Just got these a few days ago after winning them in the Valentine’s Day contest, and I wanted to give my initial thoughts on them for anyone that’s curious. I’d imagine that there are some of you out there that already have them, but I thought that it wouldn’t hurt to put together a detailed review of my first 48 hours or so. If I notice anything over the next few weeks of using them, I’ll come back and update this.
So, anyway:
Unboxing
Like every other Anker product I’ve purchased in the past, these came in a neat little blue and white box with everything you might need: the earbuds themselves, a disc-shaped carrying case, a selection of rubber tips and rubber wings of varying sizes, a set of medium-sized foam tips, a micro-usb charging cable (when will we see USB-C Anker? No rush, but it would be nice), and an owner’s manual/warranty information.
I was surprised to see the foam tips included - I’m a huge fan of foam tips for earbuds, and have often bought third-party foam tips in the past (I highly recommend Comply - they offer foam tips in a few different sizes, and with different diameter holes for different earbuds). Having a pair included in the box is a big thumbs-up for me, and if you haven’t tried foam ear tips, give them a shot - they’re not for everyone, but they typically provide much better noise isolation, and these are no exception.
The only thing I would have liked to see in addition to what was included is a few different options for ear clip sizes - the ones provided fit me fine, but I could see them being a bit large for smaller owners.
Build Quality
I’m pretty pleased with these so far. They feel pretty solid, and the ear clips are just the right combination of flexible and sturdy. I’m especially a fan of the button feel - they’re a bit on the small side, but they click really nicely. My SoundBuds Tag sometimes feel a little mushy, which isn’t a huge deal, but the Curve’s buttons are much, much better. Additionally, the remote is thinner, and the reduced size and weight means that it pulls the cord to the right side less than my Tags do. It’s a bummer to not have the magnetic on-off that the Tags and some of the other earbuds in Anker’s lineup do, but I don’t mind all that much, as I’ve had my Tags turn on in my pocket before when they were jumbled around too much. Sticking to a button for powering on and off is probably the safer bet.
Another aspect of the build quality that’s impressed me is water resistance - here in Boston, the past 24 hours have been fairly constant 20-30 mph (30-50 kph) winds with heavy rain transitioning to sleet and freezing rain. Unfortunately, life on campus does not stop for bad weather, and so I’ve been marching around with these headphones in to try to ignore the miserable weather. I felt no hesitation about wearing these in bad weather, as all of the tolerances feel pretty tight, and Anker advertises them as being sweat-proof. So far, so good - even though I’ve had to towel them off after every time I go outside, they have not been affected at all.
I’m also a fan of the carrying case - it’s got a faux-leather feel to it, and has a small carabiner attached. I don’t think I’ll be using the carabiner much, but it’s a nice touch. On the inside, there’s a soft, felt-like material, and a little netting pouch on one side. I’ve put the medium pair of rubber tips in the netting pouch as backups in case I lose the foam tips for some reason, and I’m sure that the pouch could fit several pairs of tips and wings. The only complaint I have about the case is that it’s a little soft - I would have liked to see a little more structural integrity. This isn’t a deal-breaker, however, since the headphones themselves are plenty durable.
Audio
The sound quality of the Curves is fairly good - it exceeded my expectations. Like the Tags, there’s a slight hiss when audio is playing, which I think is due to CVC noise cancellation. That being said, tt’s noticeably better than my Tags, and the audio quality itself is better too. While it’s not quite as good as the wired “AKG-tuned” earbuds that came with my S8 (which completely caught me off guard with how good they were), it’s very good for a set of bluetooth earbuds, and extremely good for this price range. The sound profile is pretty bass-heavy, and that’s coming from someone who likes a lot of bass. I think that, if I were using these headphones to work out, I would not mind the extra bass all that much, but for casual listening on-the-go, it’s a bit much. Thankfully, it’s not particularly muddy, though it does seem to interfere with the clarity of particularly high frequencies when it is at its most intense. I would prefer a less bass-heavy tune, but it’s certainly not a deal-breaker, and the quality is still higher than it really ought to be considering the price that Anker is charging.
The microphone really impressed me. In the several phone calls that I’ve made and received since trying out the Curves, I’ve received no comments on sounding “fuzzy” like I have with the Tags. Additionally, when I tried making a call while walking outside in one of the moments of only light wind, the person on the other end of the line stated that they barely noticed the wind and could hear me fine. With my Tags and Samsung Gear IconX, even fairly mild wind can be a problem, so this came as a quite pleasant surprise.
Bluetooth connectivity is great - I haven’t exactly pushed the limits, but I have run into no connection issues so far. 4.1 is fine for a pair of headphones like this, as 4.2 doesn’t really offer anything in the way of audio benefits, and while 5.0 would be nice to see in the 2nd generation, I’m perfectly happy with 4.1 and its performance so far.
Conclusion
Anker has really impressed me here. I have really enjoyed their SoundCore products (I own the Sport XL and the regular SoundCore), but the only bluetooth headphone offering that I had tried, the SoundBuds Tag, were only ok. These, on the other hand, have been great so far. They were presented more nicely than the Tags, provide better sound quality, offer solid construction, and a very good call experience. I’m absolutely happy with the headphones and what they offer, and the fact that they’re available for under $30 is just that much more impressive. My complaints are few and minor, and mostly subjective anyway. I am quite impressed with these, and they may become my new recommendation for workout bluetooth headphones.
Pics would help to identify what you’re reviewing, especially for people who haven’t heard of it. 
