PK Shiu
Creative ZEN Hybrid Headphones Review
Creative ZEN Hybrid Headphones Review

headphones

Creative ZEN Hybrid Headphones Review

Introduction

The Creative Zen Hybrid comes in a nice package. My white version looks great. The headphones are comfortable, folds small to throw in a bag. It even has a wired mode in case the batteries is exhausted. With 27 hours of play time, that is unlikely to happen. It is hard not to compare it to the Sony XM4 in looks. Does it perform like the XM4?

Controls

The Zen hybrid has a generous set of physical buttons on the right ear cup to control its function. ANC is a dedicated button. The power button serves as a multi-function button for power and pairing. There is a separate volume control that also skip tracks when long pressed.

Bluetooth

The ZEN has BT 5.0, HFP and A2DP profile. If the audio sounds bad, switch the mic input on your phone or computer to something other than the ZEN to get the headphones out of HFP mode.

The ZEN Hybrid unfortunately does not have multi-point. It can connect to one device at one time only. Since I like to use my headphones between my phones and my iPad, I have to manually disconnect the headphones from one before it will connect to the second device.

Batteries and Charging

The ZEN uses USB-C for charging its 500mAh battery. Charge time is something between 1.5 to 3 hours. Once charged, it has 27 hours of play time. That is very good.

During charging, the indicator shows a solid red. It will turn to solid green when it is fully charged. If the headphones has less than 10% batteries left, the indicator will flash red.

Audio

The ZEN has AAC and SBC codecs only. Not APTx for higher quality audio stream. The 40mm drivers at 32 ohm works well and overall sound is good with my test tracks. However, with both my MacBook Pro running Monterey and my iPhone XS, the volume of the headphones when connected using bluetooth is low. I have to set the volume to almost maximum to get good sound. This may be a software issue. I have opened a ticket with Creative.

The mic quality is very good. It does isolate my voice during calls in a noisy environment. Check out the test in the video.

The ANC performance is fairly good. There is also an ambient mode where it will pass surrounding sound through, useful when you want to be aware of your surrounding. To activate ambient mode, double press the ANC button.

Comfort

I find the Zen Hybrid very comfortable -- it is a combination of soft ear cups, light weight, and well padded headband. The Zen looks like the Sony XM4, but it is lighter and more comfortable.

Conclusion

Especially for the price point, this could have been a very full feature set of headphones. The audio performance is good. I could almost live with the lack of multi-point bluetooth, but Creative has to fix this volume too low problem with bluetooth mode.

Edifier W295BT Plus headphones review

Packaging

IMG_6103.jpg

The unbox experience is very good. The headphones are presented in a molded carrier inside a nice box. Underneath are the extra eartips, charing cable and the carrying tin. Yes, a carrying “tin” — a metal circular box that is about 1.5 inch tall and 3 inches diameter. This box certainly will protect the headphones, although it is a bit bigger than the typical soft pouch.

Battery life


The reason I picked this particular model is that it has a claimed battery life of 12 hours! I am looking for a bluetooth headphones that someone can use almost constantly during the day without the need for recharging. With my run down test, after 11 hours of music playing at a normal volume, the battery shows 40% according to the report by the connected iPhone. By playing music at 50% volume I measured 15 hours of playback time before the battery ran out. Now that I have used it under normal condition, the batteries definitely last for an entire day each day.

Design and Fit

The earbuds and the remote control module both are larger than the normal bluetooth earbuds. I assume that’s where the larger batteries are located. The earbuds are not too large to be uncomfortable. It stills sit in the ear unobtrusively. I like memory wire setup, but like most other memory wire, it takes a bit of adjusting to get it right. Once it is bent to the right shape, it helps the earbuds stay in, and fit around my eyeglasses frame easily.


Sound quality

Initially I find the sound quality average. I burnt them in for probably two days, during the battery test. The sound stage is still not very wide. Bass is natural, not overly boosted. The highs are slightly harsh. After the burn in period, I give it a B+ for sound, which is good in terms of earbuds at this price range.


Overall, these are a good buy, especially if you want a long lasting, comfortable pair of in ear headphones.

Anker Soundbuds Slim+ Wireless Headphones Review

Bluetooth

The bluetooth range is very good. Testing connection with my iPhone8, in my semi open ground floor, the slim+ reaches from one corner of the floor to the other, reaching about 40+ feet with no disconnect. Heading upstairs, the connection stayed until I was another 30+ feet away on a different floor. Note that when paired with my 2017 Retina MacBook Pro, the range is less but that’s more a problem with the MacBook Pro’s bluetooth.

One negative about the bluetooth implementation with the Slim+ is that it does not support multi-point. You have to manually (re)connect each device to the Slim+ if you use it with multiple devices. I switch between my iPhone 8, and my iPad Pro. Note that you do NOT have to re pair the devices, just reconnect. Other, usually more expensive headphones, support multi-point and will remember the last two devices and stay connected to them and switch between them as needed without manual intervention.

Battery and Charging

The battery, together with three buttons, one indicator light and the mic, is in the single control “block” on the right side of the cable. It is light enough that it is not pulling the earpiece out of my right ear, even during a jogging test. The charging port is covered with a flexible rubber piece that is not difficult to open because it has a tiny lip. This is good design because there is nothing more annoying then trying and fail to pry open the charging port.

When battery is running low, the slim+ will give an audio signal as well as black the LED red. I did two run down test and both times the battery lasted for just over 6 hours playing music constantly. The charge time from empty to full is just under 2 hours. During charging, the LCD stays steady red until charged. The LED then turned solid blue.

Sound Quality

First, the slim+ now supports AptX. I tested it with my MacBook Pro. The codec showed AptX in the bluetooth display. This should provide better playback audio quality. But note that iPhones do not support AptX. For me, this is only useful when I listen to music on my MacBook Pro.

For my sound quality test, I test them with my iPhone8, as that is the most common usage scenario for me. In general I found that I need to burn the headphones in a bit before it started to sound good. After my first two fully charged and discharge test cycle, the Slim+ has accumulated over 12 hours of play and the sound definitely opened up a lot.

The seal of the earbuds affect the sound quality a lot as well. So make sure you pick the right size earbud and have the earbuds seated in your ear, making a good seal. These are the tracks I used to test the sound quality:

Wasted by Brandi Carlile: This track has a steady bass drum and piano chords background throughout. I find the bass responses good without over powering. I almost wish it is more boosted, as with many headphones, to give it more of an unnatural punch for fun, at least for this track. Her raspy vocal sounds clear and warm. Sound stage is good.

Viva La Vida by Coldplay: This is another fun and complex track. With the recording, Chris Martin’s voice is somewhat muffled by all the instruments. The Slim+ managed to surface his voice enough. It may not be as good as the Klipsch X11, but that costs ten times more.

Exit Music (For a Film) by Brad Mehldau: Switching to Jazz, this track pushes any headphones to render the various instruments clearly. For the Slim+ the cymbal attacks are reasonably good. The very deep double base keeps up except for the very low notes. I find that the Slim+ does not boost its treble and bass like many headphones. I prefer this more natural response, especially for Jazz and vocal pieces. I think this track shows off the Slim+ the most — showing what a $30 or so headphone can do.

Fit and Comfort

The Slim+ comes with four set of tips. The medium one that comes fitted works fine for me. I don’t really need the wings to keep the earbuds in my ear. I did a bit of jogging with them and they stay in fine. The cable is not the flat tangle free type, but I don’t find it posing any problem. The entire unit is light enough. The earbuds are made of a nice soft rubber material that put little pressure, and I can comfortable wear it for an hour at a time.

Conclusion

Does the Slim+ sounds better than the Klipsch X11i? No. Is it more convenient than the BeatX in connection management? No. But remember, this is a pair of sub $30 headphones that sounds almost as good as something that is ten times the price. For day to day use, the sound is natural, the earbuds are comfortable, bluetooth range is extremely good when paired with the iPhone. Battery life is good. I recommend it.

mixcder MS301 Bluetooth Headphone Review

Sometimes you know you have a winner if that’s the one pair of headphones that you keep reaching for. I find the MS301 a very easy to use pair of headphones. It is comfortable. It sounds good.

Packaging

The MS301 comes in an attractive, large box with gold graphics on a matte black background. The inside plastic that carries the headphone is of average quality. A USB cable and a 3.5mm audio cable packed inside another matte black box completes the package. The fact that they enclosed the cables inside another box makes for a much better presentation. Some cheaper Asian branded headphones just leave the accessories randomly flowing in the underside of the plastic container.

Bluetooth

This is the best and worst part of this pair of headphones. On the plus side, it supports AptX. I connected my 2017 MacBook Pro to it via bluetooth running AptX. This has to be the connection method of choice. The bad part about the MS301’s bluetooth does not support any sort of multi-point connection. It seems to only pair with one device at a time. I have to re-pair the headphones when I switch between devices. So if you are planning to use it for both say a laptop and a mobile phone, this is not the headphone for you.

Range for this headphone is mediocre. I get 20 feet line of sight maximum.

Sound Quality

The MS301 has a reasonable flat response, with a slightly boosted base. This is important for me as I listen mostly to jazz and classical where good vocals are important. I ran it through my standard set of tracks.

Starting with Eric’s Song by Vienna Tang, The Waking Hour: This is a simple track with Vienna’s silky vocal singing along a piano. I can hear all of the nuances of her voice interlaced with the piano. Switching over to  Exit Music (For a Film), by Radiohead, OK Computer: Changing from Tang’s female vocal to the booming vocal, with a multi layer supporting vocals and instruments. All the audio tracks are still coming through cleanly. The bass is slightly boosted but not over powering the vocals.

For fun I always then play Exit Music (For a Film) by Brad Mehldau, The Art of the Trio, Vol. 3: — the Jazz original. This is a very different style of course. The piano is front and center with various percussions building up around it. Sound stage is good with this pair of headphones.

Changing style complete I went to Trust by Christina Perry, Head or Heart. The rocking bass line is strong but not overly boosted. A similar track: Viva La Vida by Coldplay plays equally well.

Battery Life

What I love about these full size headphones is that the battery last a very long time — too long to test accurately. I manage to test my pair of MS301 over an entire week before I have to recharge it.

Controls

All the controls for the headphone is on the right, with a power button/pause/call near the top, and volume up/forward, volume down/backward button pair down near the bottom. A small multi-color LED near the power button shows you the status of the headphone. I find that occassionally I hit the power button by mistake because it is near the top. One time it initiated a redial on my phone (pressing the power button twice) because I was trying to turn up the volume.

Power Button: long press on/off. Single press: pause/play/answer. Double press: redial
Volume Up: single press up, long press next track
Volume Down: single press down, long press prev track

Comfort

This pair of headphone is very comfortable. The ear cups have soft foam covered by a soft synthetic leather material. For my medium size ear it covers my ear completely without too much clamping force. The headband is also padded. The entire ear cup swivel 90 degrees to the back (For folding flat) and forward by 45 or so degrees. The hinge construction seems to be mostly metal.

Conclusion

These Asian branded headphone keeps getting better. I have reviewed several pairs of mixcder headphones over the years and each new pair is better. The MS301 sounds good, looks great and is comfortable. The retail prices are getting closer to the $100 mark so it has more competition. The comfort, AptX support, and long battery life gives it a big advantage.

Specs

40mm driver, 32 ohms
bluetooth 4.2
500mAh battery, 2 hour charging time, 20 hour active use, 2200 hour standby

Note: A free review unit is provided to me by the distributor. All opinions are my own.

Archeer AH07 Bluetooth Headphones

Introduction

The Archeer AH07 Bluetooth headphones arrived in a sizable black box. I find the headphones folded inside. The headphones come with a 3.5 audio cable for connecting the headphone directly to a source, a micro USB charging cable, and a short user guide.

Picking up the headphones — it has a nice premium feel. Most of the body is plastic. Part of the body is silver colored plastic. Only the lower headband below the folding mechanism is metal, as well as the hinges. Both earcups fold and unfold with a small click as the metal band click in place.

Padding is soft. The headband and the earcups are covered in synthetic leather that feels nice on the head and on the ear. The earcups are rectangular. With my medium sized ear, the earcups cover my ear completely forming a nice seal. The clamping force is average and I have been wearing them an hour at a time without much discomfort.

Controls

All the controls are on the back side of the right ear cup. The power button is used for on, off and pairing. A multi-color LED below the button gives some visual feedback:

 Pressing the power button for 2 seconds turn the headphones on. It uses audio beeps to confirm user action. The LED flashes blue 2 times.

  • Pressing the power button for 3 seconds turn the headphones off. The LED flashes red two times.

  • To put the headphones into bluetooth pairing mode, press and hold the power button for 5 seconds until the LED flashes blue and red.

  • When the batteries run low, the LED will flash red two times every two seconds.

  • During charging, the LED stays red, and turn to blue when it is fully charged.

Below the power button and the LED are two switches for volume up and down. Short press changes the volume, while long press on down moves back one track, and long press on up moves to the next track. The volume control has 16 clicks across the volume range. An audio beep signals the end of the volume range.

Bluetooth Performance

The AH07 remembers multiple paird devices, but can only be actively paired with one source at a time. During testing I have the AH07 paired to both my Rentina Macbook Pro running Sierra, and my iPad Pro running iOS 10.3. To have the AH07 connect to either device, I need to disconnect the other connection from the source first.

Bluetooth range is fair. With line of sight I can go to about 30 feet. Without line of sight in my typical residential house the connection degrades quickly beyond 20 feet or so. This is comparable to many other headphones that I have tested. However, I also tested the A225 bluetooth speaker from the same company, and that speaker has amazing range.

 

Sound Quality

The sound quality of the AH07 is good. The response is fairly flat and not v-shaped like most lower end headphones. The bass is lively without overly boosted. KT Tunstall’s Black horse and the Cherry Tree has a lot of acoustic bass and drums and they all come through cleanly.

Christina Perri’s Trust is a track that is complex, with clear vocal overlaid on rocking bassline. The AH07 balances between the vocal and the instruments easily.

The AH07 good performance made me reach for Dire Straits’ Private Investigation. In the famous middle of the track, the acoustic guitar playing against the marimba and the simple bass drum, I find myself getting lost in enjoying the track instead of writing things down for the review.

Conclusion

Overall I like the AH07. As an affordable Asian branded headphones, the audio quality is very good. It is comfortable to wear. The folding design makes it ideal for portable use, perhaps throwing in your backpack for use during the commute or at the office. The low end Chinese headphone space is getting more and more crowded. Since these brands are not known it is hard to tell them apart. I can definitely recommend these Archeer AH07.

audioMX HS-5S Studio Monitor Headphones Review

The AudioMX HS-5S arrived in a large box, 11 x 9 x 4 inches. A jet black box with a nice pictures of the headphones printed on top. The headphones is inside on the right, and there is a small box on the other side. LIfting that small plastic box reveals a nice surprise: The HS-5S comes with an extra pair of valor ear pads.

Quality

The entire package and the headphones themselves are of high quality. The cable is think and flexible, reminds me a little of the cable of my Grado RS-1. The cable attaches to both left and right ear cups, and joined in a molded stress relief plastic piece. The cable is long, over 8 ft. The jack at the end is a combined 3.5mm and 6.35mm (1/4 inch) Jack. The 6.35 jack is an adaptor. The cable end has a small stress relief spring attached.

The ear cups and headband are reasonably padded with a leatherette material. The top side of the headband is a matte plastic with the audioMX brand tastefully recessed into the material.

The HS-5S is of a open design. The grill on the ear cup is a hard black grid material. While there are metal looking parts on the ear cups, it is all plastic, but of high quality.

The red color used in both sides of the ear cup (see photos) also give the headphones a nice design punch.

Overall, the HS-5S looks and feels like a much more expensive pair of headphones.

Sound Quality

I tested these headphones with my iPhone 7, my Macbook Pro, and with a small headphone amp fed by my Macbook Pro via USB. The sound quality is very good. The response is reasonably flat — on some pieces of music the high frequencies are slightly boosted. The bass is clear and strong. Since it is a pair of open design, I was slightly disappointed  that the sound stage is not as wide as, say my RS-1. But it is perfectly acceptable, especially considering that the RS-1 costs about ten times more.

Some specific test track that I used:

Holly Cole - If you go away, Night (2012) - The warm vocals separate well from the piano and the deep bass. The sound is intimate with very natural vocals

Radiohead, Exit Music (For a Film), OK Computer - The booming vocal is clear. As the supporting vocals and instruments build up, each layer is clearly separated.

Don’t Know Why, Norah Jones, Come Away with Me — I use this track to see how well the headphones render the piano against the guitar and vocals, and the HS-5S handles this well.

Brad Mehldau, Exit Music (For a Film) - Songs: The Art of the Trio, Vol. 3 — This is the jazz piano version of the Radiohead song. I love how the percussion builds up cleanly as we get into the track. This is one track that I wish the soundstage is wider.

Comfort

The headband is well padded, as are the ear cups. The ear cups swivel for a good fit. The ear cups are large enough to go completely over my ear. The clamping force is high, together with the large ear cups, it does press down a bit much on my thick rim glasses. So I have to take the headphones off every so often just to relief the pressure. Otherwise it is a very comfortable pair of headphones.

Conclusion

This is a great pair of Asian branded audiophile grade headphones, for a very reasonable price. The specs are great. The extras are nice surprises. The sound quality is good. This is a good pair of budget audiophile open back headphone.

Discount Coupon

audioMX has made available a special discount coupon:

20% OFF promotion code:
Link: https://goo.gl/IKWIE7
Code: XE39JVUG

Axgio Backfit sports bluebooth wireless headphones review

The Axgio Backfit sports bluetooth headphones are a interesting pair of affordable bluetooth headphones. When it arrived I was surprised by the minimal packaging. It came in a very small box, just the size of the included carrying case. I like the eco friendly packaging. It comes with S/M/L ear tips, a carrying case, a short micro USB charging cable, and a small instruction manual.

Charging and Batteries

All the electronic access is on the right ear bud. The micro USB charging port and a tiny multi color LED  is there. The LED shows red when charging, and turns blue after charged. It took less than 2 hours to fully charge up the headphone and it lasted just under 6 hours on continuous playing to discharge it, well matching the advertised 6 hours of play time.

The headphones have voice response in its operations. It says “power on, connection successful” on power up. Because the headphones have a 10 minutes automatic power off, you can just hold the center button for 3 seconds to switch it on, or hold the center button for 5 seconds to turn it off. When the battery gets low, the headphone will say “battery low”. I got the warning when it hits 10% battery.

Bluetooth Performance

For me, the bluetooth performance is a big deal with there headphones. Initial pairing is simple. Hold down the center button for 5 seconds, and the LED flashes blue and red. I paired it with both my iPhone 7 and my Retina MacBook Pro. The Backfit uses bluetooth 4.1, and will stay paired two devices at the same time. For example, I can be listening to a podcast on my iPhone, stop play, switch to my MacBook Pro, and start a youTube video. The Backfit will switch over automatically from the iPhone to the MacBook Pro.

The bluetooth range is very good. With my iPhone in one corner of the first floor of my house, I can maintain a connection on the entire floor of about one thousand square feet of semi open floor plan.

The instruction manual explains that you can clear the entire paired device list by holding the center button for 5 seconds until it flashes blue and red (which means it is ready for pairing), then release the center button, and hold the + and the - button until the LED flashes blue.

Sound Quality

The Backfit has a high noise floor — there is a audible hiss at low or zero input volume. This is slightly annoying but not a deal breaker as the hiss will disappear with most music once started playing. The sound quality is good but with a pronounced boost at the high frequencies. 

Test Tracks

Brandi Carlile, The Story, Wasted: The track starts with a piano chord passage and Brandi slowly adds her vocal. The hiss is noticeable until the overall volume increased. The base, piano and guitars all comes through clearly with good sound stage.

Vienna Tang, The Waking Hour, Eric’s Song: This is a simple track with Vienna’s silky vocal singing along a piano. I can hear all of the nuances of her voice.

Lissie, Catching a Tiger, Record Collector: This otherwise enjoyable track shows the boosted high frequencies problem with the Backfit. The high hat cymbal at the beginning of the track can be harsh.

Radiohead, OK Computer, Exit Music (For a Film): This dark track with low and booming male vocal sounds wonderful with the Backfit. Thom Yorke’s melancholy voice shines.

Sting, Brand New Day, A Thousand Years: This is another track that shows off the bassy sound of the Backfit, but at the same time the high end boost gives too much sibilance to many parts of Sting’s vocal.

Comfort

The Backfit is extremely comfortable. This is the first pair of earbuds with a rectangular shape body that I tried. I thought it would be heavy and hard to stay on. Instead it is very light, and stay on my ear firmly even when I am out jogging. I find the headband unnecessary. In fact it is slightly awkward to get the loop to go above my ears. I have to put the ear buds into my ear first, then move the band into place. It does work with me wearing glasses.

Miscellany

The instruction sheet has some bad formatting, missing spaces, and a typo: “until theearphone…” and "Witch between the earphone and phone…”. I hope they will fix these in the next print.

Conclusion

The affordable bluetooth headphone space is going to get crowded now that Apple has killed the headphone jack. I was surprised how good is the Axgio Backfit. It is extremely comfortable with great battery life making it a good pair of workout or commuting headphones. Something that works and you won’t feel really bad if you loose them. The only downside is the sibilance. I am hoping burning the headphone in will reduce it, or you can correct it with equalization. If you are looking for a pair of budget bluetooth headphones with good overall performance, definitely give the Axgio Backfit a try.

Promotion

The manufacturer has made the following coupon offer:

Short Link: http://amzn.to/2eDOlY4

And the promo information: 

Coupon Code: J6QA76WR
Deal Price:$19.49
Normal Price: $29.99
Valid Date: till 12.31

Bose QuietControl Bluetooth Noise Canceling Headphones QC30 Review

Unboxing and Packaging

The Bose QuietControl QC30 active noise canceling bluetooth headphones comes in the usual premium Bose packaging. The box folds open left and right revealing the headphones in a molded plastic tray. The headphones come with three sized ear tips, USB charging cable, and a largish semi hard plastic zip case. The zip case reminds me of my old Sony Discman. The lid part of the zip case has a elastic pocket that is perfect to store the charging cable.

Build Quality

Remember that this is a US $299 pair of headphones and I expect nothing but top build quality. The QC30 feels premium. The cable is round, thick and soft. It comes out of the neck band into the ear piece without any sign of possible areas for breakage. The neck band has a matte rubber finish that is pleasant to touch. The back part of the neck band is much thinner than the front and sides. It feels good riding on my neck directly. The cables are quiet short so there are not a lot of slack when wearing the headphones.

Comfort

The StayHear+ QC ear tips, at least for me, are some of the most comfortable ear tips. There is absolutely no pressure in my ear canal, yet it provides a good seal so that the noise cancelation works extremely well. The neck band is light enough that I forgets it is there after a while. 

Controls

The neckband has one button, recessed into the band material, on the right side. It is the power button, and also serves as the bluetooth control button. The button is small and somewhat difficult to click. There are two very small, almost pin hole like, color LEDs next to the button. One is for power/charging. The other one is for bluetooth status.

The power LED shows green when on, and yellow then flashing red as the battery level decreases. During charging, the LED will flash amber, and go to solid green when fully charged.

If you hold down the power button for a few seconds, it will enter bluetooth pairing mode, and the LED will blink white. Solid white means the headphones is paired to at least one source.

The right hand side wire also has an inline control. The inline control provide volume up and down, and a center button for play/pause. On the side of the control there are two buttons for stepping the noise cancelation level up or down. I counted 12 steps of control. I wish there is a key press that will immediately take the noise cancelation down to zero. This is available on the Bose QC20i wired noise cancelation headphones.

Bluetooth

The bluetooth implementation is one of the best feature of all newer Bose bluetooth headphones, including the soundSport Wireless. The QC30 will stay connected to two devices at the same time. When one of them output audio, the QC30 will switch to that device. I normally have the QC30 paired to both my Macbook Pro and my iPhone7 at the same time.

The impressive feature is that the QC30 actually stores pairing information on up to eight different devices. If the last top two devices are not available, it will go down the list until it finds devices that are available. This means that I can have the QC30 connect automatically to my work laptop plus my iPhone 7 when I am in the office, then automatically switch to my home laptop plus the same iPhone when I get home.

If the QC30 takes too long in looking for a device, you can press the power button with 3 seconds of powering on to force it to go to the next device.

At home, the bluetooth connection holds for about 20 feet in my semi-open house. In the office, the connection holds for over 40 feet in a open plan office. I would expect more interference in the office but that is not the case.

Battery Life

The QuietControl QC30 took just under 2 hours to be fully charged. The battery ran out after one day of hard use, with about 3 hours of conference call and music listening inbetween. I estimated the battery life is around the claimed 6 hours total.

Sound Quality

A lot of people, myself included, use to think a bit less of the Bose sound signature. However I find that the QC30 sounds good. With Eric’s Song by Vienna Tang, her calm detailed vocals shine through clearly. On Exit Music (For a Film) by Radiohead, the deep vocals is clear without being over bearing. Yorke’s voice is haunting and you can hear all the details over the simple guitar.

Sting’s A Thousand Years is my go to track for testing out deep electronic base at the beginning of the track. The QC30 performs well for a pair of earbuds style headphones. Listening to Viva La Vida by Coldplay, where Chris Martin add layers upon layers of tracks as the song build up, each instrument tracks can be heard clearly. Sound stage is wide. The sound stage is even better when playing Happy Theme Song by Grace Kelly. Her sax is punchy and warm up front as the rest of her ensemble plays in the back around her. Finally, a fun track to listen to is Black Horse and the Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall. It’s simply enjoyable through the QC30.

Not to forget, the active noise cancelation works extremely well both in a simulated test environment, playing white/brown/pink noise in the background, as well as in my office. The QC30, just like the QC20, completely cuts out ambient noise from the AC and other lower frequency hums. The ear tips have enough passive isolation that I can barely hear regular volume talking 10 feet away.

The one area that the QC30 seems to fall down is the microphone quality. I assume that it is using the noise canceling mics on both ear piece to capture sound. On my conference calls, the receiver on the other end tells me the audio is just ok, and is definitely assuming I am using so sort of bad mic.

Conclusion

Since I bought and used the Bose SoundSports wireless as my primary running and around the house headphone, I have been waiting for the QC30 to come out. The QC20i (wired noise canceling version) has been my travel headphones for a while so I know the noise cancelation is going to be as good on the QC30. Together with the great bluetooth implementation, the QC30 is now my main headphones for everything — office, gym. I only switch to my high end setup when I am sitting down for a true music session. The convenience  and the comfort of the QC30 simply is a winning combination for everyday use. 

MixCDer ShareMe 5 Bluetooh Headphones Review

Unboxing and Packaging

The ShareMe 5 arrived in a box that looks similar to the ShareMe Pro, but thicker. The packing inside is slightly nicer looking. The plastic container holding the headphones is still made from very thin cheap white plastic. I wished they would use something else that looks a bit higher end, because the headphones themselves look very nice.

 

The headphones come with a USB charging cable, as well as a 3.5 audio cable to use the headphones in wired mode. It is always nice to have that option — if this is the only pair of headphone around, and the battery just ran out — provided you do not have the audio jack-less iPhone 7 !

 

Build Quality

 

Mixcder has a winner here. Comparing this with the ShareMe Pro, the ShareMe 5 has a much more premium look and feel. Except for the headband, which has a strip of steel inside, the rest of the body is completely plastic. The metal looking ear cups look good, with just a small bit of shiny metallic plastic, the rest being matte metallic color.

 

The ear cups on the ShareMe 5 folds up into the headband area. As far as I can tell, the hinges are metal mated with plastic. The hinge does not feel very solid, and I hope that it will hold up with use.

The best part about the ShareMe 5 compare to the ShareMe Pro is that the ear cups is free to rotate vertically for about 15 degrees. The movement is small, but it makes all the difference. They fit onto my ears much better. My son and I keep swapping between the ShareMe 5 and the ShareMe Pro, and we both concluded that the 5 is much more comfortable. I also think that because of this flexible fit, the sound quality improved as well.

 

The ear cups and headband are covered in soft leatherette over foam. It is of the same quality as my Jabra Move. My guess is that in a year or two of daily use, they will wear out. But for the price it is a nice setup.

 

Comfort

 

Because of the swiveling ear cups, and the large ear cups, the ShareMe 5 is very comfortable. The clamp force is average — light enough that I can use it for over an hour with no fatigue. For me the ear cup completely goes over my ear making a good seal. The foam pads press against my glasses slightly, but the pads are soft enough that it is not an issue.

 

Controls

 

I am so happy that the controls on the ShareMe 5 is different from the ShareMe Pro. The 5 has a sensible layout — where on the right ear cup, there are up and down volume toggles, and a separate power button. There is no more confusion as to how to turn up or down the volume. The separate power button does double, or is it triple, duty as the play/pause/answer button.

 

Bluetooth and Battery

 

Just like the other MixCder headphones, the bluetooth connection is solid. Comparing to my new Bose QC30, the ShareMe 5, the MixCder has a much better range. It easily goes 30 feet line of sight before dropping the connection. Like most newer bluetooth device, when the connection is dropped, the sound is muted. So you will not get a blast of static.

 

The battery life on the ShareMe 5 is impressive. Again I have problem doing a run down test because after leaving the headphone playing overnight, I still cannot drain the battery. For practical purposes, the battery is good enough for normal use.

One slightly annoying issue with the battery — there is no way to find out the battery level. The power LED will change from blue to flashing red when the battery is low, but I want to know what is the level beforehand.

I noted in my ShareMe Pro review that I experienced a audio delay when I am watching video with the ShareMe Pro. For some reason, it appears to me that the delay in the ShareMe 5 is gone. I watched an entire TV show on Hulu without issue. I don’t know if they have actually updated the bluetooth implementation, or if the perceived difference is purely psychological, but these new ShareMe 5 works fine with video.

Share Me Feature

Since I already have a ShareMe Pro, I paired them together to test out the sharing feature. The two paired up easily (remember, pair them out of range of other bluetooth devices) and they play in the sharing mode without problems.

Sound quality

 

The sound signature of the ShareMe 5 is similar to the ShareMe Pro, but slightly better to my ears. The overall sound is still compressed, vocals are slightly veiled. The bass is punchy which is good for rock and pop. Compare to a high end setup, the sound are not terribly detailed. Listening to Coldplay’s Viva la Vida, where the instruments are increasingly layered onto the tracks, some of the details are lost.

 

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When the music is less complex, for example Happy Theme Song by Grace Kelly, her Sax comes through warmly. The accompanying bass, piano and drums can be heard clearly. On Sting’s A Thousand years, the rumbling deep bass shows off the bass heavy sound.

Overall, the sound is enjoyable for a US $ 60 pair of headphones. It compares favorably to the Jabra Move.

Conclusion

The ShareMe 5 is a good pair of value bluetooth, over the ear, headphones. Sonically it is good enough. It looks much more expensive than it is built. It is comfortable. My only hope is that the folding hinge holds up over time. Otherwise it is a nice pair of value headphones on it’s own. And if you want the sharing feature, I would recommend getting a pair of ShareMe 5 instead of the ShareMe Pro.

Note: I was given this pair of headphones free of charge for a honest review.

MixCder ShareMe Pro bluetooth Headphones Review

The mixcder ShareMe Pro headphones, besides being a pair of reasonably priced, bluetooth, full-size headphone, it has a secret feature: If you have two of these, you can linked them together, and two people and listen to the same music/sound source at the same time.

With two kids in my family sharing one iMac, there is a constant headphone usage dilemma going on. They need to plug and unplug their own personal headphones as they use the computer. Then if they want to watch a youTube together, they have to unplug the headphone to use the speakers. A lot of audio jack action reaching behind the iMac. Having two pairs of ShareMe Pro headphone may just solve my problem.

Unboxing and Construction

I am slightly spoiled by the mixcder ANC-G5 active noise canceling headphones’  premium packaging which I also have. The ShareMe Pro in contrast arrived in a simple box with a basic plastic tray holding the headphones. When I open the box, the included cables were placed in the bottom of the tray, promptly dropping onto the floor. One positive is that it does come with a reasonably length USB charging cable, as well as a 3.5 audio cable for connecting the headphones directly to a earphone out port.

The construction of the headphones however are very good. At this price point, the headphone is mostly made from plastic. The adjustable ear cups rides on a steel band with plastic rails in the middle. The ear cups are covered in a very soft padded leatherette ear pads. The headband is also covered in a similarly padded material.

Comfort

These headphones are very comfortable. The clamping force is low. The ear cups swivel just over 90 degrees — from flat for storage, to just over 90 to  conform to different head shapes. I find that I can wear them for a long time without problem.

Sound Quality

These headphones uses 40mm drivers with 32 ohms impedance. Being bluetooth, I expected them to be driven nicely by the large internal batteries. I was slightly disappointed with the overall sound quality even after 20+ hours of burning in. I am listening via bluetooth using my Retina Macbook Pro playing iTunes music m4a files.

When I am listening to simpler jazz vocal pieces: Vienna Teng’s Eric Song, Autumn Leaves by Partricia Barber, Save Me by Aimee Allen, they sounded over during the quieter passages. Once the vocal and instruments play together, the over sound became muddled. I moved on to some classic rock tracks like Angie by the Stones, and With or Without You by U2. Similarly the headphones seem to get overwhelmed and lost clarity.

I also tried the same tracks with the headphone connected via the audio cable. There is no any noticeable difference.

I resorted to add EQ to the audio — boosting the 1K and 2K band fixes the sound enough so that it is passable. However I don’t think these will be my goto audio bluetooth headphones. But it is fine for casual listening. My kids find them perfectly usable for youTube listening.

 
 

Design Notes

I have some minor usability issue with these headphones.The headphones have volume and power buttons on the left ear cup, and track forward/backward/pause buttons on the right. These buttons feel a bit cheap when you press them. And the order of the volume buttons are: volume up / volume down / power. I really would prefer the power being in the middle. At the beginning I keep pressing the power button when I want to turn down the volume. Finally I realized that the volume buttons have little dimples on them, so I can to feel for them and not press the power button by mistake. But that is more work than necessary.

If you ever want to use the headphones with wires, the jack on the ear cup is at an angle, so the audio wire sticks out toward the back awkwardly. However I do not see why you would need to use them with wires as the batteries performance is great.

Batteries

I normally do a charge time and discharge time test. But these headphones have such large batteries that I have yet to get a measurable discharge time. That is, once charged, they play for days, which is wonderful. The only drawback is that there is no way to chat the battery levels. So sometime in the future I expect they will just stop working and I have to charge them back up.

Bluetooth performance

These are headphones with bluetooth 4.1. The range is similar to other bluetooth headphones that I have. With line of sight, 20+ feet is fine. With two walls in between, the headphones will cut out at about two rooms apart on my first floor. It is nice that the audio will simply stop when it is out of range, so you won’t get static or random sound. Once back in range, the audio will restart nicely. The headphones do not seems to support multi-point connection. So you can only pair them to one source.

The link two pairs of ShareMe Pro together, I find that the best way is to move away from all other bluetooth sources. Then I can put both headphones in pairing mode, and they did pair with each other automatically. Once that is done, you need to make a note as to which one of the two is the primary one, because that is the one that needed to be pair to your audio source.

This is important because there are times you only want to use one pair of headphones. In that case only the primary pair works.

Finally, perhaps because of the sharing feature, there is a noticeable delay in the audio stream. When I watch a movie, the audio stream is perhaps 100ms to 200ms slower than the video steam. It can be annoying for watching movies or TV shows. I tried re-pairing the headphones several times, as well as with different computers, and the result is the same. I hope mixcder will come out with a software fix in the future.

Conclusion

Given the sharing function and the price point, I think it is a unique product that has a place for a family wanting to share audio in private. My kids are using them as I write this review watching a youTube together.

Note: I received the product from the manufacturer at a reduced price for review, but the opinions are entirely mine.

MixCder ANC-G5 Noise Canceling Headphones

The ANC-G5 active noise canceling headphones can be had from Amazon for 60 USD. How does it compare to the number one noise canceling headphones, the Bose QuietComfort QC20i?

Comfort

The ANC-G5 is surprisingly comfortable. The design of the ear tip is oval in shape and it does not fully insert into the ear canal. There is a fine balance of not having a very tight seal for comfort, but have a good enough seal to eliminate sound leakage. The Bose’s design is great for that. The ANC-G5’s tip is a lesser quality soft rubber, but never the less it works well.

The earpiece is not too heavy. It has a similar designed wire-as-ear-loop as the Bowers & Wilkins C5. I find that the ear loop is simply not necessary, not I can get it to actually fit into my ear. So I just kept the loop small and the headphone stays in anyway.

In terms of comfort, the ANC-G5 is as good as the Bose. I do worry that the ear tip rubber eventually will degrade. It is very thin. It is also oval in shape because it is stretched into the oval shape by the port on the earpiece. Compare to the Klipsch headphones for example, the Klipsch ear tips are oval as molded.

There is a minor annoying with the ANC-G5. The controller “box” is at the headphones end. That means the weight of the controller is pulling on the headphones all the time. I have no choice but to clip it onto my shirt. Compare to the Bose controller box, which is at the very end of the wire, on the plug end. I can just leave it in my pocket or on my desk.

Noise Canceling Performance

Since this is a pair of noise canceling headphones, the most important factor is how well does it actively cancel environmental noise? I tested it three different ways. I tested it against a brown noise generator .The ANC-G5 cancels out the brown noise without problem, as good as the Bose. I tested it against a coffee house background noise generator . The ANC-G5 successfully blocked out most of the background noise and effectively made the human voices more audible.

I then tested the ANC-G5 in my day to day office environment. The headphones successfully cancelled out the low frequency hum of our office AC, leaving me with a nice and quiet workspace.

Sound Quality

I tested the sound quality mostly with the noise canceling  feature switched on as that should be the normal mode of use. I fed the headphones from my retina Macbook Pro running iTunes. I largely listen to jazz and vocals.

After burning in the headphones for 24 hours (I ran the burn in without the active noise cancelation), a listen to Autumn Leaves by Partricia Barber. Her vocal against the deep double base comes through cleanly. While I don’t expect it to reproduce the very low notes perfectly, it did an more than adequate job.

I moved onto Vienna Teng’s Eric’s Song, a track with very clean vocal against piano. I can hear her breathing in between notes.

Moving onto Brandi Carlile’s Wasted, more of a rock track - female vocals against piano, drums, electric guitars and precessions. The soundstage is good but it is noticeably compressed compare to higher end headphones. (OK maybe it is not fair to compare it to a pair of RS-1 driven thru an amp). Overall I definitely enjoy listening to my styles of music as I work in the office.

I also tested using it for two Skype calls. The microphone works fine as well.

Design Issues

Besides that the controller is at the headphone end as mentioned before, the only thing that annoys me is that it uses a micro-A USB connector for charging. All other non Apple equipment I have uses micro-B USB connectors. This means that I cannot use the various charging stations that I have setup both at work and at home to charge this pair of headphones. I have to use their charging cable.

 
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Battery Test

After completely ran down the batteries, I charged and ran down the headphones twice to time the charging and usage. Both times the headphones charged to full charge in about 1 hour 30 minutes. The discharge ran way beyond 11 hours both times, however I do wonder if the battery life will be shorter if it was doing heavier noise cancelation in an noisier environment than my house.

Conclusion

For the money this pair of headphones is a no brainer purchase if you need active noise cancelation. The Bose QC20i is slightly better in all features, but it is four times as expensive. If you must have iOS/OSX volume controls on the headphones than you have to look else where or wait for Mixcder to come out with an Apple compatible version. Otherwise it is affordable, sounds great, comfortable, and most importantly cancel background noise well.

Note that while I received this unit from the distributor for review, the opinions expressed are completely my own. 

Anker SoundBuds Sport Headphones Review

I was interested in this blueteooth earbuds for a long time. I finally brought them when they are on Amazon’s daily deal for $20. The bottom line: If you are looking for a pair of bluetooth headphones for workout or sports, it is worth it !

Pros

The built quality is good. The cable is nice. I tested one from MPow and they were much worst. The plastic feels ok. The buttons are very mechanical feeling with little damping. The earbuds are very lightweight and they do stay in my ear once I get them pushed in properly. The sound quality is fair. It is a bit boosted in the base and the highs are muddled. Hard to compare this to my Klipsch X11i for literally 10 times the price.

Finally it comes with a nice soft pouch with a spring loaded top that works really well.

Issues

Anker does very nice USB charging devices. Looks like their product design department took many ideas from other headphone manufacturers and implemented them, poorly:

There are magnets in the headphones so that you can clip them close around your neck when you are not using them (like the Jabra Rox), but they are weak, and they do not turn the headphone off.

It comes with a optional cable clip to shorten the cable for the back of your neck, but it clips the cable with a single fold (see photo). A tri-fold design works much better. A single fold just makes the cable stick up in the back of your neck.

All the controls are on the earbuds themselves. They are on the long side of the body, so when you try to insert the earbuds into your ear, you end up pressing the buttons. This is problematic especially for the power button on the right.

The bluetooth range is fair as long as it has line of sight. Once I go behind a wall 15 feet away, the connection starts to drop.

The bluetooth connection does not support multipoint. It will only connect to the last connected devices. Most newer headphones will automatically switch between two latest connections (like the Jabra stealth).

The ear gel tips are very fragile. They are super thin. I tried to remove them for the photos and ended up leaving them on as I am afraid that I will tear them. Again compare them in the photo with the Klipsch. The size of the port is quite large — I am not sure I can swap them out for comply or other ear gels.

The software gives out audio notes to indicate that it is powering on (low-high tone), powering off (high-low tone). This reminds me of older generation of other bluetooth headphones that I had.

Finally, the mic quality is poor. I used my iPhone voice memo to record from different headphones. My Jabra Stealth headset sounds perfectly fine, and that is the one that I use normally for taking calls. The SoundBuds volume is low, and crackly. The mic is a single pin hold on the right earbud, which faces almost directly into my face at the ear level. As such seems like it is having a tough time picking up my voice.

Real Life Test

I took the earbuds out for a 11 miles bike ride. The cable free experience is great. I had my iPhone 5s in a sling behind me, and there were no bluetooth connection problem. The earbuds stay in my ear almost all of the time. My ear did not get too sweaty from wearing it, and having music along the ride is definitely great.

Conclusion

In conclusion — for the money it is a great pair of earbuds for use in the gym or outdoor. The non multi-point and the microphone quality problem mean that I cannot use it in the office for music and phone/conference calls. I hope they upgrade their bluetooth software soon. V2 will probably be a great product, as Anker seems to improve their products all the time.

 

 

Jabra MOVE wireless headphones review

Jabra MOVE Wireless Headphones Review

I have been using the new wireless headset from Jabra, the MOVE, for the last few days. If you are looking for a pair of wireless headset for use in the office or go walking while taking phone calls, listening to podcast or music, I recommend it.

Packaging

The MOVE came with a black box with a magnetically closed front flap. Openning the flap shows the headphones stored in a foam cutout underneath a taped down plastic cover. The packaging is simple and good looking. The only downside is that the small instruction booklet and the charging and optional cables are simply taped to the bottom of the box underneath a sheet of foam.

For some strange reason, the user manual for the MOVE is not included in the packaging. You can easily download it from the Jabra website. 

Look and Feel

When I picked up the headphones, I was pleasantly surprised by the built quality. The headband is metal, with a lightly padded cover in nylon. Mine is black and grey. The earcups are covered with a very soft and well padded leather like materials. I like that the headphone is not too heavy,150g according to the specifications but 160.5g according to my own digital scale. The clamping force is light. I wore it for several hours at a time for testing, and it was comfortable. Sound leakage is very low -- if you use it in a quiet office your office mates will not hear what you are playing. The sound isolation is fair. You will hear muffled chatter around you, which I personally think is a good thing. When you have to have noise cancellation, go with the Bose QC20i.

Sound Quality


To give some context: my other pair of headphone I use in my home office is the Grado RS1, handmade in Brooklyn NY, powered by a DAC + Headphone amp. The entire setup costs 10x of the Jabra MOVE. Does the MOVE sound 10x worst? Not at all. I played jazz vocals, pop, rock and classical pieces on my Macbook Pro using iTunes and lossless (ALAC) files ripped from my own CDs. With the bluetooth connection, it is perfectly adequate. The lows are slightly muddled. The soundstage is not as wide as the Grado. But it is still respectible, especially for a pair of closed back headphones. When I plugged the MOVE directly into the Macbook Pro using the supplied cable, the sound quality improves slightly.

Bluetooth Connection

For me, this is the most surprised thing about the MOVE. The bluetooth range is amazing. I am used to my bluetooth headset I used for my iPhone to cut out when I move to the other side of my open planned first floor. The MOVE not only stayed connected throughtout the entire first floor of my 800 s.q. first floor, it retained the connection when I was up on the third floor!

The paring process is super easy. There is no "code". Once placed in the pairing mode, by sliding the on/off/pair button to the top and hold it there for 3 seconds, it is easily discovered by both my iPhone and my Macbook Pro. The MOVE can be connected to both devices at the same time. I have not quite figure out how it decided to take priority between the two devices. I have music playing from the Macbook Pro, and when I use my iPhone, the iPhone audio takes over.

Battery Life

After charging the headphones for about two hours to reach a "green light", I used the headphone non stop for the whole day hoping to run down the charge. Instead after about 8 hours, the headphones still report "battery level full". I had to leave it on for a full 24 hours to get "battery level low" from it.

It seems like the MOVE will not auto power off on its own. I guess that is the preferred behavior, especially if you want to use it to take and make calls on a phone. So do not forget to switch it off at the end of the day.

Siri and Phone Use

The MOVE does work with Siri. When I hold down the center of the volume rocker, Siri comes on from my iPhone 5s. In fact the MOVE is smart enough that, I can be playing music from my Macbook Pro connection, and a long press will still invoke Siri on my iPhone.

For phone calls, I can hear the other party as well as a pair of wired headset. They can hear my fine without any complains. Add to the range of the bluetooth this makes the MOVE a very nice headset for phone calls. There seems to be just a single microphone on the bottom of the right ear cup. So I do not think there are any active noise cancellation.

 

Conclusion

I have used the MOVE in the office when I want to listen to music and podcast and do not want to disturb my co-workers. I have used it on my excercise walks. The sound quality is good. The light weight and being wireless really won me over. I was eyeing the Sennheiser MM 450-X at one point but that costs three times as much. At this price point I think it is a good pair of headphones. It will be interesting to see if there are more competitors come on the scene.

Disclaimer: Jabra provided me with this pair of Jabra MOVE for review, but the opinions are entirely my own, without bias.