Another pair of headphones today as we look at the HD Wireless by VOXOA, a new brand we haven’t spent time with until now, but will keep our eyes heavily on from this day forward. After sharing these around the office like a used piece of meat, the popular vote was pretty high for these as they sound really good, are very flexible and won’t break the bank.
We have spent a lot of time testing out various Bluetooth solutions over the years, and one of the most noticeable points we cover, is the fact that most of them don’t live up to the price tag. Although they may sound great, they don’t always pass for their extraordinary price. This is not true for this pair from VOXOA, as the sound is just right and the price falls under $100. Their original MSRP went for $149 and now that they have had a little time to spread their wings in the market, the price has evolved to a perfectly fitted point.
We found both volume and range to be right where it needs to be for a good pair of Bluetooth headphones. Your higher frequencies are crisp and clear without stabbing your eardrums with exhausting levels. The lows are present and powerful enough to enjoy any genre of music without overdoing it. Although everyone has their preferences and some prefer having miniature subs on their ears (like models by Kicker, which sound great but feature a limited genre selection due to their low-end focus), a majority of listeners want a good balance. These provide just that.
They are missing the mid-range a bit like most affordable headphones, but it doesn’t come at much of a sacrifice. When wearing these, you can tell you aren’t looking for audiophile warmth, but simply crisp and clear audio (hence the usage of “HD” in the name). The highs and lows are perfectly clear and enjoyable all over. You don’t tend to gain back your midrange and the audiophile warmth until you spend about $300 and up on a pair that is built to focus on such. Now you are talking more than 3x the price. Not to mention finding a Bluetooth solution that provides an audiophile listen is rare to begin with.
There is a bit of internal hollowness to them when it comes to noise while making adjustments to the band or pressing buttons on the side. The noise of your hands touching against the plastic travels resonates through the headphones and into your ears. Nothing terrible, but noticeable enough to point out briefly.
Looking at volume, these provide a perfect amount, even when trying to compensate for noisy environments. They are not noise canceling, nor do they form a perfect seal around the ears since they are an “on-ear” design vs an “over-the-ear” alternative, so you can’t buy into these assuming you will be able to blend right into any scene. Although you can kick the volume up to compensate, these are meant for quiet listening environments, where the sound can be properly enjoyed. They sound good at a low volume, just as much as they sound blasting (just be careful to not drive yourself deaf with volume).
They have the capability to plug directly into your device, just in case your device doesn’t support Bluetooth or you are simply looking to preserve battery. The difference in sound wired or wireless is is noticeable as well. Bluetooth sounds great and you get a decent boost in quality when opting for a cable.
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Connectivity is super friendly as they also support NFC (near field communication). Normally it only takes a few moments to pair headphones to a device, but why not make it that much easier. If your device supports NFC (and it is turned on in your settings), you can tap it to the right side of the headphones, right above the controls and it will trigger a pairing confirmation so that you can quickly pair and jump right into your listening experience. Wired, wireless and quick to use with minimal fiddling on your device.
On top of line-in, bluetooth and NFC, these headphones come with another added surprise. They function great as USB headphones. The moment you plug them into a PC with Windows 7 or higher, they are immediately recognized as a USB headset, including the microphone. This allows you to use them on any PC for listening, gaming or even chat (ie, Skype). USB listening is just as enjoyable as using the 3.5mm line-in.
Update: Although this feature is a neat surprise, USB functionality will *not* work with the USB cable provided. You have to use one rated for both power and data, where the cable provided only works for charging (your OS will not see it as a headset). During our tests, we used a number of cables we had lying around to function properly as a headset. For example, you could try using the cable provided for a smartphone or tablet as it will most likely work fine.
They should really consider shipping a better cable so that they can market this as a listed feature.
The built-in microphone works just as it should for mobile calls and PC applications like Skype or in-game communications. You won’t find yourself using it to record your favorite gaming sessions on YouTube with (for your voice), but it covers everything you need for communication without the other party complaining that they can’t understand you.
The design of HD Wireless Headphones is quite elegant. As James mentions in the video below, they offer a ultra modern kind of feel, like something out of a company such as Harman. The design is very smooth to the eyes, and very comfortable to the touch. The cushions for the ears and top of head are all soft leather with a well-cushioned foam inside. There is no discomfort at all while wearing these, including multiple hours of use. No pressure to the ear or sharp edges digging in anywhere. No heaviness felt on top of the head or dragging down the skin of the ears. Although they are on-ear design, they do slightly feel as though the cushions form a little around the ears thanks to their soft design.
All controls are featured on the right side, including a power button, next/prev/play/pause set of of 3 buttons and 2 buttons for volume up and down. Only the power button is directly on the face, while the other buttons are featured on the sides. On the button of the right side of the band, you find your microUSB and 3.5mm insert (line-in) for wired connections. Just below the next/prev/play/pause buttons, you also find a small hole where the microphone lies.
They fold up nicely to store inside of a soft pouch they provide in the both and have very little weight to them. The headphones, pouch with cables stored away inside all weigh less than a pound. In fact, they weigh less than half a pound, making these just as light to store as they are on your head. They can also take a decent amount of abuse as the band can bend and give quite extensively without causing any damage to it.
Inside the box you find the headphones, line-in cable, microUSB cable, soft carrying pouch and some documentation involving the warranty and device instructions. The headphones themselves come in two colors, black and white.
Our Conclusion
Overall, the HD Wireless Headphones are a great listening experience at a great price. They are loud enough, sound good enough for any average consumers looking for a decent range and look great. They are also built tough and are user-friendly connectivity-wise. The hollowness sound to them when adjusting things is a minor observation and the mid-range was expected to be missing some. We gave it a score of 8 out of 10 as the price and quality is right! (Update: Score has been reduced to 7.5 due to the included USB cable not supporting data, thus preventing USB headset functionality).
Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook as we will be giving the headphones away to a random follower/reader.
Video:
Additional Images:
Specifications:
Sound pressure level: 108 dB
Impedance: 64 Ohms
Frequency response: 10Hz-20KHz
Bluetooth 4.0
Embedded NFC technology
AAC codec support
Built-in aptX for CD quality audio streaming
HD voice & Hands free
Echo cancellation
Battery Life:
Battery capacity: 430 mAH
Music play time: 16 Hours
Charging time: 3 Hours
Weight: 0.3814lbs (<1lb)
Contents:
1 VXH33X (330 or 331) headphones
1 Micro USB charging cable
1 Line-in cable 3.5 mm
1 Carrying pouch
1 Quick start guide
1 Warranty
1 Registration card
Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.
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