First Impressions
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 we've used. Outstanding? Well,
that depends on how good a fit you get, but we have no doubt that the folks who
do get a great fit will rate these very highly. Or at least it does appear like
that by looking at the nice build and excellent spec sheet. But do they suck or
are they awesome?
The BlueBuds
X are JayBird’s top-of-the-line Bluetooth wireless, sports, in-ear,
noise-isolation headphones.
They
ultimately don't look and feel like premium Bluetooth eaphones, even if they
sound like them
Review
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 5K 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 sweat proof (Jaybird offers
a lifetime warranty for any sweat-related issues the earphones may encounter).
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. We 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 decent bass. Though
on most rock and techno based songs, the bass wasn't that great. The Bluetooth
connection too, suffered a bit when we had our smartphone in our jeans pockets
and the BlueBuds in our ear and roaming in and out of buildings or while
riding. 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.
BlueBuds
X earbuds are impressively small and lightweight in comparison with other
Bluetooth headphones.
Verdict
As with all in-ear headphones, these won't
fit everyone equally well. Some people will get an even better fit than we did,
some a worse one. For those who get a perfect fit and are looking for small,
lightweight wireless sports earbuds that sound quite decent, they may be. But
we think the price is a little steep. They ultimately don't look and feel like
premium Bluetooth earphones, even if they sound like them.
There
is a cap on the right earbud that securely covers the microUSB port, attached
with a small tether to avoid becoming lost or misplaced.
The
BlueBuds come with three different-sized silicone buds and three “wings” that
are designed to keep the earphones in place during workouts.
The
BlueBuds X are designed to be inserted into your ears. A tight seal is crucial
to getting better sound with deeper bass.
Specifications
Audio
§ Type:
In-Ear Style
§ Noise-isolation:
Passive
§ Impedance:
16 Ohm
§ Speaker
sensitivity: 103 +-2dB At 1KHz
§ Output
12mW RMS (with level limit)
§ Total
Harmonic Distortion <5% (1KHz, 1mW)
§ Audio
Format: 16-bit Stereo
§ Codec:
Shift™ custom SBC implementation
§ Response
Bandwidth 20-20000Hz
Integrated Microphone
§ Type:
MEMS omni-directional (2.75 x 1.85 mm2)
§ Sensitivity:
-38 dB + /-3dB (1KHz, 0dB = 1V/Pa)
Bluetooth
§ Bluetooth
Version: Bluetooth Class 2.1+EDR
§ Frequency
Band: 2.4 GHz
§ Tx
Power: Class 1
§ Profiles:
Handsfree 1.6, Headset 1.1, A2DP 1.2, AVCRP 1.4
Pairing
§ No
of Paired Devices: 8
Battery
§ Play
Time: 8 hrs
§ Standby
Time: 250 hrs
§ Charging
Time: Less than 2.5 hrs
§ Charging:
USB (included)
§ AC
power: DC 5A 100mA
§ Type:
83 mAh Lithium Polymer
Operation
§ Operating:
14F – 122F (-10C – 50C )
§ Storage:
-4F – 140F (-20C – 60C)
Weight & Dimensions
§ Width:
22 mm
§ Height:
29 mm
§ Depth:
13 mm
§ Weight:
13.8 g
§ Cord
Length: 540 mm
Button Controls
§ AVRCP
Music Controls (Play/pause, next, back)
§ Call
Controls (answer, end, reject call, etc)
§ General
(Volume, pair, power)
Warranty
§ 1
Year Limited Warranty
§ Lifetime
Warranty Against Sweat
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