Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds + Powerbank

[testman78]

Introduction

If there was one thing I would have sworn you could never interest me in trying, it was yet another Bluetooth earpiece. There are about a zillion of these available, and for the most part my view has always been that if you've seen one, you have seen them all. Stick them in your ear and get tinny, one-eared sound that is hopeless for music but does the job for hands-free phone calls when you don't have access to an installed setup in your car.But I had to admit that the Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds is rather smaller and more stylish than most, with a cute charging system + Powerbank that goes some way toward making up for the somewhat limited battery-life that inevitably accompanies such a small device.The Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds are tiny Bluetooth earbuds that store in a rechargeable case that doubles as a backup battery for your other gadgets that charge via a USB cable. It seemed worth a try ?



Specifications.




Packaging & Bundle

The Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds + Powerbank is packed inside a small clear plastic box that allows you to take a close look at the unit prior to purchasing it.



At the rear of the box we see a description of the product printed in many languages right above the contents and specifications lists.



The Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds + Powerbank comes with a manual and 2 sets of silicone ear tips.



In the box, you also get a Micro-USB cable for charging and a cloth pouch.




A Closer Look

Judging the Sandberg earbuds on just the way they look and feel, they are my all time favorite pair of wireless earbuds. They come in a sleek case that has a gun metal grey aluminum shell that houses a rechargeable battery that charges the earbuds when they aren't in your ears.



The earbuds snap into the charging case and are held there with magnets. As soon as they are inserted into their slots, they start charging, which is indicated by the LEDs glowing in red. When they are finished charging, the LEDs go out.The earbuds are removed by pressing up from the bottom of the charging case so that the earbuds extend out from the top so they can be removed. It's a slick design that I really like.



The earbuds are capable of answering calls (with built-in microphone) or listening to music.



The earpiece itself, shown below, measures just 2cm long by 1.5cm wide. The whole unit sits inside your ear, with nothing dangling down or sitting on your ear. That fact, coupled to the amazingly light 3.5g weight, makes it far more comfortable than the typical Bluetooth earpiece out there.



At the same earbuds use lithium-ion batteries with an impressive capacity of 2.100 mAh.



Each earbud has a status LED and a small multi-function button on the face. The LED provides a visual indicator of the power status, pairing status and the master / slave relationship between the two earbuds.



The button toggles power, initiates pairing, controls media play/pause, call answer/end/reject and activates voice control.



The state-of-the-art design allows the earbuds to recess inside the case to provide quick access, as well as added safety and protection.



When they need a charge, just slip them into the charging carrying case which holds up to 15 charges in your pocket.



The built-in batteries in the case charge using the included micro USB cable. You'll also notice that there's a regular USB port in the case too. The case doubles as a backup battery for other gadgets that charge through a USB cable. And LED between the two ports blinks in red to indicate the battery capacity level.



As for communications technology, the device uses Bluetooth 4.1. The earbuds battery lasts for 3 hours, and more than 120 hours in standby mode.




Performance

The case can recharge the earbuds up to 15 times before the case needs to be recharged and the earbuds themselves will run for up to 3 hours per charge. I know that doesn’t sound like a long time, but considering how tiny they are, it seems pretty good to me.



The Sandberg Bluetooth earbuds are in-ear style earbuds. I don’t usually like this type of earbud, but the Sandberg Bluetooth earbuds are comfortable enough for me to wear without discomfort using the default sized ear tips.They even stayed in place while working out. Granted, I don’t do high-intensity workouts and don’t run, but they stayed in fine while walking briskly on a treadmill and doing various exercises on a Total Gym.



To pair the Sandberg earbuds, you remove them from the charging case and press both buttons on the earbuds at the same time. The LED will start blinking red and then red / white to let you know they are in pairing mode. Then you just check your device to find Sandberg listed as an available Bluetooth device.



Once they are connected to the device, the LEDs on the earbuds will blink in white. The master earbud will blink twice every couple of seconds and the other earbud will just blink once. This is important to know incase you’re like me and sometimes use one earbud so that your other ear is open to hear people if they walk up to talk to you. If that’s what you like to do too, you’ll need to insert the master earbud because that’s the only earbud that will receive audio if a call comes in.The Sandberg Bluetooth earbuds also support multipoint connectivity. That means that in single earbud mode, each wireless earbud can connect with two Bluetooth source devices like your iPhone or Android phone, iPad, tablet, or laptop simultaneously. If you are streaming music from your iPad, and receive an incoming call on your iPhone, the wireless earphones will recognize this and allow you to take the call seamlessly without the hassle of repairing.



I paired the Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds with my Nexus 6P and an iPhone 7 and listened to a variety of music through Spotify and videos on YouTube. Volume levels are good. In fact, I found them almost too loud when listening to music in a quiet room. I would often want to turn down the sound just a little more but was unable to do so without turning off the sound altogether.I had no issues with music skips or stutters while sitting still or working out.Sound quality is always a bit of a crap shoot when it comes to Bluetooth audio devices. I was pleasantly surprised with the Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds. They are pretty well balanced and have good bass.On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds delivers the type of serious rumble that many people find motivates them at the the gym. At top, unwise volume levels, there's not a hint of distortion on this challenging track, while at lower, more moderate volumes, the bass still sounds strong.Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better idea of what the Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds general sound signature is like. The answer is: heavy on the bass. The drums on this track get far more thunderous presence than they typically would, and Callahan's baritone vocals have some serious low-mid richness that is enhanced through the earphones. The high-mids and highs feel somewhat dialed back. Things don't sound muddy, but the sound signature is definitely bass-forward, and lows-and-mids-focused. Things could be a little bit more crisp in the higher frequencies to provide a better sense of clarity and definition.On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop could use a little more high-mid presence—its sharp attack gets dulled and we hear more of its bass-heavy thump, as well as the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat. The vocals on this track are delivered with decent clarity, but again, more high-mid presence would make things crisper and clearer.I watched about a dozen YouTube videos lasting longer than 5 minutes each on my Nexus 6P paired with the Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds and didn’t notice any audio / voice syncing issues.


Final Thoughts

Ultra lightweight and comfortable weighing 3.5g, The Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds + Powerbank allows for making calls effortlessly, and listening to music with l clear sound quality. It features A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP CVC.The Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds + Powerbank supports multi-point connectivity for connection to more than one device, and is expertly designed for comfort for long lasting wear.The Sandberg Bluetooth Earbuds can connect to any Bluetooth enabled device such as your phone or tablet, and the sleek modern profile will impress even the most discerning tech aficionado.Charging is made easy with the Sandberg's own custom portable Charging Capsule.Charge the Capsule on the go with the micro USB charging cable included that connects to any USB port.In this way you always have backup power and wireless sound with you!



The only drawback will be the price. It is insanely costly. Each pair of earpiece is available at $148.I’m not going to say these are 100% worth it for everyone, but for their comfort, better-than-average sound,bulletproof connectivity and integrated powerbank they’re a meaningful iteration of one of the best bluetooth earbuds on the market.