Overall and Final Verdict
Wireless earbuds or in-ear headphones if you prefer to call them that have been around for a while now and are very matured. One of the big issues that I had with wired and wireless options that I always run into is keeping them secure in my ears. Especially when mowing where I use them the most, the vibrations can quickly move them around. For wired earbuds that isn’t a big deal, but with wireless, if you don’t catch them you can lose them. Especially in my situation where they could end up lost in the yard or even sucked up by the mower. So in-ear stability is extremely important for me and this is where the Jaybird Vista 2’s, just like the original Vista’s are the best. They give you a few eargel options and two of the three have small wings to help lock them in your ear and they work well. They also manage to be comfortable while doing it as well.
Last year when I took a look at the original Vista’s I was impressed with the audio performance and for the Vista 2’s nothing has changed. They still sound great. But I will say that in the past year a lot of the other wireless options have improved as well so the gap isn’t as big as it was previously. Now Jaybird did improve the battery life of both of the Vista 2’s which now will run up to 8 hours with a full charge, but also with the charging/carrying case which can get you an additional 16 hours for a total of 24 hours before needing to get the case back to a charger. For charging options you have Type-C which is great to see. You can also now charge with wireless Qi charging which is something I thought was missing from the original Vista’s. Now you can just drop the case and your phone (if it supports Qi) and never have to worry about charging ports failing or unplugging and plugging everything in.
So the Vista 2’s are still the same size as the original. So they are still a little large when compared to a lot of the competition. I don’t think it is too big of a deal though, the case isn’t too large and is easy to pocket. They just look a little big in your ears.
The addition of active noise canceling is a welcomed addition when compared to the original Vista’s and this is the same direction that most of the higher-end wireless options have been heading as well. The ANC for the Vista 2’s does still have room for improvement before you can start comparing it with the highest-end options. But it is enough to cut out background noise. Of course, ANC when out and about running, walking, and biking can be dangerous. You need to be able to hear around you to listen for traffic. So adding the SurroundSense option which uses the same microphones to pipe outside noise in might be the biggest and most useful thing added to the Vista 2’s if you are using them while being active.
As far as pricing, the original Vista’s when I previously took a look at them was $179 which at the time I thought was a little on the high side. Well, those are now down to $149 which in my opinion is a solid price. The new Vista 2’s then sit above that at $199.99. This is still expensive, but with Apple, Sony, and Bose all bringing out even more expensive options it has a little less sting to it. If you are active, these might still be your best option given how well they will stay in and with them being IP68 rated meaning they are dust and waterproof beyond a meter underwater.
Live Pricing: HERE
