Despite the fact that “truly wireless” stereo headsets (TWS - True Wireless Stereo) are now at the peak of fashion, large
Appearance, design, ergonomics
Let's start with the modelBh203.
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The headband is trimmed with faux leathersoft filler inside (ear pads are also made of it). This is a simple and reliable sliding construction made of steel strips on which the speaker cups are rigidly fixed. All plastic parts, except for the decorative ends of the cups, have a soft-touch coating - pleasant, non-slip, but collecting fingerprints. The designations of the left and right headphones are written catchy and large, however, it is much easier to remember that "right is where the buttons are." Soft ear cushions on a plastic base are worn over the cups loosely and freely, and can also deviate by a small angle in any direction, which is quite enough for a comfortable fit. Thanks to this design, the headband can be moved (turned) forward or backward without disturbing the position of the cups.
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Headband adjustment range approx. 32 mm seach side, that is, a total of about six and a half centimeters. This is enough for me (even with a margin) to wear headphones, for example, over a leather cap. The headband moves apart smoothly and moderately tight, fixing only due to friction.
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According to the type of acoustic design, these headphonesbelong to semi-open (On-Ear, or supra-aural according to foreign classification). The ear pads, with a diameter of 70 mm, do not surround the ears, but lie on them. Thanks to the mentioned play, the sound is not completely locked inside. That is, music is slightly audible to others in a quiet room at a volume above average, and environmental sounds are heard well in headphones.
Senior (both in index and price) modelBh213done differently. It is larger, more massive, more complex in design and looks more solid. In the photo – the entire set, not including documentation.
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The base of the headbandheadphone holders, combined (made of plastic with metal insert). All plastic parts have a soft touch coating. The ear pads are fixed on the cups, and the cups themselves rotate on the vertical axis a little more than 90 ° and swing on the horizontal axis within 20 °.
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These are already closed headphones - large ear cushions likeOver-Ear, or circum-aural, with a diameter of 85 mm surround the auricles, thereby eliminating pressure on them and providing good sound insulation. It is also not one hundred percent, but much better than the BH203 - external sounds are very muffled, and music at a comfortable volume is not heard from the outside. True, the On-Ear type is indicated on the official website, i.e. half-open, and the instruction manual generally says In-Ear, but I believe my eyes and ears.
In the photo below, you can compare the sizes of cups and ear pads of the 203rd and 213rd models (BH203 on the left):
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These headphones sit on the head more comfortably than the younger model. The headband's adjustment range is about the same as that of the BH203, but it moves apart in steps, with characteristic clicks.
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Governing bodiesboth headsets are located on the side wallscups, and their set is the same - a power/pause/answer call button and a double volume/navigation key. Both headsets have a microUSB connector for charging and an audio input for wired connection to a sound source, an LED indicator (the BH213 has two of them) and a microphone.
At BH203, all of the above is assembled on the right earphone:
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Volume can be adjusted by short presses onkey, switch the track by pressing and holding for a couple of seconds. A single press of the power button accepts an incoming call or ends a call, a double press calls the last number dialed, a press and hold for 2 seconds – rejects an incoming call. In this scheme there was no place for rewinding within a track, which, although supported by the A2DP Bluetooth profile, is not available in all devices. The volume rocker is not located in the most convenient place, it protrudes slightly above the body and does not have any tactile cues, so it takes some time to get used to it. The USB connector is located at the top of the earphone, so it is prudently covered with a rubber plug.
It seems that the designers were deliveredthe task is to make these two models as different as possible from each other (in some ways they even overdid it). The BH213 has all the controls, a microphone, an audio input and a Bluetooth operation indicator located on the left earphone, and the charging connector, along with its own separate indicator, is located on the right, which apparently also contains the battery.
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They got weird with the controls here - double keysvolume control, quite comfortable and ergonomic, does not work the same way as in the BH203 and in most other headsets and speakers, but exactly the opposite. That is, the volume is adjusted by pressing and holding (press “+” or “-“, the volume increases or decreases, when the desired level is reached, release it), and the transition between tracks is carried out by a simple short press . This seemed extremely inconvenient to me, primarily because it was unusual - I had never seen such controls before. But even after relearning and memorizing this scheme, it is very easy to underhold the volume key and accidentally switch the track, thereby ruining the pleasure of listening.
Telephone functions
I call these wireless headsets for a reasonheadphones - with their design, weight and size, they will most likely be used specifically for listening to music and other media content, with the ability to answer an incoming call in the process. For the sake of talking on the phone, it is not advisable to buy such a headset, and wearing it constantly is not very convenient. Moreover, the location of the microphone in the headphone cup is not optimal, which was confirmed in practice - when using both headsets, the interlocutors heard me poorly (legibly, but not loudly). In addition, specialized telephone features such as call hold are not available here. All you can do with a phone call is to accept or end it, as well as reject an incoming call. But if you remember that it is almost indecent to call now, if you can write in the messenger, then the telephone functions of the headset become completely secondary. The audio cables for both models are three-wire, so the microphone does not work with a wired connection. However, this is also the case with all other Bluetooth headsets that have ever fallen into my hands.
Multimedia Playback
So, the BH203 bluetooth headphones are cheaper andstructurally simpler, the BH213 is more expensive and ergonomic. Guess which ones sound better? It is logical to assume that the more expensive. But this is exactly the case when it is more expensive - not necessarily better. Interestingly, the frequency response graphs are printed on the packages of the headsets, and if the BH203 graph more or less matches my sensations, then the 213rd model, as it seems to me, does not reflect the real picture perceived by ear. Illustration from the manufacturer's website:
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I started testing sound quality with the youngestmodel, connecting it to your Oukitel U23 smartphone via Bluetooth, on music material included in the popular selection for testing home acoustics Prime Test CD #1. To my considerable surprise, the headphones perfectly reproduced all the material presented in this set - vocals, jazz, classical, rock, and instrumental music. Several test selections from the Audiophile NBR Music Youtube channel confirmed my impression. Then I listened to the same thing, connecting them with a wire to the same telephone. There is a difference, but it’s so insignificant that it’s not worth tethering to your phone with a cable. These headphones, now sold at a price of about 400 hryvnia, sound no worse, or even better, than many models that are an order of magnitude more expensive. At a comfortable volume level, distortion is not audible. The 40mm drivers, which have sound pressure output out through the cabinet, produce clear and transparent sound. Perhaps their sound may seem too bright to some (which is typical for open and semi-open headphones), but high frequencies are reproduced very cleanly, in detail, without overtones, whistles or other distortions. The bass is unobtrusive, but quite powerful and at the same time neat, elastic, without unnecessary overtones or resonances. Even the lowest sounds in the test compositions are clearly audible. Double bass and bass guitar are very good in these headphones. The mid-range (guitar, piano, vocals) is reproduced naturally, with the smallest details (if they are present in the recording itself). In compositions with a rich sound picture (orchestra, choir, electronic music, rock), the instruments do not merge, everything sounds legible, detailed and with a good spatial picture. Finally, I listened to a special test file using headphones connected by cable to the computer, which recorded a sinusoidal signal with an ever-increasing frequency in the range from 3 Hz to 20 kHz. Using the formula from the description of this file, I calculated that I hear sounds in these headphones with a frequency from 19 to 15500 Hz.
I expected more from the older model, but, alas, I was disappointed from the very first seconds.Bh213noticeably bassier, I was ready for this, but the bassThey turned out to be somehow blurry, buzzing and muttering, the middle behind them is hard to hear, and the high frequencies after the BH203 sound muffled, as if coming from under a pillow. Even vocals and spoken genre sound too bassy, and if there is a lot of bass in the composition (as, for example, in collections like BASS BOOSTED SONGS FOR CAR on Youtube), listening becomes completely uncomfortable. Usually you get used to the characteristic muffled sound of closed-back headphones, “listen”, and over time it is perceived as normal, but I could not get used to the sound of the BH213. When listening to the above test file from a computer in these headphones, I heard a signal in the range of 15–13200 Hz, which is quite consistent with the perception of musical material.
Both pairs of headphones showed high qualitytransmitting sound via Bluetooth. The difference in sound compared to a wired connection – minimal, barely distinguishable, despite the fact that the specifications do not state support for advanced codecs like AAC or aptX. There is nothing written about this at all, so most likely the standard SBC codec is used.
Autonomy and experience of use
Special strict measurements of autonomous timeI didn’t do any work, but I can say that in 10 days of testing the ACME BH203, which I listened to often and for a long time, had to be recharged only once, and the BH213, which were not used so actively, lost only 30% of their charge.
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With prolonged use, discomfort manifests itself in different ways. In BH203, ears begin to hurt after an hour and a half of continuous wear. Closed BH213 have no such drawback, but their ears sweat more.
The connection of both headsets with the phone within the claimed 10 meters is reliable, the connection is fast.
Price
Acme's pricing policy has always been differenttolerance to the thickness of the customer’s wallet, so the prices of these models will not baffle you: Acme BH203 can now be bought for only 399 hryvnias, and Acme BH213 for 599 hryvnias.
In the dry residue
The younger model BH203 performed surprisinglyFine. Neat assembly, nice materials, cute design and unexpectedly high sound quality at a more than affordable price make them an excellent Christmas tree gift. And this is not just my opinion – Everyone I gave these headphones to listen to spoke highly of them, and one of my colleagues was so impressed that he ordered one for himself that same day. If you don't get carried away and don't spend more than an hour in a row in them, they are quite comfortable. I’ll probably buy myself a BH203 too, if I have time - I have a feeling that they will quickly be scattered by cash-strapped audiophiles. These headphones can also be safely recommended to older people who are less able to hear high frequencies.
But the sound of the BH213 I personally did not like. Of course, everyone has a different rumor and different preferences, at least before buying it is worth listening to them to make a decision on their own. As for ergonomics and comfort, everything is fine here, except for the already mentioned nuance with the volume key.
Technical characteristics of wireless stereo headsetsACME
Model
Bh203
Bh213
Weight
200 g
213 g
frequency range
20–20,000 Hz
Impedance
no data
32 Ohm
Sensitivity
94 dB ±3 dB
100 dB ±3 dB
Connection
Bluetooth 4.2; AUX 3.5 mm; Micro usb
Bluetooth 5.0 AUX 3.5 mm; Micro usb
Speaker size
40 mm
Nutrition
Li-Ion battery (300 mAh)
Li-Ion battery (n/a)
Claimed battery life, conversation / music / standby
11h / 11h / 30h
17 h / 17 h / 300 h
3 reasons to buy ACME BH203:
- you consider yourself an audiophile and distinguish FLAC and MP3 by ear, but expensive A-brand headphones cannot afford;
- you consider unsafe complete soundproofing and want to at least hear a little of the surroundings;
- you need an inexpensive gift for a music lover, for which you certainly will not be ashamed.
1 reason not to buy ACME BH203:
- You like to listen to music or watch videos for a long time, and the most comfortable fit of the headphones is important to you.
1 reason to buy ACME BH213:
- Sound insulation, deep bass and a comfortable fit for your headphones are more important than balanced sound.
2 reasons not to buy ACME BH213:
- strong imbalance of the frequency response towards the bass and their fuzzy reproduction;
- inconvenient implementation of navigation and volume control.