Bragi Dash Impressions: Wireless Earphones Offer Enough Quality Features to Counter Small Battery

[Mactendo]

Am i the only one concerned about the "magnetic induction" part of the Near Field Magnetic Induction technology in terms of my brain health?

I wonder what kind of health and safety checks have been done. It's crazy we live in a world of smartphone domination and not much is ever said about the ill effects of using phones on our health is - and yet there are lots of cases where cancers are directly linked to phone usage -e.g. a girl who got a breast cancer tumor in exactly the spot where she used to store the phone in her bra all the time.

There are various researches, some link cellular phones and cancer, some don't, you can find info online if you want. Of course smartphone makers won't cry out loud about possible danger, although Apple warns not to touch your body with iPhone, but who cares? Some people spend hours on the phone every day, literally pressing it to its ear.

When using iPhone near your body for voice calls or for wireless data transmission over a cellular network, keep iPhone at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) away from the body, and only use carrying cases, belt clips, or holders that do not have metal parts and that maintain at least 15 mm (5/8″) separation between iPhone and the body.

 

[mistertomlinson]

I don't get why the battery life on truly wireless headphones has to be so bad. Jaybirds (which have a wire between the earpieces) have an advertised battery life of eight hours (it's actually been a little more for me). If we imagine that the only drain on the battery is the wireless connectivity (which obviously isn't really the case, since sound is energy) then I could understand having half that battery life since they have twice the wireless traffic to manage. But that's four hours, not three (and like I said, some of the eight hours obviously goes to making the sound, so I shouldn't even be expecting it to halve). Is the missing battery life because of all those extra features they've added, or just inefficiency, or because they've done and Apple and prioritised small size (maybe they found putting bigger batteries in made them fall out)?

Four hours would be good enough almost all the time, but wouldn't cut it for long journeys. Of course, if you don't care about long journeys (or you don't mind taking an extra battery thing with you to top them up (I'm sure that will be available, actually I don't know how much charge you get out of the case that comes with them, could be enough for a long journey on its own) and taking a break to charge them half way through) then they could be great, I'm certainly not saying I don't see the appeal, I just think I'd sacrifice some of their touted features for battery life closer to four or five hours.

Did you read what these earbuds do? There is a HEART RATE MONITOR, GYROSCOPE, PEDOMETER, 4GBS OF INTERNAL STORAGE, TOUCH PANEL FACEPLATES AND MICS IN BOTH EARBUDS for listening to outside sounds... to include a larger battery would make them too large.

The case provides 5 charges. Considering I'm not likely to leave earbuds in for several hours straight and they don't have wires, these will spend a lot of time in their case. I'm not just gonna throw these in my pocket or on a desk when I'm not using them, so I think the 3 hour battery life and external battery/case is a perfect compromise and a clever idea.

I could see using these at work where there will be periods where I have them in their case. I could see these easily making it 8 hours without dying.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

If I wasn't so cynical, I'd look into these. Cool that you can track them if misplaced. Not so cool that they look like a set of Vegas Casino dice sticking out of your head.

With over 80% of crowdfunded projects delivered late and a large percentage never delivered, I wouldn't gamble on it. I'd go with a real project that's actually on the market rather than one in planning from a group with no real experience bringing a product to life.

Look at the product in detail, it comes with a leash you can use

Then why not get any of the Bluetooth earbuds available right now that offer the same connected setup.

 

[DanielSw]

Am i the only one concerned about the "magnetic induction" part of the Near Field Magnetic Induction technology in terms of my brain health?

Wondering how the intensity of this compares with MRI.. I dont want my brain to be exposed to mini MRI every day.

Yeah, you are. And you're being superstitious.

 

[Clarky!]

Then why not get any of the Bluetooth earbuds available right now that offer the same connected setup.

The leash was requested for swimming. I won't be wearing the leash when I get mine. You can also leave just one ear bud in if it pleases you.

 

[Rigby]

I read that these support Apt-X and AAC over Bluetooth. These codecs sound great. Apt-X in particular delivers CD quality audio over BT. It's indistinguishable from wired audio.

Apt-X isn't all that good, and if you are listening to already compressed files it can cause audible tandem losses. But as far as the iPhone is concerned this is moot anyway, since Apple doesn't support Apt-X.

Apple does support AAC over Bluetooth though. I'm not sure how it's implemented, but if they pass AAC files through without re-encoding, that should sound pretty good. But there are few BT headphones that support AAC.

The reason a lot of BT audio devices sound like crap is because they use the default SBC codec.

Indeed. SBC is pretty crappy.

 

[KnighsTalker]

Am i the only one concerned about the "magnetic induction" part of the Near Field Magnetic Induction technology in terms of my brain health?

Wondering how the intensity of this compares with MRI.. I dont want my brain to be exposed to mini MRI every day.

Cheap solution, fashion an aluminum hat with ear covers... Oh yeah, don't forget to add a couple of aluminum antennas to the top of the hat. This will help make them Android compatible!

 

[hamiltonrwatch]

With over 80% of crowdfunded projects delivered late and a large percentage never delivered, I wouldn't gamble on it.

Yes and the cynic in me knows this. It always seems to come back to the old adage, "If it sounds too good to be true..."

 

[bobob]

Wondering how the intensity of this compares with MRI.

1:1

 

[alexanderasher]

Okay, one, can we get some options that AREN'T the in-ear headphones that use those awkward rubber things I need to jam deep into my ears? Something like the Apple Headphones that look like the ones Apple sells?

And, realistically, those will fall out just as easily as these.

So how about we just man up and use ear-clips (like pictured below) instead of trying to act like these aren't a bad idea?

In fact, can we just cut the cord, bulk it up a bit for bluetooth stuff or whatever it needs to work, and sell it?

I use headphones like above at the gym ALL THE TIME, along with that I run for two hours nonstop and not once have I needed to readjust my headphones.

Why are people so afraid of ear-clips for headphones? Is it because it looks too Y2K era? It's more functional than jamming some rubber crap on the end and shoving it uncomfortably deep.

 

[Justim]

Look at the product in detail, it comes with a leash you can use

The leash only ships to Kickstarter backers for free. Everyone else, including preorderers have the option to buy the leash for $20 extra.

Color tips for backers will not be available until after they receive your product. You'll choose a size and color based on your comfort and preference and send a request for one colored set.

Okay, one, can we get some options that AREN'T the in-ear headphones that use those awkward rubber things I need to jam deep into my ears? Something like the Apple Headphones that look like the ones Apple sells?

And, realistically, those will fall out just as easily as these.

So how about we just man up and use ear-clips (like pictured below) instead of trying to act like these aren't a bad idea?

In fact, can we just cut the cord, bulk it up a bit for bluetooth stuff or whatever it needs to work, and sell it?

I use headphones like above at the gym ALL THE TIME, along with that I run for two hours nonstop and not once have I needed to readjust my headphones.

Why are people so afraid of ear-clips for headphones? Is it because it looks too Y2K era? It's more functional than jamming some rubber crap on the end and shoving it uncomfortably deep.

Freewavez does exactly this. I dislike ear clips for their compromise in long use comformt.

 

[Mike MA]

How will they stay stuck in your ears though? I have those rubber earbuds and I lose one sometimes when I make a rapid head movement and I'm not even underwater

You are wearing them wrong

Did somebody already beat me on that one?

 

[nikaru]

This seems to be a great product. A bit expensive for me, but for sure there would be tons of buyers...

Can¡t wait to see what Apple has in their sleeves...

 

[MH01]

The reality of wireless headphones is that

1. They have connections issues. I've tried solo beats 2, sennheiser momentum 2.0, H8, all experiece drop outs, nothing major, though it's part of owning wireless

2. They don't sound as good as the wired version. All the above I tried wired and wireless, wireless has a long way to come still.

These caveats need to be brought to attention when pushing a product on the public.

 

[entropys]

Wasn their an apple patent a couple of years ago for a lot of these features?
Or was that a gag?

 

[G-News]

How are you going to change the batteries on these things, once they wear out? let me guess: you don't, you get a new pair. Brilliant.

 

[MH01]

Dudes he does mention that the sound quality is good - watch the clip again.

Though I am with you re magnetic waves through the brain - that really is an initial concern - I wonder what kind of health and safety checks have been done. It's crazy we live in a world of smartphone domination and not much is ever said about the ill effects of using phones on our health is - and yet there are lots of cases where cancers are directly linked to phone usage -e.g. a girl who got a breast cancer tumor in exactly the spot where she used to store the phone in her bra all the time.

Problem with the video is that it's like a sales pitch, he did not mention a single issue or reservation about them.... the battery life is awful.... Wait for a real review, this video says nothing.

 

[lordofthereef]

Would need to know how these perform in the gym and on a run. Intriguing but otherwise I wouldn't be interested.

 

[beanbaguk]

Bets on how many people will lose one of the buds rendering $299 useless.

 

[Marx55]

Wired is much better than wireless when whenever possible, and much better for planet Earth. Wireless is a waste of energy. Always.

 

[roeiz]

Bets on how many people will lose one of the buds rendering $299 useless.

why would you lose one of them?
you've done with using them, put them back in their box.
how do they recharge btw?
[doublepost=1452763148][/doublepost]

Wired is much better than wireless when whenever possible, and much better for planet Earth. Wireless is a waste of energy. Always.

i personally can't wait for the day we'll have NO WIRES at all for everything.
they'll find a way to not harm planet earth.
wires are the past.

 

[beanbaguk]

why would you lose one of them?
you've done with using them, put them back in their box.
how do they recharge btw?

People are inherently careless and two very small loose items are prone to being lost simply by nature.

People will at first put them back in their box but over time they will end up in pockets, on the desk, in a cup-holder in the car or some other random place and things like that eventually get misplaced.

I don't see this taking off very much.

 

[roeiz]

People are inherently careless and two very small loose items are prone to being lost simply by nature.

People will at first put them back in their box but over time they will end up in pockets, on the desk, in a cup-holder in the car or some other random place and things like that eventually get misplaced.

I don't see this taking off very much.

but again this WILL be the future pretty soon.
wires are not needed for a fair quality.
they're probably magnetic so they stick together.

 

[beanbaguk]

but again this WILL be the future pretty soon.
wires are not needed for a fair quality.
they're probably magnetic so they stick together.

I'm sorry Nostradamus! I didn't realise you were a member on MacRumors!!!

However I didn't realise you were also an audio expert. "Fair" quality simply isn't good enough for a $299 pair of earbuds. For this money, you can buy a pair of Shure SE425's which will blow these bluetooth buds out of the water.

ETA: I also thought I should add I remember you from the 3.5mm to lightning connector threads. You have zero understanding of audio so I guess "fair" quality is good enough for you.

Enjoy your mediocre music.

 

[BruceEBonus]

Say what you want. But personally, I like their advertising blurb: " They're Not Completely Rubbish"