I bought Jaybird X3s back in 2016 and absolutely loved them. I'm a bit of an audiophile, but also don't want to break the bank and want a set of headphones to use while working out. I've gone through many pairs of earbuds, some with better audio quality than the X3s but would break easily; some sturdier than the X3s but with worse audio quality. The X3s were an excellent compromise between audio quality and sturdiness. Comfortable, good for everyday use, good for working out, excellent at blocking external noise, good audio quality, decent price point, convenient controls, fantastic app, extremely customizable equalizer, etc. I was very impressed with my X3s and used them almost every day for seven years. But they finally started to show some signs of reaching their life's end, so I figured I'd upgrade to Jaybird's newest earbuds since the X3s left such an impression on me. Which led me to purchasing their Vista 2s. So I'll give some pros and cons comparing the Vista 2 to their X3s:

Pros:
-Wireless. Extremely nice for obvious reasons, especially when working out.
-Overall battery life. The case charging the earbuds, on top of the earbuds own charge, makes for a lot of available listening time. I'm able to use these at work, then go to the gym, and still have plenty of charge after.
-Customizable controls/settings. You can choose what a long press, double press, double tap, and single tap do for each earbud. It's actually very nice. You can also have it auto-pause if you take off an earbud.
-Connectivity. I was worried about connectivity after reading some reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised (and maybe lucky?) with how good the connectivity was with these. I can leave my phone at my desk as I walk around the site, put several walls between my phone and myself, and have no connectivity issues.

Neutral:
-Audio quality. Audio quality is fairly similar for the most part between the two when using the same equalizer sets in the app. I would say that the X3s handle bass a bit better, Vista 2s handle mids a bit better, while both handle treble out the same. For reference, I usually listen to metal (Slipknot, Tool, etc.).

Cons:
-Wireless. One niche scenario actually makes for a minor, personal con. I would often wear my earbuds just around my neck for everyday life, then just pop the earbuds in and out whenever; very convenient. With these, I have to reach into my pocket, take it out of the case, and pop it into my ear, or vice-versa when putting them away. But the pros of wireless outweigh this one minor, personal con for sure.
-Case. Just having to carry around a case in my pocket is a very minor inconvenience to me. But like, VERY minor.
-Quieter. Vista 2 set to 100% max volume is approximately equal to 75% max volume on X3s. I tend to listen to my music on the loud side, but it's still fine for 90% of the time.
-Price. As I said in the title, quality-wise, I personally feel like the Vista 2 is more or less a sidegrade to the X3. And you can buy X3s on Amazon for $17 right now. Whether the wired vs wireless is worth the extra money will really vary from person to person.

After having used these for a while, I can say that I am overall happy with the purchase. But if you're looking to save money and really don't mind a wire, then definitely look into the X3s instead. I might even consider buying another pair of X3s and just having both available now. Jaybird's got me hooked.

I've owned a number of these earbuds over the years because they are by far my favorite ones I've tried. Cant go wrong with getting 8hrs of listening time on a single charge beating most others by at least 2 hours. The charging case gives you a total of 24 hours of listening time. If you cycle earbuds one at a time, you can go days before you run out of battery.

I use them for work call and the clarity is fantastic. The noise cancellation can't compete with over the ear headphones but they do provide a better sound when it's on. I also use them heavily in the gym and needed something with a high IPX rating for when I sweat like a dog on my runs.

The ONLY downside, is that if you use them as often as I do, you'll wear down the connection ports that charge the buds. I've had to buy a new pair after 12-18 months which sounds quick but if you get the 2 year warranty you're covered and they'll send you a new one.

I hope the company doesn't fizzle out because I would hate to go to an inferior product after using these for so many years.

Ok I'm somewhat of an audiophile and headphone connoisseur. I am not one of those people who buys a certain brand just because they love that brand. For example, I am an "Apple" person, but I don't care for AirPods at all. I use wireless Bose speakers in my home and Sennheiser for bluetooth over ear headphones but for buds I am super SUPER picky. While all of those brands are known for their high quality audio devices, having tried their offers in the "buds" department, JayBird Vista is the clear winner for several reasons. I owned the Jaybird Vista before these and recently upgraded to the Vista 2's after leaving my beloved Vistas on an airplane (they were still working perfectly after years of heavy use).

I won't go into all the details but suffice it to say I have tried and compared all of these top of the line buds (my husband has Bose, my sister Apple, and I bought and sent back the Sennheiser) and in a head to head, JayBird provided the best experience;

Stellar sound!

Great battery life - though, it should be noted that the battery life of the case and the phones themselves don't last nearly as long as the original Vista's due to the ANC. This is to be expected of course, but it took some getting used to to train myself to charge them more regularly.

Connectivity - Others have cited issues with this but I have had a FLAWLESS experience with connectivity. I use these with my iPhone 11 Pro, my Apple watch and my iPad Air 2. It remembers all of my devices and it's easy to switch between them like when I want to go for a walk but leave my phone at home and listen to a book or music on my apple watch. I have never had signal drop randomly and I get more than enough distance from the bluetooth.

ANC/Surround sense - I love that my buds now have ANC, and it's pretty darn good for ear buds! I also love how easy it is to toggle between ANC and surround sense by tapping twice. That being said, I almost NEVER use them in surround sense mode because I just don't care for the sound. I love that it's there and it can most definitely come in handy in certain situations, but I just don't really use it.

COMFORT! - This might be one of the biggest reasons I bought Vista vs any other brand. These are the only buds that not only fit snuggly in my ears using the interchangeable pieces but are comfortable for LONG WEAR! They are light weight, small and don't push, pull, tug or bother my sensitive inner ears at all! If comfort is your biggest driving factor, then you should buy these without question.

Durability - I knew Jaybird made good products as I've been buying their buds for years, but they have truly outdone themselves with the Vista 2 in the "life proof" department. I wear these hiking, running, working out, in my sauna, etc. They have been rained on and dropped and still look, feel and work like new.

Controls - I love the intuitive and customizable controls of these buds. They are very user friendly, as is the app.

In summary, the Jaybird Vista 2 is at the very top of the industry standard when it comes to true wireless ANC earbud technology and the price is VERY fair for what you get. I seriously cannot recommend these enough!

I sincerely hope this review has been helpful to someone else! And yes, I paid full price for them. Feel free to ask any questions!

I've had these for a little short of a year now and they've been my daily drivers since. The sound quality is great, and I love how compact the case is and I love that you can wirelessly charge it. The battery life is okay, but they die relatively quickly in comparison to other true wireless earbuds that I've owned. The noise cancellation is okay too, nothing to rave about. Now the microphone... The microphone is trash. If you're only going to use these indoors or in a car, they'll be perfect; it'll sound crisp and clear every time. If youre outside or there's a slight draft, the person youre talking to wont be able to hear you, they'll only hear wind noise.

***UPDATE: BUTTON FUNCTION MAPPING OPTIONS TOO LIMITED***

Ok after a couple of weeks regular use I've realized the limited button mapping is a real problem. With a bud that has only one button we should be able to map any function to any action. This is not possible. Should be an easy fix but jaybird does not seem motivated to do so. As a result I've found myself trying to shove and hold the one button to change volume at speed on a bike on a gnarly trail. The powerbeats were brilliant for this as they have a rocker for volume. Also the jaybirds have a real problem with wind despite jaybird's efforts. Finally when running with the vistas I can hear every footfall transmitted into my ear. I still think they sound MUCH better than powerbeats, and are probably ok for some exercise activities. But not great for demanding running or biking activities, which is my primary use for a bud. I might keep these because they sound so good. But I'm going to have to get another pair of powerbeats for serious activity.

***END UPDATE***

The priorities you insist upon and the compromises you can live with will drive your earbud choice. If you are looking at the jaybird vista 2 chances are you are going to use this for exercise and quite possibly vigorous exercise - that certainly is my priority in earbud functionality. Other people may value price, design, sound, anc, call clarity or battery life more.

I am coming from powerbeats pro. I lost those. I think they may show up but until them i had to get something else. The fact that I bought something else might tell you something about the powerbeats. I mountain bike in nasty conditions and it is essential that my earbuds be secure and tough.

Here is what I think according to how I value bud qualities

1. These work great as exercise buds. They are very secure during vigorous exercise. Their spec dictates that they should be able to withstand nasty conditions. Time will tell, obviously. The powerbeats were very secure as well and also stood up to many months of wet, sweat and abuse.

2. Sound. These sound really good. Better than the powerbeats. The powerbeats sounded adequate but had typical beats sculpting and boosting. These sound much more natural and nuanced. I would love to hear them against the master&dynamic that have much larger drivers and tout their audiophile chops.

3. Connectivity. These set up and connected no problem and there has been no dropping or interference. The powerbeats were theoretically better because of their apple specific chip and sometimes connected to my iphone like magic but often one bud wouldnt connect or one bud would fail to charge properly. So annoying. These charge reliably no problem.

4. Comfort. The powerbeats were very comfortable for extended sessions. These are comfortable for awhile but after that my ear canal and pinnae become aware of them and before long they get a little uncomfortable. The available adapters are limited so you are kinda stuck if your ear is sensitive or has atypical anatomy.

5. Controls. I think all exercise centric earbuds need to have more comprehensive on bud controls. The setup on the powerbeats was simple, elegant and effective. The vistas not so much: there is one button on each bud. The button takes a lot of pressure to activate and the control schemes are not that intuitive with limited customization. So making changes while on the move is possible but not easy or ideal.

4. ANC. The powerbeats had nothing, not even any passive 'sealing'. These offer both moderate passive sealing and fairly effective ANC.

5. Design. These have a really sleek looking and elegant design. The powerbeats were nice too in a very different way. These fall somewhere between something 'bespoke' like master&dynamic and something dull like the sony or bose offerings.

6. Calls. So far i have had a couple of people mention that they couldn't hear me so well. The powerbeats always provided very clean calling performance.

7. Wind. The app has wind blocking modes and the buds themselves apparently have some sort of wind muting material. Forget it wind (like cycling or riding in an open jeep) is a real problem. This is probably too much to ask of earbuds but suffice to say that whatever efforts jaybird made in this direction have probably fallen short.

8. The app is ok but shouldn't be a selling point. It's better than the powerbeats that had no app at all.

So for core requirements both these and the powerbeats are excellent for vigorous exercisers. These sound better, connect more reliably and provide good anc. The powerbeats were far better with on-bud control, more comfortable, and provided better call performance. Given the +/- comparison I'd buy these over the powerbeats again.