JAYS f-Five True Wireless Review

A few weeks ago I revealed a new true wireless from JAYS, a Sweedish brand known for an array of wired, and wireless headphones. Their latest release is the f-Five, the third generation of this line. JAYS likes to keep things very affordable, with most of their products costing less than a hundred bucks. The f-Five goes for only $79 so it’s worth looking into if you’re seeking your first true wireless. These are the first pair of JAYS I’ve tried, and I’m always excited when I get to try a new brand for the first time. I find a lot of the time these more cost-efficient brands surprise me, like the TOZO NC9 or the Dudios Tic. Let’s see if the f-five finds a way to shock me as well.

What You Get

This is your standard true wireless fair. The box unfolds to show you a diagram of all the f-Five’s easy to use controls, and the main contents right under it. The earbuds and wireless case are separate in the package, with a white box that contains your USB-C charging cable and 3 pairs of extra ear tips. 

Look and Feel

The f-Five shares a common architecture with the Dudios Tic, with its oval-shaped housing and stem. JAYS includes this design for a more intuitive touch control system, as the oval shape feels more natural with your finger outline. It’s a simple structure that works with the functions of the device. It’s not the most attractive design and is overall quite bland, but this isn’t really a contest based on looks. The f-Five uses a stem for added security, which is a feature I’ve warmed up to. I just wish it served an extra function, which is one of the few things I like about the Airpod Pros. As for the fit, the f-Five is pretty seamless, and after a while, the weightlessness can have an effect like there isn’t anything in your ear at all. It’s as good a fit as stem-included true wireless is going to come. 

Design and Functionality

Under the hood of the f-Five JAYS offers up a 6mm dynamic driver. Not the biggest in terms of sound output, but with a lower impedance of 32 Ohms and a sensitivity of 101dB you won’t be having to crank these guys up too hard for an ideal level. Your nominal frequency response for these drivers is 20Hz-20kHz, which isn’t going for any extreme detail, but for what they are it’s a fine enough signal fidelity. 

What JAYS really wants to feature in the f-Five is its usability. Every function this true wireless has is made to be effortless and straightforward. JAYS integrates a touch control interface for the f-Five, which uses a series of taps to access its functions. One tap on either side plays or pauses your current track, while two taps will skip or rewind your selection depending on the left or right bud. Your single button press also acts as a multi-functional tool, as you can also press either side once to pick up an incoming phone call. Holding your finger down on the touch surface for two seconds will active your voice assistant on your smartphone or laptop. Most of these actions are streamlined to work on each bud, and honestly, they’re some of the most responsive and untroublesome controls I’ve used on a true wireless.  I barely had any issues with them, and I rarely found any delay between presses. 

Bluetooth 

JAYS stays up to date with the latest Bluetooth 5.0 technology, which is implemented in the f-Five for higher range and bandwidth. They only offer an SBC CODEC for playback resolution which won’t make much of a difference when streaming tracks from Apple Music or Spotify. However, high-resolution playback like TIDAL might see a dip in quality. 

Battery Life

You’ll get four hours of playtime in a single charge with the buds, which doesn’t seem like a lot. However, the charging case gives you 16 hours, leaving room for three extra charges. It’s like your earbuds have lives like in a video game. Each full charge only takes an hour, but having to keep charging the f-Five a few times might be a nuisance on a long trip. However, for your daily commutes, it should be fine. 

Soundstage 

For a cheaper pair of true wireless earbuds, the f-Five has a serviceable stage for the price. It utilizes an accurate, circular spacing that places each sound element in their respective stereo position. Never expansive, but it avoids being a garbled “one-sound” experience that compresses the signal into a garbled mess. The separation does the job, with musical elements appearing tonally distinct from one another. The issue I find with the f-Five is the imaging, which produces a sound too thin for my liking. I’ve been listening to the album “When I Die, Will I Get Better?” by Svalbard, and the heavy, post-hardcore instrumentation didn’t translate well on the f-Five, as though the buds produce some good bass and top end, the overall output wasn’t big enough to handle big sounds. For tracks like “Unique is my Dove” by Matisyahu, the image faired way better with more dynamic sounds. 

Low End

The bass response on the f-Five is very enjoyable. There’s some semblance of sub-bass feedback, especially in synths where drops can be perceived and felt. Bass instruments have a noticeable stage, being the most solid image the f-Five can produce. Its got a nice impact, and ample punch for hip-hop, and electronic tracks that should satisfy bass-heads alike. Tracks like “Bring Me Along” by Pepper offers a smooth bass groove that proves to be the high point of the f-Fives sound signature.  

Mids

As mentioned previously, the image presents itself with a thin timbrel response, and the mids suffer the most from that. Lower mids and upper mids are favored more than the true mid bands, giving the sound signature a more v-shaped signature. Its enough for some tracks, even heavier tracks like “Fire Blanket” by Retirement party, which offers some growling electric guitars throughout the track. However, there isn’t much depth to be had, and the mids aren’t detailed enough for the sound to feature the true banger ballad effect. For more contemporary tracks the f-Five does a good enough job giving you some warmer tones. 

Highs

While offering some sufficient top end, the f-Five dips significantly in resolution in response to these bands. Some frequencies become too distorted, though I never experienced any harshness. However, the compression of the highs really starts to become more noticeable the more you listen. 

Summary

For the price, you can get a lot out of the f-Five. JAYS offers a truly seamless listening experience, with immediate pairing, and hassle-free touch controls that rival even more highly regarded true wireless systems. While the sound quality is a mixed bag, the good bass might be enough to convince you. If you’re in the need of a wireless earbud that won’t give you any trouble and can take a phone call with good clarity, the f-Five might be your pick.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Touch Interface, stable fit, good bass

Cons: Compressed highs, thin sound, short charge