Jaybird X2: Popular wireless sports headphones get upgraded

[MUSIC] Jaybird makes some of the more popular sports-oriented in-ear wireless Bluetooth headphones, and the BlueBud X headphones, which hit the market a few years ago, has a loyal fanbase, who like to extol its secure fit and strong sound quality. So whats J Bird do for a much anticipated encore? J Bird X2 which comes in multiple color options for $180 and looks almost identical to its predecessor but offers some improvements, including a new matte finish, better sweat proofing, a slightly more comfortable earpin design. A better carrying case and improved battery life to eight hours. Which is good for this type of headphone. The X2 is actually one of the best sounding in your headphones out there and Jaybird hasn't made any changes to the sound as far as I can tell. It's a pretty well balance headphone with good clarity and decent base that isn't over emphasized. There's a slight bit of treble push, and bass lovers may be a little disappointed the bass doesn't have more hmph to it. But I like the sound. For me the best way to get a tight seal was to kind of **** the headphone in clockwise and have the headphone cord wrap around my ear. I was able to get a tight seal and J bird now includes some foam ear tips if you can't get a seal with the included silicone ear tips. I did have a couple of small problems with the headphones. First, the ear phone itself is kind of big. And because of the shape of my ear, the inner rim just didn't feel super comfortable pressed up against the entrance to my ear canal. Secondly, I don't like to have cords wrapped around the top of my ear. You can wear the X2 with the cord hanging down under ear. But I had trouble maintaining a tight seal in that position, so I stuck with the over ear method. The other thing I don't like is the cord shortener. You get a little extra accessory to adjust the length of the cord, which works fine, but I think the designers need to figure out a way to create a more integrated, elegant solution. Having the cord double up on itself with a removable clip is something that may be acceptable on a 50 or a 75 dollar product, but this thing costs 180 dollars. Don't get me wrong I like the [UNKNOWN] X2 and think it's one of the better wireless sports headphones out there, but it's also one of those products that's going to work great for people and not so great for others. So, despite the improvements I've got to hold back a little on my rating giving it three point five stars instead four. Of course, that may change if the price goes down. But for now that is what I'm going with particularly with plantronics back feet fit sitting out there at less than a hundred dollars. I'm David Connery from cnet.com. Thanks for watching.