Overall and Final Verdict
Going into my review of the Jaybird Vista wireless earbuds I was hoping to find a better performing option than the previous wireless earbuds I reviewed, the Philips Upbeats. The Upbeats performed well, but having used higher-end earbuds for 10+ years now my expectations were high and there were some limitations that I assumed might be from the Bluetooth connection and power saving for the small form factor. Well as I found out quickly in my testing of the Vista’s those weren’t the limitations holding things back. The Jaybird Vistas sound amazing, have lots of bass, more than enough volume and just in general quickly let me know that I don’t have to be tied down by a wire to get good audio performance while on the go. On top of that they were comfortable and hold in place well with the swappable eargels.
I also found that replacement eargels, earbuds, and even for the charge case can be found on the Jaybird website. Now I don’t plan on going out and losing any of those things but I really like the idea that there is an option beyond replacing an expensive set all together. The earbud individual replacement is $70 so it isn’t cheap, but that is still a LOT cheaper than replacing the entire set. This also makes me feel like Jaybird is in it for the long hall. The warranty for the Vista’s is 1 year which is on par with the Apple Airpods and a lot longer than some of the competition, Samsung only offers 90 days on their Galaxy Buds for example. Overall I would still love to see a longer warranty, but clearly, they are staying competitive with the market, if not more than most of the market other than Apple.
Battery life on the Vista’s was twice that of the Upbeats at 6 hours of life on the earbuds and then they store an additional 10 hours in the charging case as well. Which by the way is really cool and easy to use with magnets that keep the lid closed and magnets that will pull the Vista’s tight against the contact points. Jaybird also improves the overall experience with their app that allows you to make custom eq profiles, have workout playlists available, and where you can change what the earbuds button functions do. The app can also help you track down one or both earbuds if you lose them while they are on.
The Vista’s have a few other features that I think stand out. Especially the IPX7 support which means they are waterproof up to 1 meter. I’m assuming you don’t plan on swimming with the Vista’s so what this really means is you don’t have to worry about sweat or rain being a concern. You can also use just one earbud at a time and double up the total battery life which including the case takes you from 16 to 32 hours of life. The only thing missing for features, in my opinion, is wireless charging for the case like how the Samsung and Apply competitors have (at least as an option).
I didn’t really run into any big downsides to the Vistas in my testing. It was only when you get into pricing that I found one and even there I think it is arguable. They sell for $179.99 which frankly is a LOT of money. There are wireless earbud options available from no-name brands down into the $40’s and I bet a LOT of those are given away as gifts this holiday season. You can find some brand name options like the Philips Upbeats that I tested for $80 or more. So adding $100 to that does require some justification. Especially when the regular Apple Airpods are $159 and the Samsung Galaxy Buds are around $110. So frankly the Jaybird Vista’s are expensive. But I do think the performance can justify the pricing if you want a great sounding pair of wireless earbuds.
Live Pricing: HERE
