Review of New Jaybirds Freedom Wireless Earbuds

[Nhwhazup]

I so wanted to love these. I have been a fan of the Jaybirds X2's and was so excited to see these new Jaybirds Freedom in a small form factor. I picked these up today from Best Buy and paid full price at $199.

First of all build quality is decent and the buds looked great and felt good when using Comply foam tips. Also, provided in the package is an assortment of silicone buds and Comply foam tips along with the Jaybirds ear thingies and charging station and cord.

These paired up nicely with a super loud voice confirming the ear buds were on and connected with my iPhone. That's where everything started to go down hill. The sound quality was actually rather good except for the light hissing background noise. Also I could hear static every time I switched apps. Last but not least, these had an awful delay when watching videos - so bad that I knew I wouldn't use them at all for videos. My Jaybirds X2's have none of these issues.

I don't know if I just got a bad pair or if all of these Freedoms have the same problems. I guess I take a trip back to Best Buy to see if this pair is defective or just the way these Freedoms are. If these are inherent problems, I'll return them and stick with my X2's for now.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

Thanks for the review. I would like or hear whether a replacement solves these problems. I have the X2s, they're around 2 years old and though I love them, the battery life is now down to 4 hours! Which is too short for me. Considering the X3s or maybe the Freedoms.

EDIT: I meant to say that I have the X1s! not the X2s. I was going to jump to the X3s if there is a noticeable improvement in the device. From what I have read, the X2s don't seem to offer anything more than the X1s?

 

[broadbean]

Here's a YouTube review:

 

[Nhwhazup]

Thanks for the review. I would like or hear whether a replacement solves these problems. I have the X2s, they're around 2 years old and though I love them, the battery life is now down to 4 hours! Which is too short for me. Considering the X3s or maybe the Freedoms.

I did return them for another pair. And they have the same snapping/static noise when swapping apps like from music to YouTube. It also happens when switching songs on and off on a playlist. However, when forwarding to the next song, there's no snapping. It's almost like the earbuds turn on and off.

At the end of the day, the small form factor is so nice and the sound quality is awesome. Also, I used Comply isolation foam tips on these and the fit is really good. I didn't use the Comply sport tips as I prefer more noise isolation. I don't need to wear the ear fins.

In spite of my disappointment with the snapping and the terrible video delay, I'm going to keep this 2nd pair and enjoy them when out and about and exercising. I have these paired to my iPhone. I'll keep using my X2's for my iPad and watching videos.

For the Freedoms - the play time is only 4 hours unless you want to attach the charging unit to the earbuds. It provides an extra charge of 4 hours more. I won't attach the extra unit - too much hanging out my ear . I generally don't need more than 4 hours charge. If I need more, I'll switch to the X2's.

All the reviews out there for these are raving. I chatted with the rep from Jaybirds about the snapping and he said it wasn't normal. I don't believe him especially since both pairs I had did the same thing. Maybe I'm just more sensitive.

If Jaybirds gets rid of the snapping and fixes the video delay, these would be perfect. Maybe next year's version.

 

[willmtaylor]

I did return them for another pair. And they have the same snapping/static noise when swapping apps like from music to YouTube. It also happens when switching songs on and off on a playlist. However, when forwarding to the next song, there's no snapping. It's almost like the earbuds turn on and off.

At the end of the day, the small form factor is so nice and the sound quality is awesome. Also, I used Comply isolation foam tips on these and the fit is really good. I didn't use the Comply sport tips as I prefer more noise isolation. I don't need to wear the ear fins.

In spite of my disappointment with the snapping and the terrible video delay, I'm going to keep this 2nd pair and enjoy them when out and about and exercising. I have these paired to my iPhone. I'll keep using my X2's for my iPad and watching videos.

For the Freedoms - the play time is only 4 hours unless you want to attach the charging unit to the earbuds. It provides an extra charge of 4 hours more. I won't attach the extra unit - too much hanging out my ear . I generally don't need more than 4 hours charge. If I need more, I'll switch to the X2's.

All the reviews out there for these are raving. I chatted with the rep from Jaybirds about the snapping and he said it wasn't normal. I don't believe him especially since both pairs I had did the same thing. Maybe I'm just more sensitive.

If Jaybirds gets rid of the snapping and fixes the video delay, these would be perfect. Maybe next year's version.

Let me see if I understand. You're dropping $200 on a pair of ear buds that have crappy battery life, have static/feedback issues, and have video delay?

...why?

 

[Nhwhazup]

I did return them for another pair. And they have the same snapping/static noise when swapping apps like from music to YouTube. It also happens when switching songs on and off on a playlist. However, when forwarding to the next song, there's no snapping. It's almost like the earbuds turn on and off.

At the end of the day, the small form factor is so nice and the sound quality is awesome. Also, I used Comply isolation foam tips on these and the fit is really good. I didn't use the Comply sport tips as I prefer more noise isolation. I don't need to wear the ear fins.

In spite of my disappointment with the snapping and the terrible video delay, I'm going to keep this 2nd pair and enjoy them when out and about and exercising. I have these paired to my iPhone. I'll keep using my X2's for my iPad and watching videos.

For the Freedoms - the play time is only 4 hours unless you want to attach the charging unit to the earbuds. It provides an extra charge of 4 hours more. I won't attach the extra unit - too much hanging out my ear . I generally don't need more than 4 hours charge. If I need more, I'll switch to the X2's.

All the reviews out there for these are raving. I chatted with the rep from Jaybirds about the snapping and he said it wasn't normal. I don't believe him especially since both pairs I had did the same thing. Maybe I'm just more sensitive.

If Jaybirds gets rid of the snapping and fixes the video delay, these would be perfect. Maybe next year's version.

Let me see if I understand. You're dropping $200 on a pair of ear buds that have crappy battery life, have static/feedback issues, and have video delay?

...why?

I know, crazy. I'm now thinking about returning them again. Last night there were a couple of times when the earbuds would connect and play music but then not be connected in a different app. I had to shut them done and go through the whole repairing process. So yet another issue. Definitely not worth the $200. Good overall design but not yet ready for prime time.

 

[sigomez]

I bought these as well and wanted to love them but I think I will be returning mine.

Like the original poster said, the sound is great but my biggest issue is the overall fit; these truly suck for the gym and ever worse if you go out for a run.

 

[Nhwhazup]

I'm traveling this week and the Freedoms would be connected with my iPhone and then randomly lose connection in some apps. Like play music on a playlist fine but not YouTube. It happened a few times in one day. I totally reset the Freedoms and reconnected but would still have the same problem randomly.

The Freedoms are going back to Best Buy this weekend when I return home. I'm done with them. Nice concept but lots of issues in this first run. Maybe next year....

 

[Nhwhazup]

I bought these as well and wanted to love them but I think I will be returning mine.

Like the original poster said, the sound is great but my biggest issue is the overall fit; these truly suck for the gym and ever worse if you go out for a run.

Did you have any of the problems that I mentioned?

 

[sigomez]

Did you have any of the problems that I mentioned?

Sound wise they were really good, my biggest issues were the fitting that went along with them. I think I will return these and get a pair of x2 --- i noticed they are selling for about 100 on amazon.

 

[HowEver]

Absolutely go for the X2. Awesome headset.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

I just replaced my X1's -- I love them, and just bought a replacement pair after the original 2-year old model's battery life shortened to around 4 hours (the shortening of battery life was gradual).
This new pair gets around 7.5 hours use time. Very happy with them, and wear them to the gym regularly for 2 hours (cardio + weights) at a time. I wear them over-ear, no fins, and I have never had a slippage problem with any type of movement, including running on the treadmill. I considered the X2's, but the X1's are a bargain, and I don't really think much was improved on the X2's. And I hear that the X3's will be coming out in August!