Jaybird Tarah Pro review: They have something going for them

A few weeks ago I ventured into new territory: Jaybird. To be more precise, I chose the Jaybird Tarah Pro, which I was particularly impressed by, among other things, the long battery life. Did they live up to my expectations?

There are quite a few in-ear headphones on the market. In addition, they are in quite different price ranges and meet a wide variety of requirements. So there is, for example Libratone Track + Wirelesswhich are pretty good for everyday use with the unique design and noise cancellation. You can also use these headphones for workouts, but personally I haven't had any good experiences with them. More information on this in my test report on these in-ears. Models like that Yurbud's Liberty Wireless, which I used before the Jaybird Tarah Pro, are suitable for everyday use and for sports in my experience. And where do the Jaybirds belong now? These in-ear headphones are primarily intended for workouts, at least that is what the manufacturers think. But I was also able to prouse without problems in everyday life.

Unboxing and initial setup

But let's start with the packaging of the Jaybird Tarah Pro. The case is mostly white with some writing and pictures and a Jaybird logo. If you pull the black box out of the case and open it, you can immediately see the Tarah Pro in the upper part of the box. In the lower part, next to two more pairs of ear wings, there is a clip with which the in-ear headphones can be attached to the upper part. Under the mold in which the headphones were located, Jaybird hid some instructions, a small, magnetic charger, the cable of which is a bit too short, and a carrying case. In this case, the in-ears and the charger mentioned above are stored. prounblemished space.

There are two ways to connect the Jaybird Tarah Pro to your smartphone or another device. In both cases, you first need to start pairing mode by long-pressing the middle button on the control. The headphones should then appear immediately in the Bluetooth settings of the playback device. It is also possible that the Jaybird app automatically saves the headphones in the settings. However, the app needs access to the current location via the device's GPS, which I personally cannot understand.

High quality workmanship and a reflective cable

The Jaybird Tarah Pro look very good in my opinion. The design is very similar to the other Jaybird headphones, but that didn't bother me. These in-ear headphones are also very well made. There is even an IPX7 certification for the Tarah Pro, which promises protection against water and dust. There are three different color variants in total: Black Flash (black and yellow), Mineral Blue Jade (blue and turquoise) and Titanium Glacier (gray, blue). Since you can't buy the last two options yet, I bought the Black Flash version.

The two earphones are made of plastic and are flattened on the sides. That has to be the case, as there is a magnet inside that holds the headphones together at this point when you don't need them. Unfortunately, this magnet is not as strong as you might want it to be. This is why the headphones usually come apart, especially in the transport bag. In addition to the magnet, Jaybird built a swivel joint in the earphones. This allows you to adjust the in-ears so that the cable goes backwards either above the ear or below the ear.

Apropos cable: This runs around the neck when using the Jaybird Tarah Pro. In the case of my color option, it is made of black nylon and reflects in the dark when it is shone on. This is particularly useful when you go running in the dark, for example. I liked the small cable guide at the end of the cable. This makes it easy to shorten the length of the cable so that it doesn't flap around during a workout.

The control element of the Jaybirds, which is also made of plastic, can be found on the cable. This can be used to change the volume, control playback and answer calls. There is also a status LED that shows, among other things, whether the in-ear headphones are fully charged while charging. Speaking of which: The charger is magnetically attached to the underside of the control element. There it holds tight as a bomb.

comfort

For optimal comfort, two additional silicone ear wings are included in the delivery. Another pair is already on the Jaybird Tarah Pro. A little few, but oh well. I would have loved it if normal attachments had been included. The largest ear wings fit me best. With these, I was able to wear the Tarah Pro for several hours. proeasy to use without feeling any pain. They never fell out of my ears during my test phase either.

Only recharged three times

In-ear headphones usually have a battery life of six to seven hours. In the best case, eight hours are enough, but usually not much more. The Jaybird Tarah Pro is different. These headphones have a battery life of 14 hours. In my opinion, that is really impressive. I even experienced it once proIt is possible to listen to music for four hours with about 20 percent of charge remaining. In my experience, the charging time is just over two hours, which I think is only average. However, with just five minutes of charging, you can get two hours of playback time. However, you rarely have to charge the Jaybird Tarah Pro because of its outstanding battery life.

The Jaybird Tarah Pro does not have active noise cancelling. However, ambient noise is blocked out sufficiently well if you use the right earpieces. The speaker size is six millimeters. I really liked the stereo sound that they produce, as it is very balanced, neutral and detailed. The Tarah Pro can also be very loud without the headphones audibly clipping. If the sound is not quite right, there is an equalizer in the Jaybird app. Choosing the right earpieces can also help to improve the sound. With a frequency of 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz, the entire range that a person can perceive is covered.

There is Bluetooth 5.0 for the connection to the playback device. The connection to the smartphone or other devices was always very stable for me and there were no interruptions at any time.

Jaybird app and software features

I've already mentioned a Jaybird app twice. It's available in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Windows Phone users are left empty-handed, if anyone still uses it. As I said, you can use the app to set up the Tarah Pro for the first time and there's also an equalizer. This can be adjusted using the controls. A lot of pre-set settings are also available. It's also possible to create your own presets. Jaybird also offers pre-set playlists that are available for free streaming. But I've never used them.

Instead, I saved my Spotify account so that I can access my playlists via the app. In the headphone settings, you can define what your headphones are called and whether the current battery level should be displayed in the notification center of your smartphone or tablet. I also discovered a feature called "Find my headphones." But that didn't work for me at all. I also can't imagine how such a feature would work efficiently, since there is no GPS in the Jaybird Tarah Pro.

On the other hand, the voice output was a positive feature in my test. When you turn on the headphones, it tells you how much battery you have left. It also speaks when a connection to a playback device has been successful. If the battery level is below 20 percent, there is also a reminder when you turn the headphones off that you should charge your Jaybird Tarah Pro. You also get this message when you are pausing your music.

Conclusion

Do I regret buying the Jaybird Tarah Pro? No, not really. Even though they were pretty expensive. More on the price-performance ratio in a moment. My absolute highlight feature of the in-ear headphones is the gigantic battery life. As I said, I was once able to listen to music for four hours with less than 20 percent charge remaining. I also really liked the design of the headphones. But since other Jaybird products look similar, I don't think it's anything special. The reflective cable is just a gimmick in my opinion, but it's still nice to have if you don't have a light strip handy for jogging in the dark. The sound that the headphones produce also convinced me.

I thought it was a shame that only three pairs of ear wings of different sizes and no normal ear tips are included. I can well imagine that none of the three pairs might fit some people. I also found the "Find my headphones" feature superfluous, since it didn't work for me anyway and in my opinion it can't really work because of the missing GPS chip.

Prices and availability

Interestingly, the Jaybird Tarah Pro is only available in the colors mentioned above from Jaybird in the online shop at a recommended retail price of 159 euros. I couldn't find these headphones at MediaMarkt or Amazon. A quick word on the price-performance ratio. Sure, the Jaybird Tarah Pro are pretty expensive for in-ear headphones. But if you consider that you also have to shell out at least 100 euros for other models from the brand, the price is justified in my opinion, as you get a lot on offer here.

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