About Me
Like most people, I am an avid fan of music ranging from my all-time favorite Metallica to 2Pac to Mozart, YoYo Ma and a lot in between (sorry country but heck no). I have what doctors would call a compulsive disorder for headphones as I can never seem to stop buying and trying. I am not an audiophile, but I have a worthy quest to find the best headphone / earphone for my tastes and I like to test new gear… a lot. I rely on my ears, and my listening pleasure to determine review scores. I just hope to help other people find nice devices that will suit their taste and their budget.
As my ocd of headphones is expensive I tend to hover around the $200 or less range of headphones, sorry fancy schmancy headphone connoisseurs. Also I prefer Bluetooth as I am on the go a lot and don’t like cables (que the diss sesh of poor BT quality headphones). Enjoy!
-Tech Specs for us nerds
• Drivers: Not listed
• Rated Impedance : Not stated Ω
• Frequency Range : Not listed
• Sensitivity : Not listed
• Expected Battery: 10 hrs
• Bluetooth Version: 4.1
• Codecs: SBC (NO APT-X)
• Weight: 90g
Accessories
USB Charging Cable
6 x Earbuds (2 equipped on the earphones)
Charging Cable
-Build Quality
Housings: I will call out that these are around the neck earphones (ala LG Tone Pro). The neckband is made of rubber that is flexible and comfortable. The earphones are made solely of plastic. They feel cheap and will not hold up over time.
Cable: The cable is attached to the neckband, but its quite thin and if caught will break.
-Functionality/Pairing/Range
Pairing for most BT is the same so I will only call out if there are issues.
The Q900 has all the buttons on the neckband including play/pause, vol up/down, track skip and power switch.
Using my OnePlus 3 all buttons worked without issue.
The signal was strong and I could walk about 20-25 ft. before skipping occurred.
-Comfort
This is my first foray into neckband earphones. I will say so far I am impressed. The band is soft and flexible and is light enough that they are hardly noticeable. As for the actual earphones, I will be honest; I don’t like silicone tips. Once you go Comply, you don’t go back. So I always buy the correct comply tips to go with my set. These like alot of the other non-name brand devices are not listed on the Comply site. I luckily had a set of Ts-400s that worked and made them a lot more comfortable.
-Sound Review
I always test with the same devices and song list:
Devices: OnePlus 3 & Macbook Pro
Songs (don’t judge me):
Eagles – Hotel California [Hell Freezes Over Live Edition]
Metallica – No Leaf Clover or Fade to Black
Big Tymers – Still Fly
Jethro Tull – Locomotive Breath
Enya – Oronoco Flow
These earphones sound pretty good for only being $25. They have hard hitting lows and broad mids. The highs are lacking, but the soundstage is quite wide. Moreso than other earbuds I have used. Maybe it’s something to do with the neckband design but I felt like I was wearing an over ear headphone.
No leaf clover sounded great with all the instruments and vocals sounding like they were in the room with me, muddled a bit, but crazy none the less for $25.
Still Fly had a very nice bass track and brought me back to subwoofer days. Wasn’t so bad I couldn’t hear the vocals, but the bass hits hard.
Comparisons
--Q900 vs E10BT
The Q900 is about ½ the price of the E10BT. With that you lose the upper end quality provided by the Soundmagic’s. The Q900 does provide a much wider soundstage though, which is quite impressive at this price point. Also the battery on the E10BT is still a little better, but 10hrs for the Q900 is quite good. I can say I prefer the Q900.
--TT BH16 vs Brainwavz Blu-Delta
This is a closer comparison with only a $10 gap. The Brainwavz sound a little bit better in the highs, but don’t hit bass as hard. The Delta’s have more accessories and are built better, but the Q900 has the neckband with better battery and wider soundstage. Also as an added benefit the Q900 are water resistant. For the price they are the winner.
-Conclusion
In my first foray into neckband earphones I was pleasantly surprised with the Soundpeats Q900. They have a nice deep booming bass and a wide soundstage. They lack sparkling highs and have an above usual amount of static with quiet songs or auidobooks. They lack APT-X codec and feel cheap. That said for $25 they are quite a bargain and I would recommend.
Like most people, I am an avid fan of music ranging from my all-time favorite Metallica to 2Pac to Mozart, YoYo Ma and a lot in between (sorry country but heck no). I have what doctors would call a compulsive disorder for headphones as I can never seem to stop buying and trying. I am not an audiophile, but I have a worthy quest to find the best headphone / earphone for my tastes and I like to test new gear… a lot. I rely on my ears, and my listening pleasure to determine review scores. I just hope to help other people find nice devices that will suit their taste and their budget.
As my ocd of headphones is expensive I tend to hover around the $200 or less range of headphones, sorry fancy schmancy headphone connoisseurs. Also I prefer Bluetooth as I am on the go a lot and don’t like cables (que the diss sesh of poor BT quality headphones). Enjoy!
-Tech Specs for us nerds
• Drivers: Not listed
• Rated Impedance : Not stated Ω
• Frequency Range : Not listed
• Sensitivity : Not listed
• Expected Battery: 10 hrs
• Bluetooth Version: 4.1
• Codecs: SBC (NO APT-X)
• Weight: 90g
Accessories
USB Charging Cable
6 x Earbuds (2 equipped on the earphones)
Charging Cable
-Build Quality
Housings: I will call out that these are around the neck earphones (ala LG Tone Pro). The neckband is made of rubber that is flexible and comfortable. The earphones are made solely of plastic. They feel cheap and will not hold up over time.
Cable: The cable is attached to the neckband, but its quite thin and if caught will break.
-Functionality/Pairing/Range
Pairing for most BT is the same so I will only call out if there are issues.
The Q900 has all the buttons on the neckband including play/pause, vol up/down, track skip and power switch.
Using my OnePlus 3 all buttons worked without issue.
The signal was strong and I could walk about 20-25 ft. before skipping occurred.
-Comfort
This is my first foray into neckband earphones. I will say so far I am impressed. The band is soft and flexible and is light enough that they are hardly noticeable. As for the actual earphones, I will be honest; I don’t like silicone tips. Once you go Comply, you don’t go back. So I always buy the correct comply tips to go with my set. These like alot of the other non-name brand devices are not listed on the Comply site. I luckily had a set of Ts-400s that worked and made them a lot more comfortable.
-Sound Review
I always test with the same devices and song list:
Devices: OnePlus 3 & Macbook Pro
Songs (don’t judge me):
Eagles – Hotel California [Hell Freezes Over Live Edition]
Metallica – No Leaf Clover or Fade to Black
Big Tymers – Still Fly
Jethro Tull – Locomotive Breath
Enya – Oronoco Flow
These earphones sound pretty good for only being $25. They have hard hitting lows and broad mids. The highs are lacking, but the soundstage is quite wide. Moreso than other earbuds I have used. Maybe it’s something to do with the neckband design but I felt like I was wearing an over ear headphone.
No leaf clover sounded great with all the instruments and vocals sounding like they were in the room with me, muddled a bit, but crazy none the less for $25.
Still Fly had a very nice bass track and brought me back to subwoofer days. Wasn’t so bad I couldn’t hear the vocals, but the bass hits hard.
Comparisons
--Q900 vs E10BT
The Q900 is about ½ the price of the E10BT. With that you lose the upper end quality provided by the Soundmagic’s. The Q900 does provide a much wider soundstage though, which is quite impressive at this price point. Also the battery on the E10BT is still a little better, but 10hrs for the Q900 is quite good. I can say I prefer the Q900.
--TT BH16 vs Brainwavz Blu-Delta
This is a closer comparison with only a $10 gap. The Brainwavz sound a little bit better in the highs, but don’t hit bass as hard. The Delta’s have more accessories and are built better, but the Q900 has the neckband with better battery and wider soundstage. Also as an added benefit the Q900 are water resistant. For the price they are the winner.
-Conclusion
In my first foray into neckband earphones I was pleasantly surprised with the Soundpeats Q900. They have a nice deep booming bass and a wide soundstage. They lack sparkling highs and have an above usual amount of static with quiet songs or auidobooks. They lack APT-X codec and feel cheap. That said for $25 they are quite a bargain and I would recommend.
