Review: Verbatim Bluetooth Headphones

Firstly I would like to thank Verbatim and Publitek for loaning me this sample to review, I always try to write honest reviews, these headphones were used for a period of a couple of weeks before reviewing.

Tech Specs:

·         40mm neodymium speaker drivers

·         Frequency response: 20Hz to 18Khz

·         Sensitivity: 96 +/- 3db at 1Khz

·         Impedance: 32 Ohms +/- 15%

·         RF Range: 2402 – 2480 MHz

·         Operating distance: 10M

·         Microphone sensitivity -42+/-3db

·         Music/talk time: 20 hours

·         Battery charge time: 4 hours

·         Weight: 182 grams

MSRP: €69

Packaging, Build Quality and Accessories:

The packaging is simple and attractive, an image of the headphones on the front, specifications on the side of the box and a small description on the back. The front part lifts off and underneath you will find a foam insert. Held neatly in place you will find the headphones, very well packaged to protect them during shipping. Overall nice attractive packaging that serves its purpose to show you what you will be getting along with protecting them during transport.

Build quality is ok, not the best I have seen but again for the price not too bad either. The cups are plastic, the headband is metal, eadpads are not very thick and the headband pad is also rather thin, and there’s not a lot more I can say about them. They feel like they will last with a bit of care.

Accessories are not many, you get a micro USB cable to charge them with, no case or bag unfortunately. That’s it.

Ease of Use, Comfort and Isolation:

I found these paired easily with my OnePlus Two phone, no hassle there. All the controls are on the left cup, long press the power button will turn them on or off. The Call button acts as a play/pause button during playback, the FF/REV buttons act as volume controls if long pressed also. The LED light flashes every few seconds when they are on, and different colours mean that they are in standby mode, music playback or call mode.

One thing to note, is that when these run out of battery, there is no way you can use them as normal headphones, they don’t have a jack socket so you can use a normal cable with them, I think this should have been included in the design.

Comfort is not bad, these are very lightweight headphones so the weight is not an issue, the headband is narrow and has minimal padding which could be slightly improved, but not a big issue as they are not heavy. The earcups are big enough to enclose my ears, the pads are pleather and feel a little stiff, and they could use slightly deeper and softer pads as your ear does rest against the baffle. Comfort is not bad enough to make me want to take them off after a short period of time, they are fine for a couple of hours use at a time.

Isolation is adequate for most daily use, they block out a good amount of outside noise to help you enjoy your music, and also not disturb others with sound leakage.

Sound:

Split in to the usual categories with a conclusion at the end.

Lows: The lows are very tight and articulate, for a consumer oriented product I am very pleased to know these are not bass heavy. Some may even find them to lack some bass, but the bass has good impact and is well balanced with the rest of the sound. There is a mid bass hump, and a slight lack of extension down low, bass guitars are easy to follow however kick drums could use a little more body. The bass does not bleed in to the mids which is very good, and I never find these to become congested, they stay well separated and manage to keep up with moderately fast music.

Mids: The mids are actually very good, they are detailed and don’t come across with added warmth, they also don’t suffer from sibilance. I cannot fault them, they have enough detail to be able to pick up on subtleties in recordings, yet stay well separated and well balanced with the rest of the sound.

Highs: Just like their earphones, Verbatim have done a good job with the highs, always present in perfect quantity. There is a slight lack of extension, which means the notes drop off a little quick, but there is excellent quantity, enough to satisfy most without being overly sharp and fatiguing. With these you never miss a tap or crash of a cymbal, yet never do they sound fatiguing.

Instrument separation is fairly average, soundstage is fairly good but these do not have a very airy and spacious sound, they have a more upfront and engaging sound.

Conclusion, for a budget Bluetooth headphone these do a lot right. Ok they are not the best sounding headphones for the price, but these are Bluetooth and a lot of people are using Bluetooth headphones due to the wireless convenience. There are a few budget Bluetooth headphones around, but none are very good usually having pretty bad sound quality. These manage to have a fairly balanced sound however they do lack some extension on each extreme. They are easy to listen to, engaging and they may not be the last word in detail retrieval or natural tonality, but they are fun and that is what you want in a budget portable headphone.

Sound Perfection Rating: 7.5/10 (a good portable pair of Bluetooth headphones)