Right - first things first. I really couldn’t get these headphones to produce a reasonable seal - no matter which tips I tried - both the ones supplied with the headphones plus many from my extensive collection. With this in mind I was tempted to not review these as I felt that it wouldn’t be fair - not everyone has the same shaped ears as me. But then I thought I could at least offer a limited review. With this in mind, observations regarding sound quality are only possible by my holding the headphones in place whilst listening.
Externals.
The Ai’s come supplied with a rather nice zippered carrying case which can easily fit in a pocket. They also come supplied with a couple of different sized ear-guides and three pairs of eartips.
The headphones use conventional drivers and feature a micro USB socket on the control section which is covered with a dust flap - luckily this is easier to open than those found on some headphones. The shells and cable are a brilliant red which is actually quite eye-catching.
These headphones are very light. This is a good thing with regard to fit (if you’re lucky enough to actually be able to keep these in and maintain a good seal) but unfortunately they also feel somewhat flimsy - this is especially apparent with the control module which feels cheap and rattles with loose buttons. In all fairness, this has no effect on the sound quality but to be honest I get the impression that they wouldn’t survive a lot of abuse unlike some of the other headphones Bluedio make.
The Ai’s actually arrived with the battery so depleted that it wouldn’t even power up. It worked fine after charging though so no worries there. They took a good three hours to charge up - which I suppose is about right for completely depleted batteries.
Connection to my phone was very fast - significantly faster than any of the other bluetooth headphones in my collection. Range appears to be good as well but to be honest I would expect this on an all-plastic construction.
Sound Quality
Again, just to be clear, I couldn’t get a fit at all with these. The basic shape of the headphones coupled with the shallow insertion depth just makes them completely and utterly incompatible with me and my ears. With this in mind, be mindful that your experience with these headphones could easily be completely different to mine.
The good news is that they’re pretty flat with regard to frequency extremes. I found the bass to be detailed, reasonably deep but not boomy. Likewise the upper frequencies appeared to be controlled, detailed and no fatiguing. Both these elements are always very welcome in headphones in my opinion. The other good news is that they go pretty loud.
Conclusion
I feel that if you can get these headphones to fit, you won’t be disappointed with regard to the sound quality. Although the headphones don’t use the APTx protocol, they’re still capable of reproducing small details without background hiss. With the fit issues in mind, I cautiously recommend them. If you’re lucky enough to get a good fit I think they’re pretty good for the price. Three stars for sound quality.