• Jaybird Vista 2 earbuds

    Source: Jaybird

    Jaybird Vista 2

    Rugged and sturdy

    A substantial upgrade over its predecessor, the Jaybird Vista 2 are a pair of sports earbuds packing a lot of advanced technologies. Their clear, balanced sound, capable ANC, and (above all) solid build quality, set them apart from other earbuds. With a small size and rugged look, they’re also a fashion statement.

    Pros

    • Military-grade build quality
    • Excellent audio reproduction
    • Comfy fit that doesn?t fatigue
    Cons

    • Lackluster ANC
    • No aptX support
    • Bluetooth 5.0 only
  • Jabra Elite 7 Active earbuds

    Jabra Elite 7 Active

    Great amp and ANC

    A fantastic product from a formidable brand, the Jabra Elite 7 Actives are a variation of their predecessor with all the bells and whistles. Useful for rough workouts, they bring the Jabra signature sound and excellent ANC. These buds match your stamina with their battery life and never fall out of your ears.

    Pros

    • Jabra signature sound
    • Awesome ear canal fit
    • Bluetooth 5.2
    Cons

    • Audio lacks originality
    • No aptX support
    • Expensive

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When buying true wireless earbuds, it is always a game of balance between what you need and what you don’t need; your priorities and the compromises you can live with will shape your needs. Conversely, a product’s features and not-so-advertised pitfalls shape its brand. Keeping that in mind, today we are comparing two world-class sports earbuds.


The Jaybird Vista 2 and the Jabra Elite 7 Active are both excellent workout earbuds. They have many common comparable features such as waterproof builds, ANC, good sound, good connectivity, and more. Both are built to withstand gym sweaters, rough usage, and outdoor scenarios. And both sound awesome! Choosing between them, therefore, is a confusing matter. Don’t worry; we’re here to help. While both of the above are great workout earbuds, there are a lot more of them in the market.


Price, availability, and specs

The Vista 2 and Elite 7 Actives are both quite common earbuds in the market, so you should not have any difficulty finding them. The Jaybird Vista 2 earbuds are available on Amazon for 120 bucks and on the Jaybird official website for $150 or so, without any sales or offers going on.

All prominent online vendors like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart also stock the Jabra Elite 7 Active earbuds for around $150. If you prefer to buy them from the Jabra official store, you’ll pay 30 bucks extra. Local shops also keep both buds in stock.

  • Jaybird Vista 2 Jabra Elite 7 Active
    Brand Jaybird Sports Jabra
    Battery Life 8 hours (24 with case) 8 hours
    Noise Cancellation Yes Yes
    Mono Listening Yes Yes
    Microphones Digital MEMS, Omni directional 4
    Connectivity Bluetooth 5.0 Bluetooth
    IP rating IP68 IP57
    Supported codecs SBC & AAC SBC, AAC
    Dimensions (earbuds) 15.7 x 16.2 x 20.3mm 1.58 x 0.64 x 2.74 inches
    Material Plastic Plastic
    Waterproof Yes Yes
    Charging USB-C & Wireless charging USB-C, Wireless
    Measurements 4.6mm X 38.5mm X 25mm 1.58 x 0.99 x 2.74 inches
    Driver size 6 mm 6 mm
    Price (MSRP) $150 $180
    Color Black Black, Mint, Navy
    Spatial Audio No No
    Special features SurroundSense mode HearThrough mode
    Port USB-C USB-C

Design

Sports earbuds must be built very solidly because they are often subject to sweat, water, dust, dirt, and rough usage. If one drops accidentally from your ears in the gym, somebody might even tread on them. Naturally, you can’t compromise on a sturdy build for earbuds targeted toward fitness enthusiasts.

The Jaybird Vista 2 is a real champ in this matter. Built like a tank, these buds are IP68-grade waterproof, repelling most water splashes and able to survive water submersion for over an hour. Moreover, they boast MIL-STD 810G-grade protection from dust, dirt, frost, and shock. What all that means is that you might pass out in a hiking accident, but the buds probably won’t. The case, too, has some IP54-grade protection. And thanks to their cloth fabric finish, the Vista 2s feel much more rugged in hand, and you wouldn’t be afraid to handle them with dirty fingers. Just don’t touch the ear tips.

The Jabra Elite 7 Active can’t brag as much, but they come close. The waterproofing is IP57-rated, so the buds are capable of surviving a meter of submersion in water for 30 minutes. This doesn’t apply to the case at all, though. Additionally, the Actives are very well-built, but their premium satiny finish and comfort will make you shy of using them with dirty hands. Though we daresay they can survive most of the hardcore exercises people go through these days.

The waterproofing ratings here only talk about ordinary water, not beer, hot coffee, or even seawater. Splash or dip at your own risk.

Although Jabra’s earbuds are slightly smaller, neither case creates too much bulge in your pockets. Colorwise, the Vista 2s are available only in black, but you can find the Actives in black, mint, and navy blue.

Fit and Comfort

Both earbuds offer multiple ear tips to fit different-sized ear canals. Jabra also has a “ShakeGrip” technology in their material to help the buds remain tightly fit in your ear canal no matter how roughly you move your body. However, this solid in-canal grip has a significant downside: despite a vent, pressure will build within your ear canal.

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While the Jabra’s ShakeGrip tech sounds great on paper, we found that the rubber earbud wings on the Jaybirds actually give a stronger grip. Still, they aren’t very comfortable, and some ears may start feeling fatigued during extended wear. And due to the wings, it is extremely difficult to shake them out of your ears, even intentionally. However, we didn’t experience any pressure issues in the canal with these Vista 2s.

Controls

Jaybird has chosen to forego modern touch controls in favor of single buttons on each earbud. They have a spongy feel but click satisfactorily. The controls are easy to remember and easy to access while doing other things, meaning you won’t have any problems controlling them while working out. On top of that, these controls can be remapped using the Jaybird companion app.

With Jabra, the story is quite similar since they went with buttons too. But this brings new problems. The ShakeGrip tech already fills your ear canal, so with each button press, you’re only pushing them in further. That can become painful after a while. To some extent, Jabra does let you reassign commands of the button presses with their app.

Sound and call quality

Gone is the era when workout-centric earbuds focused on build quality rather than audio. Nowadays, sports earbuds sound just as good as they are built. The Jaybird Vista 2 and Jabra Elite 7 Active earbuds come with single 6mm milled drivers in each ear, unlike modern coaxial dual-driver setups (as in, for example, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pros). As advertised, both speakers are advanced and can reproduce the 20Hz- to 20kHz human-audible band. However, glaring differences come in audio processing.

The Vista 2s sound well in their own manner; the sound is rich and ornamented with sharp highs and tight low-ends. While they do not sound as good as the likes of Bose QuietComfort 2, they are pleasing enough to use every day.

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