Customer Reviews

JayBird JB-200i-01 Bluetooth Stereo Headset for iPod (Black)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I have an iPod Nano with video.

My most extensive use of the iPod is working out. I need music at the gym where my routine is a combination of weight training, functional fitness (balance/other work on a stability ball mostly) machine cardio, yoga - music fuels my workouts.

I have nothing against wired headphones, except when I am working out. I have had the headphone cord yanked out of the iPod headphone jack many times, or the wire just gets in the way.

I tried the Jabra. It feels loose, seems too big to allow freedom of movement (my workouts have me standing, prone, supine, angled, twisted and inverted). It does not stop working when I get sweaty as I have heard happens with the Motorola (I look like I came in from the rain mid way through a workout). But the sponge on the ear pads feels icky when they are`wet with sweat. Horribly so. I cut short my workout the first time I tried the Jabra and never wanted to use it again.

I got the jaybird gear with the iPod adapter. It worked exactly as stated in the manual (reading which is an absolute MUST - no winging it like with most headphones because the instructions are really needed to avoid a lot of frustration) to pair with the ipod nano, charge and to wear. They look of durable build quality and are unbelievably light.

I am very satisfied with them after my first long cross training workout to test them out:
a. Getting Sweaty: These headphones are a sweaty person's delight. Sweat did not impact comfort or audio performance in any way.
b. Comfort: They did not fall out through weights, treadmill running, elliptical cardio or yoga. I was not conscious of needing to control my head movement. I pretty much worked out like I had nothing in my ears. No pain like some headphones give you with prolonged wear.
c. Drop outs: None for about 12 feet (and I was 10 to 12 feet away a LOT when I worked out). Split second drop outs beyond that.
d. Controlling the iPod: Very convenient to pause, skip, turn volume up or down without touching the iPod using the tiny controls on the right ear.
e. Sound Quality: Pretty good. Better than the headphones that come with the iPod (or with most mp3 players). Sounds excellent at mid-volume. Sound clarity suffers a bit at almost full to full volume (I set the volume lower on the iPod and used the volume control on the headphones as the manual suggested). For freedom from wires during a workout, I will trade off gladly, the difference in sound with an equivalent priced, wired set of headphones. Since bluetooth compression is inherently supposed to impact sound quality, I am surprised by how good these sound.

Cons:
a. Take longer to wear than most headphones - Or maybe that is just me. I use the angled covers. The headphones are like a cross between bud and in ear. They sit snug at the entrance of your ear canal and have a little "spout" on the ear peice cover that channels the music into your ear. You need to put these in 10 o clock and 2 o clock position right and left sides, and then ease them gently into place. The website has a video tutorial where the founder demonstrates how to wear them, and that is the best place to learn. The manual does a decent job of explaining too, but the video tutorial lets you see exactly how to do it. Not a big deal - versus 3 to 4 seconds with in-ear styles, these take about 20 seconds.
b. The bluetooth adapter draws on power from the iPod so be prepared to see your battery drain a bit faster

I am not givng up my wired Shure anytime soon, but I dont want to use anything else but the jaybird when working out. Other great uses for the jaybird - when cooking to listen to an audio book, when cleaning if other people in the home dont want to hear your music - any activity where you move around and dont want wires getting entangled.

These are good quality headphones even with the steep price. They do have a hard time staying in the ear canal even with simple movements from the neck like turning your head, a result of the wire connection that rests behind the head. My biggest grievance is the signal strength of the headset to the adaptor. Even jaybird states that the best possible distance from the headphones to the receiver should be two feet or less. Great if the ipod is on the arm but if its in the pocket and you're a tall guy (6 feet or more) the signal will cut out massively to non existent. This creates an even greater problem with the Ipod Touch as it will pause your music and shut the ipod down. I don't know how on earth another reviewer was pulling a 12 foot distance without cut outs but I don't buy it. Another major problem is the volume is only adjustable from the headset over the right ear and not from the ipod. Which is ok for working out but when it comes to just wearing them, it makes it a burden and not to mention embarrassing walking and constantly hitting your ear. Not to mention the buttons are incredibly hard to press on the headset. And a minor problem, not really a problem though, more of a annoyance is the dock and the ear phones have to be slid in tight to make contact with the charger pad to get it to charge. Other than that, they're good headphones to work out with but as far as a overall replacement for all headphones, i wouldn't go that route. Definitely fun to exercise with, but if you want great sound and the better bang for the buck, the wires are still the way to go for everyday use.

I've had the pleasure of owning this Jaybird headset for quite a while now, and let me tell you I've looked all over the place for something that would fit my particular needs and I believe this has done it.

The problem with all other bluetooth capable headsets seemed to be the same everywhere I looked.
1. The headset was so bulky to where you couldn't possibly workout in them. You end up looking like Princess Leia sporting a hairdoo from a galaxy far, far away - with the addition of a flasinh blue light.
2. Other headset were not moisture proof at all. And that ones that claimed they were faild within a few weeks. You'll see those in reviews.
3. And, the headsets that were small enogh typically only worked with music and not with phone calls as well.

I could add more to that list but these were the most common reasons.

Somehow in my searching I discovered these Jaybird headsets ([...]). There wasn't a whole lot of news about them at the time, maybe a review hear and there, but I decided that since it met my criteria:
Low profile
Moisture resistant (you can run in the rain folks)
Stereo Streaming
and the ability to answer phone calls, that I would order them.

Let me start by saying I love these things! I immediatley paired them up with my ATT 8525 PDA phone with no problems whatsoever. I streamed music instantly from all of my music playing applications. The sound is great for me, and is plenty loud. Obviously, if you're looking for Bose quality sound you probably won't find that in any wireless headset. At least not now. You're expectations must match the existing technology of the times. For where were are now, these are excellent!

The A2DP controls work just fine (pause, forward, back etc)I use Coreplayer and PocketPlayer as my WM software of choice.

The fit is excellent. At least for my ears. They're not uncomfortable to me in the least. I can put them on and take them off quite easily and efficiently. With all of the running, sweating, and working out that I do they have never gotten in my way nor ever felt like they were gonna fall off. You'd be hard pressed to find that in any other set out on the market. It's fun watching all the other folks having to deal with the wires on their iPods, constantly adjusting them to their movement. Not here, not with these.

Typically I only worry about answering phone calls with the headset while I'm working out. This doesn't happen very often but when it does there's no problem in our two way communication. People her me and I hear them. I don't have a Jabra wiz bang headset so I can't really compare the sound quality between the two. It just works.

Some folks might complain about the buttons being a little stiff but it seems to me that if they were loose that you'd inadvertantly "press" a control by accident (eg. turning it on or off when you didn't intend to)

Some of you might be thinking, surely there has to be a negative to these. Well in all honesty the functionality is great and there really isn't much to complain about. I could nit pick at some things but the issues are so small that I believe they're irrelevant. But to be fair I'll mention them.

1. In a room you can walk up 30ft away from your phone and stream music just fine, but when you walk outdoors the distance is dramatically reduced. This is more of a problem relating to Bluetooth technology than the headset itself. Maybe increasing the power of the receiver or transmitters may help but at what expense, battery life? For me, I wear a armband when I run outside so no problem.

2. Sometimes, as I sweat, the wire that runs around the back of my neck "sticks" to me. Not really sticks as much as it doesn't slide as easily across your skin if it's wet. I really only notice when I turn my head left or right. If the wire is on your hair or clothing or your not dripping sweat this wont be a problem either.

See I told you these weren't big issues.
My recommendation is that you pick these up if your looking for some good quality headsets and freedom of movement is high on your list. Even if it wasn't high on your list why would you want to hassle with wires? You will not be dissapointed in these.

Customer service is top notch as well. I had a question one time and contacted customer support. Not only did I get an answer within 24 hrs but it was answered by the founder of the organization! I couldn't have been more pleased.

I look forward to every improvement and iteration of this product as it develops over time.

Ps
An additional item that I purchased from the Jaybirdgear site was for their Bluetooth Adapter for MP3. I like to watch TV as I go to bed and I'm always concerned that I'm disturbing my wife with the volume. Now, I plug this adapter into my TV and turn off the TV speakers. Now the audio is being sent out via the transmitter directly to my Jaybird headset. I can have it as loud as I want without disturbing anyone. It's great!

I've had a disappointing experience thus far with my headset. I'll start first with the positive that having wireless headphones is quite useful and liberating and for the most I find the Jaybird headset well designed.
But the list of negatives overshadows the possitive in this headset. First, something I didn't realize was that using a blue tooth headset would severely affect the battery of my ipod. I use a nano and i usually get about 10 hours of charge time. Using the Jaybird headset drains my nano battery in about 2 to 3 hours making unsuitable to use on any long flight. Second, the signal between the receiver and headset cuts out often even when they are withing 2-3 of each other. When I'm running sometimes I'll have to hold my ipod in my hand because leaving them in my shorts will cause the signal to fade in and out, which defeats the purpose of having a wireless headset. I was really surprised by this and found it so annoying to have songs cut in and out.
Finally the biggest complaint is that after less than 2 months the soft rubber cracked in-between the ear piece which caused the sound to be inaudible on one side of the headpiece. as this headset is made and marketed to athletes I was baffled by how poorly constructed it was. If I spend 150$ on headphones I expect them to last years not months. Upon contacting customer service at Jaybird I was told that i would be responsible for returning the entire headset including all the original packaging, which I hadn't kept. The weren't helpful or even sympathetic.
Luckily this story has a happy ending, when I contacted Amazon they offered immediately to end me a replacement.
While I probably would have preferred a refund I was so happy by Amazons response and the fact they understand customer service, which Jaybird obviously doesn't. If I have a better experience with my second pair of headphones I'll update this review.

After waiting patiently for the iPhone 3.0 update I paired the Jaybird JB 200-'s up...

Very uncomfortable, and the sound quality is abysmal. Little to no bass, way too much midrange and completely absent treble. No amount of iPhone equalization could compensate for the dead, lifeless sound coming from these headphones. Does having a set of Bluetooth headphones mean you don't want quality sound? I think not.

Could never get the fit right, no matter which ear piece I used or how many times I stood in front of the mirror.

The Jaybirds are a waste of time and money. Returned them and got the Motorola S9-HD. More comfortable and the sound quality is better, especially in the bass department.

Bottom line, not worth it, [great packaging though]
I have he Motorola MOTO S9 for about three years no, and still functioning the same like the day I bought it, but wanted to try something new. I liked the concept of the Jaybird 200i, and with a quick look at the reviews at Amazon, with some people giving it 5/5 and others wish if there is 0/5 stars rating that they can give to it, so I decided to try for myself.
I bought the Jaybird 200im from Costco for $150 since Amazon is listing it for $200, so if you are planning to buy, you may be able to save a good chunk of money of you shop around a bit. I tried the set for one day, and decided to take it back [with all apologies due to Costco].

Here is what I liked:
* Packaging: Great Job jaybird people. Regretfully, packaging does not make any music, or answer the phone
* Weight: really light
* Pairing: Paired really quickly with my HTC Phone
Here is what I did not like about the set:
* Buttons:
o Set have only three buttons. Smart to make a button increase the volume as you press and hold, and change the tracks when press and quickly release, but this TOOK ME A WHILE TO GET USED TO.
o BUTTONS ARE VERY HARD TO PRESS. You heve to press the set against your scalp or ears to raise the volume or change the tracks
* Fit:
o When wearing the set, IT PUSH YOUR EARS FORWARD. Made me look like a dork, I was not proud wearing the set.
o Ear Pieces were so CHEAP BLACK RUBBER, NOT SILICON, and engineered like cylinders with cones. Sorry jaybird people, I am not a robot. These pieces did not fit in my ears, and was very easy for it to fall off. Take my advice: please take a look at other manufacturers in the ears set before you spend your time re-inventing the wheel.
* Music Quality: NO BASS. Do not even try.
* Phone Answering: works, but why still hear the SOUND COMING FROM ONE EAR? Not that I like to listen to my girlfriend on the other end in stereo, but for balancing the sound stress on the ear, this should have been considered, especially if you have sophisticated set like this.
* Charger: I had the worst time trying to charge the set using the cradle. And you have to use the cradle to charge the set. It was so WOBBLY, and would pop right out with the slightest touch. It stressed me out.

I liked the idea of this product when I bought and, at first, it seemed great. But then it began to annoy me and I've used it less and less--the difficulty in getting a good fit, the weird bulky charger that is awkward for travel and that you have to fiddle with to make sure you're even charging the headphones. I mainly used these for longer airplane trips and I'm seriously considering whether they're worth it for that purpose.

There really isn't much to add to the other 1-star reviews here. These things are uncomfortable after no time at all and the sound quality is very poor. I saw someone mentioning that the sound quality was dependant on your device. Well let me assure you that I have very high quality equipment and know how to adjust the settings correctly. The product is simply incapable of much. Why do some people say the sound is acceptable or rave about these? Your guess is as good as mine, but I would say that it is probable their ears aren't so good or they are so excited with the concept that quality is beyond them. Additionally, the charging cradle is poorly designed. The earphones do not lock into place so they move around and sometimes do not make contact with the cradle; annoying.

While I do not fully endorse them, the Motorola S9-HD are a similar concept with far better sound. I think they're even cheaper.

Also, I've tried the Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800. They are definitely the smallest and most portable option out there. I would say that they look the nicest. Unfortunately, the sound still didn't match the S9-HD for me. On top of that, they create an uncomfortable seal in your ear canal where you can hear yourself breathe, swallow, eat, etc.

The Jaybird has poor sound quality - clearly audible white noise. Stereo headset function is okay if high fidelity is not needed. Phone function is just disappointing. People could not understand me. I had to take off the earpiece and yell into the mic and they still had problems.
I returned the item and bought an Oakley ROKR set - difference like day and night. Crystal clear music, crystal clear stereo sound. And no dropouts - works even over several rooms without problems. And phone calls are over both ear pieces not just one.

I've owned this product and used it daily for a couple of months now. It sort of does what I want it to do, which is to allow me to listen to audiobooks and podcasts while walking without a dangling wire. Unfortunately, it has several problems that ultimately disappoint

First off is the fact that it does not fit my ears well at all--I can't get the buds to stay in or over my ear canals. This makes the product useless for listening to music because the sound sucks without the buds jammed and held into my ear canals. The sound attained without holding the buds in is marginally good enough for spoken word, but is wholly inadequate for music. The bulkiness of the units behind both ears gets old too.

The second, more annoying problem is that there are frequent dropouts where the signal is lost. This can happen even when I'm holding the iPod/transmitter right up about a foot away from the receiver in the right earpiece. It can get very bad when walking. The range of bluetooth is supposed to be up to 30 feet, but with this unit it often seems to be 30 centimeters. It does best in the right breast pocket of a jacket--very impractical in warm weather.

The final two flaws relate to the wire that connects the two earpieces. Firstly, it is fragile and the outer sheath has already come loose where it connects to one of the earpieces. This from normal usage. Fortunately, I noticed this before the wire itself began to break and used electrician's tape to mend it. I took the precaution of applying the tape to the as yet undamaged side as prevention. The other problem with the wire is it will stick to the back of my neck if I'm the least bit sweaty or get hung up in my jacket collar. This then yanks on the earpiece on the side opposite the direction I'm trying to turn my head. That's annoying and uncomfortable.

I do not recommend this product, especially to those who want good-sounding music from a durable product.

One last thing--if you do choose this unit, be aware that the transmitter drains you iPod's battery and more than double the normal rate. My experience is that you get at best 1/3 of the usual run time. The receiver/earpieces don't give much more than a couple of hours of sound between charges.