Jaybird X2 Review: Best Bluetooth Earbuds for Exercise
Let’s be clear: I’m a bit of an audiophile. Now with that out of the way, I have never been a fan of in-ear headphones. There’s two main reasons for that: the first is because they always seemed to fall out of my ears whenever I would use them — I could never find a pair that were comfortable and would actually sit still. The second reason is because the ones I tried all sounded terrible in comparison to over-the-ear headphones. I figure that is due to various reasons, but is likely very much related to the fact they never sat well in my ear.
Anyway.
Since I started working out more and subsequently got my Apple Watch, I have been hunting for a killer pair of bluetooth headphones that are durable, can withstand a lot of sweat, fit well in my ears, and have great sound quality. That’s a tall order, but I think I filled it with my purchase of the Jaybird X2 headphones.
What’s in the box?
- Jaybird X2 Wireless Bluetooth headphones
- 3 sets of Comply foam ear tips (small, medium, large)
- 3 sets of silicone ear tips (small, medium, large)
- 3 sets of secure-fit ear fins (small, medium, large)
- USB 2.0 charging cable
- Cord management clips
- Silicone sport carry case (pictured above)
Design & Comfort
The Jaybird X2’s are well designed and durable. How do I know they are durable? Because they withstand the amount of sweat I generate and continue to work. The headphones come in a handful of fun colors as well, despite the color cool factor, I was boring and went with the Storm White ones (seen above).
You can tell a lot of thought went into the Jaybird X2 design, I’m particularly fond of the concept of “ear fins.” Those are the little white fin-looking things with the holes in them that you see in the picture. I’m convinced these “ear fins” are the magic component of these headphones — they make the X2’s fit better in your ear and stay there (even with intense walking, running, jumping, weight lifting, etc) and because they are better fitted to your ear, they sound better.
If you get these headphones I highly recommend trying every set of ear tips and ear fins to find the right match for you. The better you can them to fit your ear, the more you will enjoy the product.
I do, however, have one main issue with the X2 in the design department though. The X2’s have a feature called SignalPlus that is supposed to make them superior to other Bluetooth headphones. The goal of SignalPlus is to make sure your headphones don’t skip/lose connection with whatever device they are paired with no matter where that device is on your body. This sounds great in theory, but I experienced some issues with it in the real world. Occasionally when I would put my iPhone in my pocket and walk around I’d have some serious skippage. I’m not really sure exactly how I fixed it, but it would be really bad for a couple minutes and then be fine for an extended period of time. I don’t know, your guess is as good as mine.
Sound Quality
For what these headphones are, the sound quality they pump out is impressive. They have great warm bass and a nice clear sound, which I enjoy. I listen to a lot of rock, pop-rock, pop, and alternative music and every song on my workout playlist sounded great. Often times with in-ear headphones audio just seems to be lacking — not with these.
The headphones can also allow you to take phone calls, I haven’t tried that feature yet, but from what I’ve read and heard, the mic is very impressive considering how small and compact the X2’s are.
Battery Life
The Jaybird X2’s do not fall short when it comes to battery life. They advertise 8 hours and that’s what I have been getting. I’m impressed.
Final Thoughts
The Jaybird X2 headphones retail for $179 and are worth the money, especially if you are looking for a solid pair of exercise headphones. By the way, I have my X2’s paired with my iPhone and Apple Watch but if you have more devices you would want to pair them with fear not as the X2’s support pairing with up to eight (8) devices.