Gear Review: Jaybird RUN Wireless Headphones

There seems to be a hype about truly wireless headphones recently since Apple started the AirPods. However, there are always questions about how well they fit in the ears and how stylish they look. As a fairly sporty person, I will definitely want a pair of headphones which will not drop off easily while I enjoy my music and the sport at the same time.

I came across the Jaybird X3 Wireless (not totally though) Sports headphones about a year ago and have been using them for my gym runs and workouts. Before I embarked on the wireless headphones, I had doubts about the sound quality through Bluetooth connection as compared to wired earphones. Other concerns include the durability of the material due to my active (sweaty) lifestyle and the comfort of the headphones during vigorous workout routines.

The sound quality is great especially when I use the foam ear tips (as pictured above) and I was able to customise how I would like my music to sound through the Jaybird mobile app’s equaliser setting.

The build of the headphones are also pleasantly durable and easy to maintain as I do not see any signs of wear and tear (except the foam ear tips losing their spongy feel) after frequent use in sweaty conditions. The headphones are also pretty comfortable at the ears (when you have fitted them with the right sizes of ear fins and tips). The only imperfection was the restrictions I felt when moving my head as the cord runs behind my neck even after I tucked it nicely using the cord-shortening accessory which came with the headphones.

Now that I own a pair of Jaybird RUN headphones, I am excited to hop on the truly wireless headphones trend.

Design & Comfort

I love the headphones from the moment I got them out of the box. The design looks stylish and elegant which I would use them for my daily commute. Similar to the X3, the Jaybird RUN headphones come with various sizes of the ear fins and tips which I can match to my comfort. Lucky for me, the headphones suited me like a charm right out of the box. They also feel very light on my ears.

Sound Quality & Features

As I was used to the sound setting on my X3, the Jaybird RUN’s sounded flat when I first put them on. I then found out that “flat” was the default sound setting. I would then switch on the Jaybird mobile app and put my favourite settings on with a few clicks. However, I feel that the sound quality could not match up to the X3 even with similar settings. I reckon that it may be due to the ear tips being less noise-cancelling (silicone vs foam) and perhaps the cable between the 2 buds of the X3 helps to improve sound transmission. Nonetheless, the sound quality is still acceptable to me as I use them for my daily commute and sports activities more than for any theatrical enjoyment.

There are 3 great features which I like about these truly wireless headphones. One of them is the ultra-portable fast charging case. They are small and easy to bring around, acts as both storage and on-the-go charger for the headphones. The 2nd feature which I find useful is to be able to listen to music or answer phone calls by just switching and putting on one side of the earbuds. This adds some flexibility to my usage for different situations. The third feature will be the “Find My Buds” function accessible via the mobile app. It works like “Find my iPhone” feature so that I will not misplace my earbuds that easily.

Performance

For performance, I also see it from 2 aspects. Firstly, battery life is relatively short at 4 hours of continuous playback. For sports people who are going to engage in long-duration endurance sports like marathons or ultra-marathons, they will have a problem having music for the full duration and the mobile charging case will not be helpful in this case. On the other hand, the Jaybird RUN headphones serve its purpose very well in providing me full range of motions during my workouts while fitting snugly in my ears.

To put the truly wireless headphones to a test (compiled a short video below), I carried out my routine set of High-Intensity Interval Workout and I must say it was very enjoyable to have music to company me when I needed the extra push, and without having the slightest discomfort of a wire dragging behind my neck or feeling of the buds jumping or dropping off.

Conclusion

Sound quality is not fantastic but is acceptable for daily commuting and exercise and the battery life may not be feasible for long-duration sports. Nonetheless, I like it very much for its design, comfort and lightweight. The Jaybird RUN also lives up to its name as the “True Wireless Sports Headphones”.

If you would like to consider different models, read our article “5 Key Features to Consider While Choosing Headphones for Exercising“.

* Disclaimer: This review represents the genuine, unbiased views of the author. The author was provided with a free unit. Jaybird’s products have been and might currently be advertised on JustRunLah! via different channels, however, these relationships do not influence the editorial content of reviews.