The Jabra Sport Pace extends Jabra’s line of sport headsets that offer quality audio with durable build for any extreme workout situations, provides military-grade resistance to sweat, weather, dust and shock. The Sport Pace is the answer to consumers who do not need the premium sensors on the Sport Pulse or Sport Coach but still want the build reliability and smartphone app features to track the workout stats like pace, distance, speed, calorie.
The Sport Pace fits securely with the ear hook, thus alleviating any in-ear pressure and the need for ear fins to prevent the earbuds from falling out from the ears. The ear hook is not removable unlike Jabra Step Wireless, but the cables are exposed and might accumulate dirt.
Jabra Sport Life app
Just like the other Jabra Sport headsets, an activity button on the Sport Pace jumpstarts the companion Jabra Sport Life app on your smartphone to start tracking your workout conveniently. You can customise your workout target, be it distance goal, target pace, calorie burn or interval training. During workouts, tapping the dedicated button will read out your workout status on-demand.
While the Sport Life app is the same for all the models, the app now detects the Jabra model to display the available workout options for the model. In particular, the “Cross-training” activity which I covered in the Jabra Sport Coach review can only be used when connected to the Pulse or Coach headset. A big minus of Jabra Sport app is that the stats are not stored on the Cloud, so all the workout stats would be gone if you change smartphones.
Audio Quality
Like most other in-ear (IEM) headphones, the audio frequency balance depends heavily on the eartips fitting. For the Sport Pace, the drivers are capable of delivering big bass and clear treble. The included eartips are soft and do not provide a tight seal. This results in weak noise isolation but greater awareness of surrounding, which ensures safer workout in the urban setting, though not so ideal for gym environment. The major benefit of this design, apart from awareness, is that your ears won’t hear your own footsteps vibrating within your body into your ears.
Initially, I find it a challenge to achieve proper fit of the earbuds, which results in off-balance audio. After getting used to the fitting angle, I got my balance.
The Sport Pace produces a generally clear audio quality. The high-mids are most prominent in the mix, while the upper frequencies are sparkling yet not overpowering. The bass is not heavy either but there is still the presence of kick and boom that gives balance to the overall tone. The overall sound staging is very forward, almost mono-feel. But once my ears got accustomed to it, I began to enjoy the sound more.
Compared to the Jabra Sport Pulse and Sport Coach, the Sport Pace has less-full bass, more powerful vocals and instruments, adequate high frequency percussion. At loud volumes, the highs overpower the bass, while I enjoy better balance with Sport Pulse and Coach. If you prefer brighter sound without hurting your ears, the Sport Pace will sound good, but my preference goes to a stronger bass and mids to give me the motivation during workouts. Compared to the Jaybird X2, the X2 delivers even clearer highs, firmer bass, and wider sound stage, due in part to the tighter eargel seal. But among the above, the Sport Pace does not make your ears go thump-thump with every step you take.
Charging
The Sport Pace charges full in 2 hours and lasts for 5 hours. If you are running short of time, a 15-min charge will last 1 hour of usage.
Verdict
Jabra has established itself in recent years to be a reliable sport headset maker with excellent audio quality. While there are a lot of brands out there, I have come to enjoy Jabra products over the years, thanks to their long term engagement with me. The Jabra Sport Pace has a slightly different sound characteristics from other Jabra headsets and despite a non-isolated earbud design, the bass response is still present. Recommended retail price is S$168, available at all good audio electronic stores or Jabra Singapore online store.
Specifications
Headset type: Bluetooth in-ear stereo earbuds
Bluetooth compliance: Bluetooth version 4.1
Supported Bluetooth profiles: Headset profile v1.2 , hands free profile v1.6, A2DP v1.2, AVRCP v1.5
Operating range: Up to 10 meters
Paired devices: Up to 8, connected to two at the same time (Multiuse™)
Talk/Music time: Up to 5 hours
Standby time: Up to 5 days
Charging time: Approximately 2 hours
Wearing style: In-ear with earhook
Dimensions, main unit: W 33.4 x H 14.7 x D 28.6 mm
Cable length: 40 cm
USB data cable: 31 cm
Weight: 22g
Speaker size: 12.4 mm dynamic speaker
Speaker sensitivity: 109 +/-3dB SPL at 1 KHz with Vinput=179mV
Speaker impedance: 32 Ω +/-15% Ω
Speaker max input power: 5 mW
Speaker frequency range: 100 Hz – 10 kHz
Microphone type: MEMS microphone solution
Microphone frequency range: 100 Hz – 8 kHz
Microphone sensitivity: -38 dBV/Pa
Operating temperature: -10° C to 55° C (14 F to 131 F)
Storage temperature: -40° C to 65° C
Reliability testing: IP54 certified, drop, strength, dirt, temperature & humidity tested
General features* Answer/end call, reject call, voice dialling, last number redial, volume control, track control, play/pause music, Voice guidance
What’s in the box: Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds, 3 sets of EarGels, 1 FitClip, 1 USB cable, 1 Quick Start Guide, 1 warranty leaflet, 1 warning leaflet, 1 registration leaflet
Certification Bluetooth 4.1, CE, FCC, IC, RoHS, REACH, IP54
Warranty: One-year limited warranty
Product website: https://www.jabra.sg/sports-headphones/jabra-sport-pace
