It's been a bit since I made a tech related video and one fitness tech item that is a must have in the gym are a good set of headphones or earbuds! Without the tunes the workouts are so much harder ;) The headphones I am reviewing in this YouTube video are the SnugPhones Premium BT Ear Canal Earbuds and what's unique about them is that they are not just great for the gym or super active types but also can be used inside helmets since they fit snugly inside your ear canal with only the cord coming out of your ears. Perfect for motorcycle riders!
I do go into a fair amount of detail in my YouTube Video about how the SnugPhones Premium BT Ear Canal Earbuds performed for me and what I liked about them but the highlights for me would be battery life, sound quality and comfort, price is also good for what you get.
Specifications for the SnugPhones Premium BT Ear Canal Earbuds:
What are the FX-Sport VRX Headphones? First off they are based on a stand alone design so no built in Bluetooth and no iphone or smartphone is required! All of your music and selected Pre-prepared and Real Coach Training Sessions store within the 8GB internal memory. The FX-Sport VRX Headphones are built for quality, comfort and sound with notable features like top notch sound quality, customizable playlist with text to speech, and even the ability to make them fully water resistant so you can swing with them using the Silicone Skin Swim accessory.
Features:
Come with carry bag and USB charging cable.
Custom speaker with extra embedded amplifier of louder distortion free sound.
Secure and comfortable, stay in place without feeling to snug.
8GB Wire Free MP3 player
Upload free pre-prepared workouts from the FX-Sport Workout Store.
Upload “Real Coach Training Apps” to hear real world class trainers talk you through your workouts with your own choice of music playing.
Can even design your own workouts.
Scroll through multiple workouts stored on the FX-Sport VRX Headphones.
Water Resistant/Sweatproof and Wire-free.
Upgradeable to fully waterproof headphones using the FX-Sport Silicone Skin Case for swimming.
Track Change and Volume Control.
Fast Forward and Rewind within an Individual Track.
Text to Speech Navigation through Playlists.
Superior music quality. Bass and Treble Settings
5hrs battery life using all functionality with low battery ‘beep” indicator.
3x faster quick charge time.
Navigation:
-Power, play and pause button.
(+) Button for volume up, track and playlist selections.
(-) Button for volume down, track and playlist selections.
FF/RM Button for fast forward and selecting and starting workout sessions.
REW/SH Button for rewind and shuffle mode selection.
FX-Sport VRX App:
Simple in design but gets the job done.
Music Tab - for creating playlists and adding your personal music, the FX-Sport program automatically creates a text to speech audio files so your playlist is named on the VRX when selecting a playlist on the device.
VRX/VRI Tab - for setting up training options like Race Mode, Pace Mode and the Programmable Trainer.
Settings Tab - for adjusting the EQ for the FX-Sport VRX Headphones.
What I like!
My first impression was wow, the FX-Sport VRX Headphones look and feel awesome! The quality of the material is really good, they have their own very attractive look to them and the flexible band stays tucked nice and tight to the back of your head so these headphone are not going to interfere with your workout at all. I really like how all the controls are raised and textured so you can feel exactly which button you are pressing without having to see them. The FX-Sport VRX Headphones have to be one of the most comfortable headphone I have worn so far, they do a have bit of weight to them but this does not effect their comfort in the least.
In terms of sound quality the FX-Sport VRX Headphones again did not fail to impress me, they are able to go beyond loud but this can be good for sound tracks that may have been recorded on the low side. The overall sound quality it really smooth, lots of deep base and clean crisp highs that are not too tinny, the mids are very present but not woody sounding. I found listening to the FX-Sport VRX Headphones at even higher volumes distortion free and not tiring on the ears.
The controls did take some time to get used to since there is a lot you can control on the FX-Sport VRX Headphones, but once I got used to them I really appreciated the ability to easily control volume, skip songs, pause and start songs, find workout sessions and even fast forward through sections of music I want to bypass.
What I would like to see improved:
There is not a lot here to say, from the ground up the FX-Sport VRX Headphones where designed to be a stand alone headphone with no dependencies on having to bring your Smartphone or be in Bluetooth range while working out. I did however miss the ability to pair the FX-Sport VRX Headphones to my iPhone or computer simply because I like to stream internet radio at times while I workout, I also like to watch videos or play games on my computer or iPhone and it would have been nice to be able to use the FX-Sport VRX Headphonesfor this use also. However I see the workout advantage of not being so connected to your smartphone and all of its distractions and interruptions.
On the Fence Stuff:
I pretty much only do weight training and literally never do any interval training, at least these days. Perhaps in the future when I’m not training for fitness contests I’ll do more interval based workouts. I realize you can make your weight training session interval based but that is not my style presently as I feel I am experienced enough at this point to known when I am ready to do my next set and how intense my workouts need to be. I do not want to discredit the importance of having pre-prepared and Real Coach Training workouts on the FX-Sport VRX Headphones since it is kind of cool how it all works and I can see how useful it can be for making your workouts more productive, fun and interesting. I can see the pre-repaired and Real Coach Training workouts not only being a great tool for the trained athlete but also the newbie learning how to get the most out of a workout.
Another thing I’m not is a swimmer :) So having the ability to upgradeable the FX-Sport VRX Headphones to a fully waterproof system using the FX-Sport Silicone Skin Case for swimming is another really notable feature but again one I would not personally use. If I was a swimmer I would probably jump all over this feature, Duncan from FX-Sport says that at time up to 50% of their sales come from swimmers so being fully water proof is in demand and worth making note of.
Summary:
The FX-Sport VRX Stand Alone Headphones with Built-in Personal Trainer are a headphone like no other and I really like that FX-Sport has seperated themselves from the trend. There are so many Bluetooth headphones out there all competing for a piece of this huge market. FX-Sport has done something radically different than all the rest by making their headphones stand alone in a world where everyone else feels they need to be connected at all times. The FX-Sport VRX Headphones free an athlete while still enabling them to have playback of all their favorite music and at the same time get a personal coach style workout in a super stylish and high quality package.
I want to thank Jabra for sending me a pair of their Jabra Sport Cocah Wireless Sports Earbuds with intelligent audio coaching optimized for cross training and indoor workouts utilizing their integrated cross training app. The Jabra Sport Coach Earbuds are a high quality BT wireless headset with built in motion sensor for rep and step counting.
Perfect and secure fit.
Sweat and weather proof.
Music powered by Dolby®.
TrackFit: built in advanced motion sensor.
5.5 Hours of Audio Time.
.56 oz.
BT Version 4.0 with 10m range (about 30 feet).
NFC pairing.
Control Music from Headphones.
In App Voice guidance.
$169 in Canada.
Pros:
They fit amazing in my ears, really seal nicely allowing for great full range sound, there is no worry about them falling out of my ears even when super active. Very comfortable.
The sound quality is great, full range with no extreme boosts in any range, lots of base and just the right amount of mid and high frequencies.
No worries about getting them wet in the rain or when sweating heavy, Built towards US military standards (IP55), Jabra Sport Coach is sweat, shock, and weatherproof.
Have a built in motion sensor that picks up on movement for steps and reps for some exercises.
Works with the Jabra Sport Life App that allows for real time audio coaching. Also integrates the Jabra Sound App for optimized music playback.
Seem to be really well made and come with a nice compact carry case.
Cons:
Keep in mind I focus mainly on body building and weight training so in my opinion this product may not be best suited for me personally. Jabra also has a product called the Jabra Sport Pulse that has a built in very capable Heart Rate Monitor that tracks your heart rate while training . My experience with HRM’s is that they are the very best way to measure how hard you are pushing yourself during a workout.
For hard core weight training the Jabra Sport Coach Headphones are not going to be all that accurate since the motion sensor has no idea how much weight you are putting on the bar and so far in the software there is no way to input this? And most of the included workout movements are CrossFit based so most body building style exercises that require weights are not listed in the menu.
No all day motion/step tracking unless you plan on wearing them 24/7.
You may want to do a workout with a friend and not want to be antisocial by wearing headphones so who are you going to track that workout?
Conclusion: I really like the Jabra Sport Coach Earbuds but as it stands it may not be right for someone like me, perhaps if Jabra added some more weight training workout movements with the ability to add in how much weight you are actually using, this could allow for more accurate activity tracking. I still see exercises where only the arms or legs are in movement as being a problem since the earphone based headphones will ahem difficulty picking up on theses movements (Example: Bench or seated pressing, seated arm curls, leg curls, leg extensions, calf raises.
If you do al lot of circuit based body weight movement workouts and or run, hike, walk, cycle and want a really great set of Bluetooth headphone to use while doing these activities then the Jabra Sport Coach Headphones would make a great option. For a little bit more money I would consider the Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Headphones with built in Heart Rate Monitor since they are going to track your workout expenditure much more accurately.
I have another Technology review for you today, you may wonder how a headphone review fits into a fitness blog? Music provokes emotion, mood, and even your overall energy level, and if you choose the right mix of music it can give your workouts the extra boost you need to go from an OK workout to a really great workout!
One of the problems with using standard corder headphones while you workout or run or bike is that annoying cable that slaps around and gets in your way. The Motorola S10-HD Bluetooth Stereo Headset takes care of this problem for you (because they are wireless) while freeing you to enjoy your own personal playlists any time and anyplace.
Here is a list of the main specifications for the Motorola S10-HD Bluetooth Stereo Headset:
In-ear - Behind-the-neck mount.
Bluetooth 2.1 EDR.
1.5 ounces.
33 foot range.
USB (5 pin Micro-USB Type B).
Run Time (Up To) 9 hour(s).
Standby Time 240 hour(s).
Microphone built it.
Moisture resistant.
Water resistant.
Sweat resistant.
Comes with manual, power adaptor and extra ear buds in different sizes.
The Motorola S10-HD Bluetooth Stereo Headset has pretty much everything the fitness enthusiast is looking for in a pair of headphones: wireless capability with good range, moisture resistant for when you are giving it 100% and of course plenty of run-time so your music doesn't stop before you do :)
Overall I really like my Motorola S10-HD Bluetooth Stereo Headset, mainly because there is no cumbersome cable getting in the way, they are comfortable to wear and stay in place, they sound really good with the ability to control my music remotely and the price is very reasonable. A couple of things to be aware of are the really long time you need to hold the power button down while start them up and you need to make sure to find the right sized earbuds for your ears or they may sound too quiet and/or have low base response.
Watch my YouTube video review for the Motorola S10-HD Bluetooth Stereo Headset:
Friday, July 5, 2019 at 12:01PM 
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