Today is the day most of us are getting to work on those New Year’s resolutions and lots of people will be embarking on a healthier and fitter 2015. For some that will mean more exercise and perhaps even running. I simply can’t workout properly without good music and I reviewed the amazing Bose SoundSport in-ear headphones a while ago but at £129.95 they are pricey. The lovely people at Giffgaff sent me the Philips ActionFit on-ear headphones to try this month, so how did they shape up?
In the box you will find the headphones and a bag to store them in. As per the description you will see these are the type of headphones that go over your head rather than in your ear. I see loads of people walking around the City wearing these so was interested to see how they would perform during both a walk around town and in a workout.
First of all they are really light and fit snugly on your head. So much so that it is possible to forget they are there, I expected to feel weighed down by them but this wasn’t the case at all. I was concerned about hygiene when wearing these for sports as the ear cushions are quite big but they are washable and sweat resistant so that is also a bonus.
They are made from silicon to make them extra light and to enhance the grip reducing slippage during intense exercise. When walking around I found they stayed in place perfectly and I had no problems with them moving on my head. When running it was a different story. I found they moved forward a bit meaning I spent a lot of the time pushing them back into placeand that, for someone who hates to run in the first place, is too distracting.
Before reading about these headphones I was shocked to be able to still hear everything going on around me when listening to music. This is part of the design and Philips call this a safety precaution so you are aware of your surroundings when outdoors. For walking around I really like this idea – I can hear the traffic, people around me and general background noise of the City but it isn’t too distracting from my choice of tune.
When working out in the gym that changes for me as I prefer to turn up my music really loud to drown out the sound of other people grunting and panting. Unfortunately I could still hear them wearing these headphones and that ultimately leads to the biggest negative for me about these, they could also hear me. Because of this open acoustic design there is a lot of leakage when it comes to the sound. I took them off and had a friend wear them, I could tell her exactly what song she was listening to. Now generally walking around town I don’t think this is a major concern but I don’t want people in the gym to hear the cheesy pop I chose to workout to and I’m pretty sure they don’t want it disturbing their workout either.
Despite this sound leakage the sound quality is actually really good and there wasn’t much distortion when I turned them up to full volume. The bass is heavy thanks to their 40-mm neodymium drivers and this is a huge plus for me especially when trying to listen through the everyday sounds you can still hear during use. This sound quality certainly makes that background noise loud enough to notice if you are in danger but not disturbing to your music.
So would I recommend them? At £65 they aren’t exactly cheap but they are half the price of the Bose in-ear headphones. I would recommend them for the daily commute and walking around but then they aren’t as transportable as a set of in-ear headphones due to the size of the headband. If you like a headband style set of headphones I’d give them a go but not if you are into running or high impact exercise; for that I’d go Bose every time.
Do you use headphones for sports? What would you recommend?
Thanks to Joe’s Bloggers and GiffGaff for sending this item for review purposes.
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