Headphones – a must-have accessory for everyone. But the problem is, choosing one is great pain-in-the-neck, because well, there are too many to choose from. A lot of things to consider – from price to the quality, and durability, and everything. But the MPOW Flame Bluetooth Headphones is there in Amazon’s top picks. And we thought why not check out why everyone is buying them? Now the one in this review is the MPOW MPBH088AB model from the MPOW Flame series, and these ones cost some $22. While this may put them in the budget headphones category, they do pretty well. Let’s find out more about the device in this MPOW Flame Bluetooth headphones review.
Also Read: Things to consider while choosing headphones
Design and Build
First, these pair of headphones come in a pretty sweet packaging. They come in a case, which you can carry around to put these in, when not in use. Inside, there’s a micro USB cable to charge it, and you also get some extra ear-buds, in various sizes, for comfort. All this leads to a good first impression.
In terms of design and build, the headphones themselves look stylish, but it resembles the Beats headphones – the Wireless Powerbeats – which actually cost over $100. These, however, cost less than quarter that price, and look equally good. Since these go in your ears, it is an in-ear headphone.
As for the build, the wire is of a good length, just enough to go around your neck, and not look too long. All the buttons are on the right. The power button also doubles as the Play/Pause button and to pick up calls as well. The volume buttons are on top with which you can also switch to previous or next songs with a long press.
It also has rubber-silicone ear hooks that help keep these snuggly fit in your ears. The memory foam earbuds are quite comfortable. The earbud is soft and there’s no any kind of irritation or annoyance, allowing you to put them in your ears for quite a stretch of time too. These headphones are designed for working out, so there’s very less doubt about comfort.
Plus, these are IPX7 water resistant, which means you can drop it u1-meter deep water and they’ll still work. This feature actually is best while working out, as it also makes them sweat-proof. But it is also usable when it’s raining lightly. When you do pour water over them, however, they might not work if there’s still water lodged in the ear buds. But a simple removal and cleaning out the water will make it up and running.
Overall, the wire and the rubber-plastic mold construction appears pretty durable. The ear hooks are flexible enough to bend without breaking, and the rest of it doesn’t feel cheap at all. Even though they cost only slightly over $20, there’s no budget headphone vibe from this.
Connectivity & Latency
The connectivity here is standard with Bluetooth 4.1. It works up to a range of close to 10 meters. And as it with such headphones, the distance matters less than the obstacles between the two devices.
What I mean is, in an open area, the Bluetooth signal works good until the acclaimed 10 meters, but when in between rooms, the signal tends to fluctuate even within range.
There is basically, no latency in terms of sound. Even while playing videos on YouTube or any such streaming sites, there is no noticeable lags between the video and sound. Even during calls, there is no noticeable sluggishness. The only noticeable lag appears while playing or pausing the media with the button on the headphone. And that takes like a second to respond to the commands.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is really impressive. Of course, these are not the best sounding headphones out there, but the audio output is really pleasing. This claims to feature True High Definition sound and Deep Bass. And while the true HD sound seems true, I found the bass just okay.
Whatever you listen on these, they sound rich, crisp and have great audio clarity. The audio output seems very balanced – neither too much bass, nor too much treble. While listening to songs, you can easily make out the words and such. I mean, I began understanding lyrics of certain songs that I’d been singing wrong to this day!
But, if you are into heavy bass music or such, this might not be for you. The bass isn’t bad…it’s just doesn’t offer as much bass as some other headphones. This is because it concentrates on providing an overall balanced audio experience. These headphones are great for the regular users, but might not work for bass lovers.
It features noise cancellation in the mic, which makes for good call quality. The earbuds also block external noise effectively. Of course, with heavy disturbance, that is not the case, but for your regular daily noise or such, it is highly effective.
Overall, the headphone focuses on sound clarity and balanced audio output rather than bass, and so, it makes for a great audio experience for regular users.
Battery
In terms of battery, these headphones claim some 7 – 9 hour battery life, and that is a pretty close estimate. I got close to 7 hours each time on a full charge while connected to my phone. However, it doesn’t last as long when connected to a laptop.
The 100 mAh battery charges up fairly quickly, in just some 1 and half hours, give or take 5 minutes. And for something that’s wireless, that’s a pretty good amount. However, you need to be careful to only use a 5V charger as it is mentioned. Now, I don’t know what happens if you use any other chargers, but better be on the safe side.
Conclusion
All in all, these headphones do pretty well in all aspects – Comfort, Durability, Functionality and Sound Quality. These headphones cost $22, and we all know there are so many other headphones that cost a lot more and don’t perform well in all of these aspects. But these ones do, except for a few shortcomings.
These are easily available in Amazon, being one of the top picks in headphones. There aren’t many areas where one can criticize these pair of headphones. Maybe that’s why it’s so popular.
