The attachment we’ve made to a wired set of headphones is warranted, but Bluetooth headphones usually work great when you need mobility or working out, and that’s when listening to music isn’t the priority, just filling in as a distraction of sorts. Ausounds sent over a set of their AU-Flex ANC wireless neckband earphones and we might be re-thinking our standards.
There are a few components to this: a neckband with USB connectivity that contains the microphone (as these can be used to answer calls on a smartphone), indicator function light, volume controls, and active noise cancellation, as well as presumably the battery. These are wired to the earbuds, and collectively fit nicely around the neck and in the ears nicely, with three pairs of silicone earplugs included.
Charging takes about 1.5 hours and pairing through Bluetooth is simple. The headphones themselves are a planar driver design, meaning the actual speakers themselves are flat, as compared to the traditional cone shape. With two drivers, one for mid and high frequencies, and the other for bass, it’s a system that makes total sense for small format earphones and brings excellent separation and overall control to the tonal experience. The audio resolution is 24bit and a Bluetooth transfer rate of 990kbps, which makes for an excellent communication speed between the device and the headphones themselves.
A neat feature is the earbuds themselves have magnets on the outside, and when the earbuds connect, they shut off, saving battery life, and allowing the user to go hands free if they are on a call.
So using these as a regular set of headphones, they are quite nice, and sound fantastic; the noise cancelling feature is excellent, especially for a set of small-format earbuds. The bass response is excellent right off the bat, with no need for external EQ fiddling. One disappointment is the earphones themselves don’t detach from the neckband, so if anything does go wrong, it’s not as simple as swapping out a single bud.
One interesting application would be using these for video chats for a more natural look, with no white plugs sticking out of your ears, or tell-tale white cable. For vloggers using these as a means of monitoring and a microphone, it’s a great idea, without more wires being draped around everything.
For overall listening, these have made us re-think small format Bluetooth headphones completely, with the audio quality over all functionality. With a lot of musicians trying to get more functionality out of everything, they’ll do nicely in a work or play environment.
PROS:
Great sounding headphones & microphone, noise-cancelling function
CONS:
Earbuds don’t detach.
STREET PRICE:
$199