The Jam Audio Athlete £49.99 from Argos or JamAudio.com
With many of us trying to remove that lockdown weight we put on while watching old episodes of Friends now the gyms are back open, you might be looking for a pair of earbuds to make it more of an enjoyable experience.
Welcome the Jam Audio Athlete true wireless earbuds.
Costing £49.99, these buds come with some key features you come to expect from earbuds that are most likely to be worn in the gym: IPX5 rating, Ultra Secure fit, Bluetooth 5.0, Easy one-button voice control, USB-C Charge cable & spare eartips.
The Jam Audio Athlete only comes in black, and the design of the bud is an over-ear hook design which, based on testing similar-styled buds in the past, works well when you hit the gym. This style of bud is ideal if you exercise that requires a lot of movement or like me you just to rock out to 2010’s classic “Willow Smith – Whip My Hair” These buds won’t fall out – believe me, I have tried.
The over-ear hook design works very well and also adds a level of comfort due to the fact they are made from a rubber material. It also comes with an ear-like shape design which allows for long term use when doing a killer workout.
When testing these buds you will notice the earbud itself has a triangular design which has been made this way to provide extra comfort. My only slight negative is they are quite big compared to others on the market at 9cm tall and 6cm wide.
Now, if you think the buds are large, the case is just massive at 15cm long and 4cm wide and it weighs about 65g.
The case comes in a black matt finish with the Jam logo on the top and 4 LEDs that indicate the amount of charge in these buds.
At the back of the case, you have the USB-C port. However, that port is exposed so be careful of dust or anything small getting stuck. It would have been nice for Jam Audio to have added a cover to keep the port safe.
When you open the case you will see 2x deep cutouts for where the buds will sit. You will notice 2x mini magnets that when you place the buds inside they offer a secure fit to the buds which even when I tested the case by giving it a good shake the buds stay firm inside the case. The case overall is made from plastic but will handle a few drops.
The case is also a charging case that uses 5V input and gives you an extra 30 hours of charge. The buds give you six hours of charge and this is split over two buds with each bud holding three hours of charge. To fully charge the case it will take 2 hours to get back to 100 per cent.
I know what you’re thinking – the maths doesn’t add up. The buds do not provide the Master & Slave function so you can just use one bud at a time if you wish hence why each bud has three hours of charge. The only downside is that you do not have a quick charge option.
To pair these was very easy. Simply pop them out of the case the first time and you will hear a bubble sound that indicates they are pairing and then just pair via your handset. You only need to do this the once as they will automatically pair next time you use them
Now the controls are a physical button on each bud that comes with the logo printed on each and offers the normal settings such as play/pause, track control, voice assistant and call answer and reject. However, no volume controls you can use the smart assistant on your phone to increase or decrease the volume but it would be nice to have had that option.
I did find every time I pressed the button it would go into my ears a little more, reducing the comfort at times but you can adjust the bud after you have made the control. I prefer the way the button designed on the Jabra Elite 65t, it never feels like they are being pushed into your ear. I can also see the lack of volume control might lose them some sales as I know a lot of people who don’t want to use the smart assistant or get the phone out of your pocket just to change the volume.
As mentioned, you have a call answering function and you will notice each bud has a pin-sized hole that houses the microphone on each bud this is the bottom right of each bud this results in having dual microphones for a better call quality even in loud environments.
Sound-wise, they have 6mm drivers and you get a fuller detailed sound signature with strong deep bass. The highs are very good when the overall volume is increased and this is shown when listening to something like “Castles” by Freya Ridings. When listening to something a bit more bass-heavy like No Roots by Alice Merton, I was impressed with the deep base. Now they do fall down as they do not offer aptX or AAC codecs meaning it was pointless playing anything on Tidal Hi-Fi as these buds are a limited to what they can do, however, for the average user listening via Spotify this was not a deal-breaker.
So overall, If you are looking for a pair of buds to hit the gym but don’t want to pay the world at £49.99 you will be happy with your purchase. They sound great and are IPX5 rated meaning they are sweat-resistant and perfect for the gym.
The negatives for me are the massive charge case, no quick charge and no volume controls. However, if you can look past these negatives you have a decent pair of buds that offer deep bass and being a fan of a strong bass these are winners for me.
Design – 4 Stars
Features – 3 Stars
Audio quality – 4 Stars
Value for Money – 4 Stars
Overall rating – 3.75 Stars
