If you’re looking for a really good set of wireless earbuds—great audio, comfortable fit, long battery life, rugged construction—Jaybird’s Tarah Pro buds are tough to pass up. They’re not just for runners and fitness fanatics…
Comfortable and Secure Fit
One of Jaybird’s strong suits has always been the fit of its earbuds. It was one of the pioneers of the “fin” design that helps lock buds in place. A secure fit is especially important for earbuds that are designed for a physically active customer base, and Jaybird has always targeted runners and athletes.
The Tarah Pros don’t have separate fins and tips, instead using all-in-one eargels. They are soft and extremely comfortable, yet still hold the buds firmly in place. Three sizes are included, so most people should be able to get a good fit.
These aren’t true wireless. Connectivity to the music source is via Bluetooth, but there is a cable connecting the two buds (cloth covered to reduce noise and reflective for safer night running). I prefer this design over “true wireless” for a number of reasons. The earbuds themselves are lighter, controls are on an inline remote instead of in your ear, there are no synchronization issues, and it’s a lot less likely you’ll lose a bud. If you do prefer true wireless, I reviewed Jaybirds RUN earbuds when they came out, and they were pretty good. I’m currently evaluating the company’s ssecond-generationRUN XT true wireless buds, so watch for a review of those.
Unbelievable Battery Life
Another big advantage of this design is the ability to incorporate a bigger battery since the limitation of practical earbud size is removed. The Tarah Pro battery is in the inline remote. Jaybird says it is good for 14 hours on a charge. In testing at mixed volumes, I was getting nearly 15 hours! That is incredible and the best I’ve seen in wireless earbuds. True wireless earbuds usually get anywhere from three to five hours on a charge before having to be removed and put back in their charge case. If you do run the Tarah Pro battery down, a five minute quick charge gets you two hours of play time, but you’ll need to find an electrical outlet and have the charge cradle with you.
Waterproof
Most decent wireless earbuds these days are sweat resistant. The Jaybird Tarah Pro earbuds are IPX7 waterproof. That means you can dunk them in three feet of water and they’ll be fine. And yes, I did do that during testing—multiple times. There is no practical reason to dunk your earbuds in water, but that IPX7 rating means there’s no worry about wearing these earbuds in extreme conditions like torrential rain.
Customizable Audio
Audio performance for the Tarah Pros is excellent, and the secure fit doesn’t hurt in that regard. Bass response is very good for earbuds (better than most, in fact) and music in general is energetic and crystal clear without being harsh. These are the rare earbuds good enough that I actually enjoy listening to music on them, rather than more or less put up with them out of necessity. However, Jaybird has a secret weapon in its mobile app. The app has a range of pre-set audio settings, and a custom EQ that lets you tweak audio to a very fine degree and save it. The EQ can make a considerable difference in the sound, so you can customize these earbuds to your exact preferences. You can also share settings and even music playlists with other Jaybird owners.
The Tarah Pros are equipped with a microphone for taking calls, and a double-press of the middle button invokes Siri or Google Assistant.
What About the Tarah?
Shortly before the Tarah Pro earbuds came out, Jaybird release the Tarah wireless earbuds. Superficially they look very similar, but there are differences. The Tarah Pros have a higher quality connecting cable, a curved control (that sits closer to your head if worn that way), support for over-ear fit, they include a storage pouch, maximum volume is a bit higher, and most importantly, they offer more than double the battery life. That being said, I can’t tell the difference in sound quality and both use the same eargels for a very similar fit.
I spotted the Jaybird Tarah earbuds on Amazon for as low as $70, so if you want to save money and battery life isn’t as important they are a great option.
Recommendation
So long as you’re not stuck on true wireless, the Jaybird Tarah Pros are the best all-around wireless earbuds I’ve tried over the past year. They are extremely comfortable, fit securely, they sound great (with exceptional customization ability), they’re virtually waterproof, and they offer extraordinary battery life. They look pretty cool, too—my review units were black with neon green.
And at $159.99, they cost significantly less than premium wireless earbuds from Beats, Sennheiser, and Bose, making the Jaybird Tarah Pro wireless sport earphones a no-brainer recommendation. Even if you’ve never worn a running shoe in your life…
Disclosure: Jaybird provided Tarah Pro earbuds for evaluation but had no input into this review.
