Skip the Wires, Not the Beat
by Brian Underdahl
MP3 players, iPods, and fancy Smartphones make it easy to listen to your music on the go. Given the choice almost anyone would rather listen to some “good” music (no matter how you personally define that) than to some bozo who wants everyone within 25 feet to hear about his inane ideas regarding politics, religion, sports, or whatever. And even if you’re in a no-bozo zone, who wants to listen to the constant din of an airplane, train, or whatever background noise there happens to be?
But there’s just one problem with listening to your portable music player. Could headset wires possibly be any more inconvenient? They’re always in the way or catching on something, plus they make you look pretty strange, too.
Everyone is aware of Bluetooth headsets for cell phones. Wouldn’t it seem logical to apply the same idea to stereo headsets for portable music players? Imagine how handy it would be to be able to listen in stereo without getting tangled in wires and you’ve got the idea behind the JayBird JB-200 Bluetooth Stereo Headset. It works with almost any Bluetooth-equipped device and JayBird even sells Bluetooth adapters to fit iPods and MP3 players.
The JB-200 fits snugly on your ears and has one small wire that goes around the back of your head to connect the two earpieces. Unlike a standard earbud, the JB-200 doesn’t seem like it’s going to fall out if you get active (they even claim that it’s sweat-proof, but you probably don’t want to push your luck by wearing them in the shower). The earpieces are pretty comfortable and you can make them even more so by spending a few minutes adjusting them to your best fit.
Fit may be important, but what about the sound? You’re buying these things so you can listen to music and if the sound quality isn’t there you’re not going to be happy. That’s why it’s a good thing that the JB-200 delivers. True, a huge set of over-the-ear headphones might sound a bit better, but they aren’t going to work too well for your morning jog and they’re certainly not going to fit in your shirt pocket when you’re not using them. You won’t have any complaints about the sound quality of the JB-200. You also won’t have any complaints about the volume–these babys are loud! I had to turn mine down quite a bit to be comfortable.
The JB-200 also works as a wireless hand-free headset for making and receiving calls from your Bluetooth cellphone. The unit has a small microphone built into the right earpiece (that’s why only the left earpiece is active during calls). This is the one area where I have to give the JB-200 less than total thumbs up, though. While it’s easy enough to answer an incoming call simply by pressing the power button on the right earpiece, making a call isn’t quite so convenient because the JB-200 doesn’t seem to trigger the voice dialing feature on my phone. Even so, the JB-200 is a great wireless stereo headset in every other way, so this one little nick doesn’t mean much.
I like the JayBird JB-200 and I think you will, too. Happy listening and traveling!