I spent about a month running and commuting with the Jaybird Run earbuds, below is my comprehensive review.
Price
$179.99
Type
Ear buds
Weight
Left 0.273 ounces; Right 0.275
Sound Isolation
4 out of 5
I’ve noticed that when I wear them in a loud environment, the sound doesn’t get interrupted.
Battery Life
Overall battery life is just okay, with four-hour play time, but if you pop them back into the case, you get another two full charges out of them (so eight more hours). And a quick five-minute charge will yield an hour of music, so that’s pretty cool.
Phone calls
No issues at all
The Good
I like that that are truly wireless and they fit snug in my ears right out of the box, but come with additional ear pieces and wings in case you need them. Jaybird has an app with EQ options which is pretty cool, and you can change what the buttons on each ear piece, but sadly, I don’t like either combination they offer, I actually like one from each of the two options and they don’t let you customize them. Not a deal breaker, but a small annoyance.
I was surprised at how well they stayed in my ear while running considering the weight, that’s a testament to the engineers and designers, but I did notice that when I wear them under my hat, they were a little uncomfortable.
The Bad
I found that the buds worked best when they were line of sight with my phone. Which is a problem because I store my phone in a SPI belt when I run. So, there was this kind of phasing issue where one bud would stop and they would switch off as if I was back in the 70s listening to Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love. Oh, don’t know what I’m talking about? Go listen to it on a head set, I’ll wait. . . . . See what I mean? To fix this, I have to stop the music, pull my phone out and let the connection get strong before putting the phone away.
I also found that sometimes one of the buds wouldn’t turn on when I popped it in my ear. The easy way to rectify, as far as I can tell, is to put it back in the case and then put it back in your ear. Not the end of the world, but annoying to have to do.
Conclusion
Overall, I like these earbuds and while I think they become a little uncomfortable in my ears after a few hours, I can see them becoming part of my regular rotation.
