Jaybird Vista 2 review: One size doesn’t fit all

Apart from match and luxury points, we discovered the unique Jaybird Vista made for an excellent pair of exercise earbuds. With the Vista 2, Jaybird has added a bevy of latest options, most notably energetic noise-cancelling (ANC) and SurroundSense to regulate environmental noise.

Let’s see if the Jaybird Vista 2 can take the crown within the health earbud market. Do the function upgrades stay as much as their lofty price ticket, or will persistent match points result in the clock hanging midnight on Jaybird’s place within the premium health earbud market?

Who should purchase the Jaybird Vista 2?

• Athletes ought to take into account the Jaybird Vista 2 for his or her subsequent exercise earbuds. Whether or not you run, carry, or bike, you’ll admire the safe and waterproof design.
• Techies will admire the power to customise every little thing from EQ, to the touch controls, to ambient sound settings.

Jaybird hasn’t strayed removed from the design of the unique Vista buds, with each the earbuds and case retaining the identical common dimension and form. When you have small ears, the rounded, blocky construct of the earbuds might trigger some discomfort.

Three completely different kinds of ear tip attachments are included with the earbuds, with various lengths of wing suggestions. Solely the wings range in dimension, whereas the precise ear suggestions are the identical dimension on all three. Until you could have the precise proper dimension ear canal, this implies chances are you’ll not expertise a cushty match or tight seal. To make issues worse, since Jaybird is utilizing proprietary ear tip sleeves, it’s nearly not possible to search out third-party ear suggestions.

Every earbud contains a clickable button on the Jaybird brand to regulate playback and listening modes. It takes a good bit of power to click on the button, which inadvertently jams the earbud deep into your ear canal, inflicting some ache and discomfort. You may customise the onboard controls by way of the Jaybird app, though there’s a little bit of a studying curve to the completely different management mixtures. The earbuds differentiate between a “press” (click on of the button) and a “faucet” (gentle faucet on the Jaybird brand with out truly urgent the button), and it’s simple to set off one as a substitute of the opposite by accident.

The earbuds have in-ear detection to robotically pause your music whenever you take an earbud out and resume whenever you place it again in your ear.

Take a look at: The perfect true wi-fi earbuds

Like the unique Vista, the Vista 2 make for nice exercise companions. Jaybird has positioned itself as a default earbud possibility for athletes, and the Vista 2 fall proper in line. IP68 and MIL-STD-810G scores imply the earbuds will stand up to mud and deal with full submersion in water. The charging case can be IP54 rated and may resist gentle splashes of water. The light-weight design and the wing suggestions maintain the earbuds safe in your ear, even throughout probably the most intense of exercises.

Jaybird makes among the finest earbud companion apps available on the market (iOS and Android). Not solely can you employ it to put in the newest firmware updates and verify earbud battery life, nevertheless it additionally has a plethora of customization choices and added capabilities.

You may create a private EQ setting by taking a brief listening to check that performs completely different check tone frequencies. This received’t lead to probably the most correct sound, however it may be a enjoyable experiment. For those who’re extra severe about your audio, you’ll be able to select from a whole bunch of different Jaybird customers’ EQ presets, or make your individual.

It’s also possible to regulate energetic noise-cancelling settings throughout the app or use the discover my buds function to trace down the final location you had been related to the earbuds or charging case. Discover my buds will also be used to play a loud tone out of the earbuds, supreme for whenever you’re looking for your earbuds between sofa cushions.

In comparison with different premium true wi-fi earbuds, noise-cancelling on the Jaybird Vista 2 is lower than stellar. The passive isolation efficiency is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Loads of background noise is blocked out if you will get a very good match with the one-size-fits-all ear suggestions. Nevertheless, any extra noise discount from ANC is minimal to the purpose of being barely noticeable as you toggle from on to off.

Subsequent to a loud air-con unit or on noisy transit, there may be some discount in low-mid frequencies by turning on energetic noise-cancelling. ANC efficiency like this attenuates particular frequencies, although you’ll solely discover this in significantly noisy environments whenever you aren’t taking part in music. With music taking part in, it’s almost not possible to discern whether or not ANC is on or off.

See as a substitute: The perfect noise-cancelling true wi-fi earbuds

The Jaybird Vista 2 may amplify ambient noise utilizing a function the corporate calls SurroundSense. SurroundSense primarily amplifies excessive frequencies and creates a refined “hiss,” particularly you probably have it turned all the best way up within the app settings. This function is nice for runners and bikers who want to pay attention to their environment.

Outside adventurers will admire the adjustable wind filtering. With the onboard microphones, the earbuds can scale back annoying wind noises, and you’ll regulate the power of this function from throughout the Jaybird app.

The Jaybird Vista 2 function Bluetooth 5.0 with SBC and AAC Bluetooth codec assist. Apple system customers can make the most of high-quality audio streaming and a dependable connection over AAC. Then again, AAC is commonly unreliable on Android handsets, so Android customers might need to power SBC playback as a substitute. The earbuds don’t assist different high-end Bluetooth codecs akin to aptX or LDAC.

Learn extra: Understanding Bluetooth codecs

On the plus facet for Android customers, Google Quick Pair assist allows near-instant pairing to an Android system. In the meantime, Apple customers should press the pairing button on the charging case and discover the earbuds of their Bluetooth settings to attach for the primary time.

Out of the field, the Jaybird Vista 2 have a consumer-friendly sound that most individuals will take pleasure in. With a barely accentuated low and high-frequency response, the earbuds intently comply with SoundGuys’ in-house curve. It’s additionally just about the identical sound because the first-gen Jaybird Vista.

The earbuds attenuate mid frequencies, lowering the loudness of vocals and devices akin to pianos and guitars. InSave Your Tears by The Weeknd and Ariana Grande, the singers’ voices are much less current than how they might come throughout on studio headphones. You may discover that vocal element is lacking out of your favourite tracks that you simply’ve heard one million occasions over; that’s simply the bass notes minorly masking the quieter midrange notes.

Jaybird states that the earbuds last as long as eight hours on a single cost. In SoundGuys’ testing of fixed 75dB (SPL) playback with energetic noise-cancelling turned on, the earbuds solely lasted 5 hours, 20 minutes. Mileage might range relying on how loud you pay attention, whether or not you could have ANC or SurroundSense enabled, and the power of your Bluetooth connection.

The case offers an additional two prices to the earbuds. Quick charging will get you 60 minutes of playback from solely 5 minutes of charging, whereas a full earbud recharge can take as much as 120 minutes. The included USB-C cable powers up the charging case, or you’ll be able to cost it wirelessly on any Qi charging pad.

How good is the microphone on the Jaybird Vista 2?

The earbuds function two microphones to select up your voice. These microphones lie beneath a layer of what Jaybird calls its “WindDefense material” which cuts out undesirable gusts of air, one other function that out of doors fans will admire. Nevertheless, the microphones nonetheless battle to separate the voice from background components, making calls tough in noisy environments. Hearken to the demo under and tell us what you assume:

At a beginning worth of $199, Jaybird is asking a reasonably penny for the Vista 2. That worth places it in direct competitors with one of the best true wi-fi earbuds available on the market. Nevertheless, we’ve seen these earbuds go for as little as $129.99 — a a lot simpler worth to abdomen.

Whereas the marketplace for the Vista 2 isn’t as giant because it is likely to be for extra reasonably priced exercise earbuds, Jaybird confidently targets a distinct segment of exercise fans who want safe earbuds that may survive no matter life throws at them, in or out of the fitness center. With the waterproofing, wing suggestions, ANC, and SurroundSense, Jaybird meets most athletes’ wants.

Since just one precise ear tip dimension is included with the Vista 2, your expertise with the earbuds will possible come down as to if or not you will get a correct and comfy match. Fortunately, Jaybird presents a 30-day money-back assure, so you’ll be able to return the Vista 2 in the event that they aren’t for you.

There are tons of true wi-fi earbud choices on the market, and lots of particularly goal athletes, so we suggest testing among the alternate options under earlier than making your buy resolution.

Whereas the design and sound of the unique Jaybird Vista are much like the second era, there are some notable drawbacks. The unique Jaybird Vista ($149) lack ANC and SurroundSense, so that you don’t get any management over environmental noise. An IPX7 score protects the unique Jaybird Vista from water however means the earbuds are uncovered to mud particles. There’s additionally no auto play/pause performance or wi-fi charging.

In case you are searching for good exercise earbuds, you’ll possible be a lot better off with the Vista 2 moderately than selecting up the unique Vista.

The Bose Sport Earbuds ($179) are an excellent possibility, which we discovered to be exceptionally comfy. These earbuds are sturdy and sound nice. For those who’re an outside fanatic that wants to pay attention to your environment, you must also try the Sport Open Earbuds from Bose.

Whereas the Samsung Galaxy Buds Professional ($149.99) aren’t particularly focused on the health crowd, however the IPX7 waterproof score and safe match make it an acceptable fitness center companion. When you have a Samsung Galaxy system you’ll love the seamless integration with these earbuds. Even non-Galaxy system house owners can admire the nice sound, nice ANC, and tons of customization on the Galaxy Wearable app.

The Jabra Elite 7 Lively ($149.99) are one other nice pair of earbuds, and these have an IP57 score. The Elite 7 Lively case lacks any sort of sturdiness score, nevertheless it’s simple to pocket and protects the earbuds nicely sufficient. Jabra’s earbuds enhance the sub-bass only a twinge greater than the Vista 2, however you’ll be able to repair this within the cellular app in the event you’d like.