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There are finally a lot of great truly wireless earbuds out there that are in the $100 to $150 price range. But some people still might prefer a good pair of wired earbuds for working out… either cause of ear hooks, durability, or cause they still have physical control buttons. So today we’re going to be comparing the new wired powerbeats to the jaybird Tarah pro.
So the new powerbeats retail for $150 where as the Jaybird Tarah Pro retail for $160. Now like I just said there are some great new truly wireless earbuds out there that cost around the same as these two wired earbuds. The best examples that come to mind right now are the Galaxy Buds Plus which retail for $150 and the AirPods 2 which retails for $160. But both of these truly wireless earbuds might have some short comings for people looking for a good pair of workout earbuds. Either they have limited or finicky media controls, or they might not create a good seal, or maybe you just want something with ear hooks period. So thats why I still think people will still be interested in wired workout earbuds like the Powerbeats and Jaybird Tarah Pro. So if you want to pick either of these earbuds up they’ll be linked down below.
So first off lets go over the included carrying cases here… now ive been very vocal about this in previous videos but im very disappointed in the powerbeats included carrying pouch. This thing is extremely cheap and its going to do absolutely nothing to keep your earbuds safe if you leave them in your gym bag. Now the Tarah Pro’s also come include with a carrying pouch but this one feels way nicer and its a little stiffer so its actually going to offer some protection.
Now when it comes to earbuds themselves… the Tarah pros feel more premium than the powerbeats cause they have this braided cable, and the soft touch material on them feels nicer than that of the Powerbeats. But don’t get it confused the powerbeats also feel decent as well. But yeah that braided cable on the Tarah Pro really does go a long way.
But now lets talk about fit… one of the reasons why Powerbeats and the powerbeats pro are so popular is cause they have ear hooks. And ear hooks just keep your earbuds in place no matter how hard youre working out. Now at first glance it might look like the Tarah Pro’s don’t have ear hooks… but the cool thing about them is that you can actually rotate their earbuds and use their cable as the ear hooks. And when you wear the Tarah pro in this position they stay in place just as well as the powerbeats do. But more importantly, the Tarah pro’s are also noticeably more comfortable to wear than the powerbeats. The ear hooks on the powerbeats aren’t as bendable as the ear hooks on the powerbeats pro… so its a little harder to get a perfect fit the wired powerbeats. Where as with the Tarah pro, since youre using their own cable as their ear hooks ive noticed they feel lighter, less noticeable and way more low profile all while still having great lock down where as the powerbeats do feel more bulky by comparison. But another reason why the Tarah pro feel more comfortable is cause of their ear tips. Now the ear tips on the Tarah pro’s have built in ear fins which definitely helps with that lock down… but notice that these ear tips are way more oval. So even though these are in ear ear buds, they don’t really go all that deep into your ear canal, but they still create a great seal. Where as the powerbeats fit like your average in ear ear buds. So over all the Jaybird Tarah Pro are way more comfortable than the powerbeats cause their ear tips don’t go all that deep into your ear canal but they still create a great seal, the ear fins help with keeping your earbuds in place, and if you wear these earbuds like this their make shift ear hooks offer the same lock down effect as the ear hooks on the powerbeats… but the Tarah Pro feel way more light weight and less noticeable on your head in general.
Now when it comes to tech specs, the powerbeats have an advertised battery life of 15 hours where as the Tarah pro have an advertised battery life 14 hours. Ultimately I think these earbuds are evenly matched when it comes to battery life cause I can usually go about 5 workouts in between charges with these earbuds.
But the important thing to keep in mind here is that the powerbeats charge via a lightning port so if you’re an iPhone user you can charge your iPhone and powerbeats with the same cable which is super convenient. Where as the Tarah pro have a proprietary charging cradle. So you know you gotta make sure you don’t lose this or else.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, the powerbeats are using apples H1 chip which means a few things. First off you can easily hot swap between any of you apple devices which is great for any power user heavily invested into apples eco system where as the Tarah Pro are using bluetooth 5.0 but they can only be connected to one device at a time. you can still quickly switch between two devices if you go into your phones bluetooth page and manually establish a connection. Its a little weird but it technically works but its not as seamless as the powerbeats.
Now being able to hot swap between any of your apple devices with the powerbeats is great and all but since I specifically use my powerbeats only when im working out I don’t ever use them with any other device other than my phone. So I don’t really think hot swapping should be a deciding factor for you if you’re trying to choose between either of these earbuds if you’re looking for a pair of earbuds to use strictly or mostly at the gym. Cause if you’re like me, ive got my workout ear buds and ive got my AirPods Pro for everything else.
Cause for me whats important in a pair wireless ear buds is their connection stability. And both of these earbuds have stable connections that don’t cut out and they both have zero latency across the board whenever you’re watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or android device.
But the important thing the H1 chip on the powerbeats pro does give you is always listening Siri support if you’re using these earbuds with an apple device. If you’ve got your hand full or if you’re in the middle of a set you can just be like hey Siri skip a track or raise the volume and shell do it. Now always listening Siri isn’t a must have on workout ear buds, but is definitely does come in handy when it works.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these earbuds… hands down the Tarah Pro sound way better than the Powerbeats its not even close. From a performance standpoint the Tarah Pro have a much wider soundstage and way better instrument separation. Giving the Tarah pro a sense of actually being in the middle of your music. Where as the powerbeats are mostly bass and vocals… you can hear the lyrics but everything else in the mids gets jumbled up. And like I’ve mentioned in past videos, I feel the treble on the powerbeats is a little too high so they can get ear piercing at times. Where as the Tarah pro’s don’t have that issue… and thanks to their fully customizable EQ you can make them sound how ever you want. If you like a neutral sound signature you can do that or if you like a bass heavy sound signature you can also that. And if you want the same amount of bass on the powerbeats on the Tarah Pro they can do that. And I actually think the bass on the Tarah Pro also resonate a lot cleaner than the bass on the powerbeats. So overall, I think the Powerbeats sound good enough to get the job done, but the Tarah Pro’s do sound significantly better than the powerbeats from a performance stand point and you can also make them sound how ever you want.
Now when it comes to actually controlling your music with these earbuds… having physical control buttons on your earbuds is probably one of the main reason why you’re looking into getting these for working out. Cause with physical buttons you have full control over your music without having to use your phone. Which is something you want when you’re working out I feel. Cause with truly wireless earbuds either their media control buttons are limited, or their finicky, or they expect you to use your voice assistant which sometimes just isn’t as easy as just having a button. SO with all the being said, the powerbeats have their control buttons on the right earbud where as the Tarah Pro have an inline controller. Both of these media controls are easy to use and you get full control over your music. I really have no complaints here.
But the biggest draw back on the Tarah pro is definitely their microphone. There’s a lot of static in the back ground and I sound very far away. And this is probably cause the microphone on the earbuds is located in their in line controller which is back here.
And if you wear these ear buds in their over ear position which is my preferred method and I recommend everybody wear them like this… now I sound even worse cause the microphone is now all the way back here.
Where as the microphone on the powerbeats is decent enough for phone calls. Its not as good as AirPods, but its way better than the Tarah pro. But I don’t really think you’ll be taking many phone calls with either of these earbuds.
But over all, both of these earbuds are great workout earbuds. They both have very secure fits, they have physical control buttons, and you can go multiple workouts in between charges with both of these earbuds. And if you’re an iPhone user the powerbeats do have some conveniences over the Tarah pro. You can charge your powerbeats with the same cable you charge your iPhone, you can easily hot swap between your apple devices if you want, and they also have always listening Siri. But personally… I actually prefer the Tarah Pro. The Tarah pro are way more comfortable and lighter than the powerbeats, they feel more premium and durable, and they also sound way better. You can’t go wrong with either one of these… but personally I would go with the Tarah Pro.