A few weeks ago my good old Jaybirds x4 stopped working. I contacted Jaybird via Twitter to ask for support, if there was anything I could do to fix them. Unfortunately, after having them for more than two years, there was nothing they or I could do. The warranty was already void, but they did offer me a 25% discount if I would stay with them and buy another Jaybird product which I did.
After researching all the options, I decided to go with the Jaybird Vista 2. With the discount, the price wasn’t too bad, and it added up to approximately 150 Euros with delivery! I was skeptical at the beginning, and wondered if the earbuds would actually fit well and not constantly fall out.
A few days later the Jaybird Vista 2 earbuds arrived. I was thrilled to say the least. I opened the packaging immediately and connected the case and earbuds to my PC, so they could be charged. Within a few hours they were fully charged and I tried them on.
The Fit – Will the Jaybird Vista 2 fall out?
Seeing the earbuds for the first time is pretty exciting. I had no idea if they would fit properly and if I would like them. I am pleased to say they do fit pretty well, this was a relief. They kinda “lay” into the bottom of your ear, and plug into the inside of your ear with the earplug. Therefore the fit is pretty snug and they haven’t fallen out yet. I feared that after a while my ears might get sore, which happened before with other earplugs. So far, I can say this has not happened and I have used them extensively.
The Bluetooth Connection:
The Bluetooth Version is 5.0 and the Frequency Band is 2.4 GHz. In short, the connection is pretty good. I use a Pixel 2 XL and so far I have had very few issues. The ones I had were minor and the sound would drop from one of the earplugs for a second or two. Lately, I had the connection drop and reconnect immediately. This seems to be more common.
Sound – How good is it?
The sound quality in general is very good. You have several different options to adjust these via the Jaybird app. I will not go into details here but there should be enough sound options to choose from. A passive & active noise reduction option is provided via the app. You can definitely hear a difference, when passive or active noise reduction is switched on. The passive noise reduction is supposed to be used when you are out and about, allowing surrounding noises to enter the earplugs to keep you aware and thereby safe. If you are in the gym, you can switch on the active noise reduction, keeping the surrounding noises out. This does work well, but is certainly not the best active noise reduction I have experienced. You still can hear what is going around you, albeit less loud.
Battery life – How long will they last?
According to Jaybird the battery life for the Jaybird Vista 2, on a full charge, is around 8 hours. My experience showed me that it is less than that and I would say max 5 and a half hours. I usually go to the gym for 1 hour and 30 mins and then I have around 75%-70% of battery left – after a full charge! Go figure!
The Case – pros and con
The Vista 2’s come with a charging case. As the name says it is a case, in which they can be carried and which doubles as a charger. In itself the case is pretty awesome! It is well built, sturdy, dust and water resistant and even has wireless charging – for those who need it. Normally you can charge the earplugs via USB C.
The one thing that hasn’t really been thought through is the fact that, once you place the earbuds in the case, they charge automatically. There is no way to turn the charging off! As a result I keep them out of the case, and only insert them once I want them to charge. I do not want to charge them all the time, especially when I just used them for half an hour or so. I hope that in the near future there might be a solution available to fix this issue.
Switching the Jaybird Vista 2 off
Usually, when you place the earbuds into the case they switch off and once you take them out they switch on. This seems to be working pretty well too. But I’d rather switch them off and on differently! As mentioned before, I do not want to charge them all the time. In order to do so you need to adjust the options within the Jaybird app. Here you need to replace one of the many options, such as “next or previous song” with the “on and off” option. This took me a while to figure out and frustrated me greatly. This should have been made clearer by Jaybird from the start!
The Build Quality of the earbuds
I’ve dropped the Vista 2’s so many times I cannot even remember how often. So far they have not taken any damage and they still seem to be working fine. According to the Jaybird website “these buds feature IP68 & military-spec ratings for protection against dust, water, sweat, and drops”!
My Overall Experience
I have been using the Jaybird Vista 2 for several weeks now and I have to say they are great. They are well built, provide good sound and the battery lasts long enough. I would recommend them and buy them again. They do have their flaws such as a sudden drop of the bluetooth connection every now and then, but I am sure a software update will fix this issue. Another flaw is their battery life, which lasts “only” about 5 hours. For me that is enough though. I can charge them easily when I am not in the gym or walking around town.
The price is steep but you get what you pay for.
Update: When you charge your Jaybirds via the case, it will only charge the earplugs! In order, to use the case to charge your Jaybirds, you need to charge it separately.
Pros
- Sturdy and well built
- They look good
- Provide good sound
Cons
- Battery life is less that stated
- Bluetooth connectivity issues
