[rhsauer]

On my way home from work last night I happened in to Best Buy and was surprised to see that they had the new Jaybird Freedoms for sale -- so I picked up a pair.  I've only had an hour or so to listen to them, but they sound very nice across the audio spectrum, with a very full lower end.  They also look great, with terrific build quality.  I was curious about their "custom" codec, so I paired them with my iMac and can confirm that they include the AAC codec, but don't seem to include AptX -- fine with me since 90% of my listening will be on my iPhone or Mac.  They sound good even when AAC is not enabled (so SBC is the active codec), so there may be some custom adjustments involved -- but I need to listen more critically to confirm that.
 
I didn't know these earphones were available yet.  I haven't read anything about them since the publicity in January after they were shown at CES.  Does anyone else have them?  What do you think?

 

[David Chavez]

Wow that is not suppose to happen it is suppose to be out in over a week from now.  I wish I was in your shoes cause I've been waiting for them since CES.  Will definity be passing by my local best buy tomorrow in hope that they have them too.

 

[rhsauer]

It's fun to be the "first kid on the block" to have something -- but actually I wish they were more widely available so I could read reviews and discuss them with others on this forum.  I guess that will come in a week or so.  
 
Having had more time to play with them at this point, I can say that they sound really good, although I had a little trouble finding just the right fit with the supplied tips.  I eventually found tips that worked -- they're just a bit smaller than the smallest supplied tips and allow a very deep insertion without any discomfort.  Unfortunately, I can't tell you what earphones those tips originally came with -- they were in the big bag of extra earphone tips I've collected over the years.
 
One thing I can say is that the clip on battery extender is terrific.  When you clip it on it both powers and charges the main battery, so that when the main battery is fully charged you can remove and recharge the clip separately.  This means that you never really have to stop using the earphones to recharge them -- you just pop the clip on when necessary, then recharge only the clip.

 

[Sinocelt]

I've got the Bluebuds X and like them a lot. They're rated for 8 hours of music. The new Freedom is rated for only 4 hours of music + 4 hours more with the clip. Can you use the Freedom with the clip on? And if yes, how unbalanced does the fit become?
 
The nozzle looks weird. Doesn't it make it easy for tips to slip off and stay stuck in your ears? That's already a problem with the straight nozzle of the Bluebuds X.

 

[rhsauer]

Yes, you can use it with the clip on and I don't feel like it becomes unbalanced at all  When the clip is on, it powers the earphones and it also simultaneously recharges the main battery.  Once the main battery is fully recharged, you can just remove (and recharge) the clip, while you keep listening.  
 
The form factor is very much like the Klipsch x11i or their successors.  They're not as light as the Klipsch's, and, although the Jaybirds are comfortable, they're not quite as comfortable as the Klipsch's.  I use the small tip and they fit nicely in my ear canal without any additional support.  I haven't had any problem with the tips slipping off (and I've certainly had that problem with other earphones).  I had a pair of Bluebuds a while ago (for a week, until I returned them) and I think these are a big improvement in fit, build quality, versatility, and sound quality (as they should be, since they're two generations newer).

 

[geoelectric]

How are they in terms of what sticks out beyond your ear? I heard they were more helmet-friendly than past iterations, but would that include a full helmet a la motorcycle or snowmobile?

 

[rhsauer]

They don't stick out of your ear at all.  These are very small earphones.
 
The related app was release today (search for "jaybird" and you'll find it).  It applies equalizer settings directly to the earphones, so the equalizer is applied across all sources and remembered.  

 

[Sinocelt]

  Yes, you can use it with the clip on and I don't feel like it becomes unbalanced at all  When the clip is on, it powers the earphones and it also simultaneously recharges the main battery.  Once the main battery is fully recharged, you can just remove (and recharge) the clip, while you keep listening.  

 
Hm, OK, then it's more than a gimmick -- if you can buy additional clips for a reasonable price.
 
 

The form factor is very much like the Klipsch x11i or their successors.

 
I thought the Freedom might be a cooperative product, when I first saw the pictures.
 
 

They're not as light as the Klipsch's, and, although the Jaybirds are comfortable, they're not quite as comfortable as the Klipsch's.  I use the small tip and they fit nicely in my ear canal without any additional support.  I haven't had any problem with the tips slipping off (and I've certainly had that problem with other earphones).  I had a pair of Bluebuds a while ago (for a week, until I returned them) and I think these are a big improvement in fit, build quality, versatility, and sound quality (as they should be, since they're two generations newer).

 
Thank you for the comparison. What do you mean by "versatility"?
 
(Actually, it's just one generation newer: The X2 was just the regular X with more color choices.)
 
 

The related app was release today (search for "jaybird" and you'll find it).  It applies equalizer settings directly to the earphones, so the equalizer is applied across all sources and remembered.  

 
Oh, that's neat. First time I see that for earphones (as opposed to headphones). That's a big selling point.

 

[slwiser]

Got mine today, listening to them now.

 

[geoelectric]

Picked these up.
 
They do work very well under a helmet, with pretty much nothing sticking out at all if you position the cords to hang under the ear and turn them so that they are tight against your lobe. The control module hangs just under the helmet, barely clearing it (Shark Evoline 3, Large) and can be positioned so it shouldn't whip in the wind. They can be set up so the module is on either right or left, with left being the obvious riding option so a hand can be free.
 
Sound is excellent with a good seal. It held a BT connection well, I didn't hear obvious hiss at reasonably high levels, and the default bass and sound was good enough I don't feel the need to EQ them yet, after listening to EDM, hip-hop, rock, metal, and a few other miscellaneous things. They're at least as good as my Klipsch S5i Ruggeds, and don't seem like a step down from my MA750s--with a good seal.
 
Getting that good seal, though, is kind of a pain. This is obviously very subjective, but they include three silicone sizes and three sizes of Comply Sport foamies. I normally use double-flanged and those aren't included, though I'm sure I'll find some flanged tips that fit after a bit of research.
 
The foamies were really disappointing. I have Comply foamies for my other headphones, and they work well. But these don't appear to have much (if any) memory foam going on. The mediums felt like standard open cell foam--they didn't hold a squish and seemingly wanted to be shoved straight into my ears. Maybe wetting them would work, but I wasn't able to get a seal whatsoever that way. I didn't try the small. The large did squish but not very much--they were like low-profile tires in terms of the foam to middle ratio, and didn't feel like they expanded into my ears like the other Complys. 
 
Maybe this is the sport foam? Not sure, but I thought the foam tips outright sucked, which is unusual for Comply. I'm hoping I'm either just missing a technique, or that I can get a different type of foam from Comply that'll fit and actually squish/expand like I expected.
 
I was able to get the medium silicone to work, but I'm kind of in between medium and large and it wasn't a very robust fit. In particular, they had a tendency to actually go too far in and form a vacuum seal against my ear canal that was both uncomfortable and muted the sound--I have tons of IEMs and it wasn't the right type of "good seal". Large sounded strangled in that "so oversized you closed the end hole" kind of way so were a non-starter.
 
Honestly, this is pretty similar to my Klipsch experience--oval tips turn out *not* to work for me well--and was a bit disappointing out of the box when I otherwise don't have a problem finding good seal on my other IEMs. The S5i issue was compounded by not finding good replacement tips that worked with the retaining lip on the stem (and a subsequent trip to urgent care with a Comply tip wedged in my ear). Hopefully it will work out better here given that Jaybird has become pretty popular.
 
I will say that they are insanely light, at least without the charging module snapped on. With it snapped on, they're still not heavy but I wouldn't want to go running without it clipped down somewhere to my collar. It's enough extra weight/size to be noticeable and to pull the cords to the side some. I suspect over-the-ear might solve this, but I wasn't able to get the cords to work well for me that way out of the box as they're thick enough to try to straighten back out, but not thick enough to just hold a shape. I'm sure they can be "trained" with some work.
 
One concern is that the tip of the stem is pretty close to the opening in the eartip. The stem has a handful of very small holes in a daisy configuration to let the sound out. I have waxy ears, and I'm a little unclear if wax can wedge inside the stem in a way that can't be cleaned with a hearing aid loop. I see something just inside it, which could either be A) a filter or B) wax I already got into it and I'm a little worried it might be the latter. That said, I poked at one of the holes very gently with a plastic interdental pick and didn't come back with wax so I'm hoping it's a filter.
 
Aside from that, haven't used them enough yet to have a clear opinion beyond the very good first impressions. I still need to check whether the BT connection tends to have a ton of latency (this is variable but I've definitely noticed some of my cans do better than others, probably a codec issue), if the connection is truly solid, battery life, etc. With some work on the tips, though, I think these are pretty cool and I'm glad I got them.

 

[Fluffy Muffinz]

Hi Jaybird users, 
 
I'm from Australia and I've been using the Blubuds X earphones for roughly 2 years.
 
Would you pick the Jaybird freedoms over the Jaybird X3's form factor and 8 ( or is it been reduced to 7? )hours single charge? (once the X3's are released) 

 

[gauchotodd]

I searched but couldn't find a product page for these or another way to post a review, so here's my take on them so far, taken from their Amazon listing:
 
Since I’m pretty excited about these new “wireless” earbuds and not too confident that these will get a full and proper review, I hope my input here will help others make a better decision on whether to invest in these $200 earbuds. I am in no way affiliated with or invested in Jaybird or Logitech (who now owns Jaybird LLC), I was in no way asked to review them, and I paid full price for this product through Jaybird’s site. I would love to be one of the reviewers who get discounts and pre-release opportunities, but I guess I'm just not one of the cool kids (yet).

Luckily, I happened across an article about the new Freedom Wireless buds the day they were announced and released, so I was able to order them from Jaybird’s site before they sold out (or at least they seem sold out since my second order has been pending processing for four days). I decided on the white/gold color, which looks just as great as in the pictures. I immediately began putting them to the test, and so far they’ve passed with flying colors. Although they have some room for improvement (everything does), they are simply the best workout earbuds out there right now, and I expect they will be for quite some time.

For comparative reference of my personal experience, I’ve been regularly and heavily using the BlueBuds X for workouts over the past two years. I use them for weight training, boxing (heavy bag work), basketball, and hiking steep mountains. They fit well enough, only come out when the foam tips start to tear, and have decent/acceptable sound quality. But they left me wanting a more compact, lightweight, and better sounding product. After a few frustrating weeks of trying to give the Bragi Dash a legitimate chance, I went right back to using the BlueBuds.

And then the new Freedom buds came. The refined design is much more aesthetically pleasing and also slightly improves on comfort over the BlueBuds due to the smaller design of the cord and earbuds. Some of the pre-release reviews complained about the weight of the controls, and I expect this is from being used with the cord dangling below the ears rather than over and behind them. I don’t know who in their right mind would want to wear wireless earbuds like that, but everyone has differently shaped ears, so perhaps that was more comfortable to them. Anyhow, holding the two products in my hands, the weight difference is negligible, and if anything the Freedom buds distribute the weight more evenly than the BlueBuds. While being worn, I really don’t notice any significant difference in weight between the two.

The sound quality is the biggest reason I had to get these and try them right away. I’m always searching for better audio products, and I’ve spent a lot of time with the Audio Technica ATH-M50, Sennheiser Momentum, V-Moda M-100, and Hifiman HE-400, -400i, -500, and -560. I was skeptical that the new drivers would be huge improvements over the BlueBuds, but they really are. The Freedom Wireless buds finally give compact wireless audio comparable and competitive sound quality to the lower end of the wired audio products out there. They even sound better (more balanced and detailed) than the similarly priced Beats and Bose wired earbuds that I’ve heard.

But out of the box, they need work. Spend some time and do your due diligence and try on a variety of tips to get a good seal, otherwise they WILL fall out, and they WON’T sound right. I used the medium foam Comply tip on the left bud and the large foam tip on the right bud for the first few days, then switched to the isolation tips that I’ve always used on the BlueBuds. They are so, so much easier to take on and off these smaller buds than they are on the BlueBuds. My fiancée used the reverse sizes of mine, then actually pulled the small soft gel tips off of her Bose SoundSport wired earbuds and put them on these for a surprisingly great fit. Those appear to be the Bose StayHear tips which Amazon sells separately.

Additionally, the stock sound signature of these needs help. Before adjusting the EQ (which is easily done with Jaybird’s new MySound app, or in the sound settings in certain phones), the treble is just terrible. I mean, simply awful – I don’t think I’ve ever heard the upper end of a headphone encroach on the rest of the sound spectrum so much. Luckily, this was easily and drastically improved by lightly reducing the “high range” and also slightly increasing the low and mid ranges in the Signature part of the app. But everyone has their own preferences, so spend some time playing around with it a bit.

The first reviewer of these described the sound quality as “amazing,” which I can get on board with given that this tiny package houses the drivers, power source, battery, and wireless chip and still performs so well. But their claim that the “Bass response is very accurate” I have to disagree with; even with just a bit of bass boost, they get very noticeably murky and bloated. Actually, they’re definitely on the punchy/boomy side of neutral without any EQing at all (which I think most people, including myself, prefer). But saying that the “mids and highs are also responsive” simply doesn’t MEAN anything – I mean, in the sense that they exist, yes, they are responsive. They do admirably well with instrument separation and performance in general, but they’re not as super detailed or textured as wired earphones, nor should they be expected to be. All in all, they sound great, and as Jaybird suggests in their marketing, for the vast majority of listeners these could totally suffice as a daily driver, not just for their convenience and portability, but for their audio quality as well.

The charging and battery life I’m still getting used to. Jaybird claims 4 hours in the buds plus 4 hours in the battery/charger, but I don’t think I’ve quite managed to reach that yet. I haven’t timed it yet, but after going through several full recharges, I’m pretty confident that I haven’t gotten a full 8 hours of use between charges. An interesting quirk of the 5-pin battery/charger/thing is that while connected to the earbuds, I haven’t been able to also get sound to playback. This may be by design, but disappointing nonetheless. Also, it’s a rather snug fit, but seems to be loosening up a bit so it’s not so scary prying the thing off of the controls and worrying about damaging the cable. To clarify what the first reviewer said, it DOES use a standard micro-USB cable (included, of course), and it recharges pretty quickly. I’ll update this if/when I get some accurate figures on charging and usage.

I will admit that five days is a bit short to be so confident about these, and I’ll update this review accordingly should anything noteworthy arise. I’ve already put these through several rounds of weights, boxing, and basketball and they fit at least as snugly as the BlueBuds even using the included “sport” foam tips rather than the even better fitting isolation tips. They feel better, they look better, and most importantly, they sound much better. Are they worth $200, though? To me, absolutely yes. That said, if you can find the BlueBuds X for around half off their original retail price, those are definitely going to be a better value for a lot of people. Are the new Freedom Wireless buds worth 2-3 times the cost of the BlueBuds? In terms of price-performance or cost-satisfaction ratios, for most people, I don’t think so; but for the more picky audio enthusiasts like me, just for the improvement in audio quality alone, I would say most certainly yes. And in my opinion, the clincher is that I don’t see anything else being capable of matching or exceeding the performance and quality of this product any time in the next year or two. Jaybird really knocked it out of the park with these.

 

[geoelectric]

Huh, I didn't hear any of the sound problems you did. Usually the types of metal I listen to will expose EQ and boomy bass issues since the music will turn to mud or be noticeably tinny, and mine didn't seem to have either issue. That could reflect variation in the audio or source quality as much as subjective listening differences, of course, and I don't claim my hearing is perfect in the best of cases. But I can generally tell the difference between crappy, "fun", and reference headphones fwiw.
 
I need to try the two different sizes thing for eartip fit, I think.
 
You commented on the stock foamies from the older BlueBuds. Are the ones with the new Freedom Wireless the same or different? I just don't get the right technique with them--the hard plastic center is so wide compared to the foam coating that they don't seem to work into the canal the way I'm used to with traditional Complys.

 

[gauchotodd]

I never used the stock tips from the BlueBuds, I ordered the isolation Comply tips for them. They were a bit annoying to install on the BlueBuds, but those same tips fit on the Freedom buds very easily. The new "sport" foam tips that come with the Freedom are lighter and less spongy than the isolation tips, and actually sound better than the isolation tips. The isolation tips detract a bit from the clarity, but they fit a little more snugly (though the sport tips have been pretty acceptable) and are better suited for noisier or more active environments like in a gym or airport.
 
I suppose I should've noted that all of my listening has been connected to my S7 Edge with downloaded (not streamed) HiFi tracks from Tidal, which they claim are lossless quality.

 

[geoelectric]

  I never used the stock tips from the BlueBuds, I ordered the isolation Comply tips for them. They were a bit annoying to install on the BlueBuds, but those same tips fit on the Freedom buds very easily. The new "sport" foam tips that come with the Freedom are lighter and less spongy than the isolation tips, and actually sound better than the isolation tips. The isolation tips detract a bit from the clarity, but they fit a little more snugly (though the sport tips have been pretty acceptable) and are better suited for noisier or more active environments like in a gym or airport.
 
I suppose I should've noted that all of my listening has been connected to my S7 Edge with downloaded (not streamed) HiFi tracks from Tidal, which they claim are lossless quality.

I think there's every chance that your hearing is just more refined than mine--I know your source is, since I tend to listen to 256kbps AAC (iow, iTunes). I also typically gravitate towards "fun" headphones (my current lineup includes MDR-1ABT, V-Moda M100, M&D MH40, Backbeat Pro, etc.) and have a pair of SE530s collecting dust because I don't particularly like fiddling with EQ on reference phones.
 
I think the new FW hit my mark really well, especially for the price and convenience. But they are definitely not what I'd consider audiophile-quality or even brushing it to the degree some of my others do, just good consumer-quality phones. But with a good seal, I'd put them about equal to the BBPs. That's more than decent.
 
Thanks for the information on the Complys. The last ones I used were T-series Isolations, I think, so that, along with Shure black olive foamies (may not like the SE530s, but love their eartips), are what I'm used to. I should give the sport ones more of a chance.