Bluetooth earphones are a dime a dozen these days. The market is flooded and there are plenty of good choices out there. Cheap Bluetooth earphones are surprisingly good quality now, so spending big bucks is not necessary! But not all cheap earphones are created equal.
Overview
Bluetooth version: 4.1
Profiles: HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP, aptX, CVC 6.0 noise cancellation
Battery life: 8 hours, 360 hours standby
Price: $21.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Build quality
The Dodocool Bluetooth earphones are made very well. The body of each earpiece is made of very pleasant-feeling plastic and the metallic end is a nice touch. The flat cable also feels very nice. The remote, while oversized, has three nice clicky buttons. The cover on the microUSB port is fairly nice as well. And even though USB Type-C is usually preferable, it makes sense to use microUSB here because of the much smaller size of the connector.
Sound quality
Sound quality is very subjective, so what people are looking for in a pair of earphones will greatly vary. Some people love a balanced sound, while others prefer emphasis on either highs or lows. Bassheads are a very big market!
These earphones are definitely for the basshead. All of the focus is on the low-end, and this is both good and bad. It makes listening to rock a bit difficult, since all the lows overpower the rest of the music. For electronic music, it’s actually pretty good. It’s also not very accurate, sacrificing proper reproduction for kick.
They get very loud, and this is no understatement, but don’t stay clear in the highs and mids. There is some distortion at high volumes. Turn it down a bit and they can stay fairly clear at reasonably high volumes.
Despite the bass being strong, the lows end up boomy. There is rumbling even when there isn’t supposed to be bass response. Again, this is very subjective and I’m sure a lot of people will really enjoy the sound quality.
Comfort
Out of all the Bluetooth earphones I’ve reviewed, the Dodocool earphones are up there as some of the more comfortable ones. They seal well and stay in your ears even when you’re shaking your head. The ear hooks are a big part of this, and they should be standard on all earphones.
They are also very lightweight so they don’t pull on your ears. They excel in comfort.
Battery life
When marathon listening, the battery life on these earphones is actually pretty good. Dodocool claims 8 hours of battery life and I’ve gotten around 7 at a very high volume. I’d say this is pretty good, especially considering their price point and light weight.
However, Dodocool claims 360 hours of standby time. This is really low, and sadly optimistic. After about a week, the battery is low enough to give audible “battery low” warnings every single minute after half an hour of listening. Oh, and having the music stop every minute for a battery low warning is a terrible way to go about things! Terribly annoying.
Did you miss the gym for a week? You’ll start your workout with only an hour of battery life. Other earphones hold their battery for far longer, as I spend weeks listening to them little by little. Such a quick discharge is simply unacceptable.
Extras
These earphones feature noise cancelling microphone tech. The mic is of decent quality. People said they heard a bit of an echo, almost like speakerphone, but the audio was loud and clear.
Dodocool’s Bluetooth earphones feature magnets in the ends so you can clip them together around your neck when they aren’t in your ears. Unfortunately, the magnets are very weak and the headphones don’t stay together. You’ll lose them if you trust the magnets.
A hard case is also included. It looks like carbon fiber with a red zipper and it actually looks very nice.
It’s really unfortunate that the battery in Dodocool’s Bluetooth earphones can’t even last a week without use, because the sound quality is pretty decent and the comfort is superb. It’s also unfortunate that the magnets are weak, as the feature would be very useful.
If you’re okay with charging your headphones every few days, Dodocool’s earphones are a decent choice. However, you can definitely find plenty of better earphones for the price.
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