SMS Audio SMS-BTWS-SPRT-YLW SYNC By 50 On Ear Wireless Sport Headphones, Yellow

I ordered these headphones specifically to use at the gym. I was interested in the specific selling points of gym headphones (i.e. they stay on the head while moving, lying down to bench press, leaning forward to deadlift and so on, and they can stand the sweating).I did not expect to greatly enthuse about their sound. And yet, even before my first workout with them, as they have just arrived and I have just tried them, I already want to write this review because I have been pleasantly surprised.I have compared these with other closed headphones (Sennheiser HD280, Beyerdynamic DT150, Bowers & Wilkins P5), open headphones (Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro), and as a reference for them all a decent pair of monitors (Dynaudio BM6A).Let's be clear: I am not a rapper, I only moderately enjoy rap, I listen to all kinds of music, baroque, classical, jazz, R&B, prog metal, instrumental rock, and so on. But when the frequency range gets wide, I am impressed at how easily the SMS headphones reproduce the bass, without too much overemphasis. That's not to say they are perfectly neutral, but they do a good job.The downside of these headphones is a certain lack of clarity. The most easily comparable, the B&W which are also over the ear headphones, are better in this respect, as are the HD280 and DT150. In terms of clarity AND airiness (spaciousness, separation of all the sounds), the DT990 Pro, being open headphones, are easily superior. The SMS will tire the ears after a while.After two workouts with these headphones, I can confirm that they simply do not move. They will stay put when you bench press or deadlift. However, there is no miracle: they achieve this by being very tight. This can get uncomfortable for people who need glasses (which is my case). I'm sure the fit is comfortable enough for most people though, especially when worn for a limited time. Good for a workout, look elsewhere if you want to wear them for a whole afternoon. That aside, you put them on your head, and basically forget about them and focus on the workout while hearing the music. The sweat is absorbed quickly, and even when you're all sweaty your ears are not feeling hot. Note however that they are rather thick on the ears. This is no problem for most things, but they were in the way to place my arms properly when I wanted to do overhead triceps dumbbell extensions, and there may be a few other exercises where this could be an issue. So... I had to take them off while doing that. It's by no means a deal breaker but something to be aware of.The packaging and accessories are comprehensive and of adequate quality. I was surprised that the charging cable for my lime (officially yellow) coloured headphones had blue connectors, when everything else is colour-matched. SMS tech support have told me this is normal, so don't worry about it (anyway it's just a standard charging cable and no big deal). The semi-hard carrying case will be handy when travelling with them.Bluetooth works very well (I could keep receiving signal from a Galaxy S4 from around 8 meters away with two brick walls in between. And it allows you to be cable free in the gym which is another advantage. Note also that they can work with a cable, so if the battery charge runs out while you're working out, as long as you have the cable in your gym bag you can still use them. I cannot comment on battery life at this point except to say that I used them for two workouts with no charging in between, and they were long-ish workouts (cardio warm-up and cool-down, with weights in between and stretching at the end). I have one criticism here: there is no way to check the charge remaining. Or at least, if there is a way it's not documented. Something could be done like perhaps flashing the BlueTooth LED in bursts every 30 seconds when it's time to recharge. I mean, I have some Sony bluetooth headphones that flash LEDs when pressing and holding the power button during use, and more charge results in three flashes, decreasing to one flash when the battery gets depleted. It's a handy feature that is missing from the SMS headphones.The controls are all very big and easy to reach/feel on the left earcup (ideal when working out).They look great and are foldable.Overall these headphones are an excellent choice if you want to use them for what they were designed for: working out. They are a tad overpriced with regards to their sound, which is not bad at all with good bass extension but a bit boxy and unclear at times, compared to less expensive, real studio headphones. However, just bear in mind that the premium price is not really justified by the sound, but by the sweat proofing and robustness, and the excellent Bluetooth implementation (and surely, unfortunately, the label/endorsement/fashion value).One final note: At the time of writing this review, the two pictures show different headphones: notice the silver-coloured rim on the earcups, next to the earpad, missing in one of the pictures. The headphones I received do have the silver rim. However, they also have wider earpads that are wider than the earcups, so hey are not exactly like either picture. In that they are similar to others I've seen on YouTube etc. I suspect that the pictures were made with prototypes, and the headphones you will receive will be slightly different. I might add that I was able to register them with SMS with no problem and Amazon is an approved retailer, so I have no doubt that they are genuine.

Bottom Line: If you plan on using these just for jogging or lifting weights, you don't intend on doing a lot of high-intensity exercise, and you don't mind a slightly looser fit and somewhat lackluster quality as far as the feel, you may really enjoy these headphones.I'm unfortunately pretty disappointed with this purchase. I've rated it 3 stars only because some of the other reviews on here appear like it's a quality product and it appears like I received a defective unit which I will be returning. I'll try and be as objective as possible with the rest of the review.Quality: Altogether the headphones appear to be a fairly high quality, but not what I expected for paying $200 for them. Buttons click loudly when pushed and they just don't feel great. When handling the controls it feels like you're dealing with a cheaper piece of electronics.Fit: The headphones fit reasonably well, and probably would have worked fairly well when exercising. I expected the headphones to be more snug on my head though, and don't think they would hold up to high-intensity exercise like jumping jacks or burpees or anything else of the sort. Probably acceptable for jogging or lifting weights, but not for you cross trainers out there.Sound quality: Only one earpiece on the headset that I received worked well. The sound quality was acceptable for a workout set of headphones, but would not even remotely approach the sound quality of a decent set of ATH50s, Bose, or similar.Packaging: Here's where this product shines. I was impressed with the hard case and the pretty innovative method of storing the cables inside of it. Whoever put this part of the design together did well.Battery: Was not able to fully test this, but I think a couple of things are worth noting... The headphones did come with a charge, so you would be able to use them right out of the box. Also CONTRARY to many other reviews on here, they immediately showed a battery indicator on my iPhone and iPad when I synched them.Syncing: Headphones synched immediately with my iPhone and iPad without issue. I did seem to have some issues controlling my music, but that may have been due to the fact that I was running the Spotify app, and not the native Apple Music app. I have noticed this before with even the Apple headphones.Issues: My headphones arrived defective. Only the right ear was playing music at an appropriate volume. I could hear music from the left earpiece, but it was muted and the quality was extremely degraded. I attempted reconnecting them, working with the provided cable, charging them all the way, and nothing seemed to work. I did try using both my iPhone and my iPad to no avail.Ultimately I decided to return these. If they had been fully functional I would probably have kept them, however, I think that some of the other issues (looser fit, some control issues, lower quality controls, etc) would have bothered me in the long run.