Are the Urbanears Jakan really useless for gaming?
11.11.2019
Translation: machine translated
Are Bluetooth earbuds a no-go for gaming? At least that's what one user of the Urbanears Jakan claims. He hasn't used the earbuds on a PC - which would have been completely absurd - but that's exactly what I want to try out.
"I was dead before I realised someone was shooting," I read in Pensulos' review. He used the Urbanears earbuds while playing "PUBG" on his smartphone. His quote made it into our latest Community campaign.
I also want to try this out. Primarily on my PC, though, because that's the first thing that came to mind when I read the review. Playing an online shooter with pink earbuds - that's a nice image. However, I receive my first setback when ordering the headphones: they are not available in pink at the time of testing. I have to go for the completely unremarkable grey ones. Too bad. But never mind, it's all about the sound first and foremost.
Bad fit and connection problems
The first thing I notice is that the Jakan are quite chunky. I really have to stuff them into my ears. "Es huere Gschwür", if I may be so free. They have the same adjustable fabric loop as the Pixel Buds. They're definitely not really comfortable for my ears. If only they were at least pink.
Connecting to Windows only works after several attempts. You have to hold down the joystick on the remote control for five seconds until the light on the earbuds flashes blue, signalling that they are ready to be paired. I would have liked additional audio signals. Most of the time I don't know exactly what's happening. I almost miss the annoying announcer on my Sennheiser Momentum. So be it. At some point, the connection works out.
I start "Apex Legends", where sound is an important tool for locating enemies. "Doesn't it normally have sound here?" I ask myself as the intro plays. Yep, I can't hear anything in the main menu either. In the Windows audio settings, the "Jakan Stereo" is actually selected correctly. Strangely enough, the sound works when I watch a YouTube video.
I try selecting "Jakan Hands Free" as the playback device. And voilà, I have sound in the game. But it sounds like I'm playing in a rubbish container that's been dumped in Lake Zurich. My guess: "Jakan Hands Free" is actually intended for the microphone.
It shoots too late
After I manually downloaded and installed the Bluetooth and audio drivers of the mainboard, it also works with "Apex Legends" and with playback device type "Jakan Stereo". I can already feel the audio delay the first time I shoot. The sound is clearly a tad too late. However, I have to say that it is not so noticeable in heated firefights. It's probably a matter of a few milliseconds. It doesn't really affect my chances of victory, I'd have to work on my other skills first. However, the lag is a little annoying.
Because user Pensulos was playing on his mobile, I wanted to test the buds in their natural habitat. I try out the new "Call of Duty Mobile" for this. Even with my Pixel 3, I need several attempts before the Urbanears are successfully connected. At first, it seems to work straight away. However, they appear under already connected devices instead of actively connected. So I start the pairing process again while I'm still annoyed that the buds aren't pink. Then the connection works.
During the subsequent round of "Call of Duty Mobile", the sound delay is also unmistakable. It takes a few milliseconds from the muzzle flash to the echo in my ear. It's definitely a disruptive factor, but primarily for the fun of the game. Unlike in "PUBG", you die a thousand deaths in "Call of Duty Mobile" anyway and where a sound comes from is of secondary importance. And since you usually shoot in continuous fire mode, the slight delay soon disappears.
At the end, I play a game of "PUBG Mobile". Unlike the PC version, the aiming here is far less precise, which is why you rarely bite the dust after a shot. That's why the audio lag only marginally affects my gaming tactics.
The lag is the least of it
When I play the same games with my Sennheiser Momentum Wireless, there is practically no audio delay. So it's definitely the headphones and not the games.
But the sound quality bothers me much more than the lag anyway. It's modest at best. Whether for music, games or a series on Netflix: the sound is flatter than Simon Balissat's humour. It's really dull. So it doesn't bother me when he arrives a few milliseconds too late in Apex Legends. I'd rather he never arrived at all. And it won't anymore. I'm giving the Urbanears Jakan back now.
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
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