Wires are the pits, especially when it comes to audio.
They’re antiquated, messy, you have to wrap them up and put them away in a stupid little bag—they’re the worst. But wires play a maddeningly central role in our audio lives, which is odd considering how quickly we dropped physical media and how slowly we’ve adopted Bluetooth—a technology that predates Napster by about five years.
You can blame pricing, but prices have finally dropped enough, from $499 to about $199, for us to buy quality Bluetooth speakers and headphones without breaking the bank. If you’re more than a casual music fan and want great wireless sound, Jabra have a couple options for you.
First from Jabra are the REVO Wireless Headphones, which you can snag from Amazon for just north of 200 bucks.
The REVOs are exceedingly light—and by exceedingly light I mean I can’t wear my Beats Pros for more than half an hour because of the weight and size. The REVOs can stay on for hours, and without pinching your ears. But because the REVOs don’t pack the relative girth of other high-end headphones doesn’t mean they cut in the audio department. The REVOs have great bass and mids and don’t sound tinny, which is a problem with most headphones all the way up to the $150 range.
When it comes to indie and rock, a lot of headphones have trouble capturing the high-end on guitars while making good on the low-end that audio engineers spend hours and hours slaving over in the studio. (For the record, I think you need all that bass.) You end up with a kind of piecing swirl nobody intended their music to sound like. The REVOs, however, can totally handle the dimensions of high-quality recording (and lo-fi, too).
For hip-hop and EDM the audio is as clear as intended (which is probably too clear), but you won’t get teeth-rattling bottom out of these like you would a pair of headphones in the $400 range.
The REVOs also have winning technology and form factor. They feature an attractive flat design and fold up like space-saving champs—not a quality shared with many over-ear headphones today. Most importantly, the headphones have connected to every device I own (iPhone, iMac, PS Vita) on the first try. That never happens with anything Bluetooth. I mean you should have seen me the first time I tried connecting my Nike FuelBand to my phone. My god, it was a Roman circus.
Point is, wireless devices have to be as simple and clear as popping a line into a device. That’s where the REVOs shine.
Next up from Jabra is the Solemate, which you can pick up for about 150 bucks, and believe me this is a steal. A lot of the portable Bluetooth speakers are 50 to 150 bucks more than these and don’t really boast superior sound quality and have way less imaginative designs. The form factor I go over in the video below, as a photo can’t do the Solemate justice.
To sound quality, the Solemate does what it can with limited space. Speaker size bears a huge influence on audio quality and clarity, and big speakers, as you well know, defeat the purpose of a portable device. So engineers are worth their salt when they can deliver a small speaker package without compromising low-end and middle-range clarity. The folks at Jabra have done this, making a handsome little unit aurally competitive with a Bose SoundDock.
Guys, it’s time to go wireless. When you’re in the market to do so, Jabra have some great options. Looking them up will do wonders for your music experience.