Just prior to Christmas I received a package from Jabra containing a pair of their Sport Pulse headphones (Disclosure: these were a media sample provided free of charge by the manufacturer). This device combines a wireless bluetooth headset with an optical heart rate monitor (HRM). I love gadgets that combine functions of things that I use regularly (and I use HRMs and bluetooth headphones regularly), so I was excited to give the Jabra Pulse a try. I’ve now been using them regularly for a few months, and overall my experience has been mixed.

Fit, Sound, Battery, Connectivity

With a bluetooth headset my main areas of concern are fit, sound quality, battery life, ease of connection, and connection stability. For the most part, the Jabra Pulse does quite well in all of these areas. Fit is highly customizable with a variety of earbud attachment sizes/options (see photo below). I have not had them fall out of my ear during a run, but I don’t feel like the fit is as secure as it could be as I often have to push them back into my ear canal (I’ve tried several of the earbud attachments). In contrast, my Jaybird Freedom earbuds stay put really well.

Sound quality is good for a wireless headset – I’m no audiophile, but no complaints here. I’d say it’s comparable to the Jaybirds. I like that I can control volume and advance/reverse songs using the controls built into the headset wire.

Battery life has also been solid. Jabra estimates about 5 hours of listening time for the Sport Pulse, and I have no major complaints here either. I have not done a battery rundown test, but I can generally go a week or so between charges and I have not had the battery die on me mid-run. This is encouraging given my poor experience with the battery life of the Jabra Sport Wireless+ headset.

Syncing with my iPhone works flawlessly – simply turn bluetooth on in the phone settings and the Jabra Pulse will be identified. After the initial sync, the headset gets picked up the moment you turn them on, no need to go back into your phone settings (bluetooth must be on though). You can use the headset with the Jabra app, but I prefer to use them with iSmoothRun (my preferred running app). iSmoothRun recognizes them as a heart rate sensor and they pair without issue. On the run I have not had major issues with connection dropouts for audio – occasionally music will cut out for a moment if I turn my head, but this is not a common occurrence (my iPhone has typically been in a jacket chest pocket this winter while using the headset).

Heart Rate Function

So the Jabra Pulse has lots of fit options, decent sound and battery, and syncs easily with my phone. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, things start to fall apart with the heart rate monitor. Crumble into dust might be a better way of saying it….

First off, the Jabra Pulse only connects via Bluetooth Smart. This is fine for music, but I never look at my iPhone while running, so seeing a real-time readout of heart rate would require the ability to sync it with my Garmin 620 or my Vivofit. Unfortunately the Jabra does not support ANT+ (the Mio Link and Scosche Rhythm+ both support ANT+), so I cannot display HR info on either device. You’d know this before making a purchase, so this isn’t really my big knock on the HR function. It’s worth emphasizing however: don’t buy the Jabra Pulse thinking you can pair it with your Garmin watch – it won’t work.

The bigger issue I have with the heart rate functions of the Jabra Pulse is that it simply does not work that well. The device measures heart rate via an optical sensor built into the earbud (see photo at left). Presumably this analyzes blood pulsing through the skin of the ear and uses this info to calculate heart rate. Unfortunately, the signal is unreliable with tons of dropouts, and at times the reading is way off what I would expect for a given pace. In fact, I’ve had almost entire runs where the heart rate is not even close to where it should be.

Let’s look at some comparison plots comparing HR data from the Scosche Rhythm+ and the Jabra Pulse. The Scosche data comes from my Garmin 620 via SportTracks, and the Jabra data comes from iSmoothRun .tcx file export into SportTracks.

First is a plot from a recent 10K run in which I pushed the pace a bit in the final mile. The first plot below shows data on pace via my Garmin 620 and HR via the Scosche Rhythm+. What you’ll notice is that the HR plot is fairly smooth with no dropouts, and HR moves up a bit toward the end of the run when I picked up the pace.

Next we have the same run with pace data from my iPhone and HR from the Jabra (I couldn’t get the scale to be quite the same). What you’ll notice on the HR plot is over 20 dropouts. Even worse, after mile 2 or so the HR line hovers around 185 bpm. This is approximately my maximum heart rate, and I can assure you I was never even close to that high on this run. Something is very wrong here!

To further illustrate the discrepancy, here are my average heart rate values for each mile split obtained from the Scosche Rhythm+ – note that all are under 180, and only the final split (from the final 0.2) comes close to 175. These values seem consistent with my normal range for the effort expended in each split.

Now the Jabra – mile one was reasonably close to what the Scosche reported, but then things fall apart. By mile 4 I was apparently almost maxing out my heart rate, and mile 6 plus the final 0.2 were similarly high. These numbers are way off reality, and I have no idea why.

So was this an isolated incident? Sadly, no. Here’s another run from last week, first plot is data from Garmin+Scosche:

Again, smooth HR line, no dropouts except maybe a little downward spike near the end of the run. Average heart rate for the run was 158, which sounds about right for the effort level.

Now the Jabra disaster:

I’m not even going to try and count the dropouts, and the heart rate line in this case never goes above 115. Average heart rate reported by the Jabra was 92. If I could run 7+ miles at 8:00/mile pace with an average heart rate of 92 I’d be pretty impressed with my current fitness. Again, something is wrong here, and this time the readings are way too low.

One more example – first Garmin+Scosche:

Next, iPhone+Jabra:

I think you get the picture.

One thing I’d also like to add is that though the plots for the Jabra were exported from iSmoothRun, I have also noticed weird heart rates that were way off what I expected when using the Jabra app.

Conclusion

So what am I left to conclude? Either I got a real lemon of a headset, or the Jabra Pulse is simply not up to the task of recording heart rate in a stable or accurate way on the run. As a result, I am unable to recommend this device if you are interested in its function as a heart rate monitor. My suspicion is that it’s rather difficult to keep a sensor seated firmly enough in the ear to produce a stable recording, and that for optical HR a wrist or arm band that can be cinched tightly to the skin is the way to go.

The Jabra Pulse is fine for music, but there are options out there that are much cheaper than the $199 price tag for the pulse. For example, you can pick up a Jaybird Freedom bluetooth headset (under $60 at Amazon) and a Scosche Rhythm+ optical HRM (just under $80 at Amazon) and still have $50+ dollars left to spend vs. buying the Jabra Pulse. And with that combo you’ll be able to listen to music without wires and get a stable HR recording that will also sync with a phone or a Garmin watch if you have one. To me it’s a no brainer.

I generally don’t like dealing with wired headphones while running unless I can keep the wires out of the way under my shirt or inside a jacket. An alternative that I often use are Bluetooth headphones that sync wirelessly with the phone. Over the past few months I’ve been trying out two different models of Bluetooth headphones. One was sent to me for free as a media sample – the Jabra Sport Wireless+.

The other I purchased myself – the Jaybird Freedom (note, this review is of the original Jaybird Freedom. This model has been replaced by the Freedom Sprint. However, the original Jaybird Freedom is still available on Amazon) .

When considering Bluetooth headphones, I’ve found that there are a few critical things to consider. I’ll go through these and one-by-one and choose a winner for each.

Syncing/Connection

Initial syncing of Bluetooth devices with an iPhone is pretty easy – you turn the device on, turn on Bluetooth in the phone settings, let the phone search for and find your device, then sync.

The tricky part is that on some headsets you need to press and hold the ON button for a bit longer than you might think necessary to get them in sync mode. It’s like a press of the button turns them on, but you need to press and hold for a bit longer to enter sync mode. The Jabra set is helpful in that there are voice notifications that tell you the headphones are ready for pairing. The Jaybird just uses beeps/tones that aren’t as intuitive. The first time I turned on the Jaybirds I had trouble syncing and it was because I apparently hadn’t held the button long enough.

Once your device is recognized by the phone it stays present as a selectable option under the Bluetooth menu (see iPhone screen capture to the right) and future pairing is simply a matter of turning on the device, selecting it from the menu on the phone, and allowing it to pair. One issue I found here is that the Jabra will not re-sync unless you make the iPhone forget the device first and then search for it anew. A bit of a pain, but not a deal-breaker. The Jaybird re-syncs with no issues.

My experience with maintaining sync while running depends on where I keep my phone. With my phone in my jacket chest pocket I almost never experience skipping or lost connections on either headset. My guess is connection with a phone placed on the upper right arm would be fine as well (these headsets tend to work best when the phone is on the same side of the body as the bluetooth receiver). When holding my phone in my hand I get very occasional skipping with both headsets, but nothing that bothers me much (arm swing movement is a lot more pronounced at the hand).

Winner: Draw – Jabra gets a plus for the voice guided syncing, but a minus for needing to forget the device and re-discover it every time I sync it with my phone.

Fit

I’ve found fit to be really tricky with Bluetooth headsets. Because the devices need to be big enough to carry a battery and bluetooth receiver, they are much bulkier than regular earbuds. I’ve had consistent fit issues with the Jabra headset – it doesn’t seem to want to stay on top of my ear the way it should (I might just have weird ears, who knows…). This isn’t a problem when wearing them under my winter hat since that hat keeps them in place against my head, but without the support of the hat I often find myself having to mess with them to keep them secure. They come with a bunch of earbud attachments (see photo below) that allow you to customize fit, and I’ve found that the ones that have a little arm that extends up under the fold covering the cavity above your ear canal do the best job keeping mine in place (anatomy tidbit – this little ear cavity is called the cymba concha).

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The Jaybird headphones stay put very well when using the included (and removable) ear hooks which loop over the top of your ear. I have no fear of these falling off mid-run with the ear hooks attached. The Jaybirds also come with a variety of attachments that allow for a customized fit, and included among the options are ones that have little arms that slide into the cymba (much like the Jabras). With this attachment they fit pretty securely in the ear even with the ear hook removed.

Winner: Jaybird Freedom

Sound Quality

No contest here in my opinion, the sound produced by the Jaybird is deeper and fuller, much better quality. This might in part be because the Jaybird is an in-ear bud that fills the ear canal. This gives better sound, but does reduce the ability to hear what’s going on around you which can be a concern if running on the road. The Jabras do a better job of allowing in ambient noise, but the sound is tinnier and not as rich.

Winner: Jaybird Freedom

Battery Life

Jabra claims up to 4 hours of talk/listen time for the Sport+, whereas Jaybird claims 6 hours of talk/listen time for the Freedom (both have microphones and can be used to take phone calls). I had a pair of the original Jabra Sport (before they added the + to the name) and it was not long before the battery lost it’s ability to hold a charge. I was lucky to get 30 minutes out of it – not good at all. My hope was that the new version would fix this, and so far my pair is doing fine. But, there are numerous negative reviews on Amazon from people complaining that their device died after minimal use or stopped holding a charge (3/5 star average on 137 reviews is not great. Given my experience with the first edition of the headphones, this scares me a bit. I just charged the Jabras and did a battery run-down test while playing music through the phone and got a total of about 3 hours, 30 minutes of play time. Not bad.

One thing I would like to mention in Jabra’s defense is that at one point I though my set had died as well. After doing the battery run-down test I recharged them because I wasn’t sure if they had been fully charged when I ran the test the first time. They wouldn’t take a charge, and all I was getting was a red blinking light which others have reported as the sign of a dead device. Turns out I tried another USB cable and they charged just fine. The cable I was attempting to use first was a Belkin cable with a sticker that said “for charging only” on it so maybe it was only intended to work with a wall outlet an not a computer? Anyway, swapping the cable solved the problem.

I bought the Jaybird Freedoms in 2012 and they are still holding a charge just fine (though there are reports of some issues on Amazon for these as well).  I ran a battery run-down test on the Jaybirds as well and after a full charge they gave 5 hours, 30 minutes of play time. One negative on the Jaybird Freedom is that it uses a proprietary charging cable (one more cable to clutter my desk drawer).

Winner: Jaybird Freedom

Warranty

Given that both devices have had reports of battery failure, a look at the warranties for the respective devices makes sense. Jabra offers a limited 1 year warranty, but specifies that it does not cover damage that results from “contact with liquid, water, rain, extreme humidity or heavy perspiration.” Not covering heavy perspiration is a bit surprising for a device built for use while exercising. My guess is that this does cover battery failure for one year though if you want to take a risk despite the reports on Amazon.

Jaybird also offers a 1-year warranty on parts and workmanship (should cover battery failure), but also offers a “lifetime warranty against sweat” (you have to register your device for this here). Jaybird makes a big deal about their products being designed for use while exercising, and they emphasize that their products are sweat-proof. The warranty even specifies that the product “will not fail because of perspiration for the expected life of the product, as determined by Jaybird in its sole discretion.” They indicate that the battery should last 2-3 years, so I guess that is a reasonable estimate of the “expected” lifetime of the product.

Winner: Jaybird Freedom

Price

The Jabra Sport+ sells for about $7 less than the Jaybird Freedom at Amazon.com.

Winner: Jabra SPORT+, but pretty close.

Conclusion

Based one the more secure fit (on me at least), superior sound quality, longer battery life, and lifetime warranty against sweat the Jaybird Freedom pretty much blows away the Jabra Sport+. At a similar price point, I really see no reason why I would recommend the latter for someone planning to use the headset for running (unless you really need a FM radio receiver, which the Jabra has). The Jaybird Freedom is the clear winner in this comparison.

I should point out that the Jaybird Freedom reviewed here has been updated and renamed the Jaybird Freedom Sprint. The Sprint is a bit smaller in form-factor and swaps the proprietary charging cable for a standard micro-USB cable, but as a result of the slim-down it loses a bit in battery life (and costs about $20 more). I have not used the Sprint yet so cannot comment on it. Jaybird also has a new model called the Jaybird BlueBuds which are smaller still and boast 8 hours of play time (best of the three if true), but they sell for $140. The BlueBuds get good reviews on Amazon (4/5 stars for 885 reviews) and I’d be tempted by them if I didn’t already have the Freedoms.