We love being able to offer our Operation Move team the chance to participate in product experiences and reviews. Today, Christina shares her thoughts on the new YurBuds Wireless earbuds.
As a runner, I listen to music or audio books to keep me moving. Thanks to Operation Move, I have had the chance to try out Yurbuds’ Limited Edition Inspire Wireless ear buds.
In the box:
Earbuds
Charging cable
Spare set of silicone enhancers
Case
First impressions
When I removed the headphones from the box, my first thought was that they would not fit in my ears. These are the largest earbuds I have ever seen, dwarfing my standard issue iPhone earbuds.
The earbuds connect wirelessly to any blue-tooth enabled device with just one click. It took less than 30 seconds to pair the earbuds with my iPhone 5s. It took far longer to jam them in my ears, but more about that in a minute. My iPhone also displayed a battery monitor – a handy feature to make sure they last the distance – up to six hours. This does not work currently with Android devices. The earbuds give auditory feedback for power status, maximum volume, and critically low charge. The controls are on the right earbud, and it is easy to adjust volume, change tracks or answer a phone call. The earbuds are connected by a cloth-covered adjustable cable that can be worn at the front or back of the head.
These earbuds are not for the audiophile, offering adequate mid range sound, but no booming bass or crisp treble. Inserting the earbuds properly significantly improves sound clarity – the narrow end of the washable silicone covering needs to point into the ear canal. This is not intuitive, and I actually had to consult the manual to work out how to position them so they would not fall out. The ‘twist and lock’ action felt more like jam and wrench.
Performance on the road
Yurbuds claim that the wireless Inspire earbuds never fall out or hurt. Once I wrestled the earbuds into place they were surprisingly comfortable, and I mostly forgot about them on both short and long test runs. The wireless signal did not drop out, even though I carried the phone in my Spibelt rather than the recommended position on the right arm. The controls were easy to use on the move. The earbuds are not especially loud, but that suits me. I like to be aware of my environment, and these earbuds allow ample ambient noise awareness. Perhaps too much – I was much more aware of wind noise than I usually am with my regular earbuds. Sound quality was acceptable when fitted properly, although the range was not as dynamic as I would like.
On my long run I had trouble balancing the sound. This was due to incorrect fit, and annoyingly, I had to stop running to reposition them. They did not fall out when fitted properly. I loved not having wires dangling in front of me, and the controls were easy to access. I tried a phone call, and while I could hear my friend clearly, my friend had trouble hearing me. I would not use these earbuds for making phone calls outdoors.
Verdict – measure your ear cavity and check these headphones out in the wild before shelling out $199. If they fit and you are not overly fussy about sound quality, they are a good option for wire free moving.
