I spend quite a bit of time on the commuter rail and walking back and forth between the office and the train station. I am also getting back into a workout routine involving a decent amount of time in the gym. I like my 8 year-old Westone IEMs, but dealing with the cord can be a huge hassle. I wanted something really light weight with good sound quality and no cord. On recommendation of a commuting co-worker and lots of good reviews online, I decided to grab a pair of JayBird BlueBuds X Sport headphones from Amazon. They arrived today and so far I am very happy with them.
These guys definitely know how to create a positive first impression with packaging. The box is no nice I hate to throw it out. The manual is excellent. I have rarely seen such an easy to follow and comprehensive product manual. Others could learn from this. The package included a variety of sizes for both the tip and the ear pad. The pad fits outside the ear and is designed to keep them seated so that they do not slip out of the ear during activity. The fitting directions are very detailed in terms of how to achieve the best fit for the best sound. I followed the directions, found the right configuration and started listening to music.
The sound quality is at least on par with my Weston UM-1 IEMs and I think a bit better. Bass response is solid, but not fat, sloppy or boomy. The overall sound is quite balanced. I do not foresee issues with listener fatigue with these at all. They seem to be fairly comfortable, which is key. I also called my best friend and had a long conversation using the headphones. Performance was good on both ends, but it was a bit odd carrying on a conversation with both ears plugged. The controls are nice, reasonably intuitive and well placed. Build quality appears to be quite solid. They are also water resistant and are designed with sweat in mind.
At $125, I definitely feel like I got my money's worth. I will report back if my opinion changes, but so far I think JayBird makes an excellent product.
These guys definitely know how to create a positive first impression with packaging. The box is no nice I hate to throw it out. The manual is excellent. I have rarely seen such an easy to follow and comprehensive product manual. Others could learn from this. The package included a variety of sizes for both the tip and the ear pad. The pad fits outside the ear and is designed to keep them seated so that they do not slip out of the ear during activity. The fitting directions are very detailed in terms of how to achieve the best fit for the best sound. I followed the directions, found the right configuration and started listening to music.
The sound quality is at least on par with my Weston UM-1 IEMs and I think a bit better. Bass response is solid, but not fat, sloppy or boomy. The overall sound is quite balanced. I do not foresee issues with listener fatigue with these at all. They seem to be fairly comfortable, which is key. I also called my best friend and had a long conversation using the headphones. Performance was good on both ends, but it was a bit odd carrying on a conversation with both ears plugged. The controls are nice, reasonably intuitive and well placed. Build quality appears to be quite solid. They are also water resistant and are designed with sweat in mind.
At $125, I definitely feel like I got my money's worth. I will report back if my opinion changes, but so far I think JayBird makes an excellent product.