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Hands-on review: Jaybird Freedom Wireless Earbuds - invaluable on-the-go tech
Fri, 7th Oct 2016
FYI, this story is more than a year old

The earbuds that came with my devices have forever remained unused in their boxes. I've never been able to use them for more than a few minutes at a time. However, the Jaybird Freedom wireless earbuds have changed that for me and for my long-suffering delicate ears.

The first thing you have to do is assemble them, which is a matter of choosing from a range of provided fittings and finding the most comfy ones. Discomfort has usually been my main complaint and once I'd found the bud attachments that most suited my ears I was away.

The picture shows you the range of fittings that come in the box. I found the foam buds more comfortable than the silicone ones but herein lies the beauty of this product. You can customise it to suit your comfort needs. The website has links to more accessories so you can really create your own custom fit. You can even purchase a cool-looking box for holding all those extra bits and pieces.

There are lots of little bits and pieces and the provided pouch will make sure you have somewhere safe to store them. There is even a clip which I didn't bother with as everything seemed to fit quite snugly, allowing me to roam the house and still stay in range of my devices. (For the purposes of this test I connected the earbuds to my laptop and iPhone.)

The website has links to the iOS and Android apps (MySound) and I had no problem pairing the earbuds using the app. On the MacBook it was a simple matter of using the Bluetooth setting tools.

The iPhone app gives you a lot of control over the earbuds and I was able to get a pretty good sound quality. As I'm writing I'm grooving along to The Beatle's Don't Let Me Down and I can honestly say, yeah she does, she really does.

The battery/control box clicks into the earbuds and has three controls. The fine settings are on the app on your device, and you can have fun playing with that yourself. On the MacBook I had to use the equaliser built into iTunes and that worked quite well.

The website has an athletes' page dedicated to the way people on the go use the earbuds as they train, climb rocks and generally performing athletic feats that I will never aspire to. You can see from the pictures that these buds are unobtrusive with only a small cable that you can safely tuck out of the way.

For those of us that like to customise our sounds, lead active lifestyles and can't be bothered with a mess of connecting cables, the Jaybird Freedom Wireless Earbuds could well be just the answer you've been searching for. If you've had problems with comfort the customisable options will ensure you'll wear these for hours and still have a smile on your face.

Available now at leading New Zealand retailers.