In the fall, I reviewed the Tarah wireless earbuds from Jaybird. They offered great sound, comfortable fit, a rugged IPX7 water resistance design, and they were priced under $100. The company soon released a new version called the Tarah Pro. At $159.99 they cost $60 more, but the upgrades are well worth the extra. I’ve been wearing the Tarah Pros as my go-to earbuds for months now and after this extended evaluation I can say that they may just be the best earbuds out there if you have an active lifestyle.
Like the Tarah Earbuds…
Look at the Tarah Pro and Tarah earbuds side-by-side and they seem virtually identical. The housing looks the same (albeit in different colors), the EarGels are very similar, and the basic design — Bluetooth wireless with a cable connecting the buds themselves — is the same. Both make use of Jaybird’s excellent mobile app, which includes the ability to completely customize the sound.
Subtle Differences
Despite the similarities, if you look closely, some subtle differences are evident and they add up to a more capable set of earbuds.
The cable connecting the buds is thicker on the Tarah Pro and covered with braided cloth. The cable is more rugged, won’t stick to skin when sweating and the weave includes reflective material for greater safety at night. The EarGels are just as comfortable and secure-fitting as those included with the Tarahs, but a slightly different design and a tweaked angle where the cable connects to the housing allows wearing the Tarah Pro earbuds in either under-ear or over-ear style (what Jaybird calls Switch Fit). The Tarah Pro buds connect magnetically so they can be worn as a necklace when not being used — the music will automatically pause.
The inline remote (which doubles as the charger connection) is different as well. The Tarah Pro version is slightly curved, making it more comfortable if worn tightly against the head.
You also get a carrying pouch with the Tarah Pro earbuds, something that was missing from the Tarahs.
The Big Difference
All of those design tweaks make for slightly better earbuds. But with the basics still the same, including audio performance that I found impossible to tell apart, is that enough to be worth paying an extra $60?
If not, there’s one other difference, and this is a big one: battery life. The Jaybird Tarah earbuds are rated for 6-hour battery life. That’s not bad, especially compared to true wireless earbuds that typically need to be charged after three to four hours of use.
Jaybird says the Tarah Pro earbuds will go for an incredible 14 hours before needing to be charged. That’s 14 continuous hours of use — not 14 hours including three sessions being taken out and placed in a charge case for an hour. 14 hours of constant music playback before they need to be charged. In my testing, which typically has them playing around 50% volume, I’m actually exceeding Jaybird’s estimates and getting close to 15 hours between charges.
That is worth an extra $60.
Recommendation
The Jaybird Tarah Pro earbuds aren’t quite perfect. There are just three sizes of EarGels supplied. These are combined tips and fins, so there’s a possibility your ears may not get an optimal fit out of those — although I have to say I have a terrible time with earbuds but the supplied Eargels fit perfectly. Audiophiles may not like the single-driver performance. And the charge cradle is proprietary, so losing or forgetting it is a hassle.
But there is so much to like about the Tarah Pro earbuds, especially if you’re active. You get high quality sound (not audiophile level but it’s energetic with lots of bass and a great equalizer for custom tuning), a comfortable and secure fit, IPX7 water resistance that can survive everything from sweat to a rain shower to falling in a pool, one-touch support for Siri and Google Assistant, and an incredible 14 hours of battery life. These are the perfect earbuds for an active summer.
Disclosure: Jaybird provided Tarah Pro earbuds for evaluation but had no input into this review.
