First off, I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Bluetooth earphones. Namely I love the freedom the Bluetooth offers but hate the rubber in-ear canal plugs which more often than not accompany them. Normally for me they neither fit comfortably beyond a few minutes or when in use all I can hear is the rubbing/or vibrating of the cable against whichever body part the cable would come in contact with. So it was with a little trepidation that I reviewed these.
Anker’s NB10 SoundBuds (sometimes referred to as Sport NB10) come in a ‘revamped’ version of Anker’s packaging, gone is the signature blue/white replaced by a sleek and sexy matt black with silver writing, something very reminiscent of an Apple product (but in black). Contents in the box are as follows;
- Sport SoundBuds NB10
- USB to micro USB charging cable
- Three sets of rubber ear canal buds; small, medium and large
- Spare neck fitclip (for controlling excess cable)
- Mesh carry bag
- Anker warranty card and instructions
The SoundBuds come part charged with the medium ear canal buds, which I found to be the best size for my ears, ensuring maximum background blackout. Pairing with an iPhone 6S was quick and thanks to the 4.1 bluetooth you are able, to an extent, monitor the level of charge the earbuds have (an app would be benficial). Right earbud contains three buttons, centre button powers on/off and allows pairing when held for 2 seconds. Different button combinations also allow changing volume, answering calls and skipping tracks. Small LED light on the right ear bud shows current state, such as flashing blue for pairing mode, flashing red for charge required etc.
Fit of the SoundBuds is excellent, very comfortable in the ear thanks to the almost Apple like earbud shape of the rubber buds and boy they are light coming in at exactly 20g. Background noise is greatly reduced even before music is played and no rubbing movement for the cable could be detected. Now music playback, wow. Tried on a variety of music styles from classical / rock / pop thru to electronic and Opera. Super clear highs and lows and the bass is completely on the money, warm and powerful but not like Beats headphones, which in my own opinion are over the top. The clarity given was beyond any Bluetooth based ear/headphones I’ve used to present. Bluetooth connection has also remained solid with no lag or noise, including on limited phone call and computer video playback use.
As they are plugged sport headphones, poor use while exercising and sweating was going to be a deal breaker for me. So off to the gym it was. Solid use on a two-hour gym session, no audio leaking in or out during a treadmill run and free weights use. Aside from the weight rack falling over, I would say it would be hard to hear anything else thrown at them (depending on your volume). While gym work involves movement, I’ve never had any issues with other earphones, for the large part, remaining in place during a run so I thought I would push them a bit further, use through a full body HIIT session. If you have seen the TV adverts for Insanity with Shaun T and/or the recent surge of Joe Wick’s advertising, you will know HIIT sessions are fast, varied movements and not for the faint hearted. Well despite pushing myself hard the earbuds failed to dislodge or cause me any issues, except when drying my uncut mop of hair during a brief rest period.
While Anker advertise the battery life as 6 hours on a full charge, I managed to squeeze in just over this but as with all battery based products usage can fluctuate depending on volume and external conditions (temperature etc.)
Having also used the ‘Sport’ version earphones (which I certainly wasn’t a fan of due to the fit and shape) and which are often just a third less than these bad boys, I would certainly recommend an extra £9-10 splurge on these.
My only negative, which maybe could be rectified on a version 2, would be for the ability to force re-pairing rather than having to forget the buds on your last paired device. Have found it a pain having to trudge upstairs for my iPod touch when I am wanting to pair them with my iPhone, which is downstairs.
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