JayBird first made a name for itself as a Bluetooth company, but it recently introduced two wired models. Of the two new sets, the Tiger Eyes Earbuds ($89) are the slightly less expensive and more stylish model.
The Tiger Eyes earbuds are fairly standard in design, with the exception of the separate inline mic and volume modules. The former is integrated into the right Y-cable and includes iPod remote functionality: clicking once plays or pauses the track, twice skips forward, and three times skips back.
The cable, which measures 43.3 inches, is a thin, plastic-coated number that doesn't seem terribly durable and is prone to tangles, though JayBird includes a wrap accessory in the package to help with this.
We found the earbuds quite comfortable, thanks to the small size and the vast array of eartips included in the package. JayBird offers two sets of soft black sleeves and five sets of clear silicone sleeves, including one double-flanged pair and one triple-flanged.
On the sound quality front, the JayBird Tiger Eyes earbuds perform admirably, though they don't offer the crisp clarity of the similarly priced Klipsch Image S4. Still, the earphones perform quite respectably overall, with rich and enveloping mids that won't leave you wanting more.