Bottom Line
The Jaybird X2 earbuds are very durable and they give you plenty of value for the money. Overall, it is a safe purchase and we can certainly recommend them.
Thinking of buying the Jaybird X2 headphones?
Having your favorite jam playing in the background is a great way to raise morale and get that extra set in the gym or that extra lap when you’re out jogging. The beneficial influence of music on your performance while exercising isn’t just bro-science; it’s been repeatedly proven.
However, it’s often not as easy as it sounds if you have to use headphones, and most of us do. Wired headphones are a real pain to use in the gym and, at the very least, suboptimal for running. You also need headphones that won’t budge once you fit them in your ears.
Even wireless solutions aren’t always perfect because the signal in some cheaper models can be downright horrible when there’s lots of movement.
Luckily, we’ve found the perfect headphones that aren’t weighed down by any of this stuff.
Enter Jaybird X2:
| Name | Jaybird X2 |
| Type | In-ear headphones |
| Connection | Wireless |
| Dimensions | 7.3 x 2 x 4.8 inches (18.5 x 5 x 12.2 cm) |
| Weight | 0.66 pounds (0.3 kg) |
| Driver size | 6 mm |
| Wireless technology | Bluetooth 2.1 |
Table of ContentsShow
Design Philosophy
The Jaybird X2 is a revision of the wildly popular Jaybird Bluebuds X, a pair of wireless in-ear sports headphones that blew away the competition when they were first released in 2012. Cut to three years later, and the folk at Jaybird decided it was time for an upgrade.
Seeing as they already had a winner in the original Bluebuds X, the company decided to follow an ‘if it ain’t broke’ design philosophy, keeping everything that worked while making improvements where there was room for them. Most of the changes were contained to the headphones’ insides, swapping in old technologies for new ones that had surfaced in the three years between the launches of these two products.
Side by side, however, the Bluebuds X and the X2 look very similar, although it’s not as if there weren’t any visual updates. For starters, the X2 headphones come in an assortment of five colors as opposed to the original’s binary selection, and the glossy finish was replaced with a matte one. These new color combinations are distinguishingly sporty without being too attention-grabbing.
The additional equipment that comes with the newer version is also better.
The new carrying case got a much-needed revamp, as the old one had a clamping mechanism that was difficult to handle. But what’s even more important is that, in addition to the three pairs of ear fins, you now get three pairs of both silicones and Comply foam tips, one of each in small, medium, and large sizes.
A Tight Fit
As we’ve already mentioned, these are sports headphones. With in-ear headphones, a snug fit is always important to allow for the best noise isolation and overall sound. In sports headphones, this aspect is emphasized even further, given that the headphones need to remain firmly fixed despite all the jerking, shaking, and jumping going on around them.
Jaybird packed these headphones with size-customizable ear fins and ear tips for a reason. Thanks to this, most customers will be able to find the right fit for themselves, although the process of trial-and-error to get there can be tiresome. Once firmly on, not even an earthquake could rattle these headphones out of your ears.
There is a slight chance that you won’t find a fit that’s perfect for you, no matter the tip and fin combination, but this rarely happens.
Durability
Durability is paramount when it comes to sports headphones, and the X2 doesn’t disappoint. Not only is the exterior sturdy enough to manage being dropped from time to time, but the headphones are also water-resistant to boot. Couple this with the lifetime warranty against sweat, and you’ve got yourself a pair of headphones that will last you multiple years.
Additionally, the battery life on this thing is amazing. Eight hours may not be anything impressive when it comes to on-ear and over-ear wireless headphones, but given that these are in-ear headphones where the battery has to fit in the tiny plastic in the right earbud, this is nothing short of incredible.
What’s more, it takes only two to three hours to charge through the micro USB charging port that’s packed neatly into the right earbud. This will, however, vary depending on what you plug the other end of the cable into since it doesn’t come with its own power supply.
The Cable
The cable is the last thing we want to get out of the way before we move on to sound quality. Obviously, these are wireless headphones, so we aren’t talking about a 3.5 mm jack cable or even the micro USB charging cable. What we mean is the cable that’s connecting the right earbud with the left.
For some inexplicable reason, it’s 540 millimeters long. This isn’t unreasonable, but at over half a meter, or almost two feet if you will, there’s bound to be an excessive amount of cable dangling around. Truth be told, you do get a couple of cable clips that you can use to stack the excess cable, but it’s far from an elegant solution. At least it’s tangle-resistant.
The cable also sports a neat in-line controller near the right earbud that has a microphone and three buttons for taking, ending, and rejecting calls, controlling volume, switching between songs, and, of course, turning the headphones on and off.
Sound Quality
If you’ve owned a Bluebud X, then you know what to expect regarding sound quality. Little if anything was changed here, but this is a good thing. The signature sound manages to stay clear throughout without being flat.
The bass is slightly accentuated but not overemphasized. Unless you love feeling your music beat in your chest, this shouldn’t be a problem. It also helps keep the mids afloat, so it was definitely the right choice.
What usually happens is that the mids get drowned out, but this isn’t something you have to worry about with the X2, as there is an even spread across frequencies. On top of that, the highs are great. There is some roll-off, of course, these are, after all, in-ear headphones, but it’s kept within reasonable limits, which can’t be said for many in-ear headphones.
The signal is also fantastic, easily connecting at 30 feet. As long as your phone is in your pocket or stationed nearby, you shouldn’t have any problems with interference, even when jumping around in the gym.
With all of these in mind, we can confidently give the sound at least a 9 out of 10, but that’s only if you manage to find the right fit. Otherwise, the bass will surely lose what oomph it has, and everything else will be useless.
Value
What makes the Jaybird X2 the best wireless sports headphones isn’t the sound quality, although it’s definitely present. It’s not the incredible battery life and durability either, although they don’t hurt. Nor is it the length to which the folk at Jaybird went to ensure that these headphones will snugly fit as many ears as possible.
The Jaybird X2 had all of these things even back when it launched at $200. They were expensive sports headphones, although the price was justified initially. But the fact that you can buy them now for almost half that price really does make them the best and most cost-efficient wireless headphones for exercising.
