Update: June 2017. After 4 months the Jaybird X3 Wireless Headphones have died and no longer turn on. Jaybird Customer support says nothing they can do about it – stiff shit. Give these headphones a miss or buy at your own risk.
The Jaybird X3 Wireless Headphones can not be purchased in Hong Hong (as of early 2017), only the Jaybird Freedom, which have a clunky battery charger thing making them not that suitable for longer hikes/runs. The Jaybird X3 Wireless Headphones are highly rated by most tech reviewers so I was excited to try them out. It’s mind boggling that one of the so-called hottest fitness ear buds on the market are not sold in Hong Kong. Anyway, I bought them in Australia as the Freedom version have some negative points that make buying them difficult.
For the specs and what’s in the box, you can see all that on the Jaybird website, basically a bunch of different ear fins and plugs to ensure you get the right fit.
First up, if you get a pair the Jaybird X3 Wireless Headphones, read the instructions, specifically, the fitting instructions. I slapped them on for a hike up the Peak and spent most of the time trying to get the right fit and they were so uncomfortable I had to take them off after about an hour. With some fine expletives muttered I was sending them back but thought I’d give the instructions a try. It takes a bit to get the right fit, but once you decide if you want them over the ear (better for running) or hanging down normally, and get them fit properly, they fit reasonably well and don’t move at all. For my purpose, the most important thing when buying a set of wireless headphones for running is the fit – they need to stay in and be comfortable for 1 1/2-3 hours. The Jaybird X3 Wireless Headphones tick the box when it comes to this and the sound. The block out most of the outside noise, they’re not noise cancelling but you won’t hear much outside noise when you have these in your ears. For me, that’s a good thing, I’m hiking or running 90% on trails away from any roads with traffic, but if you’re a road runner and have to cross roads often and be aware of your surroundings, you might want to try the Bose as you can hear much more outside noise.
If you fit them like this, the sound cuts out.
I would go as far to say the fit when running is incredible, they don’t move at all but there is one very big caveat here and this is the major problem with the Jaybird X3 Wireless Headphones. The sound cuts out on a regular basis, so much so, that I’m considering returning them and getting something else. When you turn your head to have a look around, the sound cuts out, when you make a tiny move that’s anything different than your normal running style, they cut out. And if you have them over the ear and with the receiver/controller too tight up against your head (which is the most secure fit), they cut out so much they basically become unusable because they cut off pretty much every 10 seconds. If you read this post here, you’ll see this is not an isolated problem but seems to be more of a design flaw, and it’s a big one. The fix is to not have them so tight, but there’s a fine line between getting them secure and having them dangle and knock against you all the time.
I reached out to Jaybird and there has been no reply. UPDATE: They sent a copy and paste email reply that absolutely did not address the problem at all, and they obviously didn’t read the email properly. The shop I bought them from in Australia are willing to give me a refund but I’d need to send them back and I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble. There are numerous other reports of the Jaybird X3 Wireless Headphones cutting out, just Google “jaybirds x3 cutting out” or something similar and you will see the problems people are having. I tried all the so called fixes and the only thing that worked was not securing them so tightly. It seems to help a lot if you let them dangle a bit. It should be noted that this only seems to happen when people have them over the ear, which is the way most runners will want.
Other than this problem, the sound is great, they’re sweat proof (like 33 degree, 3 hour hike sweat proof) and I’d almost go as far as saying that you don’t really feel them in your ear, once you get the right fit. Again, it’s worth paying around for 10-15 minutes getting the right fit because when you get it right, the fit is awesome. I can’t recommend the Jaybird X3 Wireless Headphones for any runners because of the cutting out issues. Think I’ll give the Bose Soundsport a try and report on those soon.
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