Jaybird VISTA Review: Hands-on with the latest AirPods competitor [Video]

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Jaybird VISTA in case in hand

Jaybird, who’s brand has been built around creating high quality audio products for athletes and runners, has just debuted their latest addition – VISTA. These brand new earbuds are completely wireless and are Jaybird’s lightest earbuds to date at just six grams. With six hours of battery life, and an extra 10 with the battery from the charging case, plus its water, sweat and crush proof design, the VISTA earbuds should be able to withstand any workout thrown its way. Check out the video below.

We’ve covered many of Jaybird’s offerings in the past and always look forward to checking out what the have in store next. With their focus on athletes and audio, they’re usually well received.

Out of the Box

Like most true wireless earbuds, the VISTA has a carrying case to provide protection, power, and pairing. The earbuds have a magnetic connection into the case which makes it easy to find the proper seat for charging. The case has a solid magnetic closure as well. Each earbud automatically powers on when removed from the case, and once paired I found them typically were fully connected before they were in my ears. VISTA will automatically power off when placed back in the case.

Jaybird VISTA: Video

Jaybird builds their brand on three keystones – fit, durability and sound. Let’s check out how the VISTA headphones uphold those pillars.

How do they Fit?

Jaybird’s emphasis on making headphones for athletes means that they need to fit – and fit well. So that the athlete can focus on performance rather than the uncomfortable thing in their ear. To accomplish this, the VISTA headphones come with three sets of silicone skins that change the fit. They come equipped with the middle set – which seem to be the best fit for my ears, and Jaybird thinks most people’s ears.

The sets are easy to change out and snap on securely so you don’t have to guess if they’re installed correctly.

For me, the middle set fit the best and I found them plenty comfortable for longer periods of use. Of course I didn’t run a marathon in them, but for a five mile run they felt fine and didn’t move at all. Even thrashing around wildly in my house to some Periphery didn’t dislodge them from my ears.

Durability

I haven’t had enough time to extensively test their durability – but everything feels very well made. And with an IPX7 waterproof rating and sweatproof design (which they say is even harder to do), the VISTA shouldn’t falter from water. Jaybird also claims they are crushproof with an encapsulated construction. I haven’t tested that yet…

Sound and App

Sound has always been a focus of Jaybird as well. The VISTA headphones use the same size driver as the other Jaybird pieces, but they have been redesigned and milled instead of the standard stamped drivers. But, because audio can be extremely subjective, Jaybird has built an awesome app that lets you tune the EQ of the headphones pretty extensively. If you don’t know where to start, there are plenty of stock EQ settings, user generated EQ settings, and even a personal setting that takes you through a series of adjusting hearing-test-like frequencies to dial in the sound to your ears.

And if this isn’t enough or you want more control, you can go in and adjust frequency settings on a parametric equalizer. In here you can boost or cut frequencies, drag to change the specific frequency point and change the range of frequencies that the selected point effects. Needless to say – you can spend a lot of time fiddling in here with how you want the headphones to sound. And if you’re in the middle of customizing and ruined your setting and can’t figure out how to get it back, there is a history that you can scroll back through until you get back to the perfect setting. Features like this make the Jaybird feel like a premium product.

More App Features

The app doesn’t stop with just EQ settings, either. VISTA earbuds feature a single tactile button on each side – and the functions of those buttons can be customized. By default, a single press will play/pause music and answer calls. A double tap with skip to the next track or reject calls and holding the button will power the earbuds off. Since they will automatically power off when returned to the case, I ended up enabling volume control by holding the buttons instead.

Conclusion

Overall, I’m extremely impressed with the quality of the Jaybird VISTA earbuds. From build quality to the fit and function to the app, everything has a polished feel to it. These are definitely what I will be using while running in the future.

Buy the Jaybird VISTA on Amazon

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