Review: Gaming buds you can afford to buy for every gamer in the family
- mar
- 26
Jabees brings gaming mode to even the littlest gamers.
Jabees Firefly Vintage Gaming Earbuds have a lot more to offer than just a cool name. These retro-designed earphones have unique features that make them attractive for both gamers and virtual employees. The low-latency gaming mode will ensure that sound effects and player voices remain in perfect sync with game action on any device. Due to the environmental noise cancellation (ENC) feature, other players can also hear the user's voice loud and clear.
Interestingly enough, these features also translate well for virtual work. For those who have to do a lot of conference calls and virtual meetings, the gaming mode and ENC are also quite beneficial to both hear and be heard. Although these might not be the best earbuds for audiophiles, they offer a great value for the price. For the average budget shopper, these work perfectly well and come with plenty of added benefits.
Jabees Firefly Vintage Gaming Earbuds
Bottom line: An interesting combo of gaming and work-enhancing features makes these earbuds attractive for gamers and virtual employees. And at this price, you can buy one for every family member!
The Good
- Crazy long battery life
- Offers low-latency gaming mode
- Great ENC for calls and games
- Unique, responsive controls
- Excellent low price
The Bad
- Controls are not the same on both earbuds
- Sound is not the best
Jabees Firefly Vintage Earbuds: Price and availability
The price of the Firefly Vintage Earbuds is one of their most attractive features. They go for a mere $40 on the Jabees official website and a few dollars more on Amazon. This is a fantastic price point for a pair of true wireless earbuds with ENC and ambient noise mode. They are available in both bronze and black colorways.
Jabees Firefly Vintage Earbuds: Earbuds for every gamer in the house
The Jabees Firefly Vintage Earbuds are called 'gaming earbuds' for a reason; they are great for gaming and working, but maybe not so great at other things. When it comes to gaming, they are excellent. The gaming mode allows for super-low latency, so the sound effects remain in sync with gameplay, with little to no lag. Keep in mind that gaming mode dramatically reduces the range of the earbuds, so I usually turn off gaming mode when I don't need it.
The ENC technology also supports games where I need to talk with other players; they can hear my own voice very well but don't pick up most of the ambient noise around me. This also works great for conference calls and virtual meetings. Other people can hear my voice loud, clear, but they don't hear the sounds around me, such as if I'm calling in from a coffee shop.
The Jabees Firefly Vintage Earbuds are called 'gaming earbuds' for a reason; they are great for gaming and working.
I was also super impressed with the battery life of the Firefly Vintage buds. I have never owned any other earphones that lasted so long! The box promises 10 hours of listening time, and I believe it. I used them for the better part of two straight days before they died. That is far beyond any other true wireless earbuds I've owned previously.
Finally, we can't dismiss the excellent price point here. This is a great value for the price and much lower than similar earbuds in the market. Most true wireless earbuds with different listening modes (both ENC and ambient noise mode) cost well over $60, while these are available for less than $50 at full price. This makes them a great choice for the young gamers in your family who haven't graduated to expensive earbuds yet. Since the Jabees come with extra-small ear tips (as well as large ones!), this makes them even more ideal for young listeners.
Jabees Firefly Vintage Earbuds: Not for audiophiles
The Firefly Vintage Earbuds are about what I would expect at this price point when it comes to sound quality. That is to say; they sound fine but not sensational. When ENC is turned on, they sound a tad bit tinny, and when ambient noise mode is on, they are a bit hollow. Music sounds nice enough, but not as pure and clear as more expensive earbud models. They sound perfectly good during video games and movies, but I wouldn't choose these as my go-to for listening to Mozart on spatial audio.
I don't love that you need to have both earphones in to get the full spectrum of controls. The hybrid touch/button controls are actually very cool and work great. The problem is that volume up is on the right bud, and volume down is on the left bud. So if I'm only wearing one bud (like when I'm jogging), then I have to use my iPhone to adjust the volume because each earbud will only adjust one volume setting and not the other.
Jabees Firefly Vintage Earbuds: Competition
Most gaming earbuds at this price point are not true wireless earbuds, but I found one similar example from Razer. The Razer Hammerhead Gaming Earbuds offer many similar benefits, including low-latency mode and super-long battery life. This competitor does not appear to provide ENC or ambient-noise mode, however, and they are also more expensive. For those who'd like to use their earbuds for calls and work as well as gaming, the Jabees buds are the better choice.
Jabees Firefly Vintage Earbuds: Should you buy it?
You should buy this if ...
- You need low-latency gaming earbuds.
- You want to hear and be heard in any environment.
- You're shopping on a budget.
You shouldn't buy this if...
- You're looking for perfect, pure sound quality.
- You prefer to use one earbud at a time.
These are the earbuds you can afford to buy for every gamer in the house. They work great for video games because of the low-latency setting, and the ENC ensures that you will hear and be heard by other players. For this same reason, they also work great for working remotely. Since the Firefly Vintage buds come with extra-small ear tips, they can even be used by the youngest gamers in your family.
Jabees Firefly Vintage Gaming Earbuds
Bottom line: The retro look and feel of the Jabees Firefly Vintage Gaming Buds only adds to their versatile functionality. Use them for gaming or working for up to ten hours before charging.