i havent used the powerbeats 2, however i have recently picked up two pairs of bluetooth headsets for the gym.
i'll do a little writeup of each.
i got the jbl's at best buy. took them back within 14 days to try the jaybirds. i just got the jaybirds today. when my "free return period is up" (jan 15 at best buy, which is awesome) ill either keep the jaybirds, or return them for the jbl's.
to give some background, i was using the
bose mie2's until i decided i wanted to go wireless. if you are ok going wire, just get these and it's game over.
1. jbl synchros reflect bt (click for link)
$99 on the best buy site, but they price match. amazon has them for 80 i think.
PROS
- absurdly comfortable. they popped right in my ear, were very hard to come out
- volume. review sites say they dont have a high volume, i couldnt agree more.
- pairing. when you turn it on, it's automatically "pairing". search with your device, and youre
- bass. these suckers HIT. that's also a con, kind of. i'll get to that
- price they are around 50 wired. $30 to go bluetooth isnt too much imo
- shortening of wires. there's built-in "clips" on the wire. just slide them to shorten the wire. very simple.
CONS
- wearing "behind the head" (wire rests on the back of your neck) isnt feasible imo. the wire is so stiff (which is a pro imo, bc it isnt a cheap thin wire) that when you move your head, the whole wire moves and can start to wiggle out of your ear. to counter this, i wore the wire under my chin. it was comfortable and you can shorten the wire very easily
- while the bass is a pro, there is a hit on the highs. it's hard to explain bc the highs arent muffled, they just sound "off". if you have a solid eq, you can work around this. end of the day you need to decide if you prefer your high's or your low's. im a basshead, so i loved the volume + bass
- charging port door. sounds weird, but there isnt a lot of "room" when you open the door on the earpiece and charge it. it felt like the door would eventually break.
- no carrying case. sounds lame, but for a $100 set of phones, gimmie at least a sack to toss them in
- bluetooth connectivity: this 10000% may be ONLY with me, but i lost connectivity in my gym in certain places which drove me nuts. i will report back on if the jaybirds have the same issue (which then ill chalk it up to something in the gym interfering).
- no forward/back buttons. others dont like this. i personally dont care
2. The jaybird bluebuds X
PROS
- pairing. the pairing is one step more than the jbl's, but easy to do as well. just a matter of holding the power button after you turn them on
sound. you lose a little in the bass department, but the sound is much more "natural"
- voice assistance. when you do things (like pairing) a voice tells you. it sounds cheesy, but its nice so u dont hit a button and not realize what youre doing (like when you power down, it says "powering down"
- thinner wire. the wire feels durable, but isnt as "stiff" as the jbl ones
- volume. volume is decent, not as loud as the jbl's (contrary to reviews). i did use loudness on my eq to bump it up a little
- carrying case. real nice case actually. a hard case. the fit is a little tight. the phones seem to need to go a certain way to fit.
CONS
Keep in mind, i JUST got these, so i'll update when needed.
- wire shortening clips. seems more work than the JBLs
- bass hit. the bass is still solid, but not as bassy as the jbls (but the overall sound is better)
- price. jbl is 80, these are 132. if you want to pay a litle more for better sound, it's worth it (to me, it is)
i hope this helps. let me know how you make out (or made out if you alrready made a purchase. i wanted to give a review on these jbl's, bc i couldnt find any "legit" reviews of them ANYWHERE.
