Bluedio HT H-Turbine 57mm Driver BT Headphones review
Oct 3, 2014 at 1:45 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 207

viperxp

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Greetings All,
 
It is one of my first threads here, so please be easy on me with the comments :)
 
Well, this review will be dedicated to a very interesting BT on-ear headphones from Bluedio, the HT H-Turbine.
I got the item free for review from www.gearbest.com website. As I yet don't know all the rules of the forum, I will try to post as little links as possible, If you have any questions please pm me. English is not my mother tongue, but I will try to be as clear as possible.
 
 
Let's begin
 
Some clarifications....
My personal musical preference in headphones - is clarity, airiness, instrument separation and fast dynamic bass. My current favorite headphones are Koss TBSE1 and Koss KSC75. I had a couple of minutes with Sennheiser HD580 - and I liked them much. I owned Sennheiser PX100 and PX100 ii - I liked PX100 much better than PX100 ii, that I sold because of bloated, not clear bass and overall warm sound. I tell you that in order to let you understand my language when I describe these headphones - maybe if I tell that I like/dislike them - you will know what it tells for you.
 
Back to business...
 
Why the HT H-turbine???
 
1. The 57 mm driver feature impressed be when I read the specs, and I was very interested to know how it sounds. There are not much larger drivers headphones, and definitely not in HT's price range (less than 30$, at the time of writing of this review!!)
2. BT . These headphones can be used as regular headphones, and also as BT headphones with some interesting options, that I will try to describe later on.
3. I liked the looks of the headphones. Not too shouting, not too flashy ... The inside of the headband looks really good for my taste.
4. Price. Did I mention that these headphones cost less than 30$ ?
 
 
 
Part 1 - Physical
 


 

 
 

 

 
The headphones arrive in a large carton box. The box contains the headphones, user manual, 3.5-3.5 cable and charging cable. The box contains details about the headphones as well as anti-piracy sticker. Bluedio is actually a known Chinese brand and not some generic name. Hurricane, Turbine and shooting brake ... I guess it should sound cool ?
 

 
The cable feels pretty nice, looks like it's made from silicone.
 


 

 
 
Well .. here are they. The headphones are very light - you almost don't feel them on. For such headphones they don't heat the ears as much as I thought they would. The cushions are made from very very soft pleather, and create a seal when on. These are closed on-ear headphones. The pressure is not very strong, I had not problem having them on for a couple of hours.
There are many shining parts on these headphones - all is plastic, so .. don't think this is steel. I am not sure if these will survive the test of time.
The headband is comfortable, with cushion on the inside and outside. In front of the drivers there is only a thin cloth, not foam.
 


 
This is how they look like next to Sennheiser HD202 and Koss TBSE1. Note that the HT's are on-ear phones, while the others are over-the ear.
 
 
 
Part 2 - Features
 
Well, these are feature-rich headphones :)
 
1. The headphones can be used as regular wired headphones - without using the battery. The cable is a standard 3.5 jack cable, so you can use any other cable as well. These are very sensitive headphones, they got pretty loud even from Samsung Galaxy S2 phone. In order to get TBSE1's reasonable loud after these I needed to boost volume by 30%, if not more.
2. The headphones can be used as BT headphones, with mobile phone or computer. Pairing with Nexus 5 and SGS2 was pretty easy - after holding the power button till the blue indicator light steady I did scan of available devices  - found "H" device and that's it. No pass-code. The manual says they have 10 meter range - I believe they do.
3. The headphones has built in microphone for conducting hands free calls. I tested that function - it works. The recipient on the other side could not tell that I am not speaking directly from the headset. Note that they have a very long runtimes.
4. Music sharing. A very interesting option, that I actually think will be used by the headphones owners. You can connect another pair of headphones to HT's headphone jack, and share the music that the HT's are receiving via Bluetooth. The volume buttons adjust volume for two pairs of headphones in such setup. Note that you can use this feature to connect also a non-Bluetooth receiver wireless to a Bluetooth device.
 
Part 3 - Sound
 
Bass. It's there, a lot's of bass. In fact I think these headphones sound very similar to Soul by Ludacris SL300. Lot's of bass, not much mids and some high's.
There are some types of music that I could use these headphones with, but just some. Rap, trance, trap. Guitars and female vocals sound distant and not very clear with these. I guess you can EQ them a little, but these are bass headphones, and if you like to hear clear mids and highs these will not fit you.
I gave them to my wife and she instantly told me that they are not as clear as TBSE1's, but she will be happy to use them, as Bluetooth is really cool, and the coverage actually covers all our apartments without a problem.
 
 
Conclusion
 
These are great headphones, value-vise. A lot's of features for a really funny price. As for an audiophile grade sound - I guess these are not recommended to someone that has a lot of experience with different headphones and respects clarity in mids. But .. I guess that most think different, there is no other explanation for the rapper-headphones boom.
So ... these will be an excellent headphones for a not audiophile, and will blow you away with it's bass. When I put them on a high volume I could almost feel them move on my head.
Thanks for reading, I really wish you enjoyed my review.
 
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I would like to hear your comments, questions and suggestions.
 
Nov 7, 2014 at 9:23 PM Post #2 of 207
I just got a pair of these today and I must say they are much more than I would have expected for $27.00. The plastic is pretty flimsy as was expected. They are comfortable but the cups are in between over-ear and on ear size. I was really surprised by the audio quality they play very loud with powerful base, but a nice feature is they actually have a built in EQ. When you press both volume buttons at the same time you get a change in the audio, pretty neat. These won't get any attention on Head-Fi but something like this can have a place in a modest persons headphone collection. There is a compromise, build quality/sound quality vs price/wireless freedom. I'll be paying attention to this low cost bluetooth headphone segment.
 
Nov 7, 2014 at 11:01 PM Post #3 of 207
  I just got a pair of these today and I must say they are much more than I would have expected for $27.00. The plastic is pretty flimsy as was expected. They are comfortable but the cups are in between over-ear and on ear size. I was really surprised by the audio quality they play very loud with powerful base, but a nice feature is they actually have a built in EQ. When you press both volume buttons at the same time you get a change in the audio, pretty neat. These won't get any attention on Head-Fi but something like this can have a place in a modest persons headphone collection. There is a compromise, build quality/sound quality vs price/wireless freedom. I'll be paying attention to this low cost bluetooth headphone segment.


I think the wame way, Both about the quality and the sound. Yesterday gave those as a present.
 
Nov 26, 2014 at 3:47 AM Post #4 of 207
Nov 27, 2014 at 10:47 PM Post #5 of 207
I just purchased a pair of the un-foldable ones off e-bay. Interestingly no "metal" trim on my ones, so jet back. Yes I expect them to snap. But I will just buy another pair. The sound, as indicated by others, is very good. Smooth, laid back, not too closed in, no obvious holes in the midrange (not as described in the review), good bass etc. I have also used them with phone calls while driving and this also worked perfectly (Note 4). The person on the end of the phone never said anything negative and they didn't obviously note any difference in quality. Note that the Note 4 has BT 4.1 and how you connect may be a factor in sound quality.
 
I was once an "audiophile", but now just have a pair of the base Magnepan speakers, a cheap Yaqin Chinese PP tube amp and a modern Project Debut Carbon turntable. Personally I find their sound very close to audiophile quality, not as good as a set of maggies, but close.
 
Nov 27, 2014 at 10:56 PM Post #6 of 207
I forgot to add that one annoying thing is vibration of the drivers or casing when walking. You can definitely hear yourself walking with these (in between tracks mostly), and I don't mean your actual footsteps. I am unsure why this is. Perhaps the diaphragm is resonating, or maybe the earcup holding the drivers? I hope the foldable ones solve the cracking problemtoo . Wish I had known about these earlier...
 
Nov 29, 2014 at 12:03 AM Post #7 of 207
just got my hands on two pairs of foldable version, black and white!!!! will try them on and report back in a few days, patience :D
 
Dec 9, 2014 at 5:50 AM Post #8 of 207
Sorry for the delay :frowning2: okay! here comes the review!!! :D

The T2 comes in a much smaller box than its brothers H and H+, same brown cardboard packing.
 

TADA!!! Here comes the black one! The box at the bottom is a standard package: 3.5mm-to-3.5mm cable, Micro USB cabe for charging, and an instruction menu
 

A closer look
 

Other than the foldable design, Bluedio made T2 with a metal slider instead of the plastic one in H/H+, making it more flexible when you put them on, and apparently, more durable.
 


The silver part is definitely more shiney and detailed than its brothers, Bluedio did spend some time on upgrading T2's appearance as well as the duarability.
 

The white one and the black one, looking good to me :D
 
Ok, here comes the sound!
It's..... EXACTLY the SAME as H+. Same pair of 57mm units inside, the details are good, strong solid bass performance, the lows are really deep but not too much, the mids are full, highs are average, vocals are more laid back, so it'll serve pretty well for pop and electro music. It's more comfortable to wear than H/H+, as the metal slider is for flexible and the foldable part allows you to adjust the headband to whatever angle that feels the best on your head, still it gets slightly tight when you put it on for like an hour or two but it's so much better than it's brothers.
Pros:
1. AMAZING sound quality for headset at this price, great bass without being too crazy that it jumps on your ears when you turn it on loud, I reckon if you can find another one that sound this good at this price, of course, for pop and electro sort of music type;
2. It's pretty light weight;
3. Comfortable (Compare to H/H+)
4. Static Line-In which the T2 doesnt need to have power when you plug-in the 3.5mm as input
5. 3.5mm Line-out music sharing
 
Cons:
1. Not THAT comfortable, comparing to other major brand on/over ears
2. Bluetooth chipset/ wireless amp problem. There is cracking sound from time to time when playing female high vocals and rock guitar, have to turn the T2 off, hold the on/off button for 10 seconds to restore factory setting and then turn it back on to pair up again. It solves the problem but it comes back the next day. It happens only on IOS devices though (tested with my new iPad Mini, and three customers' iPhone 6 & 6 Plus, Android devices are alright). Talked to the distributor, they contacted Bluedio and the feed back is that "maybe it's an isolated case, change a new pair and it'll be okay" but it seems that every pair has the same problem. So we just factory reset it everyday before we pair it.
3. A little design flaw. The new metal slider doesnt work very well with the other plastic parts, screw actually jumps out from the side of two pairs of T2 when me and a customer spread them and try them on. One i screwed it back and it's okay, the other one I have to stick it with glue and then i decide to return it back to the distributor for a new pair.
 
Sound quality: Yes
Comfortable: Yes/No (It's light weight for sure. Yes for small to average head size, No for bigger heads)
Durability: No (If you use it daily for a few hours, I suspect if it can last over.... 8months?)
Design: Foldable, much easier to carry around than H/H+, for a headset with a pair of 57mm units, it's VERY portable, and it looks pretty good, not fashionable but reasonable. Yes!
Worth the money: Yes! I'm not expecting a life long marriage to this headphone for this price :)
 
Dec 20, 2014 at 4:26 AM Post #9 of 207
I just bought this headphones yesterday and i have a question since this is the first time for me to have headphones that have to be charged. how do you charge the headphone? by using the usb slot in your pc or it is better to use smartphone adapter?
 
Dec 20, 2014 at 4:47 AM Post #10 of 207
I just bought this headphones yesterday and i have a question since this is the first time for me to have headphones that have to be charged. how do you charge the headphone? by using the usb slot in your pc or it is better to use smartphone adapter?


I guess that sinse the built in battery is of relatively low capacity, and the charging current is also pretty low it won't matter much.
 
Dec 22, 2014 at 3:25 AM Post #11 of 207
Hi! I have the H+ turbine. Do you know how to use the built-in EQ? I was only able to find that the H-turbine not the H+ does it by pressing both volume buttons at the same time but H+ has mode and scan buttons instead and volume controls are with the next/prev buttons so i don't know how it can ever be pressed at the same time hehe, and its not on the manual. Hope you guys know how. thank you!
 
Dec 22, 2014 at 3:38 AM Post #12 of 207
  Hi! I have the H+ turbine. Do you know how to use the built-in EQ? I was only able to find that the H-turbine not the H+ does it by pressing both volume buttons at the same time but H+ has mode and scan buttons instead and volume controls are with the next/prev buttons so i don't know how it can ever be pressed at the same time hehe, and its not on the manual. Hope you guys know how. thank you!

My customers keep asking me the same question all over and over again so i know the EXACT ANSWER! No! No built-in EQ :D this "5 EQ mode" thing is from the so-called App Bluedio uses for it's latest headsets and handfrees, "ISSC Audio Widget", which provide the EQ mode and a couple other settings. Not exactly a user friendly app and personally i prefer other eq app than that one, but it can change your device's name, which is cool for some who wants to name their headset themselves :) sorry for disappointing :D
 
Dec 28, 2014 at 1:44 AM Post #13 of 207
I have a pair of these bluedio H+ headphones but i find them to tight on my head. Just wondering if the R+ edition would be any better?
 
Or are there any other bluetooth headphones like the bluedio headphones but with more comfort?
 
I was looking at the jabra move or revo ones, are these any good?
 
What about the senny range of bluetooth headphones?
 
I have seen some sony ones as well but not sure how they stack up
 
any help here would be great guys
 
just looking to get a decent pair so i can start walking for fitness and maybe using them on my computer to replace my audio technica ad700's
 
Dec 30, 2014 at 1:09 AM Post #14 of 207
Moi je vien de recevoir ce modèle hurricane 4 et mon cellulaire nexus 5 et celui de ma.conjointe un galaxy s4 ne détecte pas mes écouteur sur le bluetooth, quelqu'un peut m'aider ?
 
Dec 30, 2014 at 8:33 PM Post #15 of 207
  I have a pair of these bluedio H+ headphones but i find them to tight on my head. Just wondering if the R+ edition would be any better?
 
Or are there any other bluetooth headphones like the bluedio headphones but with more comfort?
 
I was looking at the jabra move or revo ones, are these any good?
 
What about the senny range of bluetooth headphones?
 
I have seen some sony ones as well but not sure how they stack up
 
any help here would be great guys
 
just looking to get a decent pair so i can start walking for fitness and maybe using them on my computer to replace my audio technica ad700's

For Bluedio H+ and R+, R+ is definitely so much more comfortable and the sound quality is much better, detailed and solid good bass. H+ is one with a pair of 57mm diameter drivers and R+ is one with 4 drivers on each side. but of course, R+ is much more expensive than H+, still, cheaper than the bigger brands like Jabra and Sony, which you have also mentioned.
 
If you are looking for a bluetooth headphone to use for sports, personally i do not recommand bulky big ones (eg. Bluedio R+/ Beats Studio Wireless etc). We do sweat when we are really exercising, our sweat will wear the ear muffs out pretty easily and ear muffs for big headphones arent that easy to clean throughly. you'll have to remove them to clean, and put them back on your headphone, and if you keep doing that often, its also easier to damage the ear muff, you'll have to change a new pair A LOT! Big headphones can also be VERY HOT when you use them while exercising, especially during summer times. and some might find the bigger headphones a little too heavy when they do jogging exercises, either over a treadmill or running outside.
 
For sports i think Jabra Move is a pretty good alternative, it's lighter in weight, on ear design so the inside of the ear muff doesnt get too dirty if you exercise with them on, its like a more comfortable but of course more expensive version of the Bluedio H+. If you want to stick to a great C/P value sports use music unit, personally i suggest the smaller headsets. For Jabra there are a few options under its "Sports" category, like Pluse and Rox Wireless, sure design takes away so much more weight, more comfortable and even water resistance, perfect ones for sports. Bluedio has cheaper alternatives, a wide range of choices: S2/S3/N2/Q2/Q5, and possibily one or two more that i've missed out. they are very similar in both function and price, but as i sell headsets in my shop i did try them all and S2/S3 has the best sound quality.
 
Sony ones are.... well.... most of their "general" headphones are of average quality. build quality is nice, no worries, sound quality is average, comfortable design, slightly more expensive price than other brands' headphones providing similar quality. But that's Sony, so it happens. I'd prefer paying more for the quality than the brandname, or maybe it's just me :)
 
And again, it's just me, I do not recommand using the same headphone for both exercising and home use. these two type of use has very different requirements: sports headsets stress on portability, external design (you're using them OUTSIDE and people will get to see u using them, u are not gonna put on an UGLY design one are u?), durability, and of course audio quality; home use ones stress so much more on audio quality, so they tend to use bigger drivers and that sacrifice portability.
 

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