Almost Jaybird’s entire product line is brand new for 2019. And besides the truly wireless Jaybird Run, the rest of Jaybird’s products might seem like they’re all the same… But thats not true, there are some key difference between the Jaybird Tarah, Jaybird X4, and Jaybird Tarah Pro that you’ll want to take into consideration before buying your first pair of Jaybird ear buds. So today we’re going to break down Jaybird’s product line and hopefully find out which ones right for you. 

The Jaybird Tarah are jaybird’s budget friendly entry level model retailing for $99.99. The Jaybird X4 are an updated version of the hugely popular Jaybird X3’s and X2’s which currently retail for $129.99. The Jaybird Tarah Pro are hands down my most favorite pair of earbuds Jaybird has ever put out and retail for $159.99. And finally theres the Jaybird Run, these are currently the oldest model of earbuds in Jaybird’s line up as of Q1 2019 and retail for $179.99. If you want to pick any of these earbuds up I’ll have links in the description down below. I suggest you check them out cause you never know when they’ll go on sale so you’ll might get lucky.

So as you can obviously tell… the Jaybird Tarah, X4, and Tarah Pro are all wired bluetooth earbuds. They all have a wire connecting the earbuds to one another and they all have an inline controller so you can fully control your music. Where as the Jaybird Run are a pair of truly wireless earbuds that allow you to go completely wire free and you get a charging case. Think of these as sport oriented AirPods. Pretty basic stuff. But what makes the Tarah Pro stand out from from the Tarah and X4 is that it has a fabric braided cable, so it makes these earbuds feel more premium and it also makes them more rugged. Where as both the Tarah and X4’s have soft touch plastic cables connecting the their ear buds. Now the Tarah and X4’s are by no means fragile… Jaybird’s entire line up is sweat proof, but you do have more peace of mind throwing around the Tarah Pro’s in your gym bag. 

But now let's talk about fit. What put Jaybird on the map was its two piece Ear Fin and Ear Tip fitting system that was used on all of the X4’s predecessors and its also used on the Jaybird Run. You can mix and match Ear Tips and Ear fins until you find your prefect fit. And if you want you don’t even have to use the Ear Fins. But if we look at the Tarah and Tarah Pro, they don’t have the same two piece fitting system like on the X4’s. Instead they have single ear gels that have the ear tips and ear fins combined into one. Personally I don’t mind it one bit, but the single one piece eargel does hold back the entry level Tarah’s. You see, with the Jaybird X4’s if you want you can wear them in their standard fitting position or you can rotate the ear fins and wear them in their over ear position. And a lot of people like this over ear position cause it offers a significantly more secure fit over the standard fitting position. But since the ear fins on the Tarah’s cant rotate you can only wear them one way. Now, even though the Tarah Pro use the same ear gels as the entry level Tarah… the earbuds on the Tarah Pro actually rotate so you still have the option of wearing them in their more secure over ear position. So if you’re an endurance or marathon runner looking for a pair of wireless earbuds that aren’t going to eventually wiggle out you’re probably better off going with the X4’s or Tarah Pro’s cause of that over ear fit option.

But another thing to take into consideration is going to be battery life cause its completely different across the board. The Jaybird Tarah has the shortest over all battery life here with an advertised battery life of just 6 hours. The X4’s have an advertised battery life 8 hours which is pretty average, and the Jaybird Tarah Pro have an advertised battery life of 14 hours which isn’t just industry leading… its also very impressive given their size.

But the Tarah Pro’s also has some of the best fast charging out there right now. If you charge the Tarah Pro’s up for 5 minutes from a dead battery they’re going to get you 2 hours of playback time. Where as both the X4’s and Tarah are only going to get you one hour of playback time from a 10 minute charge. So if you’re looking for a pair of wireless earbuds with great battery life and fast charging, then the Tarah Pro is the way to go. 

Now when it comes to the battery life on the Jaybird Run, they have an advertised battery life of 4 hours of continuous playback time which is pretty average for truly wireless earbuds these days. And the case is able to supply the earbuds an additional 8 hours of battery life. So the Jaybird Run have an over all battery life of 12 hours. But what really holds the jaybird Run back for me is their lack of fast charging.

But when it comes to wireless connectivity, all of jaybird’s wired bluetooth ear buds have stable connections that don’t cut out and they’re all decent for watching videos on your phone cause they all have little latency. But unfortunately the same cant be said for the Jaybird Run. The Jaybird Run do have a lot of latency so they arent the best for watching videos. And latency in truly wireless earbuds is pretty common these days cause they’re still relatively new technology. 

But the one thing you’re not going to have to sacrifice when choosing between any of Jaybird’s earbuds is going to be sound quality. All of jaybird’s earbuds sound great its what made Jaybird so popular. all of Jaybird’s earbuds connect to their App so you can select from pre made EQ’s or you can make your own so you can make them sound how ever you want depending on the type of music you listen to. If you like to listen to rap and hip hop you can make them have lot and lots of bass like the Powerbeats 3 or if you listen to rock you can make them have an emphasis on the mids. And over all, Jaybird has one of the best and most stable companion apps out there. 

But the last thing I want to touch on here the control buttons on these earbuds. Like I mentioned earlier, the jaybird Tarah, X4 and Tarah pro all have inline controllers and I personally prefer to still use wired bluetooth ear buds earbuds at the gym cause their inline controllers give you full control over your music playback so you don’t have to touch your phone as much versus truly wireless earbuds which only give you partial control over your music playback. On the Jaybird Run each ear bud has a button, and through the app you can select from one the two button layout set ups. Personally I prefer to use the Alternate controls cause you can adjust the volume of your music by pressing once on the left or right earbud and you can skip forward through your music by double pressing either ear bud. But even though the media controllers on the Jaybird Run are decent I still prefer to just use a full on inline controller. And personally I think the inline controllers found on both Tarah models are better than the inline controller found on the X4 cause the raised plus and minus buttons are easier to tell apart by just touch versus the X4’s circular buttons. 

So over all, the main things to consider when choosing between Jaybird’s ear buds is going to be Fit, battery life and price. The Jaybird run are a very convenient pair of workout earbuds cause they lose the cord, but losing the cord means paying a premium, compromising on battery life, and having to deal with significant latency which could suck if you like to watch videos while you’re jogging on the treadmill. Personally, I think the Jaybird Tarah pro are the best wireless earbuds Jaybird has ever put out and they’re currently one of the best sports wireless earbuds on the market right now. They’re super durable, their battery life is amazing, they sound great and they have no connection issues what so ever. But if you’re looking to save some money, you’re still better off going with the Jaybird X4’s rather than the entry level Tarah’s. Even though the Tarah’s are decent, I think you’re still better off ponying up the extra cash cause with the X4’s you get a slightly longer battery life, you get more fitting options, and you get a carrying pouch. Cause another way the entry level Tarah’s cut costs is by not including a carrying a pouch like all of the other earbuds here.