Review: Jays a-Six Wireless – 50-metre dash!

Jays a-Six Wireless

Disclaimer: Lieven got these phones, probably from Jays. I have no idea. He’s not a wireless guy. I am. Totally. He sent them to me. I abuse them. They house a single dynamic driver and go for 79$ USD. You can find out all about them here: Jays a-Six Wireless.

After unboxing these bad boys, putting my camera into repeat mode and shooting a few images for Picture Sunday, pacing out their wireless signal strength, and finishing morning coffee, I took the Jays a-Six Wireless for a 40-kilometer ride. Yes, forty. I’m out of shape, and because I keep eyeing the Audi TT, probably approaching mid-life crisis. Part of being out of shape is that what once was a quick 100-kilometer ride is now truncated. Forty is nice and clean.

Not sound

Which, as I mentioned in the Sunday article, describes the Jays a-Six Wireless’s signal strength. My iPhone SE can sit tight on my porch and I can pace up to a fifty-meter dash between it and the Jays before things go totally wonk. For safety’s sake, I’d say the best line-of-sight range is between thirty and forty meters. It doesn’t get better than this. Your mileage will vary.

I also mentioned that the a-Six was comfy. There’s no way baby ears will get stuffy or painful when these things are in. It slides right into the ear, but is big enough to grip by its tail when removing. This keeps the cable nice and safe. I have no idea how well anchored the cable is in the earphone, but it is strong, and only slightly stretches when yanked real hard. Rubber grommets split both sides out of the battery unit, and the microphone/remote part is light.

Those forty klicks went well. Typically I ride with wireless earbuds, my favourite being Apple’s AirPods. The why is that I like to hear what’s all around me. To be honest, a-Six blocks out a bit too much noise for rides where cars and trucks rush by. It blocks out most of the train, too, but not like an Etymotic ER4 or a custom. You’ll still hear clacky keyboards and clicky attaché cases and high heals and all that stuff. But none of it will occlude your music.

The hardware interface is pretty full-featured. It does the Leica SL thing: bifurcating input calls between single taps and long holds. It’s foolproof, but you’ll have to read the Getting Started page.

I’ve put the a-Six through several rides, two of which in 24-degree weather. Yeah, it’s not summer yet, but I sweat buckets. Jays seal the micro-USB port with a pressure-and-push rubber cover. It keeps sweat out lickety split. Like me, many people use wireless earphones when working out. Unlike me, most people sweat conservatively. I’m a total liberal. Buckets. And still a-Six holds out, tacit and stalwart. Like a champ.

Details

Type

  • In-ear headphones

Features

  • 12 hours wireless playback
  • One of the world’s smallest
  • Trouble-free wireless connection
  • Precision-made metal housing

Remote Control

  • Bluetooth® 4.1
  • MEMS microphone

Specifications

  • 6 mm dynamic speakers
  • 16 Ohm @ 1 kHz
  • 20 – 20 000 Hz

Versions

  • Black on gold
  • Gray on silver
  • White on silver

 

Sound and more after the jump:

3.8/5 - (30 votes)
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Back before he became the main photographer for bunches of audio magazines and stuff, Nathan was fiddling with pretty cool audio gear all day long at TouchMyApps. He loves Depeche Mode, trance, colonial hip-hop, and raisins. Sometimes, he gets to listening. Sometimes, he gets to shooting. Usually he's got a smile on his face. Always, he's got a whisky in his prehensile grip.

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