Wow. There doesn’t seem to be a more appropriate way to word the beginning of this review, than to simply express my genuine surprise, and indeed – to a certain extent – admiration of the UMi Voix Blu headphone, which I’ve had the honor to test the prototype for during the last month, at UMi’s request. I would actually go so far as to say that the Voix Blu headset has the potential to disrupt the headphone community more than any headphone has done for the last few years. However, whether it will or not is something I strongly encourage you to read on in order to arrive at your own conclusion about.
Audiophile or not, the first thing that’s going to strike you about the UMi Voix Blu is that, boy, is this headphone gracefully clean or what. The matte snow-white design of the Blu’s headband together with the matte pitch-black style of the cushioned ear-pad speakers creates a nice distinct ”Stormtrooper look”. This simplistic design continues with a nice shade of industrial grey on the rubberized inside of the headband, and is really shown in the minimalistic remote control hub positioned on the right driver capsule, at the end of the headband.
Once you get the headphone out of it’s simple, cheap *cough*, and sadly not particularly exciting packaging, you are going to feel that whatever quality the packing may lack, it is more than compensated by the genuine premium feel of the headphone itself. While the Voix Blu feels sturdy and solid, – primarily due to the rubberized inside of the headband and qualitative polycarbonate-fiber frame for it’s outside -, the headphone is astonishingly light for a stereo headset, coming in at just 125 grams – which means the entire headphone unit weighs in at less than the iPhone 5C!
The remote control hub is surprisingly elegant and straightforward for a Chinese headset priced below $50. It is dominated by a central circular play/pause button, which also doubles as a power/connect button. This button is in turn surrounded by a thin transparent plastic ring, through which an integrated LED flashes to inform the wearer of the headset’s status, e.g. powered on, ready to pair to device, powered off, charging or connected. Around this LED circle, there’s an upper portion of two controls, in charge of lowering/raising the volume, and a lower portion of two controls for rewinding/skipping songs. The buttons feel durable, and have a satisfying ”click” – supposed you actually press down right on the ”-”, ”+”, ”<” or ”>” symbol, since the headset – understandably – seems to struggle with registering clicks on the fringe of the controls.
![center]](http://ninjateched.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/IMG_2477.png[center][/center])
One surprising, albeit welcome, feature of the UMi Voix Blu is that the entire polycarbonate fiber frame is designed to allow an active, portable lifestyle. This is partly why the headset is so light, but this unique way in which the fiber frame is composed also makes the headset ultra-flexible, besides just being light – which simply means that this headphone can flex about as much as you can twist or bend it. I think it’s impossible to snap the headband by mistake, and you can simply forget about accidentally breaking this headphone by sitting on it. Ain’t gonna happen.
(However, I must add, that if you happen to be stupid tech journalist who has got to test exactly how much pressure the Voix Blu can withstand without snapping, you might end up with a small crack right at the apex of the white plastic headband. This happened to me just as I was finishing up this review, and I want to clearly state that although you can obviously damage this headset, it took an excessive amount of force. It was also not in any way UMi’s fault, as they could not possibly had expected someone to be foolish enough to see where the headband objected.)
The UMi Voix Blu utilizes a Bluetooth 4.0 connection to pair to your preferred device, which means that this wireless connection can handle pretty much whatever you throw at it. I’ve also tried to pair it to older devices that use Bluetooth 2.0, and this works like a charm. The Bluetooth 4.0 connection is also surprisingly stable – the marketing for the UMi Voix Blu touts that it’s got a 10 meter wireless range, and I would actually daresay the real world performance is even better. I can move around the entire lower floor of my house without losing the connection, even if my phone is sitting, charging, in the far corner of my closed room. The unit also supports NFC, for those Android owners who prefer to connect that way. Basically, the wireless technology in this headphone is excellent.
However, a wireless headset is only as good as it’s battery capacity, as anyone who’s ever tries a pair of Bluetooth headphones will know, and this is frequently an area of concern when making the move to wireless drivers. The Voix Blu, though, continue to pleasantly surprise, delivering audio for one or two hours over the advertised capacity of 10 hours, totaling at around 12 hours. Charging the Voix Blu, when the internal rechargeable battery is finally depleted, is also hassle free. There’s an USB to Mini-USB charging cable included, and the Voix Blu manages a full charge in about 2.5 hours.
The Voix Blu also uses passive noise cancellation, which means that you’ll still hear some background sound, but still be immersed in the music – without becoming completely isolated from surrounding audial imputs.
I am going to be brief on this topic, as I know audio can be an area where personal preferences greatly affect your attitude. However, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way – the actual audio in this headset is not breathtaking, staggering, or revolutionary in any way. The audio is certainly clear enough, features adequate mids, high and lows, and can even throw in some somewhat booming bass time to time. Most of the time though, the audio is quite ”cold”, so to speak – it never gets warm, emotional or distracting, which can be both good and bad. The headset is also a bit prone to audio leakage, and although it never gets that bad at a medium volume, people around you definitely hear what your playing if you raise the volume quite a bit. It should although be noted that despite this the audio projected into your ears remains very clear, and can easily bring out all of the intricate parts of a song that cheap handsets traditionally struggle with. And perhaps I am being a bit too harsh on the UMi Voix Blu – this is after all headphones for about $50, and I’m simply stating that it doesn’t have the same quality as a $100, or even $200 headset – it is still an amazing bargain at $49.
In conclusion then, if I’m perfectly honest I’d say the audio is just about average – it is not in anyway outright bad, but an audiophile is going to want more than the Voix Blu can offer. However, this is where it get’s interesting – because even if the Blu does not have a sound quality that caters to the audiophile segment of the market, neither does any other Bluetooth headphones on the market. If you choose the portability of a pair of wireless headphones, you are clearly not in it for remarkable audio quality.
If you keep this in mind, the UMi Voix Blu quickly becomes a more and more attractive offer. To reiterate, audiophiles are not the market for the Voix Blu, so sound quality is less of an issue. Sure, a normal guy could spend a lot more money on a couple of Bluetooth earphones that might sound better, but they would not sound a lot better, as the real limitations on wireless devices’ sound quality come from the Bluetooth connection. This makes the cheaper, but very capable Voix Blu look even better by comparison. The more I think about this, the more I see the elegant logic behind how UMi is positioning the Blu.
If we think about it, Bluetooth headphones should be all about portability – that is after all, at the core of it, why they are wireless to begin with. However, a lot of Bluetooth headsets try to pack a lot of features, cutting-edge technologies and premium materials in the same enclose, which is also designed to look good (aka expensive). While they typically manage these parts quite well, this also means that the headphones usually become fragile – which means you have got to be careful with them.
Now if we reflect over this for a minute, we see that it makes very little sense. If a device is supposed to be all about portability, it is a severely limiting and counterproductive move to manufacture portable products that are so delicate as today’s flagship headsets. The Voix Blu, however, stays true to this original thought about portability – and therefore the Voix Blu is designed to be twisted, dropped, sat on, thrown, and generally abused without quitting, or even complaining. The Voix Blu is also compatible with a huge array of devices – virtually anything with Bluetooth capabilities is able to connect to it. Hell, I bet my old laptop from the early 2000s could connect to this sucker.
Besides featuring both great durability and connectivity, it is very affordably priced. I don’t know whether UMi is trying to build up a loyal fanbase by offering such a versatile headset at this low price-point, or if they simply don’t have very competent people in charge of pricing – but whatever the reason, I’m loving it.
The Blu is about the perfect device for someone who is just trying out their first Bluetooth headset, and being so easy to use as well as so affordable, it has all the makings of a product that could very well see widespread general adoption. Actually come to think of it, a lot of things about the UMi Voix Blu is reminding me about a pair of cheaply priced IEMs I reviewed a couple of years ago on Head-Fi – the Xiaomi Pistons 2. After this, they exploded in popularity, and with more and more smartwatches coming out that are more and more competent (I’m especially thinking of the Apple Watch, but also the upcoming 2015 Moto 360), the popularity of wireless Bluetooth headsets is about to rocket. Whether or not the UMi Voix Blu is the cataclysm that will trigger this, I don’t know. All I know is that I certainly wouldn’t mind if it was.
The UMi Voix Blu is available to purchase on Amazon, at “http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010N4Y288″, or on Coolicool at “http://www.coolicool.com/umi-voix-blu-wireless-bluetooth-headset-support-hands-free-with-mic-for-smartphones-computer-and-tab-g-40810″.
Design & Build
Audiophile or not, the first thing that’s going to strike you about the UMi Voix Blu is that, boy, is this headphone gracefully clean or what. The matte snow-white design of the Blu’s headband together with the matte pitch-black style of the cushioned ear-pad speakers creates a nice distinct ”Stormtrooper look”. This simplistic design continues with a nice shade of industrial grey on the rubberized inside of the headband, and is really shown in the minimalistic remote control hub positioned on the right driver capsule, at the end of the headband.
Once you get the headphone out of it’s simple, cheap *cough*, and sadly not particularly exciting packaging, you are going to feel that whatever quality the packing may lack, it is more than compensated by the genuine premium feel of the headphone itself. While the Voix Blu feels sturdy and solid, – primarily due to the rubberized inside of the headband and qualitative polycarbonate-fiber frame for it’s outside -, the headphone is astonishingly light for a stereo headset, coming in at just 125 grams – which means the entire headphone unit weighs in at less than the iPhone 5C!
The remote control hub is surprisingly elegant and straightforward for a Chinese headset priced below $50. It is dominated by a central circular play/pause button, which also doubles as a power/connect button. This button is in turn surrounded by a thin transparent plastic ring, through which an integrated LED flashes to inform the wearer of the headset’s status, e.g. powered on, ready to pair to device, powered off, charging or connected. Around this LED circle, there’s an upper portion of two controls, in charge of lowering/raising the volume, and a lower portion of two controls for rewinding/skipping songs. The buttons feel durable, and have a satisfying ”click” – supposed you actually press down right on the ”-”, ”+”, ”<” or ”>” symbol, since the headset – understandably – seems to struggle with registering clicks on the fringe of the controls.
One surprising, albeit welcome, feature of the UMi Voix Blu is that the entire polycarbonate fiber frame is designed to allow an active, portable lifestyle. This is partly why the headset is so light, but this unique way in which the fiber frame is composed also makes the headset ultra-flexible, besides just being light – which simply means that this headphone can flex about as much as you can twist or bend it. I think it’s impossible to snap the headband by mistake, and you can simply forget about accidentally breaking this headphone by sitting on it. Ain’t gonna happen.
(However, I must add, that if you happen to be stupid tech journalist who has got to test exactly how much pressure the Voix Blu can withstand without snapping, you might end up with a small crack right at the apex of the white plastic headband. This happened to me just as I was finishing up this review, and I want to clearly state that although you can obviously damage this headset, it took an excessive amount of force. It was also not in any way UMi’s fault, as they could not possibly had expected someone to be foolish enough to see where the headband objected.)
Technology
The UMi Voix Blu utilizes a Bluetooth 4.0 connection to pair to your preferred device, which means that this wireless connection can handle pretty much whatever you throw at it. I’ve also tried to pair it to older devices that use Bluetooth 2.0, and this works like a charm. The Bluetooth 4.0 connection is also surprisingly stable – the marketing for the UMi Voix Blu touts that it’s got a 10 meter wireless range, and I would actually daresay the real world performance is even better. I can move around the entire lower floor of my house without losing the connection, even if my phone is sitting, charging, in the far corner of my closed room. The unit also supports NFC, for those Android owners who prefer to connect that way. Basically, the wireless technology in this headphone is excellent.However, a wireless headset is only as good as it’s battery capacity, as anyone who’s ever tries a pair of Bluetooth headphones will know, and this is frequently an area of concern when making the move to wireless drivers. The Voix Blu, though, continue to pleasantly surprise, delivering audio for one or two hours over the advertised capacity of 10 hours, totaling at around 12 hours. Charging the Voix Blu, when the internal rechargeable battery is finally depleted, is also hassle free. There’s an USB to Mini-USB charging cable included, and the Voix Blu manages a full charge in about 2.5 hours.
The Voix Blu also uses passive noise cancellation, which means that you’ll still hear some background sound, but still be immersed in the music – without becoming completely isolated from surrounding audial imputs.
Audio
I am going to be brief on this topic, as I know audio can be an area where personal preferences greatly affect your attitude. However, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way – the actual audio in this headset is not breathtaking, staggering, or revolutionary in any way. The audio is certainly clear enough, features adequate mids, high and lows, and can even throw in some somewhat booming bass time to time. Most of the time though, the audio is quite ”cold”, so to speak – it never gets warm, emotional or distracting, which can be both good and bad. The headset is also a bit prone to audio leakage, and although it never gets that bad at a medium volume, people around you definitely hear what your playing if you raise the volume quite a bit. It should although be noted that despite this the audio projected into your ears remains very clear, and can easily bring out all of the intricate parts of a song that cheap handsets traditionally struggle with. And perhaps I am being a bit too harsh on the UMi Voix Blu – this is after all headphones for about $50, and I’m simply stating that it doesn’t have the same quality as a $100, or even $200 headset – it is still an amazing bargain at $49.
In conclusion then, if I’m perfectly honest I’d say the audio is just about average – it is not in anyway outright bad, but an audiophile is going to want more than the Voix Blu can offer. However, this is where it get’s interesting – because even if the Blu does not have a sound quality that caters to the audiophile segment of the market, neither does any other Bluetooth headphones on the market. If you choose the portability of a pair of wireless headphones, you are clearly not in it for remarkable audio quality.
Analysis
If you keep this in mind, the UMi Voix Blu quickly becomes a more and more attractive offer. To reiterate, audiophiles are not the market for the Voix Blu, so sound quality is less of an issue. Sure, a normal guy could spend a lot more money on a couple of Bluetooth earphones that might sound better, but they would not sound a lot better, as the real limitations on wireless devices’ sound quality come from the Bluetooth connection. This makes the cheaper, but very capable Voix Blu look even better by comparison. The more I think about this, the more I see the elegant logic behind how UMi is positioning the Blu.
If we think about it, Bluetooth headphones should be all about portability – that is after all, at the core of it, why they are wireless to begin with. However, a lot of Bluetooth headsets try to pack a lot of features, cutting-edge technologies and premium materials in the same enclose, which is also designed to look good (aka expensive). While they typically manage these parts quite well, this also means that the headphones usually become fragile – which means you have got to be careful with them.
Now if we reflect over this for a minute, we see that it makes very little sense. If a device is supposed to be all about portability, it is a severely limiting and counterproductive move to manufacture portable products that are so delicate as today’s flagship headsets. The Voix Blu, however, stays true to this original thought about portability – and therefore the Voix Blu is designed to be twisted, dropped, sat on, thrown, and generally abused without quitting, or even complaining. The Voix Blu is also compatible with a huge array of devices – virtually anything with Bluetooth capabilities is able to connect to it. Hell, I bet my old laptop from the early 2000s could connect to this sucker.
Besides featuring both great durability and connectivity, it is very affordably priced. I don’t know whether UMi is trying to build up a loyal fanbase by offering such a versatile headset at this low price-point, or if they simply don’t have very competent people in charge of pricing – but whatever the reason, I’m loving it.
Conclusion
The Blu is about the perfect device for someone who is just trying out their first Bluetooth headset, and being so easy to use as well as so affordable, it has all the makings of a product that could very well see widespread general adoption. Actually come to think of it, a lot of things about the UMi Voix Blu is reminding me about a pair of cheaply priced IEMs I reviewed a couple of years ago on Head-Fi – the Xiaomi Pistons 2. After this, they exploded in popularity, and with more and more smartwatches coming out that are more and more competent (I’m especially thinking of the Apple Watch, but also the upcoming 2015 Moto 360), the popularity of wireless Bluetooth headsets is about to rocket. Whether or not the UMi Voix Blu is the cataclysm that will trigger this, I don’t know. All I know is that I certainly wouldn’t mind if it was.The UMi Voix Blu is available to purchase on Amazon, at “http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010N4Y288″, or on Coolicool at “http://www.coolicool.com/umi-voix-blu-wireless-bluetooth-headset-support-hands-free-with-mic-for-smartphones-computer-and-tab-g-40810″.
Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010N4Y288
To2c: http://www.to2c.com/umi-voix-blu-bluetooth-wireless-headset.html
Coolicool: http://www.coolicool.com/umi-voix-blu-wireless-bluetooth-headset-support-hands-free-with-mic-for-smartphones-computer-and-tab-g-40810