Jaybird X3 Review:
Today I am going to be reviewing the Jaybird X3 Bluetooth headphones.
In our busy lives, we all need a pair of solid headphones.
We all have to commute, go to the gym, or have time at work to listen to your favorite platforms. Your choice of headphones can make or break this experience.
I use headphones during my mornings at work when there aren’t many customers and at the gym.
The device I use for all this consumption is my smartphone.
The Death Of The Headphone Jack:
In 2017, most of the smartphone companies are switching to USB-C for their charging port of choice. An overlooked and simple feature on smartphones of the past was the headphone jack. Companies are forgoing this feature on their phones. In turn, they are hoping to build better products. Whether that be a bigger battery or space to put something else useful in them. No one saw companies such as Apple or Google making a decision to get rid of such a simple but useful feature.
So in 2017, you have two options. You can either embrace the #donglelife or get yourself a set of Bluetooth headphones.
I have tried a few before my X3 purchase including the highly rated Samsung Level Pros.
Enter the Jaybird X3:
I always wanted a pair of Jaybirds because they were so praised by Tech YouTubers such as MKBHD. The reason I didn’t buy an older model was that of the price. The good news here is that Jaybird not only made their new X3 model better, but they made them cheaper as well.
As you can tell from the name, the X3 are the third iteration of Jaybirds X-Series. They also make a smaller Freedom Series. When I compared reviews on Amazon the X3 had better reviews.
The new Jaybird X3 models are 30% smaller than the older X2 model. This makes the headphones take up less space when you travel with them. It also makes it helmet friendly if you are using them while commuting say on a motorcycle. They also work great if you are doing activities such as snowboarding where you would be using a helmet.
I don’t use a helmet in any of my daily activities. But for those who need it, the smaller form factor is there.
The Jaybird X3 having a smaller earbud footprint also helps with the protrusion out of your ears. The X3 protrudes from your ears less than the older models. The Jaybirds are larger than most Bluetooth Earbuds but this is a great direction they are going in.
Charging Concerns:
The biggest concern when deciding on a pair of Bluetooth Headphones is Sound Quality. I can reassure you that the sound of the Jaybird X3 is fantastic. The bass is deep, the treble is nice and clear. They make any song you throw at them sound amazing.
When I get a new pair of headphones, I always test them with a song I know inside and out. I tested the X3 Sport with the song Famous by Kanye West. When Rihanna comes in on the song and the beat drops, I knew I made the right purchase. The feel of the song was great listening with these headphones.
If I had a con with these headphones it would be the charging system. JayBird gives you a small dongle that you connect with to a USB Charging Brick. On the previous X2 model, you were able to plug into one of the earbuds. This is a better way since its how we charge most of our tech that we own. The use of Micro USB for charging is no more.
On the X3 Sport, we have to charge them by connecting the small dongle to the remote on the wire. The style is similar to a FitBit charging cable.
Smaller Is Better:
With Jaybird making the X3 smaller in general, this is why they had to forgo the Micro USB charging. Because of the reduced size footprint, Jaybird needed a new way to charge the headphones.
While the charging system is a con, it is not a reason to pass on these.
An issue that I can see with them is that of losing the charging dongle they provide. Don’t quote me on this, but I am pretty sure if you lose it you are out of luck. JayBird doesn’t sell the charging dongle separately either. So if you are traveling with your X3 than make sure you keep an eye on your charging dongle.
On the plus side of the new charging system, you will get 1 Hour of battery life on only 15 minutes of charge time.
Battery Life:
Which brings me to the battery life. The battery life is solid in the X3. The fact that they reduced the headphones in size but kept great battery life is a big pro for me. JayBird claims you get 8 hours of battery life on a single charge. I cant say that I have experienced exactly that. What I can say is between using them in the gym and at my job, I usually only have to charge them once a week. For me, that is an excellent battery to charge ratio. I can charge them on a Sunday and be ready for the entire week once Monday arrives.
The Jaybird X3 also has a small remote on the wire that goes behind your neck. You can adjust volume, skip tracks, or power on and off with the remote. It is small and unobtrusive. The buttons have a solid tactile feel to them making the remote a pleasure to use.
The wire does attach both earbuds to one another. JayBird has made the wire so it is flat and does not get tangled. When I made the switch from wired to Bluetooth headphones, this was a positive for me. While at work I would be taking my phone with the wired headphones in and out of my pocket multiple times an hour. This would of course cause me having to untangle my headphones throughout the day.
The JayBird X3 Sport comes with:
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A Charging Dongle
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Three sets of foam tips
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Three sets of silicone tips
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Ear Wings to lock your earbuds in place
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Cord Shorteners
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Alligator Clip for your shirt
A big problem I had with the Samsung Level Pros was the fact that I could not keep them in my ear. They didn’t have any of the wing tips to lock them in place. I couldn’t get them to seal and stay where they were. As soon as I did any movement be it in the gym or even walking, they would fall out or lose the seal. Once they are not sealed anymore the audio sounds like a tin can. With the Jaybird X3, you don’t have that problem since you can use the wings to lock them in place. Once I set them in my ear they don’t budge.
I’ll wrap this review up with some noteworthy features the X3 Sport provides:
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Bluetooth Range
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No problems with disconnecting or losing signal
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JayBird Smartphone App
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Tons of customization options to get the sound right for your ears
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Access to features made by professional curators and the JayBird Community
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Excellent Phone Call Quality
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Can both hear the person on the other end clearly and they hear me crystal clear as well
In 2017, most companies are leading the consumers to buy a non-wired pair of headphones. Between the sound quality and the battery life, the Jaybird X3 is the best Bluetooth Earbuds you can buy in 2017.
Please comment down below and let me know what you would like me to review next. Also, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter so you get all the updates once they go live!
