The Freedom To Run Makes Jaybird the Top of the Class

I’ve always been one that needs a good running soundtrack or at least a great conversation in my ears while I’m pounding the pavements of Sydney.

Up until this year that has involved two dangly cords plugged into my iPhone or the old Bluetooth way with the thick heavy cord sitting behind your neck flapping in the wind.

I recently had the pleasure to try out the new Jaybird RUN wireless headphones and the first thing I noticed, or in fact, didn’t notice was how they felt like they weren’t even in my ears.

Even with the previous version of the Jaybirds, the little bud that fits into your ear would always not quite fit and in fact after trying the latest version I realise it wasn’t giving me a true sound either as these new Jaybird RUN headphones sound outstanding.

The earpieces just fit into the outer cavity of the ear. There’s a tiny wing hook but the design is such that they don’t even need a push into the ear, they just sit there. Now I tried my hardest to shake my head, run fast, suddenly stop, to try and make them fall out. They just stayed there.

These new pieces of tech were designed from insights gained from top runners around the world, making them run-specific comfort-fit, sweat proofing, water resistance and skip-free customisable sound earphones.

All this performance is packed in a beautifully designed, wire-free, lightweight and compact form factor that provides 12 hours of portable battery life with the included charging case.

Speaking at the Australian launch back in September Jaybird Athlete and Partnership Manager Jeff Taylor said the Jaybird RUN was inspired by athletes and tested and built with the runner in mind who listens to music or podcasts and wants to feel as free as possible.

“Being runners ourselves, we understand how bulky headphones can get in the way. The Jaybird RUN compact form factor fits securely and delivers music without a single wire. We’ve perfected the Jaybird RUN experience, so you’ll forget you’re wearing them, and we’re excited to share them with runners everywhere.”

Jaybird RUN features the latest in true wireless Bluetooth® technology, offering big, rich sound with drop-free connectivity in a stylish, low-profile design.

Its double hydrophobic nanocoating protects your headphones from sweat and water damage. One intuitive control-button takes calls, starts and stops music, skips tracks and activates Siri or Google Assistant.

Now as good as the sound and the fit is there are a couple of downsides here that are really annoying.

Firstly there is no volume control and one of my biggest bugbears of podcasts, in particular, is they vary greatly in terms of their loudness. You can be running along a busy highway and can hear one podcast and then the next is so soft you have to up the volume to hear it over the traffic.

With other headphones you can do that easily by just pressing on your earpiece for the volume, the Jaybird RUN pieces are missing the function so you then have to start fossicking in your pocket or your arm to get the volume up.

The second major issue is the one earphone calls. For some reason, all phone calls only come in on the right earpiece so you go from stereo quality podcasts and music to mono one ear phone calls and again no volume controls on the piece.

Other than those issues these are really beautifully designed headphones, so light to wear and definitely changing the way I hear the music.

Jaybird RUN headphones come in two colours: Drift (white with silver metal accents) and Jet (black with silver metal accents). Both deliver four hours of music on a single charge, and the pocket-sized charging case provides an additional eight hours, for a total of 12 hours of portable
battery life.

A quick, five-minute charge gives you one hour of play time, so you never have to hit the trail or pavement without your music.

This product was provided to the author for review.

Availability
Jaybird RUN True Wireless Sport Headphones are now available in Australian stores for $249 RRP.

For more information, please visit www.jaybirdsport.com

Last Updated on Oct 16, 2017