Two Bluetooth Wireless In-Canal Headsets Reviews

Lone Crusader

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Nov 24, 2011
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Jaybird Gear BlueBuds X review:
JayBird Gear's BlueBuds X are the company's top-of-the-line Bluetooth wireless in-ear headphone model, and they're one of the better pairs of wireless sports headphones I've used. Outstanding? Well, that depends on how good a fit you get, but I have no doubt that the folks who do get a great fit will rate these very highly.

Design
What's impressive about the BlueBuds is how small and lightweight they are in comparison with other Bluetooth in-ear headphones. They share some similarities with the compact Plantronics BackBeat Go earphones, which cost less than $100 and have the same tangle-resistant flat-cord design with an integrated remote/microphone. However, the Plantronics' battery life isn't as good as the Jaybirds' and they aren't sweatproof (Jaybird offers a lifetime warranty for any sweat-related issues the earphones may encounter).

The one complaint I had is that despite their small size, they're still bigger than your average earbuds and depending on the size of your ear -- mine aren't particularly big -- I found that they had a tendency to create some irritation after extended use. For some people this won't be a problem, but when you jam the tips in your ears, the base of the bud (the hard part), which is a bit larger, might feel a little bulky. This wasn't a huge deal, and you can make adjustments to relieve any annoying pressure, but I came away thinking these earphones were comfortable but not super comfortable.

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To help you get a better fit, the BlueBuds come with three different-sized silicone buds and three "wings" that are designed to keep the earphones in place during workouts. There are a couple of different ways you can wear the earphones and it takes some experimenting to come up with the right combination to get a secure fit.

You can go with an over-the-ear fitting and then shorten the cord length so the cord ends up resting very close to the back of your head. You can also just let the cord dangle down from your ear as you would with typical wired earphones. You can choose to have the cord sit in front of your neck or behind it (most people will wear the cord behind their necks). This setup is better if you plan on making calls because the microphone sits closer to your mouth, rather than on the back of your head just behind your ear.

What's a little kludgy is the way you shorten the cord. There's no built-in shortening mechanism; you have to manually shorten them to the desired length using the two sets of tracks or guides that ship along with the silicone eartips. These almost look like tiny Lego pieces, so if you're into Lego, you'll have no problem setting this all up. But as I said, the pieces are small, and should the cord get yanked on really hard, the piece could very well pop out and get lost. While the whole thing works, it seems like the design could be better and easier for the average consumer to grapple with.

To be clear, the BlueBuds are designed to be jammed into your ears, and getting a tight seal is crucial to getting better sound with deeper bass; if you lose that tight seal, sound quality dips dramatically. As such, these are a noise-isolating model, and they do manage to seal out a good amount of exterior sound, so if you're worried about hearing oncoming traffic while you're running, they may not be for you. (The $50 Plantronics BackBeats 903+ sports earphones let sound in but they don't sound as good as this model, nor are they as lightweight).

To charge the earphones you lift a cap on the left earbud to reveal a Micro-USB port, which is pretty nifty. A cable is included for charging and there's an LED on the right earbud that lets you know the earphones are on and when they're charging.

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My only other complaint about the design is that these guys just don't exude "premium." They have an all-plastic design with a bit of plastic chrome trim. The earphones also come with the same cheap-looking clamshell case that's included with Jaybirds' previous Bluetooth earphones. I've never been a fan of plastic chrome, but that's just me.

Despite their all-plastic housing, the build quality seems decent. However, I only used them for a week, so I can't really say how they'll hold up over time. But I would strongly advise stowing them in their case when not in use.

Features
The BlueBuds' biggest feature is obviously their Bluetooth wireless-streaming capabilities. They should work with any Bluetooth-enabled device, including iOS, Android, and Windows smartphones and tablets. I tested them with the iPhone 4S, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 , and the iPad Mini.

To use them on, you simply hold down the call answer/end button on the integrated remote to turn them on and put them in pairing mode. A pleasant female voice (Jenna) then instructs you that the earphones are on and ready for pairing. She'll also tell you when the headphones are connected to your device and when the battery is low. I liked her better than Siri, but that's neither here nor there.
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If you tap the call answer/end button once while listening to music, it'll pause it; double-tap and Jenna will tell you that you're redialing the last number you called. Holding down the volume-up button for a few seconds jumps the track forward. To a skip a track back, you hold the volume-down button.

Performance
I thought the BlueBuds sounded very good for Bluetooth headphones. You lose a little something with Bluetooth because you're dealing with compressed music, but the BlueBuds sound pretty dynamic. They also sound fairly open with good detail and strong bass. They're clearly superior to the Plantronics BackBeat Go earphones and play significantly louder. And, as I said earlier, their battery life is better.

Do they sound better than Jaybird's Freedom and Freedom Sprint Bluetooth earphones? Yes, I thought they were a clear notch up, but those models cost significantly less. It's also worth noting that the Freedom has an off-the-shelf design that other companies such as Outdoor Technology (maker of Tags) use for their Bluetooth headphones. The BlueBuds X are much more unusual -- at least for the moment.

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Jaybird says you'll get up to 8 hours of battery life, but your mileage may vary depending on how loud you play your music. At a more moderate listening level I was able to hit the 8 hours.

And lastly, in its marketing materials, the company talks up some technology that is supposed to make your Bluetooth connection more stable. I still encountered the occasional hiccup.

Conclusion
I found myself struggling to come up with a rating for Jaybird Gear's BlueBuds X wireless in-ear headphones. After some tinkering, I managed to achieve a snug, pretty comfortable fit with the earphones. No, they weren't supercomfortable, but I got a tight seal and the earphones stayed in my ear while I was running. They also sounded very good for Bluetooth headphones.

But as with all in-ear headphones, these won't fit everyone equally well. Some people will get an even better fit than I did, some a worse one. And, as I said earlier, that tight seal absolutely makes or breaks sound quality.

The big question, of course, is whether these are worth $170. For those who get a perfect fit and are looking for small, lightweight wireless sports earbuds that sound quite decent, they may be. But I think the price is a little steep. They ultimately don't look and feel like premium Bluetooth earphones, even if they sound like them. I only say that because often people have high expectations for products that cost more than $150, particularly when they're outside the warped pricing world of Beats and Bose.

That caveat aside, I have no problem recommending them. Just don't come back and say, David, they're not worth $170. No, they aren't -- unless you end up loving them.
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Plantronics BackBeat Go 2
When I reviewed the original Plantronics BackBeat Go stereo Bluetooth headset back in 2012, I said it was easy to see how the product could be improved and that the next version of the BackBeat Go would be better and easier to recommend for what it cost ($79.99).

Well, I'm happy to report that with the BackBeat Go 2 Plantronics has fixed most -- though not all -- of the small flaws found in the original, and indeed, it is easier to recommend at its $79.99 price point.

Alas, the engineers didn't improve the so-so battery life (4.5 hours), but Plantronics is offering a battery extension solution in the form of a bundle that includes a charging case (BackBeat Go + Charging Case), so you can juice up on the go. If you already have an external battery charger for your phone, the $20 extra you'll spending for the charging case may not be worth it, but for a lot of folks it will be.

Design and features
This model looks very similar to the original BackBeat Go, which remains one of the smallest and lightest stereo Bluetooth headsets out there, featuring two slightly oversize earbuds joined by a flat, fettuccine wire that's designed to cut down on tangles. That said, Plantronics has made a few small changes to the design. For starters, the inline remote/microphone has been tweaked so the buttons are easier to operate by feel.

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A closer look at those buttons reveals that the middle button serves as a call/answer end button, redial button, and it pauses your music during playback. The volume buttons do double duty as skip track forward/back buttons (you have to hold the volume up button down for a second to advance a track and hold the volume down button a second to restart a track).

It's also worth noting that after you pair the headset with your Bluetooth-enabled device once, it will remember the device and automatically pair with it. With Bluetooth activated on your device, you just have to hold down the call/answer end button for a second to turn the headphones on and they'll automatically pair after that. However, be sure not to hold the button down too long or the headphones will go into setup mode (for a new device) and won't automatically pair with the device you've already set up.

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That may all sound a little complicated, but it isn't, and voice prompts alert you when the headset is on, when it's connected, and how full the battery is. A small, more accurate battery-life indicator for the headset is also displayed toward the top of the screen on iOS devices, though not Android phones.

One small change a lot of people won't notice is that Plantronics made the little LED on the earpiece brighter, so you can see it better now. It was hard to tell if the headset was charging because the LED was so faint, but now it's clearly visible (it changes from red to blue when the battery is fully charged).

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Aside from the tweaks to the inline remote/microphone and LED, the other notable difference is that the earphones are now covered in a coating of P2i moisture-protection technology that makes them water-resistant, so you can sweat on them while you're working out or take them outside when it's raining. In the 10 days or so I used them, they seem to be pretty durable, but they're certainly not indestructible.

The final new feature addition is "DeepSleep hibernation mode," which allows the headset to hold a charge for up to six months, so you don't have to worry about the battery draining if you don't use them for a few weeks. How long that battery will last in the long run, I can't tell you, but it will eventually wear out and not take a charge, like all lithium batteries.

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The other changes are on the inside. Plantronics says this model is equipped with a 6mm third-generation speaker that's an improvement upon the first-gen 6mm speaker in the original BackBeat Go. I could definitely hear the difference. The headphones now play louder and sound better, though it's crucial to get a tight seal or you can end up losing a good deal of bass.

Like the original BackBeat Go, the new model comes with little "stabilizers" to get a more secure fit. While they work pretty well, I think Plantronics could come up with better stabilizers that really keep the earphones in your ears even more securely, especially when you're running. For instance, I liked the stabilizers found on the Monster iSport Immersion and Audio Technica's SonicSport ATH-CKP500. However, both those are wired in-ear sports headphones.

As far as accessories go, these guys come with three different-size eartips, plus a USB charger. They're available in two colors -- white or black -- and there's a version that comes with a charging case for $99.99, or $20 more.

The idea behind the case is that it not only protects the earphones but it has a built-in rechargeable battery for charging on the go. When fully charged, the case can charge the headphones twice, which gets you up to 13 hours of battery life, though you won't be able to use the headphones while you're charging them. I personally thought the case could stand to be slightly larger to accommodate the headphones more easily (you really feel like you're stuffing them in there), but that's a small gripe.

Performance
The original BackBeat suffered from some performance issues, the biggest of which was that it didn't play very loudly (I felt I could have used more volume when I was outside on the noisy streets of New York).

I didn't have that problem with this model and overall, the sound was fuller and more dynamic, though I can't say it's incredibly open or detailed. The bass was pretty punchy, but again, if you fail to get a tight seal, the earphones will sound thin.

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For those new to stereo Bluetooth, it's worth noting that Bluetooth does compress audio files and has a tendency to flatten out your music, leaving it sounding less dynamic. But Bluetooth headphones are getting better, and while this model doesn't feature the aptX codec, which can offer slightly improved Bluetooth sound quality with mobile devices that also feature aptX (no iPhone models have aptX, but many of the new Android models do), I thought it sounded good for a Bluetooth earphone at this price point. It's relatively natural-sounding, fairly well balanced, and lively. It may not satisfy the most critical listeners but it can hold its own with with a lot of wired in-ear headphones that are in the $30 to $70 range.

Comparing it with the significantly more expensive Jaybird BlueBuds X Bluetooth earphones ($169.99), the two models sound very similar. That model has a cord-management feature and claims better battery life, but it's not worth the extra dough.

As for call quality, Plantronics hasn't changed the microphone, and the performance of the headset was good (callers said they could hear me well, though it obviously helps to pull the microphone closer to your mouth).

Conclusion
It's challenge to design really small wireless Bluetooth earphones because you have to cram a battery and some extra electronics into a compact housing the size of something that's not much bigger than, well, an earbud. Plantronics' first-generation BackBeat Go was pretty good, but it did have a few rough spots, particularly with its performance.

Cosmetically at least, the BackBeat Go 2 really isn't different from the previous version, but with the tweaks in the design to the remote/microphone and the addition of the moisture-protection coating, there have been some notable improvements, though battery life still isn't great. But the most important change is to the sound quality -- it's right there with the sound quality of competing products such as the Jaybird Bluebuds X Bluetooth earphones, which retails for a good deal more.

While the Go 2 still has room for improvement (a little bit smaller design, better stabilizers, and better battery life), it's a nice step up from the original and strongly worth considering if you're looking for an earbud-style wireless headphone.
 
I bought the Jaybird Gear BlueBuds X and they are awesome. With iPhone 6 Plus it has Bluetooth 4.0 I can set my phone in one room and walk all the way to the other side of the house and still pick up clear audio reception and even answer my phone with the BlueBuds and everything is crystal clear. I paid $130 for them at Amazon here. Both sets are completely wireless and the BlueBuds have a snug fit. :)
 
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I bought the Jaybird Gear BlueBuds X and they are awesome. With iPhone 6 Plus it has Bluetooth 4.0 I can set my phone in one room and walk all the way to the other side of the house and still pick up clear audio reception and even answer my phone with the BlueBuds and everything is crystal clear. I paid $130 for them at Amazon here. Both sets are completely wireless and the BlueBuds have a snug fit. :)

Just shows with the prices here in the uk , I found them on Amazon for £124.60 so around $192 , they do look pretty sweet tho .
 
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