Axgio Sprint Sound Isolating Sport Stereo Bluetooth 4.1 Headphone

In the past the gym tends to be the graveyard for many of my earphones. Its usually due to the cable being tugged, getting snagged onto gym equipments or the headphone jack getting bent in all kinds of different directions.
 
Needless to say, I would like to have more freedom with my movements in the gym, and not worry about my yanking earphones or my smartphone on the treadmill (and falling to its death)  =(
 
So to my surprise, the Axgio Sprints has become my faithful companion when I’m out for run, pumping some iron in the gym or at my local park doing some shoot drills.  It also helps that their affordable, so replacing them doesn’t become as sob-fest.
 
Prior to this review, I had not heard of Axgio before, so needless to say, I sought the help of the internet and this was what I was able find out about them.
Axgio is a company stationed at ShenZhen, in China, that specialize in making Bluetooth Accessories. As far as I know this was their first attempt at the making a Bluetooth sport earphone.  Without giving too much away, I think Axgio has done a fantastic job with their first effort!
 
Disclaimer #1 – I would like to thank Michael for sending a pair of the Axgio Sprint out for review. I am not affiliated with Axigio in anyway, so below is my unedited honest review.
Disclaimer #2- Bear in mind the score given, is with the price of the earphones in mind ($39.99) as with all my other previous reviews.
If you would like to watch a video review instead click below:
 

Accessories:  Quite sparse in some cases, but nice in terms of eartip selections:
3 sets of silicone eartips varying sizes
3 sets of Foam eartips of varying sizes
Micro USB charging cable
I would wish there was a small carrying pouch to store them in. But I think that might be asking a bit much for a $39.99 bluetooth earphone
Overall: 6/10

 

 
 
Features: 
1) Well, it’s a Bluetooth earphone to begin with, so you don’t need to be tethered to your device or risk tugging or snagging the cable on furniture and such. Movements around  the house is a lot more fluid with the Sprints, as they have Bluetooth range of about 10m. I was able to use to the Sprints with my smartphone in my room upstairs with the door closed, while being downstairs vacuuming my carpet after my brother's husky’s daily shed-fest I did notice a occasional dropouts when outside, but not glaring by any means)
2) Pairing is a breeze as you just hold the Circular button until a red light flashes intermittently.
3) Good Battery life:  Via micro USB in the remote
Charging Time: 2 Hrs
Music time: 8 Hr
Talk Time: 8 Hr
4) Remote function (for skip, play, volume controls) and accepting and rejecting calls. The remote layout is a bit odd, so it does require a bit getting use to but otherwise no complaints
5) IPX4 sweat-resistant- perfect for gym workouts or for those with heavy daily perspiration.
Overall: 10/10 
 

 

 

 
 
 
Build Quality: As a pair of sport earphones, they need to be lightweight especially when making drastic changes in direction, and vigorous movement. However, they also need to be durable enough, especially when your busy focusing on making that last rep, and not worrying about them crumbling under pressure.  Given these reasons, the Sprints are well made despite their all plastic construction. They are also ipx4, which makes the Sprint water and sweat resistant, that can withstand getting drenched in the gym.  The cable is short enough to be easily wrapped around  the neck, along with a cable cinch to help further manage the cable.
Overall: 7/10
 
 
 

 
 
Comfort: The housing is quite large, its comparable with the Audio Technica IM70.  Its quite smooth and ergonomic, but its rather shallow fitting, due to the large housing and the short nozzle. However I think this can benefit the Sprint, so they don’t feel uncomfortable, without causing irritation to your ear canal.
Overall: 8/10

 

 
 
Isolation:  It’s a completely sealed design, making the Sprint a great option the average consumer, for using on the subway and in transit.
Overall: 8.5/10
 

 
 
Sound Quality:
I was expecting a massively bass sound given that general stereotype surrounding Bluetooth and sport head/earphones.
 
That notion certainly went out the window!  The Sprint is surprisingly fairly balanced. They do a small emphasis in the mid to upper bass, but nothing overblown but I actually found them slightly mid-centric.
 
Bass: The bass moderately warm with a good punch without sounding bloated or loose.  The bass here is well versed with many different genres, so the Sprint’s can also be a good all arounder, as a dynamic sounding everyday earphone. The bass here isn’t the most detailed or have the greatest extension (its good).  Given the low price for being a Bluetooth earphone, I’m quite pleased.
 
Midrange: Quite smooth and surprisingly clear. I was expecting a very scooped midrange, but I quite like the depth in vocals for both male and female vocals. The lower mid emphasis, gives male vocals some nice added thickness. The upper mids is reduced with some veiling to female vocals but nothing distracting, and this tuning prevents any annoyance from thinner female vocals.
 
Treble: Good but not great extension, but very smooth. Cymbals have a nice energy to them without sound exaggerated.  It suffers only very mildly from a slightly artificial treble, nicely refined for the price.  
 
In terms of sound, the Sprint is nothing ground breaking, it’s a pleasing, yet balanced sound that took me by surprise.  I was expecting an overly blown mess, instead i found myself quite gravitated towards  the Sprint. It definitely punches above its budget as a sport Bluetooth earphone.
 
Overall: 9/10  * relative to the price and being a Bluetooth earphone* In my opinion, the Sprints has overachieve for their price, compared to both wireless and WIRED peers
 
In summary…..
 
I find myself using the Axgio Sprints outside of the gym as well, because they are very comfortable when sleeping on my side, and they are lightweight enough to be an easy-grab and go option when I’m in a hurry. Of course having a nicely balanced and coherent sound is just icing on the cake! Highly Recommended!
 
Final Rating:  48.5/60= 81%

Axgio Sprint Bluetooth Headset



Disclaimer: The Axgio Sprint headset reviewed here was supplied free of charge

I’ve never heard of Axgio, much less their Sprint Bluetooth headset. A quick Google search turns up a company that specializes in smartphones and smartphone accessories. Apparently Axgio not only makes smartphone hardware but has designed their own Android based OS named Neonado.

The Sprint is an in-ear monitor headset that boasts an IPX4 rating for water resistance, thus it’s marketed as sports headset that is ultimately sweat-proof and durable enough to withstand tough workouts and more. Other manufacturer specifications are as follows:

Chip: CSR8645 (with AptX)
Bluetooth Version: 4.1
Profile Supported: HSP, HFP, A2DP and AVRCP
Battery Capacity: 130mAh
Charging time: about 2 hr
Charging port: USB cable
Music time: 8hr
Talk time: 8hr
Driver Unit: 7mm (SPK)

Fit and Aesthetics
The 7mm dynamic drivers are protected in a black and nickel colored, sealed plastic pill shaped housing. Being that they are sealed housings, I do get a bit of occasional driver flex but nothing concerning. The housings are designed to be ergonomic and comfortably sit in the concha of the ear. While indeed very comfortable, I do have issue attaining proper seal with the nozzle angling away from the housing. I’ve experienced this same nozzle angle on some universal IEM’s in the past and also found fit to be hit or miss. Due to this nozzle angle, it makes deeper, more secure fit, pretty much impossible for me, as well as impacting the type of tip I could use and still maintain proper seal. This may not be an issue for many or even most users, as I have pretty straight and wide canals. Users with smaller canals and/or greatly curved canals will appreciate the ease of shallow fit.



Rather than the typical strain relief existing the housings, the cable has about 3.5 inches of built in memory wire. Since the Sprint is designed to be worn over-the-ear, the memory wire is well thought out to hold the short cable between the two housings in place. The rest of the cable is slightly rubbery to the touch and very pliable. Located approximately 6 inches from the right housing are the inline controls. Placement is very good- far enough away, so as not to be too close to the ear but also not so far it starts to go behind your neck, should you wear the Sprint that way. The cable also has a little clip built in for storage purposes.

Accessories
Rounding out the accessories are a USB charging cable, 4 pair of silicone tips (XS, S, M and L) and 3 pair of foam tips (S, M, and L). The foam tips are not your typical Comply tips. These have a thicker, slicker coating over the foam that helps it rebound its shape much quicker. These foam tips are the only tips that would give me a somewhat easy to maintain fit with the angled nozzle. Other tips I tried just take too much fiddling to try and obtain a consistent and proper seal. Surprisingly there is no carrying case included. This is really a pretty important oversight, as I tend to carry the headset and the charging cable with me.



Bluetooth and Controls
Inline controls are pretty straight forward, if a bit odd in button placement. Being so used to most Apple controls having the volume buttons at the top and bottom with the on/off in the center, I often found myself forgetting and accidentally pressing the wrong button. I can’t tell you how many times I started to redial last number. However, once you get used to these differences, operation is actually very simple.

The bottom on/off button also controls pairing (long hold past powering on), as well as the standard answer/end call and last number redial via a double press. Volume buttons also act as next song/previous song buttons with double presses.

Bluetooth connectivity worked flawlessly for me. Unlike the Brainwavz BLU100, I never had any drop-outs, static or other noise interference and the unit didn’t mind if I had other devices in my Bluetooth list. While I didn’t test the limits of the Bluetooth distance, I never had any issues laying my iPhone down and walking across the room to pick something up. Battery life is claimed to be 8 hours and I’d estimate it to be pretty accurate. I tend to listen a few hours a day and wouldn’t need to charge for several days at a time.



Sound Quality
Upon first using the Sprint headset, my first initial take away was surprise; this isn’t your typical consumer tuning. It’s actually quite balanced and, dare I say, fairly neutral. On top of that, the clarity throughout, but especially in the midrange, is quite impressive.

Bass
These are not your typical bloated, boom, boom dynamic drivers. Bass is light and nimble, although it does roll off in deep and sub bass pretty quickly. Bass is fairly balanced with the midrange and treble while indoors where ambient noise is considerably quieter. I’d prefer a bit more quantity in deep bass and sub bass, especially when commuting, traveling or doing anything in an outdoor area, as those are first frequencies to be lost in noisy environments. Otherwise bass speed and tautness is rather good. No bloat or masking to affect other frequencies. Bassheads will not be satisfied by any stretch.

Midrange and Treble
The Sprint’s specialty is vocals- acoustic and singer/songwriter music really shines. The midrange is exceptionally clear and open sounding. I find it neither forward, nor recessed but very well balanced with treble levels, for a nice and even sound from lower midrange on up through the upper most treble extension. Treble is articulate and smooth with plenty of sparkle and air. At times there can be just the smallest edge of brightness, mainly as a psychoacoustic effect of being fairly bass-light, especially in commute environs.

Comparisons – BrainWavz BLU100
If the Sprint is balanced and fairly neutral, then the BLU100 sounds overtly V shaped in direct comparison. However the BLU100’s fuller and richer bass is welcomed when listening outdoors or on the daily commute. Where the Sprint pull ahead is with its crystal clear midrange and much smoother, more articulate treble. The BLU100 vocals sound pretty recessed in direct comparison and has much rougher and accentuated treble.

The Sprint’s housing design, while being tougher to achieve proper seal for me, is much more comfortable than the bulbous BLU100 barrel type housings. Even though the Sprint’s built in memory wire help to secure the housings in the ear, I prefer the easier to maneuver non-memory wired flat cable of the BLU100 for it’s ease of use. I typically do not like flat cables but this one is pretty narrow and pliable, so the main difference in usability is the memory wire of the Sprint, which really just comes down to preference. The BLU100 inline remote buttons are smaller and more spaced out; while maintaining a similarly small remote the BLU100 have the more typical up arrow, end/answer call, down arrow configuration. I found the BLU100 remote a little easier to navigate but that’s really due to me using that style layout for many years with Apple iDevices. When it comes to connectivity stability, the Sprint is head and shoulders above the BLU100.

Summary
Pros: The Axgio Sprint is a stable, reliable Bluetooth headset with a balanced and neutral approach to sound quality. It excels in overall comfort and it’s most notable sound attribute is its lovely midrange clarity.
Cons: Its nozzle angle could cause difficulty achieving proper seal and it could use increased levels of deep bass for noisy environments.

As of this writing, the Sprint is selling for $39.99 on Amazon, which makes it a very affordable option in a burgeoning budget Bluetooth headset market.