#16: Jaybird Vista
"The Has-Been"
Product page: https://www.jaybirdsport.com/en-us/vista.html
MSRP: $180
I remember the brand Jaybirds for their insanely popular “Bluebuds” lineup. The original X was such a popular model that it went on to have another 3 further iterations, now plateauing at the X4.
Comes as no surprise that Jaybird’s entry into the TWS market came with massive fanfare. I’ve personally gotten at least one request a week asking to add the Vista to this guide, but I think I’m about to crush some fans’ dreams now that I have. The Vista is… well, not the worst at least, but definitely losing the fight.
I’m not a bass hater by any means, but the Vista has too much. Now this is a preferential thing of course, you may personally like this level of bass emphasis and I’m in no position to tell you that your own tastes are wrong. But for the purposes of this comparison, against everything else on “The List” or even just this guide itself, the bass tuning of the Vista is poorly done. It starts to smear into the midrange and it’s not the most defined bass out there, so I have to dock points in both regards.
The Vista attempts to counter the extreme bass boost with a less extreme treble spike, but in my opinion it kind of makes things worse. The treble is uneven, sibilant and fatiguing for longer listening sessions. I personally felt the listening fatigue set in after just two songs.
Sorry Jaybird, times have changed.