Top Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones for 2016
Using Bluetooth headphones or earphones for the first time is a life changing experience. One problem with listening to music normally is that you always have to worry about getting the cable caught up in something. In the office, you have to be careful not to walk away from your computer too fast. While walking in the streets, you have to be careful you don’t get it caught on your bag or on any passersby, and at the Gym, headphone cables can be hard to manage.
They are also useful around the home as well. You might live in an apartment block where the walls are thin, or with other people who don’t want you listening to your music as loud as possible all the time. With Bluetooth headphones, you can walk all around your house leaving your music playing in one location while you take care of everything you need to do around the home.
Although you can get both in-ear Bluetooth headphones and over the head Bluetooth headphones, normally the best options are the in-ear Bluetooth headphones. This is because earphones tend to be a lot better at producing all the sounds you want from your music, and are also far more portable (which is an important consideration for earphones)
The only problem with Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones is trying to decide which pair to buy. With Bluetooth technology now much cheaper, it can be hard to make your decision. Today, there are five main ones to choose from, and this article will help you decide which one you should go for.
Powerbeats 2
From the new powerhouse of high quality audio comes the Beats Powerbeats 2 Wireless In-Ear Bluetooth headphones. For the beats brand, you do pay a premium for the earphones, with the current price of them being just under $150.
As to be expected from any audio equipment from the Beats company, the sound of these ear-phones are large and powerful, transforming your music into something truly magnificent to listen to.
These earphones are perfect for the gym as they have been made with a very special anti-sweat design, meaning that they will not get musky or unusable if you are doing a particularly rigorous workout.
And, also as typical for beats, the wireless earphones are incredibly stylish. Branded with a very subtle hint of the Beats logo, they come in a variety of colors including black, white, red, pink, and cobalt blue.
The Powerbeats 2 in-ear headphones boast a connection range of up to 30 feet, and a battery life of up to six hours. Although the six hours charge time is pretty low, the Beats Powerbeats 2 have the ability to grab an hour’s worth of charge from only a fifteen minutes plug-in.
The Powerbeats also include an inline control unit. This allows you to answer calls on your phone with the included microphone. And, on iPhones, you can also switch tracks. Unfortunately, being able to skip tracks can not be done on Android devices, which is something you might want to consider if you are using a Galaxy, HTC phone, or any other device running on Google’s operating system.
Another problem with the Powerbeats 2 is that you need to be really careful to make sure that you don’t waste any of the limited battery life on it. The earphones do not automatically switch off when you disconnect them from your phone, meaning that you might waste a lot of precious battery power without ever realizing it.
HV-800
The Hittime HV-800 headphones are a steal when you simply look at price, costing only $7 when you buy from Amazon. Of course, just like the Beats, you do get what you pay for.
The HV-800 do, in no way, look anywhere near as stylish as the Beats. They use a small band that actually goes around your neck, with the earphones themselves dangling off a couple of wires off of this piece of robotic looking neck jewelery. Just like the Beats, there are a number of different colors available for the HV-800, but unfortunately, none of them look particularly great.
Interestingly, even though you are paying significantly less than you would for the Powerbeats 2, the HV-800 headphones boast exactly the same time on charge, with a full charge lasting you an estimated 6 hours.
Sound wise, although obviously no where near as good as the Beats, they actually manage to provide quite a decent tone for the price. There is no problems with obtaining high volumes without distortion. Although they can have a bit of problem with sound leakage, and reproducing the mid-range of audio, all in all, these are a lot better than even wired headphones at the same price.
Another thing about the HV-800 Bluetooth in-ear earphones, when compared to the Beats Powerbeats 2 is that they might actually be more secure if you always have the problem of earphones falling off of your ear. Because of the neck attachment, if an earphone pops out of your ear, it will just dangle by your neck instead of falling to the ground.
Like the Beats, one problem with these headphones is that the Bluetooth function to skip tracks only works on the iPhone. However, the problems do also go much deeper than that. On many models of Android devices, these headphones will simply not connect, not even allowing you to play any music from it. For other phone models, these headphones might connect, but will often cut out from the connection, causing you to have the hassle of unlocking your phone and starting the connection process once more.
Soundpeats Qy7
The Soundpeats Qy7 do take certain elements from the Powerbeats. like the HV-800, these are proper earphones, without a neck attachment. The Soundpeats Qy7 are the most stylish in-ear Bluetooth headphones you can buy at the price point of $20
One great thing about the Soundpeats Qy7 In-Ear Bluetooth headphones is that they come with a lot of accessories, all based around getting the earphones to fit in your ear as best as possible. This means that even if normal earphones keep falling off of you, it is unlikely that these ones will. In fact, if you want a pair of in-ear Bluetooth earphones that can completely block outside noise, perhaps for the Gym, then the Soundpeats Qy7 is the perfect headset to choose.
Unfortunately though, these earphones have a lower battery time than either the HV-800 or Powerbeats 2 earphones, with a estimated online time of up to five hours.
These headphones are also really easy to use, with pairing being done through a one button interface. This means that even if you aren’t a technical person, you will be able to get your Soundpeats Qy7 headphones working straight away.
Although the Soundpeats Qy7 are yet another pair of in-ear Bluetooth headphones that have problems with Android devices, these ones an actually easily be fixed; many users who have reported connection problems with them, or issues with the skip track buttons not working, have reported that simply clearing their Bluetooth cache under settings gets these Soundpeats Qy7 Bluetooth headphones working perfectly.
The only problem with these is that some users have said that they break easily. This is probably because these earphones aren’t made with as premium materials as other in-ear Bluetooth headphones, such as the Powerbeats 2. This means that if you are expecting a headset you can be a little rougher with, you might want to consider one of the alternative products in this article.
Mpow Cheetah
These wireless headphones come in at $28, but you are getting a lot of quality for that price.
Firstly, if you have been waiting for a pair that work perfectly with (almost all) Android models, then you can stop searching. The Mpow is compatible with virtually anything that has a Bluetooth connection, including iPhones and Android phones.
The other great thing about these in-ear Bluetooth headphones is how light, and yet durable, they are. Made of high quality materials, these in-ear headphones are pretty hard to break. Furthermore, they also have the ability to wrap up incredibly small, meaning that you won’t be having to untangle the wires whenever you put them into your bag.
Although not as comfortable to fit as the Soundpeats Qy7, the Mpow Cheetah headphones still do a great job of being able to be put onto almost any head without falling off.
Although, just like the Soundpeats Qy7, these headphones have a charge time of only five hours, they can charge up to full capacity in only two hours, which means that if you are the kind of person who is normally going to be close to a place where charging can happen, these are a perfect fit for you.
There is one slightly annoying design flaw in them though, which may trip you up every now and then, in that you actually have to press a button on the headphones to activate the charging mode. As most products do just automatically charge the moment you plug them in, this will trip you up a few times and you will grab them thinking that you can listen to music on them only to be completely disappointed.
Despite the low price, these headphones do also produce a great sound. In fact, it can be hard to tell the difference between these and the Powerbeats 2, unless you are playing a track with a lot of bass (in which case, you will hear that the Beats are the superior product in this regard).
Dreaminex
These headphones come in at $36 dollars, being the second most expensive headphone in this article, just after the high quality beats.
They offer slightly more battery life than the other options, coming in at six hours, which might be something to consider if you are looking for a pair for audio books or podcasts while you are moving around. But, if you are looking for a pair of Bluetooth in-ear headphones for music, you may as well forget this pair.
This is because these earphones can not produce decent sounds from music at all. Once you put it on a comfortable listening volume, the music becomes really distorted and tinny.
Furthermore, these headphones are plagued with constant connection issues, meaning that you will often be grooving away to a piece of music and have to scramble back to your device to reconnect them.
These headphones are also not as adjustable or as easy to fit as other in-ear headphones on the market. If you do for some reason decide to go for this pair, one of our recommendations is to wear them around the house and walk around with them in before heading outside, as it is probably better to have them fall off in your home instead of on the street.
So, in conclusion, if you care about getting the best quality sound, you only really have one decent choice, that of the Powerbeats 2. Although they might be the most expensive, you are actually paying for years of sound engineering. They are also most certainly the most stylish set of in-ear Bluetooth headphones on the market.
But, if you are looking for something that can produce a reasonably great sound, and don’t care too much about style or branding, you should go for the Mpow Cheetah. These headphones produce sounds on almost the same level as the Beats Powerbeats 2, only having a lesser quality on particularly bass heavy songs.
