Jaybird is probably one of the more popular brands when it comes to minimal wireless in-ear headphones. Their wildly popular X1 and X2 headphones offer great sound and portability for a great price so it’s really not that surprising.
If you’ve always wanted to get your hands on a pair of Jaybird headphones here in Malaysia, you’re in luck because Funsportz (the people who bring in GoPro gear) are now officially distributing them locally.
Two of the latest models from Jaybird’s lineup will be available for purchase here in Malaysia — the Jaybird X3 and Jaybird Freedom. The Jaybird X3s are the newer pair which launched towards the end of 2016 and it keeps things pretty familiar with the X1 and X2 that it succeeds.
With the new X3s, you’re getting a slightly smaller and flatter body so you can use it with hats/beanies/helmets without having them get in the way. They also feel pretty robust and are sweat proof so you can use it during workouts with no problems.
I can’t, unfortunately, tell you about how they sound because the Jaybird X3s they had for us to test out refuse to fit in my ears.
But, I do have ears that are super weirdly shaped on the inside (meaning most in-ear headphones besides the 1st-gen Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro don’t fit my ears) so your mileage may vary. Jaybird does include a whole bunch of tips from including soft foam tips so they should fit the vast majority of people.
The ones that did fit in my ears, though, were the older Jaybird Freedom headphones. These were showcased early last year and they’re a slight departure from the traditional Jaybird form factor. In fact, these are the tiniest headphones I’ve ever had the chance to listen to.
Thanks to its diminutive size, though, these did fit in my ears a lot better than the X3s. However, the one on the right was a little looser than the one on the left so, coupled with the heavy control module, the right earpiece would fall out if I shook my head. Again, I have weird ears, so I would encourage that you try them out first before committing to a purchase.
As far as sound goes, the Jaybird Freedoms sound pretty good for everyday use though I would have liked the bass to be a little less boomy and a little tighter.
However, the good news about both the Freedom and X3 is that you can tweak the headphone’s EQ directly from the smartphone app. Changes to the EQ are applied to the firmware itself so the headphones “remember” how you like them to behave even when you pair them to a different device.
On the longevity side of things, both headphones have a quoted battery life of up to 8 hours, however, there is a rather big asterisk on hovering over the Freedom’s 8 hours. That’s because the Freedoms themselves only give you 4 hours of listening time. You can then extend them by 4 hours by clipping on the included charging plate which also doubles as a battery pack for the headphones.
I’m not too sure you can actually call that 8 hours of playback because it feels a little like cheating.
Both these devices will be retailing at official Funsportz retailers nationwide. The Jaybird X3 will retail for RM669 while the Jaybird Freedom is priced at RM699. You can also pick these up online at Lazada.my and enjoy a 10% discount as well as some Jaybird merchandise. Learn more about Jaybird here.
