[size=17.03px]Introduction – [/size]

The original d900 from Syllable made quite a splash when it first arrived on the market. It was one of the very first fully wireless earphones ever produced. Furthermore, it was pretty cost effective, retailing for just $90 USD, cheaper than most semi-wireless sets. The earphones were pretty popular, featured on Unbox Therapy, PC Mag and a few other review sites. However if there`s one link between all of these articles, it`s probably their lukewarm reception and complaints of average sound quality and connection drops. Recently, Syllable have updated the d900, the new model bearing the d900s moniker. Bringing additional features such as apt-x and vastly improved batterylife, the new “s” model seeks to address the weaknesses of its progenitor at the same tempting RRP.

 

Disclaimer – 

I would like to thank George from Gearbest for providing me with a review unit in exchange for my honest opinion. I am not affiliated with Syllable or Gearbest, nor it there any monetary incentive for a positive review. I will be as objective as possible about the d900s and provide an honest evaluation of the product.

 

Accessories – 

The d900s have a pretty impressive un-boxing experience on a whole. They come within a small box that displays a nice promo image of the d900s on the front and a small diagram explaining the various features on the back accompanied by text description in a few different languages. The print was a little washed out but otherwise the box presents well.

The top lid slides off to reveal the d900s housed within their dock and a smaller box that contains the accessories and manual. The d900s are outfitted with a variety of accessories, in addition to the included dock/case, Syllable includes a soft pouch, adjoining band and micro-b charging cable. Syllable also include a quick start card which lists a few steps to quickly start and connect the d900s. The d900s come with two pairs of silicone tips including those installed on the earphones, a medium and large sized set.








They`re a double flange tip with small stabilizer fins. Unfortunately I found them to be thin and flimsy and I couldn`t get a proper fit with the either size. The fins are also pretty thin, they`re not shaped correctly and don`t contribute much to stability at all.

But apart from the tips, the included accessories are all of good quality. The cables are flat and moderately thick and the pouch seems to be hard wearing too. The star of the show is undoubtedly the dock.

The bottom has a tactile matte finish whilst the top is transparent to display the d900s themselves. The dock has two cradles that charge the earpieces via charge a minute two prong connector. The earpieces are firmly lodged within the cradle once the transparent lid is closed. As such, they don`t rattle around during travel and, despite the small connectors, the d900s charged reliably in my testing. There`s a cutout at the top that allows for the use of larger tips and 4 blue LEDs just below that display remaining charge of the dock itself.

The plastics used are very thick and the dock feels well put together. Perhaps the clipping mechanism that holds the top cover down is a little stiff and it could also do with some small rubber feet as it tends to slide around on the table and scratch. Otherwise, it`s a really neat looking piece of kit that adds another dimension to the d900s usage and looks. Syllable well equip users with all the accessories they`ll need to confidently use their d900s.

 

Design – 

It`s here that the d900s begin to lose some some of their appeal. As a fully wireless earphone, the d900s have no external battery pack or receiver module. Instead, each earpiece contains all of the circuitry within. Whilst great in theory, this does make the d900s quite enormous for an “in-ear”. Syllable have tried to balance the size through a very smooth, tapered design that sits mainly in the outer ear.











It works to some extent, helped in part by the very light weight of the housings, but the d900s are simply too bulky to achieve a stable fit. No matter what angle I tried I simply couldn`t get a proper seal and thus bass response. Eventually I found that wearing them backwards achieved a decent fit. It`s not ideal since the nozzles are slightly angled and the buttons face backwards but this fit allows the body of the earphone to lodge under the outer ear, providing stability.











My struggles to achieve a decent fit were only exacerbated by the rubbish included tips, short nozzle and limited insertion depth which prevents the use of many aftermarket tips too. The d900s have a 200 size bore with a slightly oval nozzle that keeps the included tips in the correct orientation. Using an inverted fitment, I did manage to use the d900s with Sony hybrids, the oval nozzle wasn`t a problem and noise isolation was pretty good. The stock tips gave an unreliable fitment. When I did manage to achieve a stable fit, they produced only a partial seal and minimal noise isolation. I was expecting a pretty decent fitment, perhaps something similar to that of Bose`s earphones, sadly that`s not the case.

The housings themselves are gloss, available in black and white. They`re a little slippery, especially with their very rounded features, but their large size makes them easy to handle. As aforementioned, they`re also very lightweight, they don`t disappear in the ear, but considering their size, they`re not as cumbersome as you would imagine. The d900s is not the most sturdy or premium feeling earbud, the plastic feels thin and visible seams run the perimeter, the inner and outer housings don`t quite marry up leaving some rough edges. In addition, the buttons feel pretty average, with a mushy click and limited travel. They loosely fit within the housings, causing them to rattle during any kind of movement. This noise is amplified when the earphones are inserted within your ears and the constant clanking of the buttons gets quite obtrusive over longer sessions. Despite this, buttons worked reliably, registering every click in my testing. On a more positive note, the housings have an IPX4 water ingress rating. They should withstand sweat and getting splashed with water, but you can`t submerge them nor would I try to wash them under running water. I can see that the d900s were designed for sport use, as these wireless buds generally are, but the fitment was not nearly stable enough for my usual 6K run or even weight training. The most the d900`s could handle was general commuting and walking which, apart from the occasional dropout and wind noise, they were quite practical for.








Being a fully wireless earphone, a common complaint may be that the earpieces are easy to lose. Syllable include a rubber band to adjoin the two earpieces which some users may prefer. It`s well molded and a more matte over tacky rubber. The loops that connect to the d900s are slightly triangular to maintain correct orientation. The band is a nice and simple way of dealing with a potential problems associated with completely wireless buds, the band has saved my set from a few tall drops at the very least.

So the word frustration probably sums up my experiences with the design. I can`t comment on whether the d900s is superior to the original d900, but I was expecting a much more stable fit considering that there`s no cable to hold the earbuds in place. Perhaps the d900s just need a memory wire ear loop, but a smaller, more ergonomically shaped housing would go a long way to improve comfort and fitment. This also made it very difficult to evaluate the d900s audio performance as achieving a proper seal was pretty much impossible. Unless you have abnormally large ears, the d900s are unlikely to fit or seal properly. Of all my immediate family and friends, only one or two could get a decent fitment, the rest had an experience similar to mine.

 

Usage – 

The buttons on the outer faces of both earpieces handle power with just the right one controlling pairing and media controls. The perimeter illuminates to display various statuses; they glow red whilst charging (and turn off when finished) and alternate red/blue when in pairing mode. The earphones also produce various audio cues to make the process of power and pairing easier. Initial setup and usage is relatively simple, rather than pairing to both earpieces from the source, you simply pair with the right earpiece which then relays a stereo signal to the left driver. Both earpieces come paired to each other from factory to save you some hassle, but they can be easily re-paired if an error occurs.

As far as pairing goes, simply hold down the button on the right earpiece for 4 seconds, the LED alternates red and blue and the d900s enter pairing mode. Pair the d900s with your device (they appear as SYLLABLE TIP) and turn on the left earpiece. It should promptly connect to the right one and audio will play through both. In actual use, I found that pairing and connecting each earpiece was simple and reliable. Sometimes audio played only through the right earpiece, but simply pausing and un-pausing the source allowed the left earpiece to establish a connection.

If you`ve read about the d900 or even read a few d900s reviews, you will probably hear a lot about dropouts. In my uses, dropouts were unfortunately very common regardless of source. Some sources were more reliable than others, my apt-x enabled HTC M8 for instance provided a more reliable signal than my laptop (Windows 10) and iPod Nano 7G, but even listening from my phone, dropouts occurred every 1-2 minutes. It is a quick dropout, lasting about a second, and I did appreciate how the sound gently fades in and out rather than just cutting out abruptly, but these frequent dropouts easily become distracting, especially when listening to dialogue in a video/movie. This was more of an issue with the left driver than the right one but the right earpiece still cut out a few times too (which in turn led to audio loss in the left driver). Any obstruction, such as placing my hand over the earpiece would cause a complete loss of signal and wireless range was similarly poor; any distance over ~2m would cause either very intermittent or a complete loss of audio. It`s very unfortunate really and dropouts occurred even when holding my phone to my ear, it makes for a very jarring listen. It would be interesting if Syllable could include a cable instead of a  band to connect both earpieces, as the most frequent dropout I experienced was between the left and right earpieces. A cable connecting each would be less cumbersome than a traditional wireless earphone and would solve the majority of dropout issues users are reporting whilst retaining the option to go fully wireless.

Due to the nature of a fully wireless earphone, the d900s can be used in mono. Both the left and right will pair to a phone and play in isolation, but only the right will pass through remote commands from the button. I can see a few users finding this useful.

The right button also acts somewhat like a multi-function button. A single press controls the play/pause function, but a double press phones the last caller instead of skipping tracks. This behavior occurred on both my HTC M8 and Galaxy S6 Edge, only the single press function worked on my Windows laptop and iPods. Triple clicking the button had no function. It`s an odd choice, but play/pause is more than sufficient and, in culmination with the built-in microphone, allows the d900s to function as a pretty decent hands-free set as well.

Each earpiece houses an internal battery that can only be recharged via the included dock. The dock doubles as a case to protect the d900s during travel and charges the earpieces from its inbuilt 1000mah battery. it`s recharged through the micro-b port on the right side and is activated through the power button on the front (single press activates charging).

Pressing the button illuminates the 4 LEDs at the front of the dock that display the remaining charge of the dock itself. Syllable claim 4 hours of playback from the d900s. At low volume, I managed to get around 3 and a half, perhaps you`ll be able to reach the 4hr mark when connected over a regular Bluetooth 4.o connection (not apt-x), but I couldn`t get reliable sound from any other source. Each earpiece has a 65mah that takes 2 hrs to charge from empty, you can expect around 6 charges from the dock`s internal cell.

 

Sound –

Quickly perusing some reviews of the original d900, many complained about the “flat” sound. I doubt those who achieve a decent seal with the d900s will have any such complaints. The 8mm dynamic driver d900s have a V-shaped sound in general, bass has an overall emphasis, there`s a dip in lower mids and increasing prevalence heading into the upper midrange. Treble is slightly accentuated avoiding fatigue. The sound has a thinner character to it in general.

The soundstage is mediocre at best. Of course since I had difficulties achieving a proper seal this might affect my experience, but in general, the sound was congested and diffuse. There`s not a great sense of separation to the sound and imaging is inaccurate with sound being pushed to the sides with little in the centre. It`s a very unorthodox presentation, at least the soundstage has decent width if limited depth.

There`s a constant hiss that`s quite evident when the earphones are in use. Considering the price and size constraints of the earphones, the hiss is hardly distracting, but it`s almost always noticeable for those more sensitive to white noise. The d900s have no volume controls, volume can only be changed from the source. I found them to offer a good mix of adjust-ability with plenty of volume for louder listeners.

 

Bass – 

Bass is very full and pretty well extended when you have an adequate seal. Sub-bass has the greatest boost with decreasing emphasis as the sound moves onto the midrange. I`m assuming this is to combat the loose seal of the stock tips, as they sound relatively flat with a partial seal. As a result of this tuning, there is no bass spill but rather the contrary, lower mids are left a bit thin without adequate body. This grants a lot of slam and impact to the sound whilst retaining a clearer sound and the d900s avoid overly warming the low end. Sub-bass has too much emphasis for my tastes, it sounds great for pop but other genres tend to sound muddy and off balanced. There`s definite detail and definition loss due to the sub/mid-bass boost. Buyers coming from consumer earphones might not enjoy the recessed upper-bass which saps body and warmth from the sound.

Mids – 

Despite the low-end emphasis, the midrange on the d900s has quite a bit of presence and clarity. Lower mids are slightly over shadowed by the bass but there is minimal spillage. I found the lower midrange to sound slightly thin, even hollow with certain tracks. Male vocals and acoustic are pushed back in the mix whilst upper mids are actually quite forward. This is unfortunate since upper mids tend to sound harsh and peaky. The majority of music I tested the d900s with sounded slightly metallic, female vocals in particular sounded thin and strangely nasal. There is some benefit to this tuning however, as the upper midrange somewhat balances out the bass emphasis and upper mids do have quite a bit of clarity. With some songs, namely K-pop where female vocals are already quite forwards, the upper midrange of the d900s can be excessive, overwhelming other frequencies. Despite this character, there`s an absence of detail to the midrange on a whole whether connected over apt-x or not. They`re not terrible and completely listenable, but for $100, considering the feature set, I would hope that they would compete with earphone that cost even half the price, sadly many better options can be easily found.

Highs – 

Treble has great extension but the quality of the treble is only average. Treble has a slight roll off at the very top, high-hats are pushed more into the background, but sound quite accurate. That describes the treble in general really, cymbals, effects and higher vocals all sound accurate just pushed either forwards or backwards in the mix. The treble isn`t particularly well detailed but it`s also relatively un-fatiguing and inoffensive especially considering the harsh upper midrange of the d900s. Perhaps the more sedated upper treble adds to the general congestion of the soundstage, there`s little separation to the sound and a lot of details are lost.

Comparisons – 

To make things more interesting, I`ll compare the d900`s to another earphone that costs around the same amount, the Klipsch X10 (~$100 online). The X10`s immediately impress over the d900s with a far more comfortable, stable and isolating design. The housings are absolutely dwarfed by the d900s, I believe the x10`s were once the smallest earphone on the market. The machined copper housings also feel nicer than the plastic bulbs of the d900s. So despite being wired, the x10`s are far more comfortable and the level of seal produced is simply not viable from the bulkier d900s. There are downsides to this level of seal, for instance, there`s a lot more cable noise on the x10`s, that`s a given since the d900s have no cables, but the d900s rattling buttons are arguably just as intrusive. In terms of sound, the differences are just as pronounced. The X10`s are much smoother with a more sedated high end and a lusher low end. The dynamic driver d900s actually possess more end to end extension, I feel they have more treble extension and similar if ever so slightly more sub-bass extension. The d900s have a lot more sub-bass, similar mid-bass but less upper-bass. So while the d900s sound thin throughout the midrange, the x10`s instead sound fuller than neutral which flatters more genres of music and applications in general. Such tuning is not always beneficial, it`s very easy to overly warm the midrange and create a muddy mess, but in this instance, the x10`s undoubtedly have the upper hand. It`s really the high end where the x10`s outshine the d900s. The d900s, while reasonably clear, sound artificial and thin. Female vocals, piano and strings all come through as harsh and at times, metallic, the treble having a similarly thin character, but not to the same extent. The x10`s are much smoother and more laid-back, with a nice vocal presence that avoids being overly forwards and peaky. Vocals have more body, instruments more accurate timbre and on a whole, the sound is so much more invigorating.

Gearbest currently have a special on, if you use the code “LHSY”, the d900s can be had for a $40 discount, bringing them down to $50. At this price, the sound is quite good, and the feature set is all the more impressive. But again, I have a hard time recommending them simply due to the ergonomics and wireless dropouts; It really doesn`t help that Shozy`s $60 Zero in-ears sounds subjectively better than the Klipsch X10`s which, in turn, make mince meat of the d900s.

 

Verdict – 

In all honesty, the d900s are not a bad sounding earphone, my initial impressions were rather pretty positive. But over time the character of the upper midrange, the sub-bass bloat and other small niggles did add up. From the aforementioned comparisons, it`s clear that the d900s lack the audio finesse that most other earphones possess in this price range. I`m not saying that you should ditch the d900s and buy the Klipsch x10`s or Sozy Zero`s instead, they were just earphones I had on hand that were in a similar price range; this comparison was purely intended to illuminate the performance cost of wireless technologies. Whether the additional features of the d900s are worth it is is up to the buyer, but the compromises in ergonomics and sound make them a hard product to recommend.

As for the d900 vs the d900s, the addition of new accessories, new features and apt-x support all promise a genuinely improved experience. But theory and application are completely separate and at the end of the day, I have a hard time quantifying whether the additions within the new “s” model bring any real life improvements. There`s more to a wireless earphone than just slapping together a generic driver, an apt-x enabled Bluetooth receiver and building an awkward housing around it. As much as I wanted to like the d900s, neither the wireless nor audio performance really deliver and the ergonomic difficulties don`t help Syllable`s case either. It`s unfortunate really because you can see some genuine thought went into the original d900, but Syllable have failed to address key concerns from its preceding model and the d900s arrives ill-equipped in an even more competitive environment. For $100, many earphones both wired or wireless will best the d900s. Although a fully wireless design such as this is very uncommon at this price point, there`s a reason why most of the competition are priced so much higher, the d900s simply have too many compromises and few redeeming talents.

Accessories – 8/10, Nice un-boxing, great set of accessories. The included case is fantastic, the adjoining band is thoughtful and the pouch is a nice touch. Syllable really cheaped out on the eartips, they`re flimsy  and lacking in general.

Design – 2.5/10, The d900s look unique but feel cheap. The housings are ridiculously large and achieving a proper fit is almost impossible. Both buttons rattle with a mushy feel and the earphones are poorly designed in general. IP4X water resistance is a nice addition, but the earphones are too unstable for any kind of activity anyway. At least the pairing process is simple because the wireless connection frequently cuts out.

Bass – 4/10, Good extension but too much sub-bass emphasis creates bloat. Mid-bass is punchy but recessed upper-bass creates a thin sound. Decent texturing with a little definition loss. More balanced with a weak/partial seal at the cost of extension.

Mids – 3/10, Lower mids are thin, upper mids sound harsh and hollow with older tracks. Peaky and lacking detail but with a nice sense of clarity.

Highs – 4/10, Slightly accentuated lower treble grants some excitement but a slight roll-off pushes certain sounds into the background. Again, not too much detail and a thinner character, but otherwise, everything sounds quite accurate.

Soundstage, Imaging and Instrument Separation – 2/10,Not really a soundstage to speak of, decent width but no depth creates congestion. Sound diffuses to the sides creating inaccurate imaging and a loss of separation.

Verdict – 3/10, I wanted to love the d900s, they`re innovative and I like that. There`s something strangely liberating about a fully wireless earphone, but in use, there`s just too many compromises. The fit is impossible, the wireless connection has frequent dropouts and the sound quality when you finally get everything else working is average at best. The packaging experience and included dock is pretty nifty but everything else feels half baked. I must reiterate that for the $90 USD RRP, many far better options can be found if you`re willing to sacrifice fully wireless functionality.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this article please see my blog for more reviews like this and guides:

https://everydaylisteningblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/26/syllable-d900s-review-liberation-at-a-cost/

Acknowledgment   

Thanks @George-gearbest of Gearbest, for the opportunity to participate in this review tour.  The Syllable D900S was provided to me as a review sample in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks also for the understanding when I let you know that my review would not be positive.

 

Introduction

I’ve reviewed a few Bluetooth headphones with mixed results, but none of those headphones was completely wireless, with a charging case—shiny shiny. The Syllable D900S represents what seems to be a growing consumer demand for a totally wireless Bluetooth solution. There are a couple totally wireless headphones out there, like the Bragi Dash ($300), and there are more to come like the Trinity Phantom Air—I have great hopes for the Phantom Air. Preceding this model was the Syllable D900, which didn’t have aptX codec capabilities could only be used for 1-2 hours and had a meagre standby time of 2-4 hours. It appears that the D900S gives something more usable. The purpose of the headset is advertised as being for sport or mobile phone use, so coming into this I was expecting a bassy, non-audiophile signature. The product is the only one of it’s kind in it’s price range, so my views will be couched in what the product is trying to do at it’s price point.
 

 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

In this section of my reviews I try to let the manufacturer’s story about their product be told. Manufacturers and retailers always have something to say about their products, some of the time it’s accurate. The review sections will tell whether that is the case here.
This is what Gearbest had to say:
 
D900S wireless earbuds adopts the exclusive Multiplex Link composite connection technology of Syllable for absolutely wireless connection. Without limit of cable, just enjoy the music freely while doing sports.

Main Features:
Syllable D900S Bluetooth wireless earbuds for music and calls
The updated version of D900, provides more stable signal and longer standby time
Supports apt-x sound effect, offer the Hi-Fi tone quality
IPX4 waterproof, impervious to sweat and rain
Come with intelligent charging box for continuous use
Compact size, easy to carry
 
Not really a whole load of bull there. I appreciate a straight to the facts statement about what the product does. That means I don’t have any fabulous claims to repudiate, which removes a little of the fun of conscientious reviewing—also known as being a disillusioned skeptic.
For those who find themselves dying to try this at this point or after this review, Gearbest have provided a coupon code for your convenience. Get $40 off with the code LHSY.
 
 

Form & Function

The packaging was functional with a sexy man bun model on the front. My wife commented that the man-bun is really in right now, she’s seeing it everywhere. Apparently Asia’s love of foreign looking models extends to Swiss-looking dudes with stubble beards and man-buns. The picture on the box is real, at least. Online there are obviously photoshopped pictures with athletic people in tight fitting athletic gear smiling with their luminescent bright bleached pearl chompers.
 
 
In addition to the IEMs, inside the box you get a micro USB cable, a silicone lanyard for connecting the earbuds, a cloth bag for carting ‘em off to the gym—go to the GYM commandeth the D900S, and the charging case. The specs don’t tell you how long the charging case takes to charge, but it seemed longer than two hours for me. The headphones gave less than 4 hours of playtime for me. I would guess this was due to the weakness of the signal. It’s like what happens when you take your phone into a low reception area: the constant searching for signal drains the battery. Bluetooth pairing isn’t terribly difficult. First pair the right earphone using standard hold the button till you get some rapid flashing methodology, then press the same button on the left earphone by holding it till you hear sound. All this pairing only takes a few seconds. I’ve tried pairing these with 6 transmitter/DAC combinations, some with aptX and some without, here are the results:

• GO V2 with Avantree BTTC-200 (not aptX, Bluetooth 2.1, but was my best sounding Bluetooth transmitter on previous pairings): it’s plagued with dropouts of the left channel. I think the latency may be too high for the processing capability on the Bluetooth receiver and transmitter in the right earphone.
• Dell Vostro laptop (not aptX): dropouts were less frequent, sound a bit thin.
• GO V2 with Avantree BTTC-200 (not aptX, Bluetooth 2.1): unlistenable, inconsistent signal with dropouts with any movement of the head. Sound lacked body, sounding like a crushed tin box and not in a good Radiohead kind of way.
• GO V2 with Aukey BTTC transmitter (aptX low latency): connection strength varies greatly, one day whilst listening to Adele on Tidal I had good sound and infrequent dropouts, another day whilst listening to Bandcamp it was constantly dropping out and near unlistenable
• Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (not aptX, Bluetooth 3.0, haven’t previously liked how it sounds in Bluetooth): constant connection dropouts, unlistenable
• Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with Aukey BTTC (aptX low latency): constant connection dropouts, unlistenable

 
There is an interesting article by LJokerL up on his blog “the headphone list.” I think I would put this article in required reading for anyone considering getting a Bluetooth headphone. The following sentences provide a summary. A2DP is the profile that is used to play music. Without aptX, the maximum quality will be similar to a 320kbps mp3 using the SBC codec that is included in all Bluetooth devices. There are also headset and hands-free profiles, but these default to low quality mono. After Bluetooth 2.1, audio quality on SBC is exactly the same, so some older transmitters and receivers may sound better than newer ones, it is all down to SBC implementation. This is why my Avantree Bluetooth device usually sounds better than my Aukey even when the Aukey is using aptX and the Avantree is using SBC. AptX streams in near CD quality sound, and has versions that improve latency, which can lead to better lipsyncing in movie and game functions.
 
I found that the better the amplification my source had, the less chance of dropouts I had. The GO V2 consistently had the most stable stream, and also had the highest power headphone out. The worst connection I had was with my Galaxy Note 2 (with or without aptX dongle) which has a weak headphone out, and generally poor Bluetooth performance. When I took the Note 2 out for a walk with the Syllable D900S, it was unlistenable. I had constant signal dropouts, especially on the left earphone. The signal was so poor the wind blowing in anything more than the gentlest of breezes was causing dropouts. After 15 minutes of this on two separate walks running errands for my daughter’s 1^st birthday party I gave up and put the headphones back in my bag. The sound of the high street traffic was more pleasant than the constant cut-outs I was getting. When I switched to using the aptX dongle from the Note 2 headphone out on my second walk, there was no improvement.
 
The Syllable D900S only comes with two sets of floppy weird shaped silicone triple flange tips. The nozzle on the headphones is oval, but I found that using other tips did work, so make sure you have some other tips on hand that fit your ears well. I couldn’t get a perfect fit for the gym-rat purpose of these headphones with the stock tips. The smaller set of tips don’t give me a good seal, so the sound is thin, with hollowed out mids and a lack of impact, but I can jump up and down and shake my head from side to side pretending that I’m in Flashdance—What a FEELING! When I switch over to the bigger tips, the seal improves, but the fit is less secure. If I move full on Footloose, my left earbud will be flying out this joint. No Kenny Loggins for me. Everyone will have different shaped ear canals, but given the limited number of options on these, fit may be a problem for many users. If you just want to take these for a walk, you may be fine, given a very good Bluetooth source, but going for a vigorous up and downhill run, or playing a game of tennis and you’ll be picking up the plastic shells off the ground in no time. I think lateral movement will be more of a problem with the stock tips.
 
Speaking of those shells, they are ginormous! They are very light, but because of their size simple leverage makes the tips prone to loosening in my ears—this ascribes to the fit issues I’ve been experiencing. The size of the IEMs is understandable, as within the right shell there has to be a battery a Bluetooth receiver, a Bluetooth transmitter, and some form of signal amplification, which is one more component than most Bluetooth headphones require in that they use a cable to connect the individual earphones. Many Bluetooth in-ear headphones are large, but these are larger than large. They are robotic suits in a boy band music video large. They are Bill Murray with an elephant buddy large.
 
 
One thing that is sadly lacking on these is volume controls. Not all tracks are at the same volume, and if you are running on a treadmill you really don’t want to have to change settings on your phone or Bluetooth enabled DAP. Depending on where you have your audio player, this might not even be possible. I'm not convinced of the benefits of completely doing away with wires, if you do away with all the advantages they present.
 
I would say that the 10m range listed on these is an utter fabrication or just a repetition of what CSR says on their chip specification. I had problems with drop-outs at less than 1 metre away from my source, walking a five meters away with the door open from my office gave me consistent drop-outs. The 10m range is likely ideal and not real world performance.
 
Overall, the headphone gives the impression of a headphone that had some testing in ideal circumstances, and insufficient beta testing out on the street. How can a sports headphone be unable to take movement or a gust of wind without drop-outs with the included tips?
 
After reading @B9Scramblers's review, I tried using different tips. I took the tips off of the 1MORE EO323 and to my surprise they fit fine, and the oval nozzle wasn't a problem. In fact, different tips appeared to increase stability of the headphone. Version three of these needs to use standard tips and a more ear shaped earpiece, as @B9Scrambler says in his review. I think that these headphones are incredibly sensitive to movement of the headphone. If the headphone shakes around much, like when they weren't very secure outside in the wind, they drop signal. When the headphone is secure, it doesn't vibrate much in the ear, and is less likely to drop. Better fit improves the sound a little bit too, the mids are more present, but the signature is still lacking in detail. Watch out when you remove them from your ears, though, as using non-stock tips, the tip is more likely to come off. I found that the 1MORE tips loosened and pulled to the end of the nozzle. In the next version of this, the nozzle needs to be round to allow easier use of tips.
 
An improvement that I would make to the design is to distribute some of the internal machinery into a pair of built-in ear-hooks. Move the Bluetooth receiver for each headphone into a robust earhook. The wires of the earhook could have data transmission functions as well as form functions. This would reduce the bulk of the IEM that is in the ear, and would enhance stability. These changes would change how the charging port would need to be arranged and force redesign of the charging case. I think the benefits would outweigh the costs, though. Another option would be to just shrink the shell. I think some of the size is to make manufacturing easier. I'd rather have a little bit harder manufacturing and a lot more stable product.
 
 

Audio quality

The audio quality is hard to define. It ranges from pretty good to bag of dead cats. I would think that a bag of dead cats would be considered universally bad. The problem is that I can’t keep a constant enough signal in most usage to get to hear the sound well.
 
When I have strong signal, the sound is a bit thin in the mids, and lacking emphasis in the bass. There are rare bits of treble harshness on some sharper violins, but it is minor. In general, these sound pretty balanced, but they probably would have benefitted from better amplification at the IEM. Overall, these sound good, with an average soundstage and fairly neutral presentation. Many folks will want more bass for a sport IEM, so the tuning might not fit the market these are aiming for. As I had difficulty establishing signal much of the time, I didn’t give these as much listening time as I do for most of my reviews.
 
When compared to the Ausdom M05, these are worse in every way. The Ausdom sounds engaging and full-bodied. The Syllable D900S is thin. The Ausdom fits me comfortably, the Syllable is hard to get a secure fit with stock tips and inflexible. The Ausdom has excellent Bluetooth range and had no problems with dropouts on the same transmitters. Sound out of the Ausdom sounds CD quality, sound out of the Syllable does not. The Ausdom M05 are very lively with a 3-dimensional soundstage, more bass, and more treble. I prefer the sound of the Ausdom M05 and it has rock solid Bluetooth performance, and controls on the headphone. If choosing between the two, I’d buy the M05 every time. The M05 is also more stable on the head, so you might actually be able to go for a run with it. In fact, I know a reviewer who did.

 

Conclusions

If the signal and fit issues weren’t so terrible for me, I would still be a bit torn on recommending these on sound quality. They have a mostly neutral presentation. Mids sound a bit thin, and bass and drums could use a more impact, but for $50 with the coupon code LHSY on Gearbest, these would be considered, if the signal wasn’t terrible. These are a decent sounding Bluetooth in-ear.
 
However, I struggled to get a good signal on these headphones, and the shells are so huge that they had to design custom tips that only come in two sizes and will likely not fit many people. I had trouble keeping these stable in ear and constantly felt like they were going to come out. My ear canal size is likely in between the two tip sizes provided, as I didn’t get enough bass and the mids sounded hollowed out with the small tips, but the headphones weren’t secure with the larger tips. I’m not going to be alone on this.
 
Overall, I found these very disappointing, which is why I’ve given them such a low rating. Most of the time I rate about 70% sound and 30% everything else, but in the case of these the everything else was bad enough that I couldn’t enjoy the audio quality from these. This problem has made the rating flip for me. I feel like I might be rating a bit generous at 2 stars. Other folks may not have the fit or signal issues that I did. I imagine that it will vary by your ear canal size and by the capabilities of your Bluetooth transmitter, but I will say this is the first time that I’ve experienced problems with my transmitters in 4 reviews of Bluetooth headphones. Maybe your fruit laden or confectionary themed cellular device will have better luck than my dongles and DAPs, but I wouldn’t bet heavily on that outcome.

Greetings Head-fi!
 
Today we are going to be taking a look at something a little different, the Syllable D900S.
 
The D900S is a pair of fully wireless in-ear earphones and a revision of Syllable's original version, the D900. In the 14+ hours I've put into them over the last week, I've found them to offer up a unique and pleasant experience, but not without some incident. If you are looking for a solid pair of Bluetooth earphones, the D900S may be worth your time.
 
Disclaimer:
 
The D900S was provided courtesy of George from GearBest in exchange for a fair and impartial review. I do not receive any financial compensation and the D900S remains property of Gearbest. All thoughts within this review are my own and are not reflective of GearBest or Syllable. Thank you George for the opportunity to review the D900S.
 
EDIT: I may update this review again in the near future after spending more time with the D900S on other sources, and in direct comparison to some other Bluetooth offerings. I feel that a week is not quite enough time to get a complete picture of a product like this.
 
EDIT (28-mar-2017): After having owned these now for an extended period I've decided to drop the rating to 2.5 stars. Compared to other Bluetooth offerings like the ADVANCED Evo-X and SoundPEATS Q16, and even a number of other less expensive options, the D900s' lacklustre connection quality really stands out and runis the experience. They can still be an enjoyable listen, but have too many problems to make them recommendable. If they gets sorted in a future revision, they'd be worth a buy.
 
Purchasing:
 
The D900S is currently available for purchase through GearBest. Just follow this link to check it out;
 
http://www.gearbest.com/sports-fitness-headphones/pp_345581.html
 
Their current price is listed at 102.38 USD. Promotion code LHSY drops the price to 60.49 USD which I think is quite fair.
 
A Little About Me:
 
Over the last couple years I decided to dive head first into the world of portable audio. After reading pretty much the entirety of IjokerI's multi-earphone review thread and being greatly inspired, I took a chance and started writing my own reviews. Fast forward a couple years and I've had the opportunity to write about some great products for wonderful companies like RHA, Havi, FiiO, NarMoo, Brainwavz, and Meze. I don't do it for money or free stuff, but because I enjoy it. If my reviews can help guide someone to an earphone that makes them happy, I'll consider that a job well done.
 
The gear used for testing is pretty basic composing of an HTC One M8 cellphone and my old Samsung Nexus S. I listen primarily to various EDM sub-genres (liquid drum and bass, breakbeat, drumstep, etc.), hip hop, and classic rock. When it comes to earphone preferences I tend to leans towards aggressive and bassy, but I try not to limit myself to one signature only. I also tend to listen at lower than average volumes.
 
Enough preamble. Let us dive into the good stuff shall we?
 

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Packaging, Features, Charging, and Accessories:
 
The D900S comes in what I think is pretty nice packaging. The front contains an image of a fine young gentleman immersed in sound, along with some logos and branding. The rear contains an image of the D900S and it's charging station, outlining a few key features. Overall nice to look at, though the translations could use some work.
 
Open the very solid cardboard box and you're greeted by the D900S tucked safely inside their charging station. The station is bordered by two simple cardboard cutouts that hold it in place. The remainder of the box is occupied by another smaller box containing the instruction manual and remaining accessories.
 
The D900S comes with the smaller of the two provided dual-flange tips installed. The larger pair is tucked away in a resealable plastic bag along with the tether used to link the two buds together. Also included is a micro-usb charging cable and a simple velvet-textured pouch.
 
Underneath it all lies a quick start guide outlining the most basic steps needed to get going; how to turn on the D900S, pair it to your device, engage stereo sound, and basic troubleshooting.
 
This is a fairly feature-rich product; Bluetooth 4.0, APTX, IPX4 water resistance, fully-wireless, wireless charging station, 4 hours play time with 25-30 minutes charge time (2 hours using the charging station), and more. The list is lengthily though they don't offer up media controls beyond starting and stopping music.
 
As a special note, I must mention that the instruction manual needs some work. It DOES NOT make clear that the 20-30 minute charge is achieved only when the case is plugged in via the included USB. I was getting maybe two hours of use and was wondering what was up. Only when I went to Syllable's primary website did I realize that the case alone charges in two hours (troubleshooting recommends three hours charge time if the headset dies during use). Once I figured out what I was doing wrong, they hit their 4 hours play time claim with ease.
 

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Build, Design, and Comfort:
 
Syllable touts the D900S as "Comfortable, like wearing nothing. They fit your ear stably and light in weight." I certainly found them light and pretty comfortable, but they never disappeared and were not quite as stable as I was hoping. I found myself fiddling with them non-stop trying to regain a good seal. There was also a fair bit of driver flex in the right bud. Crinkling can get pretty tiresome after adjusting them for the umpteenth time and I'm afraid it might damage the driver eventually.
 
The all-plastic design is very-lightweight, something I was concerned about given they are a fairly large earphone. While light, the plastic used also looks low-rent; I levy this criticism primarily at the buttons on the earpieces themselves. The colors look washed out and a little off. The white-ish outline houses blue LEDs and looks nice when lit, but otherwise they look a little cheap. The buttons also rattle around, most notable in the left-earpiece where even a slight tilt of the head is enough to cause the button to shift. On the other hand, they do look cool when on and in use as every once in a while the outline will glow a nice shade of blue.
 
The large housing tapers down into a very slim nozzle that can accommodate a wide variety of tips if the stock ones aren't working for you. I tried a number of options, but ended up going back to the smaller of the two provided. The included tips do not seal outside noise out overly well, but they did offer me the best sound and comfort which I find more important than isolation.
 
Overall the design is nicely thought out and the buttons on the housings easy to locate and press. With some minor tweaks to ergonomics, such as shaping them more like a a typical outer ear, these would be very stable and comfortable.
 

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Connection Quality:
 
While for the most part the D900S provided a stable Bluetooth connection, it did stumble here and there.
 
Pairing was as easy as could be expected for a fully wireless device;
1. turn on your device's Bluetooth and search for available connections
2. on the D900S, hold down the button on the right earpiece until it was cycling between red and blue
3. locate the D900S on your device and select it
4. adding in stereo sound was as simple as turning on the left earpiece by holding down the button
 
Once connected, I found that for the first few minutes the left earpiece would fade in and out as it gained and lost connection. After a few rounds of this it would be stable for around an hour or so of listening before it would fade in and out again for another few cycles. I also had the left ear piece break connection with the right once, but this ended up resolving itself. Annoying but manageable.
 
Also annoying was that if I placed my phone in my left pants pocket the right ear piece would routinely lose connection, forcing me to move the phone to my right pocket where the connection would remain stable. As a lefty this was a royal pain because the right bud is the primary. Even after a week of non-stop use I can't get used to leaving my phone in my right pocket. Connection would also suffer if I set the phone on my left on my desk, forcing me to set it in front of me, or to the right. Maybe I'm being picky...
 
Range is listed as 10 meters. In an uninterrupted straight line, yes, that seems about right. Start adding in obstructions, such as a thin wall or corner and expect that to start reducing pretty rapidly. If you are one to connect to a device and leave it broadcasting from a central location while you walk around, you may be a little disappointed.
 
Call Quality:
 
Overall my experiences with calls was positive, but again with a few caveats.
 
Answering and hanging up calls worked fine. A quick press to answer and a quick press to hang up. Perfect.
 
Callers found me clear and easy to understand, but quiet. Raising my voice a bit resolved that issue. Occasionally they would ask me to repeat myself, stating it sounded like they were speaking to someone at a drive-through. Waiting a moment before speaking again seemed to be the only way around this.
 
I was very impressed with the D900S' ability to filter out external noise. Here they performed beyond my wildest expectations. To simulate walking around in high winds, I sat about two feet in front of a fan on full blast. My caller didn't have a clue. No wind noise at all regardless of the angle it was hitting me at. WHAT?! Now that's pretty damn impressive.
 

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Sound Quality:
 
So far my experience with the D900S has been pretty hit and miss. Luckily, they output an enjoyably warm, v-shaped sound, albeit lacking a bit in detail and clarity. Still they sounded much better than I expected when I had a good seal.
 
Treble extends pretty well and overall is very inoffensive. It can be harsh at the high volumes the D900S achieves, but you really shouldn't be listening at those volumes anyway. Mids are clear and natural and have good presence despite being set slightly behind the rest of the signature. I especially like how female vocals are presented, such as on Massive Attack's Teardrop. Elizabeth Fraser sounds lovely. Bass comes along slow and steady, presenting itself in a very robust manner. On first listen with one of SubSil3nt's drum and bass mixes, I was taken aback by their low end and just how prominent it was. Despite this there is little interference with the mids. The D900S doesn't offer up basshead quantities of bass, but it's far more than neutral and well controlled.
 
The D900S does not image well, or much at all really. This was a bit of a disappointment especially with Infected Mushroom tracks which usually have an unusual amount of depth and space for electronic music. You get left, right, and centre with little indication that there is anything between these three spaces. At least the D900S sounds spacious and avoids congestion; almost a cross between an earbud and earphone actually.
 
Overall the D900S treats your ears to a well-tuned, warm and bassy sound that should please most users not looking for tons of detail.
 
Overall Thoughts:
 
Despite minor annoyances here and there, the D900S remains a solid product. It is by no means perfect, but it's also far from bad.
 
The portable charging station is an awesome feature and probably my favorite thing about them. Getting six charges out of it is awesome. At around four hours of listening per charge, you can easily take them traveling for a weekend and leave any cables at home. Since they're pretty compact, they make for a great traveling companion. Drop them in the provided carrying pouch and toss them in your bag or pocket and you're good to go for the day. Improved isolation would be nice, but I suppose it's safer to not be deaf to what's going on around you.
 
There are a couple items on my wishlist for the next revision or successor, the first and most important being to further improve connection strength. It's not horrible by any means, but it would be nice to have to worry less about where your device is in relation to the right earpiece. Next up is to alter ergonomics. Updating the housing to be a little narrower and less bulbous would go a long way towards improving fit and stability. Comfort is already great and they would probably disappear in your ears if they would more consistently seal well.
 
Despite it's flaws, I like the D900S. It sounds good, it has character, and it's unique. Plus, you look like a Cyberman with them sticking out of your head.
 
Thanks for reading!
 
- B9Scrambler

 
 
The Syllable D900S is a really Innovative and truly wireless Earbuds design that eliminates ALL the Wires. Typically with Bluetooth Earphones, you'd expect the earphones to be connected by a wire which essentially has a Control Pad inline. However, that's not the case here. We have The Earpieces completely separated from each other. You can use One or Both of them at any give point. Only Caveat is that the Right Ear unit is the dominant one.

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS -

 
Essentially, The pair came in a somewhat Drab package.The Colors are not very appealing and look faded. The Specs are in English and Chinese on the back. Not very detailed but they convey the main message.The same specs are on the Guide inside. The QR Code takes you to Syllable's Website. Inside the Package we have

 

1. The Pair in Transparent Dock/Box
2. User Manual in 5 Languages
3. Quick Start Guide
4. USB to MicroUSB Charging Cable
5. Cloth Carrying Case.
6. Lanyard string to attach to the two units.

 
The User Manual is not very intuitive and detailed. It gives basic information on Charging and pairing. So too the Quick Start Guide so to speak. The Dock gave me a hard time to open the First time.
 
NOTE- Please note, there is a very thin plastic film on the Charging pins of individual Earbuds. Its difficult to see unless you know its there. You must remove it once you unpack everything.
 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS -

 
Given bellow are key Technical Specs. For a detailed list of specifications, please review manufacturer's website.

 

BLUETOOTH -

 
Bluetooth version - v4.0
Range - 10 meters
Transmission power - Not specified.
Impedance  - 16 Ohms
 

BATTERY -

 
Battery Capacity - 65 mAh
Standby time - 90 Hours
Music/ Audio Playback time - 4 Hours
Charge time - Dock 2 Hours. Earbuds 30 minutes
 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS -

 
Each earbud has a multipurpose button. That is used for Power ON/OFF, play START/STOP and call related functions.The white border along the periphery of the earbud actually is the LED indicator.It too is multi colored multi purpose. Its used in Pairing, charging and battery level indication. The rubber piece of the earbud is more like a cap that sits at the end of the earbud. It has a arched hook that helps the bud sit in the ear very well.

 

Pairing -

 
This is one area that's bit unique. Per the instruction manual, you are supposed to pair the right earbud first with your phone. The way you do this, is by powering on the earbud and then keep the button pressed until the indicator blinks red. At this point it is discoverable on the phone as Syllable Bud. Once that is paired, you are supposed to pair the 2 earbuds with each other. However this is the step that causes a lot of confusion and issues. Most commonly I ended up getting sound only in right bud and not left one. Eventually I found this Youtube Video that helped a lot. It turns out, in order for the 2 buds to pair with each other, you have to power them on simultaneously and hold on to the power button until both have the LEDs blinking red. Well, the right led blinks Green first before blinking red, so you need to wait till it blinks red. This step right here is dramatically different from the predecessor D900. Once the two are paired to each other, you can go back to the phone and just hit connect for the Earbud. That will get Stereo sound. 

 

Charging -

 
One point that needs to be noted  is about charging.The Dock/box is an intelligent Charger. It happens to have its own battery that charges the Earbuds. When plugged in, the battery within the box is charged. There are 3 blue indicator lights on the box that indicate level of charge for the battery in the box. The earbuds too have their own indicator ring along the periphery. That indicates if the buds are fully charged or not. The Dock takes about 2 hours to fully charge with a USB connection. The earbuds take about 30 to 40 minutes.
 

Performance -

 
Where performance is concerned, the primary thing I noticed is the short leash. The buds can only be barely 4 to 5 Meters away. In Particular the Right one. It start to cut out beyond that range. If Right one cuts out then left one sympathetically cuts out.   As far as Battery Life is concerned, I found that it lasted beyond Specified life of 4 Hours. In my cast it lasted about 5 & 1/2 to 6 hours.  I tried using intermitantly with standby times in between. But then too it was same 4 &1/2 to 5 hour playback time. I did not try to use them as Bluetooth earpiece for calls. Volume overall is pretty loud for such a tiny device.
 
N'SYNC - BYE BYE BYE
 
The vocals were reproduced about right. No complaints.
 
Eminem - Not Afraid
 
Eminem's Voice was reproduced pretty well, I suspect, the beats weren't as well.
 
Fallout boy - Thanks for the Memories
 
Better Reproduction.  Vocal frequencies are really well reproduced.
 
Flo Rida - Right Round
 
Music seemed bit subdued Vocals were really nice.
 
ColdPlay - Viva la vida
 
Similar experience as that of other songs. 
 
If someone wants me to try out a specific song, feel free.
 
Footnote - I got my Pair on Amazon. Item Link
FootNote 2 - My Right Earbud Refused to Charge after 2 weeks of getting them. It would not charge no matter where I plugged in.