Introduction

Firstly let me state up-front that I absolutely love the Sony WH1000xm2 headphones. Whilst I'm more than comfortable with the notion that there may well be better, more accurate headphones out there, I just love the sound character of the Sony's.



The only problem that I have with them is their fit. I know that there are some people who can get their ears to fit inside the ear cups but that's just not going to happen with me. As a result they tend to start to get uncomfortable after about 30 minutes of use. Whilst I'm aware that this is very much a First World Problem, it's something that bugs me nonetheless .

I've been aware of the Dekoni's for quite some time but always felt that they were prohibitively expensive - bordering on downright decadent considering what the raw materials cost has to be. However curiosity and a few extra quid in my bank this month tipped the balance - so I ordered the Pleather version. I’m based in the UK and so ordered them from Mark Dolbear at Electromod https://www.electromod.co.uk They arrived next day - many thanks for the prompt service Mark.

Fitting

Removing the old pads is pretty easy. A fairly firm twisting motion upwards on one side does the trick. I found that installing the new pads required a fair amount of pressure to get them to click into place - once in place, gently pulling straight up all the way around the pads is a good way to ensure they're fitted correctly. There's no problems getting the headphones to fit in the case with the new pads on.



Fit and Feel

The Dekoni's definitely feel plusher than the original pads. They kind of remind me of the massive headphones of yesteryear - like sinking into a bath of custard. I wouldn’t describe the fit as overly ‘roomy’ but it’s definitely an improvement on the original pads. I still find myself making micro adjustments to the fit from time to time - but I suspect that this is more a case of me getting used to the new feel - none of my other headphones fit like these do.

Effect On Sound/Noise Cancelling

The good news is that these pads don’t really make much of a change to the character of the sound. Perhaps the sound stage is very slightly deepened but it’s a pretty subtle effect. To be honest, I rarely use the active noise cancelling on the Sony’s as I’m usually listening to them at home and it’s simply not required. I honestly can’t say that I’ve noticed a difference when I did try it though.



Conclusion

Let’s face it. These are damned expensive. I was very hesitant to purchase these simply because I felt that they were poor value for money. The truth is that these pads improve the comfort of the Sony WH1000xm2’s considerably. Whether this is worth the £50 that they cost is very much down to personal preference. For me, the Sony’s are one of the nicest headphones I have ever heard. I always keep them in their case when they’re not being used and I would be heartbroken if anything happened to them. The only thing that I really didn’t like was their uncomfortable fit and these pads definitely address this - and they do it very nicely indeed. Highly recommended. One star removed because of price.

There's no doubt about it, the Bluetooth TWS headphone market is exploding - just about every company that's even slightly involved with audio is now selling at least one set of true wireless headphones. Axloie have several different models on the market. The AXLOIE Goin are designed for sports use thanks to their water resistance and the soft ear hooks which help keep the headphones in place whilst you're wallowing around like an epileptic doing your keep fit stuff.



These types of headphones do offer a number of advantages over conventional ones though. Firstly, they're not too expensive - this is ideal for use during activities which could potentially destroy your headphones. Secondly, the additional bass boost can be very useful when using them in noisy environments. Lastly, the water resistance is definitely useful if your a bit of a sweaty person. I can't help thinking that the more expensive wireless sports earbuds such as the PowerBeats Pro are simply too expensive for this type of use.

Design

The soft earhooks really do help maintain a secure connection. Putting them on is easy - for reasons of ergonomics and practicability, the earbuds are actually mirrored when stored in the charging case - left does to the right and the right goes to the left. You quickly get used to it though and it's not a problem. The buds fit quite nicely in the case with a magnetic snap and indicator lights clearly show you when the earbuds are charging. There shouldn't be any danger of them working loose whilst in the case and failing to charge Axloie headphones are apparently designed by an Industrial Design Master who has won multiple awards including the Red Dot Design Award and the Japan Good Design Award.



The case is somewhat larger than those used on other true wireless headphones however this has to be this way in order to accommodate the earhooks. Whilst the case is still pocketable, it does feel slightly flimsy - ideally Axloie could have used slightly thicker plastics here. The case is designed to recharge the buds up to 4 times which should easily give you more than 20 hours overall usage before you have to think about charging them up again. Unfortunately the connector on the case is USB Type B but I've personally never really found that to be a problem. I suspect it's going to be many years before all my items that charge are USB Type C.

The Axloie Goin come supplied with an additional two pairs of tips - small and large so you shouldn't have any problems getting the right fit and the perfect seal. The nozzles are fairly narrow so you can get a fairly deep insertion depth - this is something I always welcome in true wireless earbuds as you tend to move around a lot more when wearing them. One really nice touch is that you have access to all necessary controls from the earbuds themselves - including volume. There's no audible indication of volume change (apart from the obvious change in volume) which can make you make them louder than you meant to - this isn't too bad though and it's always a welcome feature anyway. The buttons require a degree of pressure but I would still prefer them to touch sensitive controls myself. I think the only touch-sensitive wireless headphones that work really well for this are the Sony WF1000XM3's, the Apple Airpods Pro (which did take some getting used to) and Axloie's own Magic TWS.




Bluetooth/Phone Performance

Callers reported 8 out of 10 for call quality. I certainly could hear them without any problems and the callers came through both ears (which is always welcome). Range wasn't too bad - the Goin's just about passed the upstairs toilet test (just a couple of dropouts) and you certainly shouldn't experience any problems during normal usage. Although they couldn't match the Airpods for wireless performance, in all fairness they only cost a fraction of the price of the Airpods.




Using the Galaxy Note 8, the headphones connected using the AAC bluetooth codec - whilst I would have preferred APTX it's certainly better than plain old SBC. Like with many of the TWS headphones out there now, the Goin's went into pairing mode automatically when first powered on and paired very quickly to the phone afterwards.

Audio Performance

At all points in this review you have to keep in mind their price - these are not expensive headphones and it's certainly not fair to compare them with models which cost considerably more.

Do they sound better than Apple's Airpods? Well….. Yes! In all fairness, Apple's Airpods do sound great in my opinion. The Axloie's definitely offer a deeper bass and better isolation. Whilst they might not be quite as 'clever' as the Airpods, the controls are certainly more positive - Apple's touch controls only work if you don't put foam on them and tend to work best with IOS devices.

Bass

Bass is definitely boosted. Whilst I don't particularly like this sound characteristic when I'm listening at home, it's advantageous when out and about as bass tends to suffer when subjected to loud ambient noise. The bass works out really quite nicely when it comes to listening at lower volumes though.

Mids

Recessed slightly. Not the most detailed but also not fatiguing. Unfortunately this lack of detail does hinder the listening experience when it comes to listening at lower volumes.

Highs

Again, slightly recessed but not tiring. Again, like with the mids, the top end tends to lack detail. Again, as with the mids, this lack of fine detail effects the music when listening at lower volumes.

Conclusion

I personally found that when listening at lower volumes, the enhanced bass works more appropriately and, as an added bonus, these headphones don't stick out and you can easily wear them whilst lying on your side in bed. With this in mind I think these make excellent bedtime headphones. Not the finest sounding headphones on the market but a solid set nonetheless. The ear hooks definitely help maintain a nice stable fit when moving around and I had no problems getting them in and out of the case - this isn't something I can say about the new Apple Airpod Pros.


Although lacking in fine detail I personally found these headphones to be quite enjoyable. They have a couple of things which I really to see in a portable headphone. Stable fit, acceptable battery life, nice positive controls - including remote volume which is always welcome and a sound characteristic which is utterly non-fatiguing. For their price you could certainly do worse.

For more information, please visit:
Official website: https://www.axloie.com/
AXLOIE Amazon store: https://www.amazon.com/axloie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Axloie/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/axloie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AxloieOfficial
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHNXPsMV16pXGr-1zwYaF2A

1) AXLOIE Goin Earhook headphones: https://www.axloie.com/GoinSeries/index.html
2) AXLOIE Goin Earhook headphones Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y7SPHLB/
3) AXLOIE Goin Earhook headphones Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Y7SPHLB/
4) AXLOIE Goin Earhook headphones Amazon DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07Y7SPHLB/

I feel its important to put my cards on the table up-front with this review. The following points should give you a clearer idea of my thoughts and opinions regarding headphones:-

Much of my listening is done using headphones designed for portability.
I like wireless - much of my listening is done with wireless headphones and iems. Whilst I'm always looking for the best possible sound quality, I'm perfectly OK with the limitations of Bluetooth over wired.
My usual sources are my mobile phone and Google Play Music via my excellent Chromecast Audio. I don't tend to listen to many 'high-res' files.

The reason why I wanted to make those points was to illustrate that I don't really consider myself an audiophile - rather someone who likes good sound quality at an affordable price. In addition to my portable kit I do have a loudspeaker-based system which comprises of the following:-

Burson Audio Fun headphone amplifier
Burson Audio Swing DAC/Pre-Amp
Burson Audio Bang power amp.
Google Chrome cast Audio (connected to the Swing optically).

For non-portable headphone listening, I use the excellent Sennheiser HD598SR full-sized headphones. I consider these headphones to be a nice balance between relaxed listening (thanks to their extremely comfortable design) and capable of excellent analytical listening thanks to their extremely flat sound profile.

Swapping out the original Op-Amps for the Vivid's was a fairly simple process. I'm certainly not comfortable 'fiddling' around with the insides of my devices - I effectively have zero working knowledge of electronics. I basically just took my time, gently levered off the original chips using a flat bladed small screwdriver and inserted the Vivid's - making sure to get them in straight and not bending any of the legs. Although these are not quite 'zero insertion force' they're pretty easy to seat them onto the board with gentle downward pressure. The whole process really took less time than it did to get the lid off the amp.



Sound Quality

This is what it's all about. As I mentioned earlier I tend to listen mostly to streamed content but even with the use of compressed audio the differences are really quite remarkable. Whilst I was perfectly happy with the sound quality of the stock Fun headphone amp, the Vivid's have definitely taken the amp to the next level.

The first thing I noticed was the increased details in the high-end. Whilst I'm very sensitive to overly 'bright' sounding systems, the Vivid's offered this additional detail without making the sound harsh. Cymbals have a more 'metallic' sheen to them, percussion is more 'percussive' and the overall sound character became 'faster' and more exciting.



Another characteristic to come through after the swap out was imagery. Whilst headphones will always come second place to loudspeakers when it comes to stereo imagery in my opinion, the sense of depth, width and height to the soundstage was noticeably improved. The differences are certainly more than just minor adjustments to eq - the differences are more like the differences between a 128k and a 320k MP3 track. The sense of ambience - albeit artificial on many non-classical recordings is quite profound and certainly most welcome.

The overall sound character could be described as effortless - you can listen to your music at any volume you're comfortable with, clearly hear every detail in your recordings - be able to follow any instrument in the mix without having to concentrate - everything is presented to you without any apparent limitations. You can relax with the music and still maintain focus on what you like without having to make a conscious effort. Whilst this effect was present with the original Burson Play configuration, the addition of these op-amps makes a significant difference.



I've often thought about trying out a tube amp and experimenting with 'tube rolling' but I also lack the patience that is often needed to nurture and tweak these types of amps - years ago I would happily spend hours fiddling around with my hifi system in order to get the slightest improvement in sound quality - I really can't be bothered to do things like this now - I'm more comfortable in accepting limitations. The combination of Fun and Vivid's really feels like there's no real limitations - the overall system really feels like it's working at its very best. This is such an easy upgrade - no soldering, no worries thanks to Burson's excellent protection against incorrect insertion - easy peasy lemon squeezy.

In conclusion, those who have appropriate equipment would definitely do well to investigate Burson's excellent upgrade option. Whilst this isn't necessarily cheap, it's certainly has a profound effect on the sound quality and is therefore highly recommended.

There are now perhaps hundreds of inexpensive bluetooth headphones now coming onto the market - the technology has now reached a point where differences between models comes down to features and subtle changes in sound character and quality.



Features
The Holy High BE1018 are a pair of TWS earphones which feature earhooks (which actually fit in the charger case) and this greatly helps maintain a good fit - even when you’re actively throwing yourself around the gym or going on a 10k run. According to the specifications listed on the box the headphones operate for around four and a half hours before needing recharging and the recharging process only takes around an hour and a half. The case can recharge the earbuds about 4 times. The package features two different types of earhooks - the default ones designed to go around the outside of your ears and two different sized earhooks which fit inside the shell of your ears. They also come supplied with 3 different pairs of tips so you shouldn’t have a problem getting the right fit.

The case is quite large - about the size of a bar of soap. The plastic used feels fairly thin but it does the job. It uses Micro USB for the charging - this appears to still be commonplace for most of the inexpensive TWS headphones out there. These headphones are designed to be used with the earhooks and the case is designed to accommodate them without any problems. The case relies on the lid to maintain contact with the electrical contacts rather than magnets - as the lid clicks shut it maintains an electrical contact - this appears to work quite well.



The headphones themselves do offer an excellent fit (for me) thanks to the wings. Although the quality of the fit does offer a nice consistent sound quality, unfortunately there are a couple of issues with the headphones which makes them not my first choice for me.

Firstly, the buttons are really hard to press - really hard! Whilst I don’t always get on with some of the touch-sensitive bluetooth IEM’s out there - the amount of times I accidentally trigger Play when I’m putting them in my ears beggars belief. There’s certainly no danger of this happening with these. In all fairness, the button is easy to find when they’re in your ears and the rubber-coating over the buttons almost certainly helps with the waterproofing.

The other thing that lets them down somewhat is the lack of support for the higher-resolution codecs such as AAC/APTX. In all fairness the sound quality is reasonably good all said and done.

Sound Quality

Firstly, it’s important to make sure you have a good seal with these headphones. They’re not overly bassy - so proper insertion ensures you get the best bass response. The really great thing about these headphones is the fit though and I think I can get a better fit with these than just about any other IEM-type headphone I have tried. The great fit really helps not only with bass response but also imagery.

Midrange on there is also surprisingly clean, they can go surprisingly loud - this is always a welcome feature on bluetooth headphones and greatly helps with midrange performance.

Treble performance is slightly laid back. This is actually quite welcome as the lack of high res codec support can have an adverse effect on the treble. I personally don't get on with piercing treble, I tend to prefer a more laid back sound. Detail is there though.



Where these headphones really did surprise me though is in their imagery. Close your eyes and you feel that you can actually point to the performers on stage - that's quite a feat - given their cost.

Whilst being essentially flat with regard to the overall frequency range of the headphones, I personally didn't really like the sound character as it sounds somewhat thin - almost like the bass, mid and treble controls on your amp are turned all the way down. Obviously this can be somewhat overcome with the judicious use of eq, I personally don't like using eq as I always seem to forget to reset it when I change to different headphones - which I'm afraid is something I do with alarming regularity.

Conclusion

I'm conclusion - there are things I like about these headphones and some things I don't like. If you're looking for headphones capable of surviving extreme sports activity then these could be for you. From a sound quality perspective I can’t help thinking that there are potentially better choices out there. It’s only really the lack of higher-resolution codec support which lets these headphones down. With this in mind I give these headphones a 4 Star rating.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HolyHigh-Headphones-Bluetooth-Earphones-Waterproof-Original/dp/B07T5L2XSN

Introduction.

I appear to now have an embarrassing amount of inexpensive (and some not so inexpensive) TWS headphones in my collection - most are good - some not so good. One thing I have done to realise though is that even the not so good ones sound significantly better than the headphones I used to use when I was a teen. In fact it has to be said that many of these inexpensive TWS headphones sound better than the most expensive first generation Bluetooth headphones.



With these thoughts in mind I tend to look for three fundamental details when comparing different headphones which share a similar price point. Sound quality and characteristics, connection strength and reliability and functions/features.


The HolyHigh G3 Externals


The Case



The case is fairly solid from a build quality perspective. It’s circular with a very difficult to open rotating top. A plastic flap covers the USB Type B port but is easy to open. A small but surprisingly bright LED sits above the USB socket which is partially covered by the aforementioned plastic flap.

The case features magnets which hold the headphones in place quite nicely. Unfortunately, I have found it very difficult to remove the headphones from the case because they're very slippery. They should have give the headphones either a rubberized or matt finish. In all fairness they're not the only set of TWS headphones which suffer from this problem.

I experienced another problem with the case - when I put the headphones back into the case they didn’t power down and disconnect from my phone - I had to disconnect manually. I can only assume that the headphones actually power down after being disconnected after a period of time. In case you haven’t realised, I’m not a big fan of the case at all.

The Headphones - Functions and Features

The G3’s feature touch controls. In many ways these are both good and bad. The good is that you don’t have to apply pressure on them when operating controls which helps minimise driver flex. The downside is that it’s far too easy to accidentally trigger the buttons when interacting with the headphones. In all fairness I have experienced this problem with other headphones like these and I have managed to minimise this with careful handling - I’m sure I could do the same with the G3’s in the fullness of time. The basics are there - one touch to pause/play, two touches on left or right for track skip forward and backward, long hold left/right for volume up/down and three taps for Google Assistant/Siri. Generally they work well but I did struggle somewhat with adjusting the volume - again, in the fullness of time I suspect I will get used to this.



Phone calls come through both earphones which is always welcome. Also, you can use just one headphone at a time if you wish - ideal if you want to use them frequently for phone calls as this would effectively double their battery life.

Sound Quality

These headphones have a smooth sound which lends itself to longer listening sessions without fatigue. Bass is slightly extended with a nice bloom to the lower registers. Whilst initially this is quite pleasant to listen to, it's also lacking in finer details. The good news is that the bass doesn't bleed to badly into the mids and they make a great headphone for listening at lower volumes.

The same really applies to the top end - whilst lacking details in the very high registers, it doesn't suffer with distortions caused by low bitrate MP3 compression (which is something that can affect a lot of Bluetooth headphones when you move too far from the transmitter). The end result is a smooth sound which can be described as non-offensive. Details are there but they're a little further back in the mix.

Stereo separation is fairly tight with these - you don't particularly get the impression of being an audience member - rather you're one of the performers. I personally like this type of presentation as I feel it's more intimate - also, let's face it, nearly all studio recordings go through a desk from multiple sources - any stereo depth effect is purely synthetic most of the time.


All of this is dependant on getting a good fit - the good news is that these headphones fit really well for me. I know it's very much a personal thing as everyone's ears are a different size and shape, but I've had great success getting a good fit with the default tips that are already fitted. Whilst I'm not a big believer in 'breaking in' headphones, I did find that they definitely opened up somewhat after a couple of days use. I used them whilst driving my truck and they did an excellent job of passively reducing (but not completely eliminating) engine noise and sounded great. The noise floor on these headphones is virtually non-existent - certainly once the music starts playing you're not going to be aware of it. Also, range appears to be slightly better than average for these types of headphones - just about passes the upstairs toilet test.

Things I Like

Form factor - they're really quite small and subtle. They fit in the ear well and weight next to nothing.

Touch controls - I have a kind of love/hate relationship with touch controls on IEM's - these are definitely better than some I've tried. Volume control takes a little getting used to but it's always a nice feature to have.

Sound quality - very good for their price. Whilst I do have better TWS type headphones in my collection, they do cost considerably more than the G3's. I also like the high volume you can get out of these things - take note Sony!

Things I don't like

Case - whilst I like the magnetic elements which hold the headphones in, I don't like the case itself. I personally find the lid very difficult to open and sometimes my fat pudgy fingers have difficulty grasping the headphones when trying to get them out.

That's about it. Whilst there are things I could wish for - aptx, LDAC, 20 hour battery life on the headphones before having to be recharged, they're not being advertised as having these features so it's not really fair to expect them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, at the price level these ate being sold at, there's not really much to complain about. It comes down to fit and sound signature. These offer a reasonably detailed yet mellow sound which lends itself to longer listening sessions. Fit is very much a personal thing - for me they offer an excellent fit but your results may vary. A comfortable 4 out of 5

These headphones can be found at

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07TBZGJQV

Introduction

I'm an enthusiastic headphone user and have been for many years. To give you an idea of the kind of sound signature I like, here's a list of some of the headphones I have (or have had in the past):-

Ultimate Ears Triple Fi10
Sony WH1000XM2
Shure E500
Apple Airpods
Etymotic ER4P
SoundPEATS Q32 True Wireless
Mavin Air-X True Wireless
Sony MDR-888 earbuds

Players I've used in the past include:-

Apple iPod 5th gen
Apple iPod Nano
Creative Nomad Jukebox 3 (perhaps the best sounding MP3 player ever!)
Samsung Galaxy Note 2
LG V20 (My current player)

Whilst both the headphones and players listed above may vary somewhat in both their basic sound quality and sound signature, it's fair to say that they're all pretty damned good. My current player is the rather excellent LG V20 which features an excellent DAC/Headphone Amp section, this is mostly wasted when using bluetooth headphones. However, the player does support all the relevant high-res codecs including AAC, APTX, APTX-HD and LDAC - so makes an excellent bluetooth player as well.

Finally, as part of my intro, my musical tastes include Rock, Classical, Acoustic Folk, Trance and EDM. I tend to usually listen to music fairly loud but also appreciate headphones which can play at lower volumes (for bedtime use) and so appreciate IEM's that tend to not leak sound out.

Status BT Transfer - Hardware and Features




The BT Transfer's come supplied in a rather nice retail package which consists of the usual fare - headphones, replacement tips in various sizes, instruction manuals and a USB type B charge cable. The tips include 'wings' which definitely help you get the best kind of seal as these headphones do have a fairly shallow fit and it's definitely worth trying them all out until you find the ideal fit.

The headphones themselves are gunmetal grey METAL! There's something very reassuring about metal headphones - you really feel that these are designed to be used and abused somewhat. They are lightly magnetised so you can keep them around your neck and put them together when not in use. There's a 3-button control on the right which offers track skip, volume adjustment and access to Siri/Google Assistant. The remote buttons are actually easy to find by feel and they have a nice positive click to them. There's a microphone for phone calls and people (my daughter) reports that I sound perfectly fine. Callers voice comes through both headphones which is always nice to see. As with most bluetooth earbuds, the Transfer's come supplied with an assortment of different sized tips and wings and I wouldn't think you would have any problems finding the right fit. The Transfers also come with a quite nice hard case, a short USB change cable and some printed instructions.




The wings and tips actually click into place - this is great as they feel far more secure than with other in ear monitors I've used. The sound tube has a fairly large bore to it and the supplied tips offer a fairly shallow fit in the ear. Luckily the wings definitely help hold them in place. The end result is that I get a really nice seal - albeit shallow when compared to IEM's like the Triple Fi 10's, Shure E500's and Etymotic ER4P. Unfortunately for me this also means that the isolation from the outside world isn't as effective as the others mentioned - in all fairness though, your results could easily differ from mine. What I will say though is that they are supremely comfortable, feel very secure and offer a really nice consistent sound without you having to 'fiddle' around with them (like you have to with the other IEM's mentioned).

The Status BT Transfer are fairly long - they will stick out of your ear and make you look like Frankenstein's ugly half cousin. Luckily I don't give a rat's fart to how I look when wearing headphones - let's face it, I'm quite comfortable wearing Airpods in public. I haven't tried wearing these in bed - that's also Airpod territory. I suspect a small part of my brain could leak out of my other ear if I lay on my side with these in




Connection with my LG V20 is excellent - very stable (absolutely no dropouts), very fast connection and automatically uses the APtX codec (which a couple of my other wireless APtX headphones don't do - I have to change from AAC to APtX manually using the Developers Options settings function on the phone). Range isn't too much of a problem - not perhaps the best in my collection but certainly good enough pass the upstairs bathroom challenge. Certainly if you're walking around with your phone in any pocket you shouldn't experience any problems. In fact, I find that if you pair your Bluetooth headphones to your phone and then power off the phone completely and re-boot, the bluetooth connection appears to be a lot more solid.

Sound Quality

I feel it's only fair that I should point out a few of my home truths:-

• I'm 56 years old. Much as I would like to think I've got the hearing of an 18-year old, I know that's very unlikely.
• I honestly think that personal audio has got so good now - especially when you compare what we have now to the cassette-based 'Walkmans' of yesteryear. Even the most humble of headphones can sound considerably better than what we used to have. The sound quality gap between a good pair of 20 quid headphones and, say 200 quid headphones is not a massive chasm anymore. There's definitely a law of diminishing returns in play here.
• Whilst I can tell the difference between a lossless recording and an MP3 recording, I certainly don't obsess about it - I know some do. 320k MP3's are good enough for me most of the time.
• I often fall asleep whilst listening to music - this is perhaps why I'm always more familiar with the first four tracks of most recordings I have
• I feel that sometimes sound quality is virtually impossible to put into words - certainly without some sort of point of reference. With this in mind I think my ideal sound signature for IEM's are the Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10. Whilst perhaps not quite the flattest headphones out there, they are certainly close. In my opinion, any headphone that can be positively compared to the Triple Fi's should definitely be taken seriously!

The Status Transfer are definitely rather special. Taking advantage of the APtX bluetooth audio codec and having decent enough drivers to actually help make a difference, the Transfers offer a really nice detailed and yet mellow sound. The extremely shallow fit isn't a problem for me thanks to the combination of large eartips and the wings which help keep them secure when walking around.



Bass is deep, controlled and doesn't bleed into the mids. It's quite refreshing to have bass like this without having to show them super deep into your ears - the only other headphones I have which can do this are the 1More Triple Driver IEM's and them tend to produce too much bass - wayyyyyyyy to much.

Compared with Magaosi K3 Pro connected to KZ APtX Bluetooth Cable.

The Magaosi is a triple driver hybrid - two balanced armatures and a bass unit. Both the bass and treble are sharper and slightly more detailed on the K3's. The fit on the K3's is better for laying on your side and the K3's have the advantage of being used Wired as well as Wirelessly. Note that unlike the Status Transfers, the KZ cable defaults to AAC connection every time on my phone and I have to change it manually in the Developers Options settings screen.

Compared with the 1More Triple Driver IEM's.

OK - these aren't wireless by default. The 1More's have more of everything - deeper bass, higher treble and very hard hitting. Whilst I think the 1More's offer excellent value to money, I honestly prefer the sound and convenience (and fit) of the Transfers. Note the 1More's are more expensive at full retail (although price cuts can bring them fairly close in cost).

Compared with the Mavin Air-X TWS

Like the KZ Bluetooth Cable, the Mavin's tend to default to AAC on my phone and I have to change them manually to use APtX. The Mavin's are a truly excellent IEM and do have a slight edge over the Transfers. In fact, I honestly think the Mavin's beat just about everything except the Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10's. In all fairness though, the Mavin's do cost about twice as much as the Transfers - so the comparison isn't perhaps the fairest.

The Mids on the Transfers are very slightly recessed. The lack of bleed from the bass drivers certainly help the mids to come through a little more clearly than what you get from other IEM's at this price point. Instruments and vocals stand out in their own soundstage - which isn't particularly wide but this really isn't I look for too much in headphones - especially in ear monitors.

Treble is slightly recessed in my opinion. Please bear in mind the points I raised above - specifically regarding my age - younger people could quite possibly find these bright - for me, they're just about right.

Whilst there is some audible noise floor from the bluetooth electronics, it's certainly not noticeable once the music starts - even at lower volume levels. The Status Transfers go nice and loud - more than enough to cause long term hearing loss if that's your thing. Like most bluetooth headphones, the individual volume steps are fairly course but when used in conjunction with your phone's volume controls, you should always be able to find a happy medium. Connection with your phone is nice and fast thanks to the use of Bluetooth 5.0 and I haven't experienced any dropouts at all during normal use.

I consider the sound quality of Status Transfer comparable to the likes of the Mavin Air-X, Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10's and Magaosi K3 Pro's - all of which cost considerably more than the Status Transfers - that's pretty high praise in my opinion.

Pros

Excellent fit. Excellent sound quality. Goes loud. Battery life appears to be pretty good so far. Nice range of tips and wings. Steel construction. Comfortable. Fast connection. Can play with the big boys.

Cons

Slight noise floor (definitely nitpicking here). Would be really nice if they were truly wireless. No active noise cancelling (don't care). Very slightly soft treble.

Conclusion

For their price, they're truly remarkable. If you're in the market for this type of bluetooth in ear monitor, get them! I know you won't be sorry.

Introduction

I often go into a detailed preamble when reviewing headphones. It's an attempt to establish what headphones I am already familiar with - hopefully so that meaningful comparisons can be made with the headphones being currently reviewed. To break this down into something more succinct:-

• My personal favourite IEM's are probably the Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10. I like these because they sound truly superb, have detailed and rich mids, a wide frequency range, go loud and are reasonable flat in their sound signature.
  
  
• I own both the Sennheiser HD598sr and the Sony WH1000XM2's. You really couldn't find a bigger contrast in sound signature between these two - and yet I love the sound from both of them.
  
  
• I've always loved IEM's - whilst there's always a place in my heart for larger over ear and earbud type headphones, in ear monitors offer a more intimate sound and, for me at least, offer more details in the music.
  
  
• I prefer a deep insertion (Ohhh Matron!) to a shallow fit. Unfortunately most IEM's out there appear to only offer a shallow fit. I always got on really well with the Etymotic ER4P and their triple-flange tips.
  
  
• I'm 56 years old. My hearing is not going to be as good as an 18 year old - that's life.
  
  
• and finally - I love bluetooth headphones and find myself using them more and more over wired.

Axloie Magic - Hardware and Features



There appears to be a million new bluetooth wireless earbuds on the market at the moment. In many ways there's not much difference between the Axloie Magic and many of the others from the big names in the audio industry - there are some interesting features though including:-

• AAC codec support
  
  
• Touch controls - including volume control (very cool).
  
  
• Bluetooth 5.0
  
  
• Case not only acts as a charger for the headphones but can also inject some power into any USB device.
  
  
• Reasonable sized sound tube - compatible with a fairly wide range of different tips (depending on being accommodated by the charger case).

The headphones themselves are extremely shiny and feature a fairly cool blue LED strip which pulsates and glows whilst charging - looks kinda cool. Unfortunately this super shiny case makes the headphones very difficult to get them out of the case - although in all fairness, my massive sausage fingers don't help much in this matter. The touch controls are a nice touch and definitely help reduce 'driver flex' when changing tracks, etc. They also appear to be reasonably immune to accidental presses - I often wriggle them around a little usually without accidentally pausing the music - not always though. I find that you have to use a positive TAP for them to register the touch - I think they've pretty much found the right balance.

The case features a transparent lid and I can't help thinking that this could ultimately be a weak point although I haven’t experienced any issues so far with it. It's fairly large - about the size of a stick of roll-on deodorant (sorry I couldn't think of anything else). It doesn't weigh too much though. Not perhaps the easiest thing to fit in the pocket of a pair of tight jeans. The case also doubles as a portable charger although don't expect miracles - it's really designed to offer a very limited charge capabilities - useful to have though nonetheless.



The packaging claims that the battery life is 3 hours for music. Whilst this is certainly low compared to the Airpod's 5 hours and Mavin Air-X staggering 10 hours, in all fairness I rarely get the chance to listen to music for 3 hours straight so for me it's not really an issue. The buds appear to charge pretty quickly - as does the case when connected to a charger.

Bluetooth range appears to pass the upstairs toilet test with flying colours but I've noticed that if you cup your hand to your ear the signal drops pretty much every time. I've not had any problems regarding connection under normal use though - pretty much rock solid. When connecting to your phone the Axloie Magic’s go through this verbal rigmarole of informing you of each stage of the connection process. This effectively means that it takes a little longer than other Bluetooth 5 headphones. One good thing is that you know that both headphones are connected correctly.

Sound Quality

These are not flat, studio monitor type headphones. They have a ‘fun’ sound - pretty V shaped with enhanced bass. It’s not too bad - but they ain’t flat. Background noise is nice and low. The connect using the AAC codec so there’s a reasonably nice ‘resolution’ to the sound - I’m finding that more and more comparatively inexpensive wireless earphones have surprisingly good detail and sound quality. Differences between models is often now more a case of changes in tone rather than

Bass.

The bass is enhanced and fairly soft. This is perhaps akin to moving your loudspeakers closer to the back wall. It’s not unpleasant but I personally prefer my bass to be a little tighter. What this does help with though is late night listening at lower volumes.

Mids.

Definitely recessed. Details are still there and tend to come forward somewhat as the volume level increases.

Highs.

Not as enhanced as the bass, detail is there and instruments have some timbre to them. I personally don’t like treble to be too much as this can produce listening fatigue. I didn’t notice any distortion in the top end - typically a symptom of low bit-rates - I can confirm that listening fatigue is not an issue with the Magic.

Conclusion



I like the build quality of the headphones themselves. They’re light, shiny and look ‘cool’ thanks to them not having any visible branding. To be honest, I’m having some trouble getting the right fit in my right ear - but that’s just me. I’m experimenting with a number of different tips from my embarrassingly large collection. The good news is that it’s very easy to find compatible tips with these headphones which still fit in the case - nice touch. I like the touch controls and I like the ability to be able to change volume (albeit in very course steps).

There’s a lot of competition now in this price point - the Axloie Magic do offer some interesting additional features - USB charging from the case, touch controls, volume controls and a nice build quality make these stand out a little more from the rest.

You can get them here:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Axloie-Bluetooth-Headphones-Cancelling-Waterproof-blue/dp/B07RJQJ9Y3/

Postscript

I've been using these headphones at work for the last couple of weeks and feel that I can report on some of the longer term aspects more reliably now.

Battery life appears to be excellent - I've actually yet to hear a low battery warning yet.

The touch controls don't accidentally activate from touching material - only your skin - you can wear these in bed without any significant problems.

The charger appears to offer a pretty good punch. I've not had to charge the unit for a couple of weeks and it's still showing full power.

The sound has mellowed out somewhat and I personally find it a very relaxing listen - softish bass and softish treble - a radiogram kind of sound.

Hope this helps.

Introduction - About Me.

I have been a keen music enthusiast for many years now. In the past I have owned a rather nice analogue based system comprising of the following:-

Logik DM-101 Turntable - Linn Basik LVX Tonearm - Nagaoka MP11 Boron Cartridge - Musical Fidelity Integrated Amp - B&W Loudspeakers - Pioneer PD8700 Turntable-based CD Player and all the required spikey-stands, Sound Organisation Turntable Shelf and all the other goodies that were really required to make an analogue system sing and dance. I loved it and spent many happy hours listening to music (along with countless hours tweaking the system in order to get the last possible amount of performance out of it). Whilst I must admit that most of the time I found this very enjoyable - I much prefer the virtually unlimited music available via Google Play Music and love the way I can listen to multiple albums without having to get off my lazy butt.

Although pretty much all of the components in that system were purchased used, it was still a considerable amount of money - especially when compared with what you can get these days for the same kind of expenditure.

However, marriage, kids, thinner walls and a less than ideal set up for loudspeaker listening has resulted in me using headphones for the bulk of my listening over the last couple of decades. I have a fairly embarrassing amount of headphones in my collection - and I really like them all. Recently however I started to resurrect my interest in loudspeaker-based listening and, thanks to Burson Audio, I think I have a far better system in place than my old analogue system (even though it costs a fraction of the price) - sounds much better and is certainly easier to operate.

It's only fair to point out a number of points before I continue with the review:-

• I'm 56 years old - I'm well aware that my hearing isn't what it was when I was in my teens. In all fairness to myself I recently informally tested my frequency range using a pair of high quality headphones and a lossless test file and was pleasantly surprised by how much of the higher frequencies I can still hear - so all is not lost.
  
  
• Although I did love the smooth analogue sound my old system produced, I think digital has more than matured to the point where analogue is pretty much for the hard-case enthusiasts now (I know, I know, heretic!). Whilst early digital systems sounded like a bucket of bolts being shaken hard some of the time, even my phone can produce an arguably more accurate sound quality than my old analogue system.
  
  
• I am of the opinion that even some of the more humble-priced pieces of digital electronics such as APTX/AAC based bluetooth headphones and inexpensive MP3 players are capable of producing remarkable sound quality compared with older systems. I also firmly believe that many of these cheaper Chinese-made items such as MP3 players and bluetooth headphones/earphones can sound just as good as those from the more well-known manufacturers such as Sony, JVC and the like. You really are paying for the name a lot of the time.
  
  
• Much of my listening these days consists of streamed content (with some MP3 files permanently stored on my phone for when I'm out and about. I'm a very enthusiastic portable user and wouldn't dream of walking any significant distance without wearing some portable headphones and rocking out to some tunes. When at home, I use music streamed from the brilliant little Chromecast Audio when listening through loudspeakers - whilst I know that there are better alternatives out there, I tend to listen to the compressed MP3 content for much of the time but feel that the next step up in sound quality for me will have more to do with the content (lossless rather than lossy) than making any minor alterations to my sound system.

Burson Swing - Externals


Pictured above Burson Bang power amp.

The Swing is the same size as their Bang power amp and Fun headphone amp. They're all designed so that you could fit them inside a regular PC case like an internal CD ROM drive, be fed with power from your PC motherboard and, where appropriate, have back-plates for connecting external cables to the back of your PC. I’m not sure whether using this configuration would have an effect on the overall sound quality (differences in power supply for example), but I used the Burson Swing and Bang in a simple stack configuration. I must admit, I’m not a fan of the power switches being on the rear - but that’s kinda nitpicking.

The Swing features a tiny LCD screen which is used to display various modes and settings. Used in conjunction with the volume control you can change input, output and various digital settings. Unfortunately the text display is too small for me to see without resorting to glasses - ah well, the joys of growing old! The volume control can be pressed in to select functions and mute the sound when playing music. Whilst on the subject of the volume control I have to say that this is one of the nicest digital controls I have ever used - offering incredibly fine control over the volume - nice touch Burson!




The connections at the rear appear to be very high quality - certainly using the high quality interconnect cables supplied with the Bang produced a very tight fit - no worries about loss of signal there. Everything about the Swing gives the impression of being of the highest quality - like the Bang and Fun. Also, like the Bang and Fun, you can upgrade the internal Op-Amps to potentially shape and improve the sound quality. Burson even supply an allen key to make it easier to open them up - another nice touch. I personally haven’t opened any of them up - and it’s fair to say that at this point in time, I’m more than happy with their base configuration.

This Burson stack really feels like the ultimate in micro-audio systems. Minimalist yet functional. Subtle in their looks but power where and when you need it - no flashing lights - no wireless bluetooth thingies - no unnecessary features and, unfortunately with the base configuration, no remote control. In all fairness this isn’t a problem with my setup because I can control the volume remotely from my phone or tablet.

I'm using the Swing in conjunction with the Chromecast Audio - connected via optical TOSLINK cable and the high quality interconnects supplied by Burson to connect the Swing to the Bang. This makes for a very elegant and tiny solution for my bedroom listening.

Sound Quality

Well this is what it’s all about. The first thing I feel that I should mention is that the basic sound character is completely flat and transparent with regard to frequency range. There’s no excessive bass output, no pronounced treble - everything appears pretty much ruler-flat on my system.

I must admit I was somewhat sceptical that using additional outboard processing of a digital signal could make that much difference to the rather impressive output from my LG V20 phone. I was also sceptical that I would be able to actually hear any difference - especially when you take into account the points raised earlier. Well I was utterly wrong on both counts.

With the Burson Swing the timbre of each instrument simply comes alive. It doesn't seem to make a difference if the instrument is electronic or purely acoustic, it’s size, presence and acoustic character is resolved in a way that I’ve truly never experienced before in my home system. This effect isn’t subtle either - every single track I ran through the system clearly portrayed the music effortlessly. The last time I experienced anything even close to this was when I tried out the Etymotic ER4P headphones for the first time and experienced their stability when representing the stereo soundstage and placement of the performers. The Swing offers this degree of stability to the soundstage and, in my opinion, even more detail than the Ety’s offered. It's almost like every recording I have has been re-processed and re-mastered - that's kinda cool.

Whilst I'm well aware that many recordings contain pretty much artificial image placement - generated through a mixing desk by the recording engineer rather than carefully placed microphones, it doesn't really make a difference as long as the playback system is capable of resolving it in a pleasing manner. One track I often use as a test for information retrieval is Young Lust’’ by Pink Floyd from the album The Wall. The amount of dialogue coming from the TV set in the background, the ‘dummy head’ effect of the performers moving around the stage and the subtle echo effects of the vocals. The dynamic effect of the track change to ‘One Of My Turns’ really put a sound system through its paces - the Swing passed this with flying colours.

One thing I think I should point out is that the Burson Swing and Bang combination isn't 'impressive sounding' when you first hear it. What I mean by this is that the overall presentation of the music is very relaxing and non-fatiguing. It's the sort of sound quality that you can listen to for hours - the remarkable detail being extracted from the music doesn't wear you down - quite the opposite. This detail is presented in such a way that you could focus on just one specific instrument if you wished - everything is sufficiently separated from everything else in such a way as to make analytical listening a truly effortless experience. This is what appealed to me about the Etymotics - the ability to relax whilst also focussing on the music. I’m not sure if that makes sense to anyone - but it does to me.

Pros:

Superb sound quality.
Compact footprint.
Very well made - good quality sockets.
Totally silent noise-floor.
Excellent digital volume control.
Fixed and variable outputs - can be used as a digital pre-amp.

Cons - nitpicking perhaps but I suppose it has to be said:

Power switches on the rear.
No remote control as standard.
Tiny display.

That’s it - in all fairness the lack of a remote is pretty much a non-issue with the setup I have because I have complete control over the volume with my phone or tablet. The tiny display is also a bit of a non-issue for me because I’m only operating one source so once this is set you can forget about it. The power switch placement does annoy me (slightly) but it’s definitely a first-world problem.

In conclusion I have to say that I’m very impressed with the Burson Swing. I definitely think that this represents a significant step up for me sound wise - especially when paired with the Burson Bang. I’m seriously considering upgrading my loudspeakers next in order to get the most out of this combination. A definite 5-stars - very highly recommended.

Mavin Air-X Review

Preamble

I suspect this review is going to end up being pretty long. I’ve experienced a lot of bluetooth headphones over the last couple of years and I thought I would bring these experiences into the Mavin Air-X review. I strongly suspect that I’m not the only one chasing the magic combination of ultra-superb sound quality, genuinely useful controls and all within a very tight budget.

Qualify

I’ve never owned the ultimate in top-end hifi. I do own some nice headphones - including:-

Sennheiser HD598SR - Sony WH1000XM2 - Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 - 1More Triple Driver IEM’s - Apple Airpods - Magaosi K3 Pro - and now the Mavin Air-X.

My listening device is the rather excellent LG V20 - utterly awesome sound quality when using wired headphones and, thanks to the Oreo upgrade, offers rather exceptional bluetooth audio performance thanks to its use of LDAC and APtX HD. I listen to a mixture of EDM, Classical (Baroque), Folk, Rock and definitely not rap!

Out of my wired headphones I tend to use the Sennheiser’s to ‘cleanse my palate’ so to speak. They are very nicely detailed, comfortable and ‘flat as a pancake’ as far as frequency response goes. Likewise I feel that my Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10’s do the same thing for IEM’s. Whilst it might not be considered fair to use these fairly expensive headphones when judging the sound quality of less expensive headphones, I feel it does help to quickly identify any boosts or cuts in the frequency response when evaluating other headphones.

Bluetooth - instrument of the devil?

I’ve pretty much full embraced bluetooth as a perfectly acceptable method of listening to music. I certainly don’t feel the same way about car stereos, transistor radios, DJ sound systems or my wife’s singing. I truly believe that bluetooth and, perhaps more specifically, the codecs now available for it, make wireless listening more than perfectly acceptable - especially when you take into account the additional freedom afforded to bluetooth headphones.

I think my favourite bluetooth headphones are the Sony WH1000xm2’s - they’re damned expensive but worth every penny in my opinion. The problem is that I think my favourite bluetooth headphones are the Apple Airpods - they’re damned expensive but worth every penny in my opinion. This problem is compounded by the fact that I think my favourite bluetooth headphone is the Magaosi K3 Pro when connected to my APtX compatible cable….The point is that I really like all of them and honestly (and probably delusionally) feel that I can justify each and every one. Sound familiar?

Finally - the Mavin Air-X review.

There’s plenty of YouTube videos out there showing the Air-X’s - I see no point in going into infinite detail regarding all the bits and bobs - watch the vids - I did and picked up loads of info.




Earbuds - Build Quality and Function

Light - very light. Made from plastic. X’s have the widest sound bore I have seen in an IEM (I think). You will definitely have problems trying to fit many third-party tips on them easily. The good news is that if you do find ‘THE’ perfect tips, chances are they will still fit in the case. Nice touch Mavin! The push buttons are quite ‘clicky’ and do require some pressure - this often results in driver-flex. Other than that the ‘click’ does help confirm you’ve pressed the button hard enough to register. It would have been really REALLY cool if they had been touch-sensitive. I have put a set of the included ‘wings’ on them - not really sure if they really make a difference regarding fit. I shall have to experiment more.




Interestingly the Air-X’s offer remote volume control. This is very unusual on these types of headphone - and it’s very welcome indeed. A simple single press - right for volume up and left for volume down - although the control is quite coarse in its adjustment - this is a problem with many bluetooth headphones though. A slightly longer press on either bud will pause the music, double press for track skip forward/backward. Nicely thought out and genuinely functional.

Tips are very much a personal thing. A couple of things to note though. The bores on these headphones are very large and fairly short. This means limited insertion depth. There’s no way you’re going to get an Etymotic ER4 type fit with these things. Shallow insertion only - certainly with the included tips. This, for me at least, can take a little getting used to. It also means that you’re going to experience increased traffic noise when you’re out and about with these things.


With regard to range, I resorted to my usual scientific tests - can the headphones survive a trip to the upstairs toilet whilst my phone is still downstairs resting on the sofa - yup - no problems - as long as you don’t put your hands over the earbuds as this will result in drop-outs. The good news is that I didn’t experience any dropouts at all during normal use - none at all. I haven’t really bothered going further afield because there’s no point - any further than the bathroom and my phone inevitably comes with me (usually does to the bathroom as well if I’m going to be honest).

The Case

OK - Bad things first. The plastic is thinner than that used on the Airpods case. When closed you can see the LEDs on the earphones through the plastic. The magnet that keeps the lid closed could do with being a little stronger and the hinge feels a little flimsy - again when compared to the Airpods case. It would have been nice if the case used USB C for charging - but that’s nitpicking.




OK - now on to the good stuff. I really like the magnet strength that holds the earphones in. Works just as nicely as Apple’s. I can’t comment about battery life but to be honest I’ve not really had a problem with any of my wireless IEM’s when it comes to battery life because of the way you tend to always put them back in the case after you’ve used them. One last point - there’s a button on the side of the case that is used for both pairing and getting basic battery strength. The latter is indicated by flashing the LED - 1 for low battery and 5 for max battery - another nice touch.

Sound Quality - Should Etymotic and UE be worried?

As far as I'm concerned sound quality is what it's all about. Doesn't really matter how good the fit is or how advanced all the features are if they sound like a bucket of bolts. The good news is that the Air-X sound great. The use of AAC and APTx definitely gives the headphones an edge when it comes to producing the higher frequencies. I also feel that it’s only fair to point out that the Mavin Air-X are not the most expensive headphones in the world - although they do compare with some of the better wired in ear monitors in my opinion - that’s no mean feat considering their price and the fact that they’re wireless.

Bass

Bass is deep when it needs to be but it’s not boomy. There’s perhaps a little less texture to bass instruments when compared with something like the Triple Fi 10’s but not by much. Bass has a nice amount of slam when required and doesn’t appear to encroach into the other frequencies. Obviously you really need to make sure that the fit is as good as you can get it to achieve this bass quality.

Mids

Nicely forward. By this I mean that they don’t sound recessed - vocals stand out nicely and there’s enough resolution to hear tiny details such as breathing and the acoustics of the recording booth - pretty impressive.

Treble

Very slightly recessed but in a good way. Once you get a good fit the treble is nicely controlled and non-fatiguing. Again, as with the bass, perhaps a little less ‘texture’ to the treble than that found on the very best in ear monitors - but again not by much. The Mavin’s are definitely able to show the benefits of the improved codecs. Extremely impressive for their price and form factor.

What really impresses me though is the amount of detail these are capable of producing. One track I often use when reviewing headphones is ‘One Of My Turns’ by Pink Floyd. This track features a TV playing in the background. The Mavin’s had no problems reproducing as much detail from the track as the Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10’s - that’s a hell of an achievement for a wireless earbud.

You should be aware that the Mavin Air-X’s don’t offer the same level of sound isolation as some in ear monitors - and this can be a problem in noisy environments. Whilst this can be beneficial if you’re wearing them whilst out and about for safety reasons although they certainly isolate far more than the Airpods though. With this in mind though, most of my listening was done in a quiet room rather than outdoors.



Electronic noise floor is pretty much non-existent with the Air-X’s and they have plenty of clean volume which is always welcome. It’s a really nice and useful touch to be able to control the volume with a single tap (left for volume down and right for volume up) although you should be aware that the adjustment is rather coarse - still damned useful nonetheless. Unfortunately they do suffer with the dreaded flashing lights - something that virtually all wireless headphones appear to suffer with (with perhaps the exception of the Airpods). Range was as good as the Airpods (which is more than acceptable in my opinion).

In case you haven't realised it yet, I rate the Mavin Air-X very highly indeed. Like any other product they have their pros and cons:

Pros.

Really impressive sound quality - especially considering their form factor. Volume control. Excellent battery life. Pretty good range (as good as the Airpods anyway). Absolutely no dropouts experienced at all.

Cons.

Fit could have been deeper. Whilst I have got more used to the fit, I still prefer deeper insertion (oohh Matron!). The case feels more fragile than the Airpods case - I suppose only time will tell if this is an issue. Volume steps are too coarse (still appreciate the feature though).

In Conclusion

Well I have had a number of mostly inexpensive bluetooth headphones pass through my hands in the last couple of years and by and large I have been fairly impressed with all of them. Do they compare to the likes of the 1More Triple Driver IEM’s, or the Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10’s or even the Etymotic ER4P’s? Perhaps not but they’re certainly very close - especially for me as at 56 years old, I have to accept that my hearing isn’t as good as it was in my youth. Being a child of the 60’s, I still feel that sometimes technology borders on magic. Headphones that have impressed me include the Apple Airpods, Sony WH1000xm2’s, SoundPeats Q32’s, 1More iBFree and even the KZ Bluetooth cable which I use in conjunction with my Magosi K3 Pros (very impressive sound quality but still has a cable). I love them all - and now the Mavin Air-X headphones are my new favourite…….for now at least.

Five stars because of the price/sound quality ratio.

I have to be honest up front. I tend to use headphones for most of my music listening these days. When Burson gave me the opportunity to review their Bang Power Amp I must admit I wondered whether my humble loudspeaker system would be up to the task of showing off any improvements in the audio chain. But then I thought - what the hell, let’s give it a try.



I normally listen to a Sony micro system and Mission bookshelf loudspeakers. Although the system does have a CD player, I tend to listen to the Chromecast Audio most of the time. I have to say that the Chromecast Audio is an excellent piece of kit and more than up to the task of primary listening. My intention is to replace the Sony with the Burson amp and connect the Chromecast Audio directly to the amp - using either my phone or voice control via my Google Home Mini to control the volume. I thought you folks might be interested in hearing about what I’ve discovered and some thoughts.

There’s plenty of reviews which go into a hell of a lot of technical details on the amp - I’m afraid I don’t have the same level of technical knowledge but I do know what sounds good - and the Burson Bang certainly offers one hell of a bang.

Sound Quality

Loud! LOUD. Super duper bloody loud. I used to have the Sony set to around 60 - 70% when I wanted to listen to music loud. And believe me, Sony’s version of loud is not the same as Burson’s. To be honest, with the current setup of Google Chromecast Audio, Burson Cable + interconnect, Burson Bang and Mission bookshelf loudspeakers, I dare not set the volume above 10%.



After listening to a few of my favourite tracks in ‘headbanging mode’ and then re-adjusting the volume to 7% one thing became apparent straight away - the system sounds really nice when playing at lower volume - much fuller and more detailed than the Sony system.

One problem I appear to be having though is that the Chromecast Audio is putting out too much signal for the amp. I changed the High Dynamic Range setting and found that the output was reduced somewhat - basically something like 16% volume is like what 10% volume was link prior to making the change. Whilst that gave me more usable volume range, I personally found the High Dynamic Range setting simply sounded more detailed. I really wanted to be able to use the Chromecast Audio directly into the amp - firstly to keep the audio chain as clean as possible and secondly to save money. I shall continue to experiment.

What this amp does offer you though is superb sound quality and a stability to the sound which is simply missing when using lesser components. The soundstage stability is truly remarkable. You can focus your mind on one specific element of the recording and easily discern it from the rest of the mix. It’s not just the rock solid imagery that this amp conveys - the timbre of the instruments and voices are also quite wonderfully rendered. I must be honest here - I’ve always considered amplification to be a somewhat simple task - take the signal and make it louder without adding or taking away anything from the source. Whilst this is an absolute truth still as far as I’m concerned, the Burson Bang is producing texture and detail to my music in a very positive and enjoyable way.

Each time I listen to the system now I find something new in familiar recordings. The overall frequency of the amp appears to be pretty neutral in my opinion - any colouration in the sound is simply a result of the improved and wonderfully controlled dynamics. What I realised today when listening to the system is that there’s a bigger sense of scale - listening to some comparatively simple music such as Patricia Barber - it truly was like she was stood up singing in my room - right in front of me! Very cool.

Bass is deep but controlled. My loudspeakers are of reasonable quality and this amp certainly makes them shine. Mids are rock solid and offer a really nice soundstage. Treble is sweet and nicely controlled. Music through this system never becomes ‘shouty’ or fatiguing. I think the keywords for the sound quality from this amp has to be “rock solid”. This amp makes me want to consider repositioning my speakers in order to improve the sound even more - unfortunately I’m very constrained with where else I can put them. Ah well!



One final note regarding the Burson Bang - there’s the slightest noise comes through my speakers when I switch on the unit. The noise floor is non-existent without music being played and the only clue that the amp is on is the extremely bright blue LED on the front of the unit. Something that’s going to be mostly covered with Bluetac or black tape in very short order.

Overall System Performance/Findings.

Even when I was using the Sony system (which featured remote control volume control) I used the Google Home Mini to control much of my listening using voice commands. This works really well and I often start a listening session without actually having to touch anything. Whilst this is very cool and Star Trek like, I often find that I have great difficulty in deciding what I want to listen to and can’t verbalise it effectively. I end up reaching for my phone or tablet in order to select some music to listen to. This, I suspect, is very much a personal thing and perhaps will fade once I become more used to living in the future.

There’s something about being able to use your voice for controlling pretty much all aspects of music listening. Tweak the volume in 1% steps, quickly skip tracks, mute/pause the music and even change source (kinda) by jumping from Google Play Music to internet radio for example. It’s not perfect but it’s getting very close.

In my opinion, Hi-Fi is very much regressing. The quality of the source material is generally getting lower and lower (although in all fairness you can now access very high resolution music if you’re prepared to pay for it). Although I’m more than happy with the sound quality generated by the Chomecast Audio, I am fully aware that there are alternatives out there which sound a lot better - but at greater cost - both in terms of storage space and finances. I personally recognise that, partially because of the limitations of my hifi system and partially because of my age, I’m no longer ‘chasing the dragon’ of extracting the maximum signal from my sources - I’m more interested in tone, dynamics and impact - something that the Burson Bang delivers in bucketloads.

The Chromecast Audio is an excellent streaming device in my opinion. It’s integration with the Google Home is brilliant, the sound quality is more than acceptable in my opinion, there’s no noise floor that I can hear from the Chromecast itself and its overall concept is stunningly well executed in my opinion. What the Burson Bang does for me is transform a mid-fi casual listening system into something far more analytical and enjoyable. The size of the amp is ideal for me and I’m toying with the idea of hiding the system away and just having the speakers visible - that should please the wife somewhat.

In conclusion, I rate the Burson Bang very highly indeed. It’s a very well made product that just gets the job done with no bells and whistles. It’s fair to say that the amp is aimed at purists who need to get the best sound quality out of their system without having to compromise on size. Well done Burson - an absolute winner!

As I was copying and pasting this review from my word processor I thought I would add a couple of thoughts that have come to me since I wrote the review a few days ago. The Burson Bang screams quality to me. The cables they thoughtfully include with the package are really nice - I kinda forgot to mention this. Also, I forgot to mention the fact that you can change the op-amps in the device which can potentially improve the sound even more. Interestingly Burson actually supply a tool to get the screws out in order to do this upgrade yourself. To paraphrase Paul Hogan (note Austrailian note here) "That's not an amp - THIS is an AMP!!!). Sorry Burson for the stereotyping - hope you didn't spill your lager on the roo over that one.

I have been an avid headphone user for many years now. I think it’s fair to say that I’ve got to the point where I would always prefer to listen to music through headphones than loudspeakers. In all fairness, perhaps one of the main reasons for this is because I don’t live alone and my family really don’t share my taste in music. Also, I do like to listen to my music fairly loud - far louder than I would through speakers.

Throughout the years I have had an incredible number of headphones and playback devices including various portable Minidisc, portable CD players and MP3 players galore but the key thing is that they were portable. Although I did have a full sized and rather excellent analogue based hifi system, it's been many years since that was my primary listening system.



I feel it's only fair to point out that I don't talky consider myself as a headphone snob - I have found myself enjoying some really inexpensive bluetooth headphones costing less than 20 quid. One final piece of information about me is that I now listen to music mostly using my LG V20 phone and a combination of different headphones - many of which are bluetooth.




I know, I know. The Flat-Earth brigade are wringing their hands right about now at the mention of using bluetooth headphones but to be honest I feel that they are now good enough for more than simple casual portable listening. Don't get me wrong though. I still do very much appreciate excellent sound quality. Whilst I can honestly say that I will probably never spend thousands of pounds on high end gear (perhaps more because of financial circumstances rather than a complete lack of desire). When I’m sat down at home, listening to music intently, portability and wireless features will always take a back seat to sound quality.



Burson very kindly sent me their Fun headphone amplifier to review. Although I have used headphone amplifiers and external DAC’s before, they have always been portable units - with the limitations that all portable units have. The Fun is the first desktop-based amplifier I have used and wow - what a difference.


I won’t go into too much detail about the externals of the unit. Basically this amplifier can act as both a headphone amplifier and pre-amp thanks to its outputs on the back of the unit. This makes it an ideal match for active loudspeakers or systems with power amps. The unit is powered by a fairly small external power supply but is also designed to be inserted into a desktop computer system and can be powered from the PC itself. The Fun supports pass through for microphone input so gamers shouldn’t have any problems.


Needless to say the unit is pretty solid and very well made. When powered up, the only real giveaway that the unit is powered on is a small blue LED on the front - you certainly wouldn’t tell the unit was on by just listening through your headphones as there’s no noise floor on the Fun it’s completely and utterly silent - when when using fairly sensitive IEM’s.



To test the unit I tried a number of different headphones including:-

Sennheiser HD598SR
Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 IEM’s
Sony WH1000Xm2’s in active wired mode
1More Triple Driver IEM’s

Needless to say the Fun powered all of them to extremely high levels without running out of steam or even a hint of distortion. Even when listening at low volume levels, the sense of power and scale definitely still comes across - far more so than directly from the LG V20 phone (which has a far more powerful headphone out than what you would find on most mobile phones). Whilst this degree of power is pretty much overkill when using IEM’s, it’s still more than welcome and gives the music a real sense of powerful dynamics and impact. The lack of electronic noise floor really helps when using IEM’s with the amp.

Many purists feel that all an amplifier should be is a ‘wire with gain’. They should neither add nor subtract quality from the original signal - simply make it louder. In all fairness, the Fun does offer a degree of colouration to the sound in my opinion - but we are talking about such subtleties that it could simply be a side effect of having all that additional power at your disposal - in no way does it spoil the character of the music. The amp is called Fun for a reason - it’s not pretentious, it hasn’t been made by magic pixies nor has it been breathed on by God. It’s simply a very well designed and made headphone amp/pre-amp which looks good and sounds great.

In conclusion I personally feel that the Fun is an excellent headphone amplifier and has definitely brought all my wired headphones to a whole new level of musicality.

Using the Vivid Op-Amps

I feel its important to put my cards on the table up-front with this review. The following points should give you a clearer idea of my thoughts and opinions regarding headphones:-

1. Much of my listening is done using headphones designed for portability.
   
   
2. I like wireless - much of my listening is done with wireless headphones and iems. Whilst I'm always looking for the best possible sound quality, I'm perfectly OK with the limitations of Bluetooth over wired.
   
   
3. My usual sources are my mobile phone and Google Play Music via my excellent Chromecast Audio. I don't tend to listen to many 'high-res' files.

The reason why I wanted to make those points was to illustrate that I don't really consider myself an audiophile - rather someone who likes good sound quality at an affordable price. In addition to my portable kit I do have a loudspeaker-based system which comprises of the following:-

Burson Audio Fun headphone amplifier
Burson Audio Swing DAC/Pre-Amp
Burson Audio Bang power amp.
Google Chrome cast Audio (connected to the Swing optically).

For non-portable headphone listening, I use the excellent Sennheiser HD598SR full-sized headphones. I consider these headphones to be a nice balance between relaxed listening (thanks to their extremely comfortable design) and capable of excellent analytical listening thanks to their extremely flat sound profile. I also use the Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 IEM's for serious analytical listening sessions (although admittedly I don't do this very often these days).

Swapping out the original Op-Amps for the Vivid's was a fairly simple process. I'm certainly not comfortable 'fiddling' around with the insides of my devices - I effectively have zero working knowledge of electronics. I basically just took my time, gently levered off the original chips using a flat bladed small screwdriver and inserted the Vivid's - making sure to get them in straight and not bending any of the legs. Although these are not quite 'zero insertion force' they're pretty easy to seat them onto the board with gentle downward pressure. The whole process really took less time than it did to get the lid off the amp.

Sound Quality

This is what it's all about. As I mentioned earlier I tend to listen mostly to streamed content but even with the use of compressed audio the differences are really quite remarkable. Whilst I was perfectly happy with the sound quality of the stock Fun headphone amp, the Vivid's have definitely taken the amp to the next level.

The first thing I noticed was the increased details in the high-end. Whilst I'm very sensitive to overly 'bright' sounding systems, the Vivid's offered this additional detail without making the sound harsh. Cymbals have a more 'metallic' sheen to them, percussion is more 'percussive' and the overall sound character became 'faster' and more exciting.

Another characteristic to come through after the swap out was imagery. Whilst headphones will always come second place to loudspeakers when it comes to stereo imagery in my opinion, the sense of depth, width and height to the soundstage was noticeably improved. The differences are certainly more than just minor adjustments to eq - the differences are more like the differences between a 128k and a 320k MP3 track. The sense of ambience - albeit artificial on many non-classical recordings is quite profound and certainly most welcome.

The overall sound character could be described as effortless - you can listen to your music at any volume you're comfortable with, clearly hear every detail in your recordings - be able to follow any instrument in the mix without having to concentrate - everything is presented to you without any apparent limitations. You can relax with the music and still maintain focus on what you like without having to make a conscious effort. Whilst this effect was present with the original Burson Play configuration, the addition of these op-amps makes a significant difference.

I've often thought about trying out a tube amp and experimenting with 'tube rolling' but I also lack the patience that is often needed to nurture and tweak these types of amps - years ago I would happily spend hours fiddling around with my hifi system in order to get the slightest improvement in sound quality - I really can't be bothered to do things like this now - I'm more comfortable in accepting limitations. The combination of Fun and Vivid's really feels like there's no real limitations - the overall system really feels like it's working at its very best. This is such an easy upgrade - no soldering, no worries thanks to Burson's excellent protection against incorrect insertion - easy peasy lemon squeezy.

In conclusion, those who have appropriate equipment would definitely do well to investigate Burson's excellent upgrade option. Whilst this isn't necessarily cheap, it's certainly has a profound effect on the sound quality and is therefore highly recommended.

As an avid wireless headphone user I've always wanted to be able to pair my TV up to my wireless headphones for both movies and gaming. One of the more common problems when attempting to do this is lag - or lip sync problems.

This device is designed to connect to an analogue output - either line out or headphone socket, and then transmit that signal to a paired device - i.e. headphones. Alternatively it can also be used as a bluetooth receiver - you connect your conventional wired headphones to the device which then picks up the bluetooth signal from your player and reproduces it to your headphones. The good news is that it uses aptx - this helps both reduce lag and improve sound quality.



The SoundPEATS bluetooth audio adapter is a fairly small device with conventional (not touch sensitive) buttons. This can be ideal when using the device with headphones and you want to control the device by feel rather than having to look at touch-sensitive buttons but this does make the device feel somewhat cheap.

The device comes with three cables - headphone jack to two phonos, headphone jack to headphone jack and a USB cable for charging. There's even a hard-wired end to end adapter so you could connect the device directly to your headphones without having a wire dangling around your head. Amplification is sufficient to drive even the most demanding of headphones - such as the Sennheiser HD598sr to high levels without distortion.



I decided to test the device out by connecting it to the headphone output of my TV and try an assortment of different wireless headphones out on movies and video games. A couple of ways in which you can test the sync capabilities are Battlefield 3 and Hickok 45’s excellent gun reviews on YouTube. There's absolutely no way you can't spot sync issues when it comes to guns going off!

I tried a number of headphones out with the device and was rather surprised by the outcome.

Apple Airpods

No problems with sync which was rather surprising when you consider they don't use aptx. I was very impressed with the sound coming from Battlefield 3 - deep bass - a couple of explosions really made me jump a couple of times.

Sony WH1000XM2

Worked quite well but I found that the sound was slightly softer sounding when compared with the Airpods - this resulted in me turning up the volume a little more than I would normally have it at to just to squeeze out a little more dynamics.

Aqua + bluetooth amplifier and Sennheiser 598sr

This combination worked out fairly well but the headphones do leak a considerable amount of sound out in to the room - not taking ideal when you're shooting off a machine guns and rocket launchers in your games.

I was really impressed with the performance of the Airpods when used with this device. Note that I had to ramp the TV volume up to max in order to get any real volume out of it. This may be simply the limited output from my particular TV - your results may vary.

Switching modes and using the device as a receiver the sound quality was pretty good. Not perhaps as good as the Aqua+ bluetooth amplifier, but not bad at all when you consider both the price difference and the fact that the Aqua+ can only be used as a receiver. The electronics ‘noise’ from the device was virtually non existent which is good news for anyone who likes to listen to music at low volumes.

I've not had a chance to test out the battery life - but it did charge pretty quickly. The device used a standard micro USB for charging and can be charged from pretty much any USB socket or charger.

The only criticism that I would have with the adaptor is:

Tiny buttons for play and volume.
Plastic construction - tends to feel a little cheap.
Buttons rather than a dial for volume control.

All these points are comparatively trivial - especially when you take into account the price and genuinely useful multi function aspects of this device. From turning a conventional pair of headphones into wireless ones to being able to connect your device wirelessly to your car stereo. Whilst the device feels somewhat cheap, it does have the advantage of being very light - this is useful when using this as a wireless headphone amplifier. Highly recommended.

Firstly - I've given these headphones five stars because for their price they're excellent. Offering pretty much the same sound quality and convenience of the Apple Airpods but at a third of the price.

There are a few truly wireless headphones on the market now and many of these are surprisingly inexpensive - especially when compared to the similar products being released by the major brands such as Sony, Samsung and of course Apple.



What makes the SoundPEATS Q32’s different from the competition? Well for one thing they’re using Bluetooth 5.0. Whilst this really makes little difference for me because my devices don’t have this latest Bluetooth version, however hopefully this new version will reduce the number of dropouts that you tend to experience with these types of headphone. Another thing which is different is that the case uses magnets to hold the headphones in - kinda like some of the more expensive versions - nice touch.



These headphones don’t feel particularly cheap. If they had Sony or Samsung written on them you wouldn’t think there was anything amiss. They both have just one multi-function button for Play/Pause and Power On/Off and that’s pretty much it. The buttons on the Q32’s are concave whereas the buttons on their nearly identical Q29’s are convex - and that’s pretty much their only difference. The Charger/Case is a little different though - it feels much more solid in its construction. It feels that there’s a much better battery pack in there than that found with the Q29’s as well. The magnets almost pull the headphones out of your fingers and into their slots - again another nice touch.



The Q32’s come supplied with six sets of tips - three regular ones and three fitted with wings which can help with the fit for some people. I personally got on fine with the regular tips and found it easy to get a good seal without any problems. In addition to the extra tips, you also get the world’s shortest USB charge cable and a neat string-pull bag to keep all the bits in. You also get the world’s smallest instruction manual as well. The print in the manual is so small I had to use my phone to take a close-up shot of the various pages so that I could use pinch and zoom in order to be able to read it.



I tried a brief phone call with them and the person on the other end could hear me just fine. You should note that when you’re using them as stereo headphones, phone calls only come through the right ear. Although for stereo use, you only need to pair the right hand earbud with your phone - the left one normally only connects to the right bud. However you can pair up the left bud independently so that it can be used on its own to make calls. Not up to the standard of the Apple Airpods but not bad. Phone calls on the Airpods come through both earphones.


Sound Quality


For me, headphones are all about sound quality. I’m not going to wear the most comfortable headphones in the world if they sound like crap. The good news is that the Q32’s don’t sound too bad at all. One thing I was really pleased to hear from a nicely controlled bass. A lot of inexpensive headphones tend to follow the Beats way of doing things with the bass - I like bass like the next ex-headbanger but I also like a balanced sound. One thing that I’ve grown to really like is a mellow tone - no extremes in either end of the spectrum - the Q32’s definitely meet this criteria. In fact I feel that the Q32’s are somewhat recessed sounding right through the frequency range. Whilst being somewhat lacklustre on first listening, I’ve found them to be fairly non-fatiguing and also surprisingly detailed considering they lack APTX. The top end could do with a little more ‘sparkle’ to it but not by much. There’s not much soundstage with these headphones - the sound tends to pretty much stay right inside your head - personally I don’t mind this too much because I think that soundstage on studio recordings is pretty much an artificial effect anyway.



Another pleasant surprise is that they have a pretty low noise floor. This is great when listening to music at lower volumes. I’ve noticed that on some of my older recordings, I’m using nearly full volume - they go loud enough but I always like the option to go to 11.



One thing that Bluetooth 5.0 appears to offer is connection stability. This is where the Q32’s really shine - they not only have an impressive range for this type of headphone, but they’re extremely stable - certainly on par with Apple’s Airpods - and they’re excellent for signal stability. I have experienced the occasional dropout - but this only usually happens when you first connect them to your player and they recover faster than any other bluetooth headphone I have tried.



Conclusion


The more I listen to the Q32’s, the more I am beginning to consider these a kinda ‘closed’ version of the Airpods. That’s quite a compliment in my opinion because I love the Airpods and rate them very highly. I have absolutely no problems with using these for more serious listening sessions - I also own Sony’s WH1000XM2 and Sennheiser HD598SR full sized headphones which obviously sound better - but not by massive degree in my opinion. Considering that the SoundPEATS Q32’s are a third of the price of the Airpods it’s a bit of a no-brainer to recommend them.

In recent months I have really started to appreciate the benefits of wireless headphones and have had the opportunity to try out many of the more popular ones out there - both full sized and earbud/iem types. Obviously like with all things, some were better than others.



The Aqua+ is a tiny portable Bluetooth receiver and headphone amplifier in one. Designed to be used only wirelessly, the unit only has an headphone output socket - no word input at all. The unit comes supplied with its own USB powered wireless charging dock (which is a really nice touch and greatly adds to the value of the device (everything battery powered should feature this technology in my opinion), the usual fairly short USB cable and a really neat tight fitting leather case which features a really tight metal belt clip. This gives you confidence that you won't lose the unit when you're out and about. All in all a really satisfying package.



The unit is designed to allow wired headphones to be used wirelessly with your devices and features 32-bit output. It's very small and lightweight device features a nice analogue style volume control which offers fine control. A voice prompt informs you when the unit is powered on and connected to your device. One nice touch is that the voice is nicely quiet and has a distinctive English accent. Another nice touch is that the unit always starts with a fairly low volume so you won't get any sudden surprises.



Equipment used:

Headphones

Sennheiser 598SR
Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10's
1More Triple Driver IEM's
Magaosi triple driver IEM's

Sources

Google Nexus 7 2013
LG v20

Sound Quality:

The first thing that surprised me was the volume. When driving iem’s it can go far louder than I'm comfortable with and it even drives my full sized Sennheiser headphones without any problems. In fact it goes a little louder than my V20 in low impedance mode. I really like the volume dial as it offers a reasonably close approximation to an analogue control and also offers fairly fine control which is always welcome and often missing from many Bluetooth headphones. The volume control can also be pressed for Play/Pause and activating Siri/Google Assistant. I think the ideal scenario for the Aqua is to have the unit clipped to your belt and bring it up to your mouth when you are making a phone call. When used this way callers had no problems hearing me at all but I don't think the microphone is sensitive enough to pick up your voice whilst the unit is still attached to your belt.

The sound quality is superb. Really deep bass, sweet, not harsh top end and clearly defined mids. Using the APtX codec from my LG V20, there was no discernable noise floor above that of the recordings themselves. There's plenty of volume in reserve so there's some really nice dynamics going on. I found the sound quality to be perfectly acceptable for long, analytical listening sessions - I can’t really give the unit higher praise than that.

The Aqua offers selectable upsampling to 32 bits and this definitely offers an improvement in the sound - allowing a little more detail to the higher frequencies - apparently this is at the expense of battery life though. Whilst in the subject of battery life I've not had the unit run out on me yet - the power management on the unit will shut off power after a period of inactivity and the wireless charging really makes it easy to ensure the Aqua is airways ready when you need it.

Conclusion:

For me I can't see this device replacing my excellent Sony WH1000XM2 headphones or even the Apple Airpods but this is primarily because I like to be completely wireless whenever possible. However this device does allow me to use my better wired iem's wirelessly when I'm out and about and it's good enough for me to appreciate the benefits these better headphones can offer. Another advantage for me is that I can listen to music in bed quite loud using the same IEM's without disturbing my wife - that's something I definitely can't do with the Apple Airpods.

It’s fair to say that by now most people who have an interest in wireless headphones know that the top 3 headphones for noise cancelling are Bose, Sony and Sennheiser.

Over the last year I have had the opportunity to try out a wide range of bluetooth wireless headphones - thanks to Amazon’s excellent returns policy, living in the backwaters of nowhere is no longer a problem when it comes to purchasing high-end equipment in order to choose the best possible product within your price range.

For some time now the top three bluetooth noise cancelling headphones have been the Bose QC35’s, Sennheiser PXC550’s and the Sony MDR1000X. Some time ago I purchased (and subsequently returned the Bose and Sennheiser models). Now, finally I have managed to experience all three of these headphones for far longer than I would have been able to in a conventional store. I have written reviews on both the Bose QC35’s and the Sennheiser PXC550 headphones but to sum up I came to the following conclusions for those two models:

Bose QC35 - very nearly perfect. Excellent noise cancelling and super comfortable. To be honest I very nearly purchased these except I found the sound quality to be somewhat artificial and bland. Whilst this can sometimes be the sign of a good headphone when it comes to long term listening, in the case of the Bose I just couldn’t get on with their sound character. But I very nearly bought them. I felt it was only right to try out some of the competition first.

Sennheiser PXC550 - nicely made. Cool and interesting features but for me they just wouldn’t go loud enough. I took the dog for a walk whilst wearing them and, although the noise cancelling worked pretty well, the lack of volume just made them pretty much an automatic return. Whilst I don’t listen to music anywhere near as loud as I used to in my youth, I still always want to option to rock out from time to time.

I really wanted to try the Sony MDR1000x but at that particular time they were very difficult to get hold of - even Amazon had a waiting list for them. In the end I decided to look at the non-noise cancelling bluetooth headphones and eventually purchased the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless.

I really like the Crossfade Wireless headphones. Their build quality is absolutely first class and their sound characteristics and perhaps more to my taste than the more accurate ‘clinical’ sound that you get from top-tier full size and IEM headphones. Don’t get me wrong, they’re way too bassy and lack detail in the treble but they also offer a nice relaxed sound which can go LOUD! Their biggest pro in my opinion is the built-in amplifier - these things are for headbangers.

Enough preamble - I very recently purchased the Sony WH1000Xm2 Wireless, Noise cancelling bluetooth headphones and thought I would share my experiences on them.



Build-Quality

There’s a ton of information regarding the basic build quality of these - so I thought I would focus on comparing the Sony’s to other headphones in my collection.

vs Sennheiser HD598SR - similar feel to the plastic. Both headphones feel like they should be handled carefully and not thrown around. I’m aware of the ‘cracking’ issue with the Sony MDR1000X and am determined to ensure this doesn’t happen to mine (even though I haven’t read one post regarding cracking on the new model). In all fairness, they’re both comparatively expensive models and not something I would willingly be careless with anyway.

vs V-Moda Crossfade Wireless - from a build-quality perspective - ha! The V-Moda’s would eat the Sony’s for breakfast. Then continue headbanging.

Features

Again, everyone knows how these work. There’s more than enough demonstrations on YouTube on these headphones. I would just like to add that I love the gesture controls and they work really well - better than the Sennheiser PXC’s by a long way. Another really nice touch is the number of steps available in the volume up and down controls - definitely a finer degree of control than what I’ve found with other bluetooth headphones so it’s a lot easier to find the ‘sweet spot’ when using them. I found the physical buttons a little difficult to find for the first couple of times but I can find them without any problem now.

Comfort

Not perhaps as comfortable as the Sennheiser HD598SR (they are completely ‘over-ear’). Perhaps slightly more comfortable than the V-Moda’s with the larger XL Pads but not by much. The WH1000Xm2 should be considered an ‘on-ear’ headphone - definitely not an ‘over-ear’ design - unless you have really REALLY small ears.



Clamping force is quite tight - needs to be for the noise cancelling to avoid feedback loops. Passive noise cancellation is considerably higher than with most on-ear headphones - more on this later.

Sound Quality

For me this is still the most important element. I can withstand a degree of discomfort. I can tolerate poor controls and even limited battery life but the sound quality has to be absolutely top notch - the good news is that the Sony’s deliver. Bass isn’t as deep or as potent as the V-Moda’s, Mids are not as clearly defined as you would find on the Sennheiser 598SR’s and the top-end can’t match the best triple-driver iem’s out there - but what it does do is offer a nicely balanced sound with enough detail for me to seriously consider never using wired headphones again. One point worth mentioning in my opinion is that it’s just as quick to switch on the headphones and pair up with my phone as it is to use the wire. In order to get the best sound quality when used wired, you still have to power the headphones up - although they will work without power they sound pretty crappy. This does illustrate quite nicely just how much sound processing is taking place with the Sony’s - but in all fairness they’re definitely getting it right.

I’m pairing the Sony’s with the rather excellent LG V20 phone for most of my listening. This device offers APtX HD as one of the available codecs - yay!!! This offers much better detail in the higher frequencies and, to my ears, I really struggle to hear a difference between wired and wireless - at last!

The noise cancelling feature is really quite remarkable but, after using them for dog walking duties, I found that my footsteps were producing a low frequency ‘huffing’ sound which clearly came through to the music. Sony has a special function on these headphones which can adjust the noise cancelling parameters based on your current environment but even this didn’t make ‘huffing’ sound go away. Luckily this effect is completely eliminated by simply switching the noise cancelling off. The good news is that the passive isolation on these headphones is more than good enough for dog walking - if I was sat in a noisy environment I would have no problem using NC as it doesn’t actually affect the sound quality that much - but I think the keywords here are ‘SAT DOWN’ not walking.



To my ears the wired performance when powered up isn’t really very much different to wireless (although in all fairness I am using AptX-HD). I suspect the reason for this is that when active the headphones are processing all of the sound you hear - whether wired or wireless. This means that the overall character of the sound doesn’t really change and, I also suspect, that to a certain extent the sound quality of the playback device is pretty irrelevant. Having said that I have noticed that the top end is a little more detailed when used wired but that’s about it. At the end of the day these are wireless headphones and I tend to use them as such. When used passively with a cable the sound is basically crap and only worth using if you have completely run out of battery power. It’s interesting to see just how much processing Sony does with the sound when they’re powered up.

Bluetooth Performance

Excellent. Range is definitely better than any other wireless headphone I have tried. My usual ‘wear them when I go to the toilet’ test passes them with flying colours. The only other bluetooth headphones I have which can match the range of the Sony’s is the excellent Apple Airpods.

Unfortunately the Sony’s only pair with one device at a time. This means that if you last used the headphones with your laptop and want to use them with your phone in bed you have to go back downstairs and disable either the bluetooth or the Sony’s from your laptop before you can pair them up to your phone again. There is a work around for this though - simply put the headphones back into pairing mode and then connect with your phone again - simples!

There’s no getting around it. The Sony’s are a lot of money in my opinion. Whilst they’re definitely not the most comfortable headphones, their sound quality and features really do make up for this in my opinion and I rate these headphones very highly indeed.

Over the past few weeks I have tried out quite a few over-ear bluetooth headphones in a mad search for the ‘ultimate’ bluetooth headphone.

I have tried the Bose QC35’s, V-Moda Crossfade Wireless and now the Sennheiser PXC550’s (I wanted to also try the new Sony MDR1000x models but they appear to be sold out with a two month waiting list - and I’m the impatient type.

My usual wired headphones consist of the following (all of which are used regularly):

Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 - in ear monitor
1More Hybrid Triple Driver - in ear monitor
Sony XBA H1 - in ear monitor
Apple Earpods - fall out of ear earbud
Audio Technica ATH50X - Full Size Over-Ears (make you look a bit like a Cyberman)

Playback electronics include:

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (an excellent audio player - especially with the inclusion of Neutron).
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 - also quite nice sound quality through headphone out - even with stock ROM
AgpTEK H01 - Micro SD based lossless player with a very powerful amplifier on-board.

My music tastes are beginning to vary in my old age - Rush, Pink Floyd, Queen, Bach, Fleetwood Mac, Vivaldi, William Orbit, Hanz Zimmer - you get the idea. Most of my music is well-encoded MP3’s (either 320K rips - some of the older stuff ripped using EAC/LAME (with some cool psycho-acoustical filtering applied) and some downloaded FLAC files. In other words, perhaps not the best in the world but certainly a significant step up from entry-level.

My criteria in order of importance is:

Sound Quality
Volume
Ability to pair with two phones
Reliable Bluetooth connection
Battery Life
Facility to use wired connection
Comfort

I can tolerate some discomfort as I am frequently having to remove my headphones when working but they’ve gotta sound good and loud. I normally like a sound signature that’s neutral (with perhaps just a hint of deep bass) normally. I don’t tend to mind a slight dip in treble as I’m quite sensitive to shrieking upper mids (that’s what happens when you’re married). The ideal sound signature for me normally comes from my Ultimate Ears Triple Fi’s and 1More Triple Driver in ear monitors.

Externals and Bluetooth

The V-Moda’s feel reassuringly solid - this is helped by the metal shields which give the headphones a rather unique look. Whilst smaller than some over-ear headphones I find them reasonably comfortable. They are tight fitting but this actually helps when you’re walking around with them as they don’t shift position at all. You could use them for working out without too much problems but I personally would rather use wireless earbuds for something like that. I can bend over to stroke the cat without them slipping off.

The buttons are situated at the top of the right hand earcup and are a little mushy in operation. Whilst they may not have the technical wizardry of the touch controls found on the Sony MDR1000x’s and Sennheiser 550’s, they do have the advantage of not being accidentally activated every time you move or remove your headphones. Double and triple tapping for track switching can be a little tricky but at least it allows the volume buttons to be dedicated rather than multi-function.

The cushions are soft and comfortable and I have no problems in wearing them on and off pretty much all day without problems. I must admit I’m tempted to get the larger pads although I'm not sure what sort of difference they will offer and whether I would even like the changes that they could make to the sound quality.

The power/bluetooth pairing switch leaves a little to be desired as well - although it's not quite as flimsy as the switch found on the Bose QC35's, it's still a little loose and feels somewhat cheap. One thing I really do like about these headphones though is that they don't have a really bright bluetooth status light - this is something that really annoys me with other bluetooth headphones. The status light is nicely dim - but just as informative.

Bluetooth operation is excellent with these headphones. They connect pretty quickly to your device and tend to maintain a good solid connection as long as you don’t go too far out of range. I typically find that with the inexpensive bluetooth sports earbud type headphones, you can lose connection by simply putting your phone in your trouser pockets whilst walking - there’s no problem in this regard with the V-Moda’s. Double tapping on the MODE button to change tracks does have a small delay but it’s not really that much of a problem once you get used to it. Volume changes take fairly big steps when using the headphone controls - this is something that thankfully can be compensated used the volume controls on your playback device for fine tuning. This is something that I find with virtually all bluetooth headphones though and the V-Moda’s are no worse than many of the others.

The headphones also come supplied with a nice nylon covered heavy-duty cord for wired listening. This cable is designed to only be used one way and features a simple single button remote and microphone - a welcome addition. Unlike many bluetooth headphones which offer this feature, the sound quality differences between wired and wireless use are fairly subtle - more on this in the sound quality section. Needless to say, the differences are nowhere near as profound as the changes found on many active noise cancelling headphones - which can sound truly dreadful when used passively with a cable.

Sound Quality - Wired and Bluetooth

As mentioned in the opening paragraphs I have had the chance recently to try out a few of the top-end wireless headphones recently and have been somewhat surprised by my findings. The Bose QC35’s are a very competent headphone with a very nice, warm and comfortable sound quality and superb active noise cancellation. I must admit I was very tempted to keep these - however I found the sound a little bit boring and felt that they didn’t quite go loud enough for my tastes. Don’t get me wrong, I almost never listened to music at their full volume but found that I was usually only a couple of steps below max. I wasn’t at all impressed with the Sennheiser PXC550’s. I found the sound quality to be a little too bright, brittle and fatiguing to listen to. Their biggest failing though was their utter lack of volume. I found I was listening quite comfortably to my music literally at full volume all the time. Sorry Sennheiser but no amount of clever bells and whistles and active noise cancelling can make up for that. They went back within a couple of days.

The V-Moda Crossfade Wireless doesn’t feature active noise cancelling. And to be honest I can’t help thinking that this was a good move on their part. The Moda’s have a bass-heavy sound - but not really in a bad way. I must admit it did take a little getting used to but the sound signature of these headphones are pretty addictive.. Bass is deep and punchy. Really deep notes still maintain their pitch and make it easy to follow. The mids are slightly recessed but still show a lot of detail. Strings resonate nicely and there is a sense of depth which you don’t get with earbuds. Treble is slightly recessed but this does make for an inoffensive and non-fatiguing character.

There is a difference between wired and wireless when it comes to sound quality. When using the wire, bass is tighter and less ‘boomy’ and the sound becomes a little less congested. That’s not to say that the wireless performance is shoddy - far from it. Wireless performance is excellent - the headphones have plenty of meaty volume and they sound excellent with some of the more vintage rock albums in my collection. I have a fairly broad taste in music and every genre played well with these headphones - rock, trance, folk - even classical. Range was good - comparable with the Bose QC35’s and Sennheiser PXC550.

One thing I feel like I should point out is that i am using Android devices (and dedicated mp3 players - the excellent Agptek H01 and Benjie players specifically) and I don’t have a problem with the fact that the headphones don't use the aptx protocol for bluetooth - having tried the Sennheiser PXC550’s that do use aptx, I definitely prefer the sound quality of the V-moda”s. Whilst I have to accept that the V-Moda’s are likely to produce better sound quality when used wirelessly with the Apple iPhone rather than Android devices because they have compatible high speed bluetooth protocols, I’m still more than happy with the sound quality from my Android devices.

I have just purchased the XL Earpads for the V-Moda’s. To be honest I didn’t really have a problem with the earpads supplied with the headphones - I was simply curious as to how these pads would improve both the sound and comfort. Obviously something like this is a personal thing (size and shape of your head and your personal sound preferences). I noticed the bass went a little deeper and the transitions from bass to treble seem to be a little more seamless and they were slightly more comfortable. Interestingly I found that the larger pads let in a little more external sound than the default ones - only a little bit though, and I’m hoping they will soften up a little more with use as they feel a little stiff.

To sum up. In case you haven’t noticed I really like these headphones. They tick pretty much all my boxes - good sound quality, loud volume, fun sound signature, pretty comfortable, very well made, good battery life, non-fiddly controls that don’t get triggered accidentally, nice case and cable and they can pair up to two phones simultaneously - something I definitely needed. They also sound really good when used with a cable - and can be easily driven to very high levels when driven from my phone - again, something the others I tried really couldn’t do. I was planning on trying out the new Sony MDR1000X noise cancelling bluetooth headphones but Amazon didn’t have them in stock at the time and, after extensive listening to the V-Moda’s, I decided that I didn’t want the compromises to sound quality that active noise cancellation tends to bring into the mix.

They’re not perfect though. Top end is recessed, upper mid range is recessed, low mids and bass are enhanced/boosted and they’re expensive. Much of the bluetooth technology employed by V-Moda could have been improved on but the amplification section is wonderfully powerful and the drivers definitely offer a nice full sound. No buyers remorse here at all - I’m quite confident I’ve made the right choice - even if I am 250 quid down.

I hope this review helps people when trying to make a choice regarding bluetooth headphones. Remember that one man’s meat is another man’s poison - but with Amazon’s excellent returns policy why not try them out and see what you think. For rock, hip-hop (ughh - spit) and that sort of modern bass-heavy genre they’re great. For classical, string quartet and perhaps jazz - you might want to look at something else.

I have to admit it upfront. I am a headphone geek. I have far more headphones than I know what to do with and spend a considerable amount of time each day listening to music through them. Over the last couple of years I have been on the search for really top-quality wireless headphones - both full sized and in-ear. I’m more interested in sound quality and comfort/fit than I am with features like noise cancelling and NFC pairing. With this in mind, this review is focussing more on the sound quality and experience using these headphones rather than just a physical description of the headphones - there’s plenty of information on this on their Amazon page.

To give you an idea of what headphones I have had the chance to try or own here’s a list,

Full-Sized Bluetooth

V-Moda Crossfade Wireless
1More MK802
Bose QC35
Sennheiser PXC550

In-Ear Bluetooth

1More iBFree
QCY Q29 Pro
QCY QY8


Wired IEM/Full-Size

Sennheiser HD598 SE
Audio Technica ATH-M50x
Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10
1More Triple Driver
Magaosi K3 Pro
Etymotic ER4P

Plus countless others. The reason why I’ve listed these is to hopefully show that I know what good headphones sound like. Whilst I like a high quality neutral sound I also am not adverse to a little bit of boost in the bass when the headphone can pull it off. For example, the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless isn’t even remotely neutral but does sound very musical to my ears and it’s sound signature is very enjoyable.

The Dodocool bluetooth headphones are pretty much like many of the other inexpensive bluetooth IEM’s out there. Although completely plastic in their construction, they do feel top quality and are well made. One thing that immediately became clear with these headphones is that they fit my ears remarkable well. Their fit is a ‘shallow’ fit compared to say the Etymotics which really go deep into your ears but thanks to the ‘wings’ the fit on the Dodocool is excellent. I have found that these are so easy to put in your ears and get a good fit without having to mess around equalising the air pressure in my ears - something I usually have to do with virtually all my in ear headphones.

I found that the largest tips works best with these (I normally use much smaller tips but as these don’t go so deep into your ears the larger tips seem to seal better). It’s fair to say that these headphones go pretty deep in the bass region and this definitely helps balance the sound - overcoming the limitations of their shallow fit. The end result is a rich, powerful and very full-range of sound throughout the frequencies. The Dodocool’s use the APTx bluetooth protocol which improves the higher frequencies and overall clarity.

My source is the excellent LG V20. This phone’s main claim to fame is the high quality sound from the headphones socket - something which is utterly irrelevant here as these use bluetooth. Music comes from a combination of high quality MP3’s stored on my memory card and from Google Play Music.

The sound quality far exceeds what you would expect from a headphone at this price point. Bass is deep and powerful, treble is detailed - slightly brighter than what I’m used to but not to the point of being ‘tinny’ - mids are slightly recessed but still clear. The APTx protocol allows for a lot of detail to come through - their sound signature reminds me of the V-moda Crossfade Wireless and the 1More Triple Drivers - that’s quite a compliment when you consider the price of both of those headphones and the fact that 1More use two balanced armatures and a conventional driver - and are wired. One thing which I did notice with these headphones is that the volume control offers finer steps than others I’ve tried. It’s a lot easier to get the volume just right with these.

Bluetooth performance isn’t as good as I’ve experienced with other similar headphones. Just walking into the next room will result in dropouts - these really need your phone to be close by. The LG V20 doesn’t have the best range when it comes to bluetooth but I have also tried the headphones on my Acer Chromebook and their range didn’t improve. As long as you’re OK with this limitation you shouldn’t have any other problems. As with many bluetooth earbuds, they also suffered with dropouts for the first few seconds when playing music for the first time - however after that they settled down and were stable. Obviously your results may differ depending on which device you use for playback.

From a sound quality perspective I really rate these headphones very highly. They exhibit qualities that you would normally find on more expensive headphones - the quality of music playback is really very impressive. They go loud without distortion, are extremely comfortable and easy to insert into your ears and appear to have a very good battery life. The bluetooth performance could be better but these are really designed for walking around when your phone is in your pocket rather than walking around the house with your phone on the kitchen table for example. All in all though an easy five stars.

I love listening to music. Unfortunately personal circumstances (i.e. being married with 3 adult children - and a dog) means that I seldom get the chance to rock out with loudspeakers any more. So it’s headphones all the way for me.


I have a fairly extensive collection now - including the following (for reference purposes):


Sennheiser HD598se - Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 - V-Moda Crossfade Wireless - 1More Triple Driver - needless to say the list goes on with a significant amount of inexpensive bluetooth in-ear headphones). Generally I don’t consider myself a basshead - I prefer a fairly dynamic, flat response - with smooth, detailed but not too edgy treble.



Whilst I accept that it’s not fair to compare the Q29 Pros with some of these more expensive wired headphones, I always want my headphones to sound good - I’m really not that bothered what they look like, what colour they are or which company makes them.




Over the last couple of years I have become very interested in wireless technology and feel that, to a certain extent, has become good enough to be taken seriously. I find that at times, even when I’m at home and not planning on moving around I often find myself wearing the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless rather than a conventional wired set of headphones.


The Q29 Pro’s are definitely different internally to the original Q29. There’s a different (and even more annoying) sound effect when you power them up and their ability to connect to both your playback device and each other is definitely considerably faster. Externally though their fit is the same. Unfortunately you really are limited to the tips supplied with the headphones if you want to be able to fit them in the charger case. This is a shame because the supplied tips take a fair bit of jiggling about before I could get a really good seal.



The good news is that once in, they tend to stay in. They’re also extremely light and as long as you don’t go headbanging to heavy metal they should pretty much stay put. The controls are the same as on previous models when it comes to basic playback but there are some slight differences with the way you now initially pair the two headphones together.



As with the original version, the Q29 Pro’s don’t offer remote volume control - you still have to turn the volume up and down using the controls on your phone. One neat solution to this is if you have an Android Wear Smartwatch as you can control pretty much everything from that.


Sound Quality


OK - I know these are not an expensive pair of headphones. Whilst they won’t win over the big boys with their fancy cables, balanced armatures and ultra-wide frequency response, they’re actually not too bad at all. I did experience some minor dropouts whilst walking the dog with them in but this pretty much stopped when I got back indoors.


Bass is definitely more pronounced on the Pro model. They are significantly ‘bassier’ than the original. Definitely a little more ‘fun’ but also quite welcome when the fit is less than ideal. Mids are fairly recessed and so is the top end. Whilst these are not detail monsters - they’re quite clear and not too ‘wooly’ sounding - all in all, an acceptable sound quality when you take into account their form factor. This additional bass really comes into its own when you’re using the headphones outside as the bass can sometimes be sapped by external noise.


They do have a small amount of electronic noise floor which can potentially spoil low level listening in bed for example. There's also a danger of accidentally pressing the button when you lay on your side. With this in mind I don't think these will make ideal headphones for sleeping with (although I have done it with these without too many problems). The biggest problem for me is dropouts - in all fairness I strongly suspect that this is as much to do with my phone as it is the headphones as they hardly produce any dropouts when used with my Asus Chromebook but do with my LG V20 phone.


For their price, and taking into account their form factor, the Q29 Pro represents a good buy. They're not really designed for primary listening in my opinion but are ideal for things like walking the dog or mowing the lawn. With a sufficient insertion depth they offer an acceptable amount of sound isolation from the outside world and can go sufficiently loud enough to be genuinely enjoyable. In all fairness, if they cost more I would only give them four stars but because of their excellent price I’m comfortable giving them a five star rating.

****UPDATE****

The last couple of times I have used these I haven't experienced any drop-outs at all - even over a couple of hours listening. I still suspect some compatibility problems with my new phone but I thought I would update the review to keep things fair.

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I owned a pair of these headphones about a million years ago. From what I remember of them they were pretty good. I would imagine they are a museum piece now. Fond memories. If you have a pair in good condition keep them. Show your grand kids them and explain how music used to be cool back in the day.

Right - first things first. I really couldn’t get these headphones to produce a reasonable seal - no matter which tips I tried - both the ones supplied with the headphones plus many from my extensive collection. With this in mind I was tempted to not review these as I felt that it wouldn’t be fair - not everyone has the same shaped ears as me. But then I thought I could at least offer a limited review. With this in mind, observations regarding sound quality are only possible by my holding the headphones in place whilst listening.

Externals.

The Ai’s come supplied with a rather nice zippered carrying case which can easily fit in a pocket. They also come supplied with a couple of different sized ear-guides and three pairs of eartips.

The headphones use conventional drivers and feature a micro USB socket on the control section which is covered with a dust flap - luckily this is easier to open than those found on some headphones. The shells and cable are a brilliant red which is actually quite eye-catching.

These headphones are very light. This is a good thing with regard to fit (if you’re lucky enough to actually be able to keep these in and maintain a good seal) but unfortunately they also feel somewhat flimsy - this is especially apparent with the control module which feels cheap and rattles with loose buttons. In all fairness, this has no effect on the sound quality but to be honest I get the impression that they wouldn’t survive a lot of abuse unlike some of the other headphones Bluedio make.

The Ai’s actually arrived with the battery so depleted that it wouldn’t even power up. It worked fine after charging though so no worries there. They took a good three hours to charge up - which I suppose is about right for completely depleted batteries.

Connection to my phone was very fast - significantly faster than any of the other bluetooth headphones in my collection. Range appears to be good as well but to be honest I would expect this on an all-plastic construction.

Sound Quality

Again, just to be clear, I couldn’t get a fit at all with these. The basic shape of the headphones coupled with the shallow insertion depth just makes them completely and utterly incompatible with me and my ears. With this in mind, be mindful that your experience with these headphones could easily be completely different to mine.

The good news is that they’re pretty flat with regard to frequency extremes. I found the bass to be detailed, reasonably deep but not boomy. Likewise the upper frequencies appeared to be controlled, detailed and no fatiguing. Both these elements are always very welcome in headphones in my opinion. The other good news is that they go pretty loud.

Conclusion

I feel that if you can get these headphones to fit, you won’t be disappointed with regard to the sound quality. Although the headphones don’t use the APTx protocol, they’re still capable of reproducing small details without background hiss. With the fit issues in mind, I cautiously recommend them. If you’re lucky enough to get a good fit I think they’re pretty good for the price. Three stars for sound quality.