Tuesday, 9 July 2019

Reviewed For The best Sony XB80BS sports headphones

Sony XB80BS

 


Sony has some of the best wireless tech going, and in sound tech terms the Sony XB80BS headphones are really quite special.

Sony is a wireless master at this point, so it’s no surprise the Sony XB80BS’s wireless performance is top-notch. These earphones also have NFC, allowing you to hook your phone up (if it has NFC) by just holding it to the left earpiece. They also support LDAC, Sony’s proprietary format that transmits three times the data of normal Bluetooth for a “less digital” sound.

To fit in all this tech, Sony has had to make the XB80BS headphones rather large by non-headband standards. The earpieces snake around and increase in size as they wind down to meet your earlobes. They’re anything but slight, and can be particularly awkward if you wear glasses. Power and volume controls are squeezed onto the right earpiece, and this side’s bottom pops off to reveal a microUSB charge socket.

You might expect the battery life to be amazing given the big stems, but at seven hours it’s only OK.
It’s also important not to assume that the best wireless tech automatically means the Sonys have the best sound. These headphones sound good, but they’re not class-leaders.

Like other “XB” (extra bass) earphones, these have powerful bass, but, unlike the XB650BT headphones we reviewed recently, it doesn’t distort under pressure. It can seem a little disconnected from the rest of the sound, though, and the New Balance PaceIQ and Bose SoundSport Pulse rivals have more engaging mids and treble. The Sonys do sound good enough to use as your everyday listen, as the stereo image is quite wide, but you can do even better.

Stuff says ✭✭✭✭✩

Tech-heavy sport earphones with powerful bass

Sony XB80BS tech specs

Bluetooth: yes 
• Battery life: 7 hours 
• Mic: yes  
• Remote: yes 
• Sweat/water-resistant: sweat and water  
• Weight: 27g

Review For The best Skullcandy Method Wireless sports headphones

Skullcandy Method Wireless

Review For The best Jabra Pulse sports headphones

Jabra Pulse

 








Jabra knows more than most about wireless headphones and, while the Bluetooth Pulse buds are a bit long in the tooth at this point, techie features and a big price cut mean they're still well worth considering. Another around-the-neck cable design, the big draw here is connection to the Jabra Sport app, which delivers heart-rate monitoring and pretty much any other stat you might want. There’s an in-line remote and mic, too.

Wireless buds with a fin to keep them in your ears and a neck cable that runs behind your neck is the standard design, and the Jabra Pulse do it better than most. You’ll barely notice the soft buds are in your ears (there’s a choice of three fins and four buds) and the cable is the right rigidity and length to sit comfortably.

The heart rate monitor has always worked straight away for us and the tracking appears in real time on your screen along with a myriad other figures, from calories burned to your pace and distance. 

You can even get a voice update with the tap of your ear. It’s a neat, easy to use, easy to read app. 

They sound fine, but not better than that. Even at the discounted price (these were originally £180) we’d like a fuller, bigger, all-round more impressive sound, but a decent tonal balance means they’re far from offensive.

Stuff says ✭✭✭✭✩
 
A tech-packed but simple to use pair of wireless buds with good enough sound

Reviewed For The best Jaybird Run sports headphones

Jaybird Run

 

If you’re not fussed about fitness tracking but want to lose the wires along with those extra pounds you’ve put on, Jaybird’s first pair of true wireless buds could be your perfect training buddies.

Reasonably priced considering they don’t have any fancy talents beyond playing music and taking calls, they’re comfortable and sweatproof, although a four-hour battery life isn’t especially impressive, so remember to keep the charging case nearby - you’ll get an extra eight hours of playback out of that.

Performance is a bit on the bassy side but that can be encouraging when you’re down to the last couple of miles. They won’t do complex classical numbers much justice, but there’s a crisp high end and a decent grasp on rhythm that keeps them sounding energetic.

The accompanying app also offers an equaliser, so you can mess around with the levels until you find a mix that powers your quest for that elusive PB.

Stuff says ✭✭✭✭✩

 
No frills wireless buds that’ll give you a real boost with their bass

Jaybird Run tech specs

Bluetooth: yes 
• Battery life: 4 hours 
• Mic: yes 
• Built-in controls: yes 
• Sweat/water-resistant: both 
• Weight: 6.83g per bud without fin or tip
 

Review For The best Bose SoundSport Wireless sports headphones

Bose SoundSport Wireless

 

The Bose SoundSport Wireless are well set for adventuring in the great outdoors. A handy hook keeps them firmly in place even during running, while a clip attaches to your clothing to put pay to any annoying bouncing around.

Plus, they’ll bang out your playlist faves with panache.
If you have an iPhone, get the Beats, but if you have any other mobile device, get the Bose. They’re extremely comfortable, sound great for sports headphones and connect to multiple devices without suffering any dropouts.

The inline remote is easy to operate while you exercise, and the mic allows you to take calls (although wind is a factor when cycling). The five-hour battery life is pretty standard for sports headphones, but NFC tap-to-pair is a novel and valuable addition for devices that support it.

Stuff says ✭✭✭✭✩
 
The Bose SoundSport Wireless headphones are great for fitness fans who still value sound quality.

Bose SoundSport Wireless tech specs

Weight: 23g, 
Bluetooth, 
Battery: 5 hours, 
Water-resistant, 
Mic + remote

Review For The best Beats PowerBeats3 sports headphones

Beats PowerBeats3

 

Beats has had a rough history with wireless: its Powerbeats2 tended to leap out of your ears like a puppy that had just heard the postman. Thankfully, these successors stay put through hour-long runs without any trouble, while water-resistance means they’re impervious to both an impromptu downpour and your sweat.

Thanks to Apple’s W1 chip, the Powerbeats3 are automatically picked up by any compatible iPhone with no need to dig around in Settings. It’s ace, as is battery life which has doubled from 6 hours to 12. Forgotten to charge your headphones? It won’t be a problem quite so often.

Strangely, given the Apple association, they charge via microUSB rather than lightning cable. Still, that's not a huge deal.

While you can get better overall earphones for the money, these Beats can go really loud without distorting and offer plenty of detail. They’re not too punchy in the bass either, so you can cycle to work without feeling as though you’re stuck in a perpetual rave.

Professional says ✭✭✭✭✩
 
A great pair of sports buds that are ideal for iPhone 7 owners

Beats PowerBeats3 tech specs

Weight: 24g,
Bluetooth,
Battery: 12 hours,
Sweat-resistant,
Mic + remote


Review For The best Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 sports headphones

Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3

Buy Now From Amazon

Not every pair of sports headphones have to be wireless, even in 2019. The Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3s are normal, wired earphones, but they have a bunch of special features to make them gym-ready.

First, they’re IPX5 rated, meaning you can give them a quick rinse if they get a bit grotty, and they don’t mind some sweat. They also use flexible ear hooks designed to work their way over your ears. These make the Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 very secure.

To try to get rid of any cable annoyances while you work out, there’s a little junction box by the right earpiece to let you cut down on the amount of wire left flapping around. You probably will want to use the inbuilt shirt clip to avoid the noise of the cable bumping against your t-shirt making its way to your ears, though.

The one obvious missing feature is a remote control. You have to pull out your phone if you need to change volume or skip that dodgy track on your “pumping iron” playlist.

Sound quality is a little different to the sporty norm in that it tries to be clean and clear instead of super-bassy. There’s enough low-end to fill out the sound, but it’s the Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3’s crisp treble that stands out in this crowd.

If you have to ramp up the volume to compete with a blaring gym sound system, it can start to sound a little grating. You do get a good sense of detail, though. This is a rare sport earphone for treble heads.

Professional says ✭✭✭✭✩
Non-wireless sport headphones for those who can live with less bass

Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 tech specs

Bluetooth: no 

• Battery life: not applicable  

• Mic: no • Remote: no 

• Sweat/water-resistant: water and sweat  

• Weight: 10g

Monday, 8 July 2019

Review For The Best Sound Sports Headphones

Bose SoundSport Pulse Wireless


Buy From Amazon









Zip back a few years: Bose used to be a company that marketed its stuff at old people in the back of broadsheets. Now it makes some of the most desirable tech around. It’s more a thinking person’s Beats than grandad fodder these days.

The Bose SoundSport Pulses are tech-packed sport earphones with a heart rate sensor built into one earpiece. It’s much better than the sensors you find on most smartwatches, still getting a good reading even if you’re haphazardly pounding down the pavement to sweat out a hangover.

There’s a Bose app you can use to see your pulse, but just about any fitness app worth its salt will recognise the headphones as an HR accessory for proper tracking. Don’t care about bpm? There’s a version without the heart rate monitor that can be had for about £30 less than these.

The other hit feature of the Bose SoundSport Pulse is comfort. They look dead bulky, but these are among the most comfy wireless sport earphones in the world, using in-ear hooks that are stable and ultra-flexible at the same time. While they’re in you forget there’s a great big bit of plastic poking out of your ear, mostly because the housing is actually very light.

The Bose SoundSport Pulse’s sound quality is very good, with enough bass to satisfy during a workout, but also a generally smooth and rich tone. They’re sport earphones that want to be your only earphones, even if they don’t quite have the micro-detail of a great pair of non-sporty earphones.

Stuff says ✭✭✭✭✭

Pricey, but really good sound and built-in heart-tracking make the Bose pair the ones to get if you can make the stretch

Bose SoundSport Pulse Wireless tech specs

  • Bluetooth: yes 
  • Battery life: 5 hours  
  • Mic: yes  
  • Remote: yes  
  • Sweat/water-resistant: sweat  
  • Weight: 23g

Review For Jaybird Tarah Pro

Runners will love these versatile wireless headphones 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H72WMLN/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07H72WMLN&linkCode=as2&tag=trueamericanl-20&linkId=6edd92c0a707cc156715424d16300cb2







These are Jaybird’s first higher-end pair of Bluetooth headphones. Priced under the Sennheiser Momentum Free and Bose Soundsport Wireless, but above the firm’s own Tarahs, the Tarah Pros are a mid-range offering that combine better sound quality with a premium, hardwearing design in the hope of appealing to those who get their exercise kicks in the great outdoors.

But when it comes to wireless in-ear headphones, do they come top of the podium? To find out, we strapped on our trainers and fired up our best running playlist.

Design: Built to survive the elements

The Tarah Pros are one of that strange breed of Bluetooth ‘phones: they’re wireless headphones, but they’re joined by a wire. This keeps the two earpieces together, like a the sleeve string in a pair of mittens. It also means the controls have somewhere to live, instead of relying on a touch panel on the earbud which we always find a little hit and miss.

The earpieces also stick together thanks to their magnetic backs so you can wear them around your neck like a necklace. Man, Jaybird really doesn’t want you to lose these things.

Outdoor activity is very much the order of the day, hence that cable is made from a woven material that feels like a very strong shoelace. It’s reflective, so should help you be seen if you’re out running at night, and has a hydrophobic coating which will help it repel moisture (handy for dealing with sweat and rain).

Speaking of which, the Tarah Pros are waterproof in up to 1m of water for 30 minutes, but they’re not recommended for swimming. Only a twazzock would try – the cable would create drag in the pool, and there’s no onboard storage, so you’d have to keep your phone close by in order to try and stream tunes. Good luck with that.

Three sizes of rubber ear tips come bundled, and they’re easy to pull off and on. Once we’d found the size for us, they stayed put for the duration of our testing. So no complaints there.

You can also twist them into an over-ear position if you prefer, and tighten or loosen the cable to fit using the bundled ‘speed cinch’. Plus there’s a shirt clip to for attaching it to the back of your collar to keep the cable in place while running.

The small three-point charging cradle connects to USB and is simple to use. But it’s proprietary, and hence would be a pain to replace if you lost it.

Everything fits in the neat little carry pouch, and even that feels weatherproof. Make no mistake, these headphones are very much aimed at outdoors adventurers.

Functionality: Versatility up the wazoo

 

They’re certainly a versatile pair. As well as the ability to wear them normally or over-ear, you can also fine-tune the sound using the Jaybird app. In fact, the app walks you through the whole set-up, from what’s in the box and what the controls do to how to get the best fit for you.

But it’s the EQ customisation that will have audiophiles excited. Pick from one of the many presets and you can tweak it to your heart’s content, then save it as a new preset complete with a new name. There are all kinds of presets, from Extended Listening to Warmth to Bring the Bass and Flat.

You can also create a whole new sound profile based on your hearing. Just take a quick hearing test – it involves you sliding a bar until you can hear a tone for a range of sound types including mid range, bass and high range – and it’ll make a preset just for you.

The buttons are pretty intuitive, and you get an impressive number of controls from just three buttons. The middle one is used to play and pause, and a longer press powers the headphones up or down. The Volume up button also skips to the next song, while the volume down one can take you back to the previous track. These also take on more uses for handsfree calls – muting and unmuting, accepting and declining etc.

Double-press the centre button and you’ll summon your phone’s personal assistant. It’s handy if you’re out on a run and want to know whether the weather will turn.

Performance: A true endurance pair


You could spend hours tinkering with your sound profile until you get it just right, but our own personalised profile suited us down to the ground – the warm bass was a natural fit for our seemingly high-range-lacking hearing. Admittedly the sound isn’t quite as good as the Bose SoundSport Wireless, but then these are a little cheaper.

The headphones are light enough to barely notice when out on a run, and the extras like the speed cinch and shirt clip pretty much guarantee a comfortable wear. In fact, we happily wore them all day (at our desk, we didn’t go on a day-long run).

But you could if you wanted. A full charge gives you 14 hours of use, but perhaps more usefully, they charge up in double quick time – just a five-minute charge will give you almost two hours of use, which is way longer than we want to exercise for.

So far so good, but there are some omissions. There’s no built-in heart rate monitor, which would’ve been quite fitting for a pair aimed at sporty types. There’s also no noise-cancelling, and no pass-through mode that lets you hear your surroundings – a great addition when you’re running near busy roads. And would a charging case have been too much to ask at this price? Probably. Call us fussy.

But these are still a quality pair. Join the headphones together with their magnetic backs, for example, and they’ll mute the music and disconnect from your device. Leave them disconnected for 15 minutes and they power down. It means when you arrive somewhere you don’t have to faff around switching them off, just click them together instead.

It’s the little touches like that that make these buds so fun to use.

Jaybird Tarah Pro verdict


 


The Tarah Pros are a great pair of headphones, and it’s clear a lot of thought has gone into them. If you absolutely have to have a pair of ‘true’ wireless headphones, we would suggest thinking twice and giving the Tarah Pros a whirl. They’re light enough to be almost unnoticeable, and between the shirt clip and speed cinch you’re sure to find a fit that suits.

Sound quality is very good, and even if you’re missing your Bose, you can tinker with the EQ settings until you find a sound profile you like.

Bit pricey for you? You can always take the step down to the standard Tarahs, the main difference being a shorter battery life (six hours to the Pros’ 14).

If you’re serious about running and want a decent pair of headphones to keep you going through the tough times, the Tarah Pros are a fantastic option.
Professional says... 

Jaybird Tarah Pro review

Even those not of a sporty bent will find a lot to enjoy from these wireless headphones  
 
 
 
Good Stuff 
Marathon battery life
Personalised sound
Versatile fit
 
Bad Stuff 
Proprietary charger
No heart rate monitor
No charging case


Review For Sound Magic E11C


                       Buy Now From Amazon 
by  Tom Wiggins
Headphone sockets might be a lesser-spotted sight on mobile phones in 2018. 
But if yours has one (or you’ve managed not to lose that infernal Lightning adaptor), there’s one very simple change you can make to improve how it sounds: buy some new headphones.

When an unknown brand called SoundMagic appeared on the scene in 2011, nobody expected much from its entry level offering, but the E10, E10C and wireless E10BT in-ears have been right at the top of our list of cheap headphones to recommend ever since. And for less than £50, there’s really no excuse for using the ones that came with your phone anymore.

The E11Cs don’t replace the E10Cs and they cost a few quid more, so what do you get for your money? And is it worth shelling out the extra? We (eventually) found something with a headphone socket and plugged in to find out.

Design and build: Cable management

 

The E11Cs have a slightly more premium look than their predecessors, opting for a single silvery grey finish rather than the choice of red, blue, gold or silver that the E10 range offered. The aluminium buds look and feel better made as well. The ones on the E10s could look a little cheap up close.

Stick them in your ears and you’ll barely notice them - in a good way. They’re super-light and incredibly comfortable, forming a nice tight seal to ensure your tunes sound exactly as they should and not too much exterior racket can creep in, all without feeling too intrusive. Even on the London Underground, which can be overwhelmingly noisy, they held their own against the clanging and screeching of the Northern line. 

The 1.2-metre cable is clearly built to be functional, not feel luxurious. It’s plenty long enough to thread up inside your t-shirt, but not so long that you end up with spools of spare wire crammed into your pocket. It feels pretty durable too, and largely manages to avoid that slightly sticky feeling you can get with some wire coatings, but can be a real pain to untangle if you’ve had them stuffed away for a while.

The wire feeds into the jack itself at an angle, plus it’s slimmed down a lot from some previous SoundMagic designs, which used to pop out of the socket far too easily. Once this one’s in, it’s in.

Features: Remote possibilities

 

You don’t get many features on a £50 pair of in-ear headphones - but that’s kind of the point.
Just down the cable from the left earbud is a three-button remote and microphone. This is the only difference between these and the standard E11s. Press once in the middle to start and stop whatever’s playing, double-tap to skip, and hold it down to activate your phone’s voice assistant, while the buttons either side of it increase and decrease the volume. Call quality is good and voices seemed to come over loud and clear on the other end, too.

The remote housing itself is metal but all three buttons sit underneath a single piece of rubber, with a tiny raised bump to indicate where the middle is. They’re squeezed pretty close together, though, so it can be a little fiddly to change tracks, particularly if it’s cold out. Most importantly, however, the remote is very lightweight, so it doesn’t gradually ease the bud out of your ear hole over time.
Apart from a carry case, which contains the two other sizes of silicone tips for finding the best fit for your ears, there’s nothing else in the box. But what else could you need?

Performance: Sound’s magic

 

There’s a temptation to give budget headphones an easy ride but with the E11Cs there’s absolutely no need to. Pretty much everything you chuck at them sounds great - and not just ‘for the price’. Most people should have absolutely no problem with using these as their daily drivers.

Play a few of the usual headphone testers and they pass with flying colours: Steely Dan’s Aja, House of Cards by Radiohead and pretty much anything by Explosions in the Sky. Bass is hefty, authoritative and well handled, while instruments sound authentic and pretty spacious considering the size of the drivers inside the buds.

Slayer’s frantic Reign In Blood, which can sound fairly cacophonous in the wrong ears, is as aggressive and adrenaline-pumping as Satan intended, while maintaining that raw energy that defines the band’s sound. Tone things down a bit and there’s real verve to the guitar solo in Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain, while that iconic bassline also has a nice meaty tone to it.

If you’re looking for criticisms, vocals can occasionally lack a little life, but it’s not a dealbreaker and you just have to remember how much they cost. The E11Cs absolutely don’t need to use their price tag as an excuse, but it’s something they’ll always have on their side.

Verdict

 

There’s a sweet spot when it comes to in-ear headphones where price and sound quality meet. Most people are only willing to spend enough to get something that they’ll be happy listening to every day, but not so much that they’ll constantly be worried about leaving them on the train.

The E11Cs absolutely nail that, so if you pay £50 for a pair of these, it’s hard to see what you could possibly find to be unhappy with. Well, unless you lose them, of course.

Professional Says :

SoundMagic E11C review

Capable, durable and affordable - SoundMagic does it again


Good Stuff 
Affordable price tag
Good sound quality
Comfortable to wear
Durable design
Bad Stuff 
Remote is fiddly to use when changing tracks
 

Saturday, 6 July 2019

Review Best iPhone 6S Charging Cables – 2019 Edition Top 10 | Mobile Accessories

You’ve come home from a long day and your iPhone is on 2% battery. You’ve gotten that “Low Battery” message dozens of times already and you know you only have seconds to plug it in before it dies. You hear the snap of the cord and plug it in, but wait – there is no vibration telling you its started charging. Your cord has developed the dreaded scrunchy neck and won’t charge your iPhone 6s anymore. Fear not, Amazon has the best charging cables you can replace your old one with, and at only a fraction of the price.

Top 10 iPhone 6S Charging Cables Reviews

10. KINGWorld Lightning to USB Cable For Iphone 4

This charging cable comes in the classic Apple white color, waiting and ready to use. Boasting no nasty plastic odors or funky scents coming from its cord, you won’t have to worry about cheap materials. It also has special plating near where it plugs into the phone for prolonged service life, hopefully avoiding the broken cable for the foreseeable future. You can check Amazon for prices.


9. IMKEY Apple Certified Braided Lightning Cord

The IMKEY features either a black or red striped cord for those who want to deviate from the standard white. The USB and the lightning port are made with somewhat thicker materials so you can rest assured that it won’t kink up anytime soon. It also comes in a three-foot length so you don’t have to awkwardly sit next to the wall while you’re charging it. If the IMKEY sounds like your kind of cable, you can buy it on Amazon.

Iphone 4 Charging Cables Buy Now From Amazon



8. Apple Certified iOrange-E

Next up is the iOrange. Being Apple certified means that it will work with your phone no matter what. If you’re looking for a cable to use in your car, or if you plan on charging it off of a laptop or portable charger, the iOrange is 6 inches long so you won’t have to worry about the excessive slack a regular cord would have. While the cord itself is black, the USB and the lightning ends are available in either silver or gold.

Apple Certified iOrange-E Buy Now From Amazon 

7. Multi USB Charger

If you’re constantly traveling and tend to own a personal cell phone and a work phone, this is a great gadget to invest in. The Multi USB charger connects the iPhone 6s charger, android charger, and the iPhone 4 charger all on the same USB so instead of carrying around 3 different cables, you only have to carry one. With a 6-inch length, it is also ideal for using with a laptop.

6. IMKEY Apple MFi


Prefer a more colorful cord? Don’t worry, we got you. Another IMKEY variety, this 6.5-foot cable is available in dark red or black and is shaped a little differently. We all know the struggle of trying to unplug either end and the slippery plastic is impossible to grab a hold of. with this one, there is a small circular tab making removal and insertion quite a bit easier. It also comes with an 18-month worry-free guarantee where you can return it for any reason, and if you’re not entirely sure how to use the cable, it also comes with 24/7 technical assistance.

5. AKEDRE Lightning to USB

We have to bring our cables everywhere to charge our smartphones. School, work, home and even the car. Don’t worry about that anymore. This features four cables in one pack so you can leave one wherever you might need it and never worry about low battery when you forget the cable again. Also, these boast a super fast charge and rapid sync when you just don’t have time to wait around for your phone to charge. Completely authentic, you will never get that annoying error message telling you it only works with the Apple Certified cords.


4. IMKEY Apple Certified Braided Lightning to USB Cable

Yep, another IMKEY. Sensing a pattern? This funky cable is available in black and red braids with either black or red USB ports. The braiding on this cable adds extra reliability and life to the cords so they won’t get the scrunchy neck like your last one. It’s okay to start trusting again. This cord is also a lengthy 3 feet long and will charge your iPhone 6s ultra fast with its high-quality material. Again, this product comes with 18 months of worry free returns and all day tech support if you need it.


3. Sunnest Lightning Charging Cable

Sometimes you need to charge in your car while your first born is using the phone in the back seat. Sometimes you need to charge and your ex-boyfriend is standing right next to the outlet. With the Sunnest, variety is the name of the game. This three pack has a 3-foot, 6-foot and 10-foot cable for you to use. Don’t worry, you still don’t have to talk to Steven after what he did. It also comes with a 12-month worry-free product guarantee on the off chance that you don’t like it.

2. Rose Gold iPhone 6S Cable


You have the rose gold iPhone, with the rose gold case, and the rose gold fingernail polish. What do you need to top it off? A rose gold charging cable. In this two-pack, there are beautifully colored braided cords that are sure to last you a lifetime, and even better, are guaranteed to be tangle free. No more untangling knots when you’re seconds away from your phone dying. It also has a 6-foot long cord so you don’t have to limit where you want to charge if you see a comfier chair across the room.


 Rose Gold iPhone 6S Cable Buy Now From Amazaon


1. Heavy Duty Sync & Charge
 

Last but definitely not least, this heavy duty charger also comes with the wall adapter. No more stealing them from your friends, or having to stick with the original one that you colored in one night when you were really really bored. With two 10 feet cables, this has everything. Compatibility, reliability, and lightning speed. Nuff’ said.

Heavy Duty Sync & Charge Buy Now From Amazon