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Jaybird SB1 Sportsband

Jaybird SB1 Sportsband Bluetooth stereo headphones

Talk and tunes for the all-weather jogger

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Review If you are going to splash out on a set of Bluetooth headphones it makes sense to buy a pair that can fulfill a multitude of roles from comfortable home listening to hands-free telephony to outdoor activity in weather both fair and foul. Indeed, Jaybird's SB1 Sportsband headphones endeavour to satisfy all these roles.

Jaybird SB1 Sportsband

For tunes and talk: Jaybird's SB1 Sportsband

First impressions are very favourable with the SB1 Sportsband looking sleek and smart and feeling very well made. At 103g, despite the aluminium slide adjusters, you can almost forget you are wearing them. The nicely tensioned headband and solid ear-piece ball mounts make for a snug but not overly tight fit. The design is pretty low profile too with the earpieces only adding 20mm to each side of your head.

These headphones also sit securely, which is important because – as suggested by the use of the word 'sport' in the name – they are targeted at the more active amongst us. The rubberised underside of the headband gripped my noggin well enough to allow me to go running and cycling without fear they would slide off.

To further lure the athlete, Jaybird offers a lifetime guarantee against damage caused by excessive sweating – or glowing for the lasses – and reckons the SB1 Sportsband is shower proof. To test the latter I went out for a jog in a pretty heavy downpour and the headphones suffered no ill effects.

Jaybird SB1 Sportsband

Colourful options, if you must, for the sportier look perhaps?

The SB1 has an integrated microphone built into the right hand earpiece which uses something Jaybird calls Clear Voice Capture. However that works technically, it certainly succeeds in making the SB1 Sportsband one of the better headsets for reducing background noise that I have used. Paired to an Android phone, the SB1 Sportsband handled the whole music to call and back transition perfectly.

Latest Comments

@Al Taylor

I'm guessing it must have been my big ears then.

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What about security?

As Bluetooth < 2.1 devices with a relatively limited pairing process, aren't these headphones - Jaybird and Jabra both - liable to be tapped? Jabra in particular apparently can "talk to" two devices at once - I suppose they mean phone and MP3 player for instance.

So your phone conversation, or even anything you say while in the room with the headset, convceivably can be overheard.

Admittedly, someone probably would have to be almost close enough to you to overhear you without technological means...

...or their radio receiver or phone would.

And I suppose if somebody wants to bug your conversations, they can do it with their own gear and not bother you at all, but you still may not want to make it... fun.

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Questions

@ Ioan - my regular run takes me under several sets of power lines and I never noticed any interference.

@ AC re. Nice Look. I watched all of Pope Joan with them on and that's over two hours long. Didn't notice any discomfort at the end of it.

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Cycling

So you tried them under a helmet before recommending them taking to the cycling track?

I'm guessing not.

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there truely hideous

and £90! ive got a apir of itech blueband. cost £20 off ebay. over the back of the head style. and they are quite amazing. and not £90, and dont look stupid.

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