are sometimes helpful.  One very diligent person kept writing for 10 months when finally someone from Logitech answered.  The software is just too unstable and it seems Logitech has quit worrying about it.  I'm going to buy an iPod dock and just use the iPod.

Update 10/7/13:
I've retired my squeezebox. The nail in the coffin is no amazon cloud player app.
I bought a Roku LT. Set it up in minutes and it just works.
3105667
I ordered the Altec Lansing iMT810 Digital Boombox via Dave Parkers' Digital Pavilion store on Amazon based on several reviews which emphasized its excellent sound quality.  Unfortunately, I was shipped a lemon.  The front speakers on my unit were dead on arrival.  I wish that I had paid closer attention to the numerous reviews that stress the unit's very poor build quality and reliability issues.  Do yourself a favor and forego an expensive, time-consuming mistake.  Avoid this product, even at the close-out prices.
524414
Because of the ... craftsmanship of this stereo, I have gotten to enjoy it all of 1 month and 6 days.  My 3 cd drawer jammed while loading cds the first time and I had to wait 3 months for sony to make and distribute the part needed to fix the problem.  I got it back and put in cds and got to enjoy it for 5 days.  Today the exact same problem occured.  The cd changer jammed only this time it jammed closed holding my cds ransom.  After just pushing the open button several times, i got the drawer to open and take out 2 of the cds and then the drawer closed again but won't open now.  Sony's oh so helpful response is to keep taking it in to be fixed for the exact same problem.  Perhaps I just have a lemon but my rating is low because of the indifference sony seems to show it's customers who obviously have a faulty product.  a warranty only lasts for a year and at the end of august, maybe I'll get to have enjoyed this product for a whole 3 months...if I'm lucky.  I've owned other sony products which is why I chose this stereo in the first place (in addition to the aesthetics) yet this has been one huge disappointment.  I should have saved my money and just bought the ipod and a nice set of speakers.
3408097
My main reason for buying this was the USB feature, but what they don't tell you is that if play directly from a flash drive there is no read out on the boombox. While it does play fine from the flash drive, if you want to navigate your music, like any normal person would, you have to have a secondary device in order to do so. Luckily I had a cheap tablet that I never used, that I velcroed to the back of the box and run the flash drive through it and the tablet into the AUX on the box. This is a MAJOR design flaw!!!!!! If I had known this I would have never bought it. I HATE IPODS, AND MP3S WITH THIER SMALL MEMORY.  Flash drives are a cheap why to avoid both, but not with this stupid boombox. Also, not loud enough, and not enough bass, and no remote. I have made the best of this, but would not recommend.