Phiaton,Phiaton BOLT BT 700 True Wireless Earphones REVIEW

Over the years I have had the distinct pleasure of working with dozens of headphones designs and testing out many styles of earbuds. My favorite style, of course,rse the wireless variety because it means no cables. That said, I haven’t been very surprised by earbud designs too much since they are all shaped in a similar fashion. One thing I really like with wireless earbuds is their carrying case. Some earbuds come with a storage pouch or semi-hard shell case while others have a full blown charging case. I’m very excited to introduce you to the Phiaton Bolt True Wireless Earphones with charging SPEAKER case. These are the first earbuds of their kind to feature balanced armature drives and a portable charging case that doubles as a wireless speaker.

DETAILS

The Phiaton BOLT BT 700 True Wireless Earphones are ‘true’ wireless earphones that feature touch controls and Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity. The BOLT earphones are designed to provide fine-tuned, high-resolution audio to its users. Its features include:

• Balanced Armature Driver: This is a feature exclusive to Phiaton products. It makes each note come alive and allows you to hear all textured nuances and detail.
• True Wireless Earphones: The BT 700 uses Bluetooth to connect to your audio without wires. Wirelessly connect the L and R earphones for a wire-free sound experience.
• Sweat & Water Resistant: The BT 700 earphones are rated IPX4 for splash resistance. They are certified to function in light rain or heavy work-out.
• Voice Command: The earphones can connect directly to Siri or Google Assistant with a swipe of the touch controls.
• RightFit+: Phiaton includes several pairs of ear tips to ensure you have the ‘right’ fit for your ears.
• Audio Transparency Function: This allows you to hear ambient sounds from your surroundings while you listen to music.
• Charging Speaker Case: When you are charging your earbuds, you can activate the case’s speaker function so that you don’t lose any music time while they are charging.
• Call Quality: Phiaton is committed to bringing the best possible call quality to its users and as such, they have included a dual microphone in each earpiece for superior call performance.

USER EXPERIENCE

The BOLT BT 700 True Wireless Earphones come in a very nice retail package. The front of the box shows the earbuds and their case along with a couple of icons that indicate the touch controls and Bluetooth capabilities. The back of the box cover outlines the main features of the product and show a list of what’s included inside (4 sets of ear tips, USB charging cable, and quick start guide/warranty paper in addition to the earbuds and charging case). The inside of the box has a protective cardboard and foam flap that covers the earbuds and their case. Beneath the tray that holds the earbuds and case, you will find the accessories and paperwork for the headphones.

The earphones are very easy to get started with. The two earpieces will automatically connect to each other when removed from the charging case and they will appear in your Bluetooth menu. This automatic function only works when there is still a charge to the case. When you have to turn the headphones on independent of the case, you press/hold the volume + button on the right ear. The left ear will automatically turn off with the right. I was really surprised at how quickly the power/pairing functions worked. I didn’t have any problem with the earbuds staying connected.

Comfort-wise, the BOLT BT 700 True Wireless Earphones are above average. I love that Phiaton includes four pairs of comfort ear tips with their earbuds. I typically wear the small size ear tip. Robyn C0-Founder of MacSource is usually somewhere between the small and medium that is included. Low and behold, Phiaton includes an in-between size with this kit. It ended up being ideal for her while the small was good for me. One issue I did have with the ear tips were getting them on and off the earbud. The speaker that the ear tip fits onto is oblong in shape while the ear tip is round. This made getting the silicone ear tip onto that speaker difficult. It took several minutes to get them to wrap around the speaker piece whereas other earbuds only take a few seconds. To me, this is an issue with the design since I’ve never had problems with other earbuds.

As of today, the BOLT BT 700 True Wireless Earphones are available through Phiaton’s Kickstarter campaign. They are being offered for $79 as the initial pledge-point. They plan on selling the headphones for $139 when they hit retail shelves. That is a little higher than some other true wireless earbuds that come with a charging case (average is $80), but they are in line with the higher end earbuds and since the case also has a built-in speaker, I think it evens out and is reasonable.

Sound quality is definitely above average. I didn’t have any problem hearing music or spoken word well when using the earbuds and the speaker, while small, packed a nice punch. The speaker/case doesn’t have independent controls on it and instead relies on the volume controls of the phone. The earbuds don’t have quite as much bass like some other styles I’ve used, but the earbuds may not be in my ear as far as the can go either. Either way, I’ve been very happy with how good they sound.

CONCLUSION

The BOLT BT 700 True Wireless Earphones do a really good job as wireless earbuds. They are comfortable to wear, don’t fall out of the ear easily, and they come in a really cool case. If you are at all interested in these, I would recommend you invest during their Kickstarter period as you can get a set at a discount.

For more information, visit phiaton.com.
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Originally published at macsources.com on October 1, 2018.