How many times has your smart phone or iPod/mp3 player gone flying in the gym because of one’s wired headphones? I can’t tell you how many times I sent my iPhone flying off an elliptical because of a headphone cable. This is where in ear Bluetooth headphones come and save the day.

With Bluetooth the only cable that needs to be dealt with is the one going from the left earpiece to the right one.

Jabra, one of the leaders in Bluetooth audio have released the latest in their Jabra Sport line – the Jabra Sport Coach, a sweat, shock, and weatherproof headset that incorporates a free audio coaching app. In addition it has an integrated TrackFit motion sensor that measure distance, pace, steps, cadence and calories burned.

Training options include cross training, indoor and interval workouts. For an even better sounding audio Jabra includes the Jabra Sound app that provides Dolby Sound Enhancement.

Unboxing

The Jabra Sport Coach comes packaged in a cardboard box within an image of a male athlete wearing the Bluetooth headset. On the back of the box is a list of contents, app compatibility, and some of its features. The sides of the packaging include a diagram of the EarWings and Earbud tip sizes.

 

  

 

The front cover folds out to reveal the earpieces with an additional listing of features along with an image of a female athlete using them in action.

  

 

Opening the package reveals the Jabra Sport Coach along with carry case, eargel pack containing Earbuds and EarWings. rubber USB charge cable, two Fitclips, instruction booklet and warranty card.

  

 

Jabra offers the Coach in three color options – red, blue and yellow. For our review we received the red version.

The headset weights 0.56 oz. (16 g) and the cord measures 58 cm from earpiece to earpiece. It is primarily colored light gray along the main cord with a dark gray at the earpieces. The Earbuds and Earwings provide the coloring of the headset.

  

 

On the right earpiece of the Jabra Coach we find the USB charging port, an indicator light along with an EarWing and Eargel. Below this section is the inline controller which houses the volume up/down buttons, a multifunction button and the microphone. On the left earpiece are the TrackFit Motion Sensor and the Sports button.

  

   

Additional accessories include four Eargels (XS, S, M, L) , three Earwings (S,M,L), two Fitclips, a Micro-USB cable and a Protective pouch.

Specifications and Features

JABRA SPORT COACH

Wireless sports earbuds with intelligent audio coaching optimized for cross training and indoor workouts. With integrated cross training app.

Perfect and secure fit

Sweat and weather proof

Music powered by Dolby

Jabra Sport Life App

Get the most out of your Sport Coach earbuds with Jabra’s fitness app.

IMMERSIVE WIRELESS MUSIC POWERED BY DOLBY

Don’t compromise on the sound quality. Dolby Sound Enhancement brings out the true depth and clarity of your digital music, even when listening to YouTube tracks. All without wires getting in your way, allowing you to focus 100% on your workout.

INTELLIGENT AUDIO COACHING

Plan, track, and analyze your cross training or other indoor workout. Choose from more than 40 exercises, from beginner to advanced. Get in-the-moment, personalized in-ear audio coaching as you work out. Use time or repetition-based training while being motivated by your favorite music.

TRACKFIT MOTION SENSOR

If you combine your cross training with running, the integrated TrackFit motion sensor will measure distance, pace, steps, cadence and calories burned. This unique motion sensor captures detailed activity and performance data for the Jabra Sport Life App, helping you train at the right intensity.

JABRA’S SPORT LIFE APP

Get the most out of your Sport Coach earbuds with Jabra’s fitness app.

The Jabra Sport Life app helps you plan, track and analyze your cross training workouts and gives you personalized and inspiring in-ear coaching as you workout to help you optimize each session.

SECURE & COMFORTABLE FIT

Won’t hurt your ears or fall out, thanks to its ergonomic design. Find the perfect fit with 3 sets of eargels. Weighs a mere 16 grams (0.56 oz), so you’ll hardly notice you’re wearing it.

EASY PAIRING WITH NFC

Have an NFC-enabled phone?

Pair it with your Jabra Sport Coach by simply tapping the two together. Quick and effortless.

SWEAT & WEATHER RESISTANT

Built towards US military standards (IP55), Jabra Sport Coach is sweat, shock, and weatherproof. It’s crafted to withstand exercise under any conditions.

What’s in the box Carry Case, Eargel Pack, Rubber USB Cable

Weight 0.56 oz 16 g

Bluetooth Version: 4.0, Talk range: up to 10 m

Battery & Power Talk Time: Up to 5.5 hours, Standby Time: Up to 10 days, USB Charging: Yes

Easy Pairing Supports NFC

Music Device can play music: yes

Control music from device: yes

Voice Guidance Spoken prompts will guide you (pairing, connection & battery status)

Works with Any Bluetooth enabled device

Price: $149.99 (from Jabra at time of review)

The Review

The first step in using the Jabra Sport Coach is get the right fit for the earpieces. By testing the various combinations of Eargels and Earwings the user can get the most secure fit for workouts. To keep the excess cable controlled use the included Fitclip to pinch down the cable. Jabra also includes a video demonstrating how to wear the Jabra Sport Coach here.

 

   

 

Before using the Jabra Sport Coach for the first time you will need to charge them for approximately two hours. The charging port is located behind the right headphone earwing. Use the Micro-USB cable to charge the Jabra Sport Coach. Jabra includes one cable but any Micro-USB cable should do the trick.

To turn on the Jabra Sport Coach press and hold the multi-function button. When initially using the Jabra Sport Coach it will automatically go into pairing mode. Otherwise press and holding the multi-function button until it flashes blue will also put the unit into pairing mode.

Now open the Bluetooth menu on the phone and select the Jabra Sport Coach from the list of devices. For those using NFC enable devices turn on the NFC on the mobile phone and slowly slide the NFC zone (back of the inline controller) against NFC area of the phone. For this review I paired the Jabra Sport Coach with my iPhone 5S and Apple Watch.

The Jabra Sport Coach controls call and music using the inline controller. The Multi-function button will play/pause music, answer/end calls, reject calls, and redials the last number.

Jabra offers a free app – Jabra Sport Life that enables you to create, track and personalize your workouts, listen to on-the-go workout status updates, monitor your heart rate and much more.

When using the unit with the Jabra Sport Life app the Sports button on the left earpiece will start the app and then holding the button for one second will start the workout or resume/pause it. Double tapping this button disables/enables on-the-go updates.

The Jabra Sport Life App is a pretty comprehensive exercise app. Initially it will set up your profile including height and weigh along with app preferences. It also provides detailed instructions on setting up the Jabra Sport Coach for the best fit.

  

   

   

 

Once this is setup you can perform a fitness test or perform pedometer calibration. Now you are ready to work out with the Jabra Sport Life app using the Jabra Sport Coach Bluetooth headset.

  

   

   

   

 

Activity options include – running, cycling, walking, cross-training, hiking, running (treadmill), skating, skiing, walking and walking treadmill. Once an activity is selected you can choose the workout options ranging from just Track Me, Set A Target, Target Pace, Interval Training and Cross Training. The cross training option offers five circuits – CardiCore, TakeOff, BellyBurn, PushPerfection, MadCore.

For my testing I used the app for my runs and compared it to RunKeeper as they monitored similar information. The results between the two apps were comparable. Unlike Runkeeper I did not have to pay for detailed reports or history, which makes this app worth it for that feature alone.

  

  

 

I found the Jabra Sport Coach to be the best Bluetooth headset to wear out of the box. The included combination of ear gels and ear wings helped me get the proper fit in a matter of minutes. For me the initial combination of gels and wings fit my ears exactly right out of the box.

In terms of comfort the Jabra Sport Coach fit and stayed in place the best compared to the JayBird BlueBuds X and the Aukey Sport Bluetooth Headphone, Bluetooth 4.1.

Interference is one issue I’ve encountered with most Bluetooth headsets when paired to two devices in the same vicinity such as my iPhone 5S and Apple Watch. Only when one of the Bluetooth devices is turned off does this problem subside. This issue did occur with the Jabra Sport Coach as well as the other two Bluetooth headsets.

Sound quality on the Jabra Sport Coach is excellent and for those who want to tweak their music playback a little more, Jabra offers a code for installing their Jabra Sound app which features Dolby audio playback and the ability to use an equalizer on ones music. With the newest iteration of Apple Music on the iPhone, I actually prefer the simplicity of this app for finding and playing back songs on my iPhone 5S.

The Jabra Sport Coach worked perfectly with the Apple Watch. Although at this time there no Sport Life Apple Watch app available. Hopefully this will be remedied in the near future.

My two biggest complaints about the Jabra Sport Coach is the fact that it does not announce powering off instead it uses three beeps. The bigger concern is the shorter battery life of the Jabra Sport Coach compared to the similarly priced Jaybirds BlueBuds X that last for eight hours.

When not using the headphones, the carry pouch is the ideal size for protecting them from damage.

Conclusion

The Jabra Sport Coach is designed for the exercised focused individual especially for those with cross training in mind. Using the free Jabra Sport Life app adds a personal trainer to your workout regimen by providing intelligent audio coaching.

Acoustically the Jabra Sport Coach headphones sound excellent. Although they will not match up with high-end wire headphones they still sound excellent especially when working out. Jabra designed these headphones to be comfortable, weatherproof and most importantly to sound great.

The Jabra Sport Coach are ideal for the fitness focused and are priced competitively with other high end Bluetooth headsets. These headphones will be a staple in my gym bag for years to come.

Pros:
+Comfortable
+Free Jabra Sport Life App
+Includes carrying case
+Weatherproof
+Features Dolby technology
+Works with Apple Watch

Cons:
-Shorter battery life than other Bluetooth headsets
-No Apple Watch app

 

Grading	Scores Out of 10
Overall
Design / Aesthetic
Value / Price
Performance / Usage

Disclosure: This product was given to us for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review.

To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.