Jaybird X2 Review

Intro

With its improved design, the Jaybird X2 are among the finest athletic earphones in their price range.

In 2012, Jaybird released the BlueBuds X, which is currently one of its most popular products. Unlike many of its competitors, the BlueBuds X has stood the test of time, even though the wireless headphone market has changed dramatically since its release. The reason for the popularity is the BlueBuds’ quality, but the lifetime guarantee against perspiration also plays a role.

Even though many Jaybird models are sweat resistant, several users felt that the fragile nature was enough to make their headphones useless. Thus, together with improvements in audio quality, it was time to introduce something that built on the success of previous models.

Enter the Jaybird X2 series.

Although the X2 earbuds are readily recognized, they have undergone a major overhaul and may even be mistaken for BlueBuds.

Design and Build of the Jaybird X2

Compared to the BlueBuds X, the Jaybird X2 headphones are a major improvement. All the features you'd expect to find in a pair of wireless in-ear headphones at this price point are included. The X2 has Jaybird's trademark flair and skilfully incorporated features that make it unique.

Reviewing a sample of Jaybird's "Alpha" colorway, which is distinguished by its unusual combination of olive green and neon orange, I found the sweatproof earpieces to be somewhat larger than the earpieces of one of its rivals, the Optoma NuForce BE6, which are the X2's main opponents.

Upgrades from Apple EarPods will be notably noticeable due to the larger size. Still, Jaybird makes up for it with more comfort and adaptability than most earbud users are accustomed to. The X2 should be able to suit most people's ears, no matter how distinctive they may be, with just a little tweaking.

See also the One Plus Buds Pro

In this variant, the matte-textured plastic earpiece enclosures come in black and olive green. The X2's driver housing units are rounded at the top, much like the BlueBuds X before. The accompanying ear fins may be essential to prevent the X2 from wriggling out of your ears.

The X2 doesn't make it obvious whether the earpiece goes in your left or right ear. I'd say this is a design issue, but it's clear to see that the points of the earpieces are slightly tilted.

There are some notable characteristics on both sides of the headphones, like the micro-USB connector buried behind the brand-embossed cap and the inline control on the wire.

All your media and phone call controls can be done without ever touching your phone again with the remote on the X2. By holding down the volume rocker for a second, you can skip or reverse tracks and change the level.

Using the center button, users can play or stop the music and answer or reject a phone call. Additionally, use this button to turn on or off the X2. Furthermore, to run the command, hold the button for three seconds and release it.

X2 has a premium silicone casing that matches the X2's color scheme. Squeezing it reveals the flat micro-USB cord, three pairs of ear fins, and an astounding six sets of ear tips that come with it. Improved over the BlueBuds X are the Comply foam tips, which provide better noise isolation. Finally, a few cables management clamps keep the slack in the surplus cable under control. '

Sound Performance and Quality of the Jaybird X2

Many popular Headphones are not known for their sound quality, so it is reasonable to have high sound quality expectations for the Jaybird X2 – and they did impress me.

The Jaybird X2 impressed me with its sound quality during testing sessions. The audio codec used by Jaybird, dubbed Shift, is a modified version of the standard Bluetooth SBC audio codec. However, there is no aptX support.

Because that's how most modern earbuds are set up, I was prepared for a bass-heavy sound when I first put them on. That wasn't the case, strangely enough. The Jaybird X2 features a reasonably well-balanced sound focused on clarity rather than pounding out bass. ' The bass is low and tight, two characteristics you don't often anticipate from Bluetooth headphones. Classical music and instrumentals take precedence over EDM on these devices, and you're more likely to hear them than EDM or dubstep.

Read our review of the TCL MOVEAUDIO S600

That's not how these earbuds work. It would be reasonable to expect that the sound would be customized to music that people often listen to when working out, which is frequently rapid, bass-heavy tunes. Jaybird's X2 doesn't lack bass, but it's hardly the sort that will get you excited. For workout earbuds, it's odd that the sound is supposed to be more neutral and balanced. That's why, if you want a bass-heavy sound, you should utilize your phone's equalization and turn it to its maximum setting.

The earbuds seemed more at home in my house because of the exceptional music quality. At home, you're more likely to need a set of headphones that are more comfortable or sound better than a pair of fitness or Bluetooth headphones. The Jaybird X2's excellent sound quality and small size convinced me to use it more at home to listen to music or watch a movie on a tablet.

Despite the absence of active noise canceling, the Jaybird X2 will block a sufficient quantity of background noise such that listening to music isn't a problem when commuting.

Because the cable has some microphonics you can hear every time it scrapes against your skin (unfortunately), the Jaybird X2 may be a pain in the neck. Unfortunately, this only occurs while no music is playing; as you start listening to the audio, the problem goes away.

The Jaybird X2 has good call quality - despite the microphone positioned far from my ear, those I called had no difficulty hearing me.

To see how well the Jaybird X2 worked with other gadgets, I tested it with a few devices on the two most popular operating systems (iOS and Android). I found that it works best with iOS devices. If you're using an iOS smartphone, you'll be able to modify your phone's volume using buttons on your earbuds and vice versa.

To alter the earphone volume on Android, you first have to max out the level on your phone and then adjust it on the earphones, and if you change it on the phone, you won't sync it with the volume on your headphones, as on iOS. You can also monitor the earbuds' battery status in the iOS notification area. Unfortunately, the transition isn't seamless; it goes from 100% to 60% to 10% in a single step.

Check out the HyperX Cloud Buds

When using the Jaybird X2 with Android smartphones, I also experienced some slowness when watching movies on the device. There was a noticeable delay between the sound and video on any of the devices I tested. This made some movies less fun to watch.

On the other hand, there was no noticeable delay on iOS devices. However, the Jaybird X2 is not the only device with this problem. Users have reported the same issues with some Bluetooth audio headsets on android operating systems.

Bluetooth Connectivity of the Jaybird X2

A fresh version of Bluetooth codec does nothing to enhance the sound quality of Jaybird X2 headphones. As with the BlueBuds X, the X2 has a standard Bluetooth audio, a custom version of SBC codec along with the SignalPlus. When listening to music, the X2s didn't cause any skipping.

The BlueBuds X still include Jenna's voice prompts to help with matching and other decisions, so she's still available. The only issue I have is that they might be annoying at times. However, even if it wasn't harmful to my hearing, a little reduction in loudness would be welcomed.

The mic/remote comes with three buttons. Changing the volume is as simple as holding down the dedicated +/- buttons for a second. Pressing the middle button for one second allows you either receive or end call conversations, turn the X2s on or off or pause and resume music tracks. When you press and hold the power button for about 4 seconds, you which the earbuds off.

Our test results of the battery life of Jaybird X2

An 8-hour battery life was promoted for the original BlueBuds X, albeit this was seldom reached. Despite this, the X2s has an impressive battery life of 8 hours. Even though Jaybird calls its Battery HD, this device has exceptional battery life for its relatively tiny size.

We anticipated a charging time to be approximately 2.5 hours when using the included micro-USB cable. However, this will be determined by the power source you choose. Despite its excellent concealment, the Micro-USB port flap is easily accessible on the remote.

Our Verdict of the Jaybird X2

As seen by Jenna's voice prompts and the plethora of training tutorials Jaybird provides for first timers, the business has spent a great deal of effort into making the X2 headphones, but also the experience of using them. This is reflected in the sound characteristic, which is well-suited to a wide range of media rather than just a few well-known ones.

The Jaybird BlueBuds X was a well-executed product, but it didn't strike a chord with me. The Jaybird X2 did manage to win me over, despite their similarity. Thus, the X2s not only outperform their direct predecessor in every manner. But there are also better models out there to consider.