Sports wireless earphones are in such massive demand now. To put things in perspective, Jaybird specializes in this niche and its success in this category allows it to rank among the top five brands in the premium headphone segment by revenue in 2014, according to The NPD Group. How about that?
We had the opportunity to test some 5 really astounding sports earphones these past few months.
In a 4-part series, we will review 3 models we recently laid our paws on. We'd already checked out 2 of 'em, namely the LG TONE Active and the Jaybird X2 Wireless. To make it sweet, we'll round them all up in a verdict.
Update (14 Jul 2016)
Initially, the Wireless Sports Audio Series was supposed to be a 4-part series of articles. We had the opportunity to try even more buds. After all, why limit it? We'll not even call it 5- or 6-part. We'll make it modular to accomodate more articles :)
Bose SoundSport Wireless - added 14 Jul 2016
Jaybird Freedom Wireless F5 - added 13 Sep 2016
1. Beats Powerbeats2 Wireless
After 2 years in the market, this is still the defacto wireless sports earbuds that Beats provides in a multitude of colors. Beats / Apple's getting all the big names like LeBron James and Taylor Swift in to promote the SGD 310 clip-on model.
Price: SGD 310
Type: Clip-on
Battery life: 6h
Full review
2. Jaybird X2 Wireless
Just acquired by Logitech, the lightweight 13g Jaybird X2 Wireless is their current flagship model for good reason.
Price: SGD 259
Type: Over-the-ears / Under-ears
Battery life: 8h
Full review
3. LG TONE Active (HBS-850)
LG's surprise hit, the TONE series of space age neck-styled earphones have clearly captured the imagination of the masses, with a whopping 10 million units sold thus far (and counting). The HBS-850 is their first sports-inclined model to hit to shops.
Price: SGD 189
Type: Around neck
Battery life: 9.5h
First look / Full review
4. Sony NW-WS413
We took a first look when Sony launched this SGD 149 unit a month back. The biggie about it is that it's waterproof and not just splashproof. You can actually go for a swim with it!
Price: SGD 149
Type: Over-the-ears / Inbuilt storage
Battery life: 12h
First look / Full review
5. UA Headphones Wireless - Engineered by JBL
First announced at CES 2016, UA and JBL's collaboration produced their first pair of Bluetooth earbuds sporting the distinct UA logo. Just released last month in Singapore, we'll check out how they fare.
Price: SGD 289
Type: Under-ears
Battery life: 8h
Full review
6. Bose SoundSport Wireless
First announced in June, we found it timely to include Bose into the wireless sports audio ecosystem.
Price: SGD 239
Type: Under-ears
Battery life: 6h
Launch / First impressions
Stay tuned for the reviews!
Wireless Sports Audio Series
Part 1 - Beats Powerbeats2 Wireless (24 Apr 2016)
Part 2 - Sony NW-WS413 (3 May 2016)
Part 3 - UA Headphones Wireless - By JBL (29 May 2016)
Part 4 - Bose SoundSport Wireless (14 Jul 2016)
Part 5 - Jaybird Freedom Wireless F5 (13 Sep 2016)
Comply Foam - Sport, Isolation and Comfort Tips
The Verdict (TBA)
We had the opportunity to test some 5 really astounding sports earphones these past few months.
In a 4-part series, we will review 3 models we recently laid our paws on. We'd already checked out 2 of 'em, namely the LG TONE Active and the Jaybird X2 Wireless. To make it sweet, we'll round them all up in a verdict.
Update (14 Jul 2016)
Initially, the Wireless Sports Audio Series was supposed to be a 4-part series of articles. We had the opportunity to try even more buds. After all, why limit it? We'll not even call it 5- or 6-part. We'll make it modular to accomodate more articles :)
Bose SoundSport Wireless - added 14 Jul 2016
Jaybird Freedom Wireless F5 - added 13 Sep 2016
1. Beats Powerbeats2 Wireless
After 2 years in the market, this is still the defacto wireless sports earbuds that Beats provides in a multitude of colors. Beats / Apple's getting all the big names like LeBron James and Taylor Swift in to promote the SGD 310 clip-on model.
Price: SGD 310
Type: Clip-on
Battery life: 6h
Full review
2. Jaybird X2 Wireless
Just acquired by Logitech, the lightweight 13g Jaybird X2 Wireless is their current flagship model for good reason.
Price: SGD 259
Type: Over-the-ears / Under-ears
Battery life: 8h
Full review
3. LG TONE Active (HBS-850)
LG's surprise hit, the TONE series of space age neck-styled earphones have clearly captured the imagination of the masses, with a whopping 10 million units sold thus far (and counting). The HBS-850 is their first sports-inclined model to hit to shops.
Price: SGD 189
Type: Around neck
Battery life: 9.5h
First look / Full review
4. Sony NW-WS413
We took a first look when Sony launched this SGD 149 unit a month back. The biggie about it is that it's waterproof and not just splashproof. You can actually go for a swim with it!
Price: SGD 149
Type: Over-the-ears / Inbuilt storage
Battery life: 12h
First look / Full review
5. UA Headphones Wireless - Engineered by JBL
First announced at CES 2016, UA and JBL's collaboration produced their first pair of Bluetooth earbuds sporting the distinct UA logo. Just released last month in Singapore, we'll check out how they fare.
Price: SGD 289
Type: Under-ears
Battery life: 8h
Full review
6. Bose SoundSport Wireless
First announced in June, we found it timely to include Bose into the wireless sports audio ecosystem.
Price: SGD 239
Type: Under-ears
Battery life: 6h
Launch / First impressions
Stay tuned for the reviews!
Wireless Sports Audio Series
Part 1 - Beats Powerbeats2 Wireless (24 Apr 2016)
Part 2 - Sony NW-WS413 (3 May 2016)
Part 3 - UA Headphones Wireless - By JBL (29 May 2016)
Part 4 - Bose SoundSport Wireless (14 Jul 2016)
Part 5 - Jaybird Freedom Wireless F5 (13 Sep 2016)
Comply Foam - Sport, Isolation and Comfort Tips
The Verdict (TBA)