I’m a fan of the “around the neck-style” Bluetooth headphones because they generally look good and will not fall to the ground if they lose contact with your ears. The Anker SoundBuds Sport B1 meet that criteria but in an earphone format and are comfortable to wear, with soft rubber eartips and an adjustable cross band for various head sizes. They are very form fitting, tangle-free and after wearing them for awhile, you forget that they are there. It’s hard to imagine that there is a battery, antenna and circuit boards inside this unit. The SoundBuds came in an attractive box & packaging. They also came with an Anker mesh pouch, a small Micro USB cable, extra Noise-isolating eartips in various sizes, an extra FitClip and a User Guide.
Charging (there’s a hidden Micro USB port under the right SoundBud) and pairing the SoundBuds was quick and effortless. There’s a Volume Up and a Volume Down button, as well as a Multi-Function button in the center of the right SoundBud. The MF button is used for pairing, pausing & playing music and turning off the unit with a long-press of 2 seconds. When turned on, the SoundBuds will automatically connect to the last connected device if available. If not, they will enter into pairing mode.
The sound was on par with what you would hear from earphones. Clean, crisp stereo sound but minimal bass as I expected. If you’re looking for heavy bass, over the ear headphones are more suited for you. Thank you Anker for including Bluetooth 4.1 with aptX. aptX makes a huge difference with Bluetooth audio. Sound is truer to the source with less audio compression and minimizes latency. Wish I could give it 4 1/2 stars, as I prefer a bit more bass for balanced sound…but the inclusion of aptX is a PLUS. Recommended.