The market for “truly” wireless earbuds (with two separate buds and a charging case) is widening. Phiaton, a supplier of mid-range audio gear, is hoping to stand out with a competitive $140 price and unique features with its “Bolt” BT 700 design.
That unique selling point is a Bluetooth speaker integrated into the case, so you can blast music at full volume when you’re ready to share it. And that feature is, well, pretty much a total bust. Elsewhere the design of the BT 700 is solid, and having to lug around a tiny ancillary speaker with your case is a sacrifice for good earbud audio quality, decent battery life, and excellent wireless performance. Phiaton whiffs hard on the Bolt’s most marketable feature, but considering how comfortable and reliable these buds are, they might still be worth it for some users.
No Strings on Me
At first glance the BT 700 looks more or less identical to the rest of the truly wireless crowd: two buds, a charging case, automatic pairing when you pull the buds out the case, shave and a haircut, two pence. And as amazing as that concept was just a short time ago, now it’s somewhat old hat.
But Phiaton has nailed the essentials of a wireless earbud design here, an impressive feat on its first model. The buds stay connected through thick and thin, or to be more precise, through three walls and about fifty feet of my house. They’re also ready to go in just about any condition you’d actually wear them: through hours of walking in windy weather and riding my bike at a maximum of about 20 miles per hour, the earbuds stayed connected with my phone (and with each other) the entire time. They get full marks for wireless stability, which is something that isn’t always a given with this category.
The buds themselves were surprisingly comfortable, at least to my fairly average-sized male ears. I used the pre-installed silicone tips (there are three other options for bigger and smaller in the box) and the stability “wing” that’s permanently affixed to the plastic body of each bud, I couldn’t get them to shake out of my ears even with some had bobbing that would win me nods of approval from an 80s hair band. Very occasionally the stability wings would come out of my ear, but it was easy enough to get them back in and comfy again.
The buds probably won’t stick around for twelve rounds of a boxing match or a dip in the pool, but they’re good to go for pretty much any other exercise you can throw at them. Speaking of exercise: Phiaton rates them at IPX4 “sweat resistant,” so they’ll be able to withstand a heavy workout or a spring shower, but that’s about it. I didn’t notice any obvious problems from my (pretty sweaty) workout sessions.
In terms of longevity, I found the buds lasting for a little more than four hours with my mix of music and podcasts at moderate volume. That’s not great compared to the offerings from Apple and Samsung, though it’s much better than the cheapo designs quickly filling up this category. The case will give you three charges for a maximum of 16 hours and change of music away from your charger (a micro USB charger, more’s the pity). I found that 20 minutes of charging in the case was enough to last me for the last hour of my workouts, which is par for the course.
Hooray for Real Buttons!
Controlling the buds while they’re in your ears uses a mix of conventional silicone-covered buttons and touch-sensitive plastic. Each bud has volume up and down on the top and a multi-use button on the side. These control a variety of functions, with the ones connected to the conventional buttons (track forward/back, manual power on or off for either bud) being much easier than the touch-sensitive buttons. You’ll need to tap and/or hold those touch buttons for play/pause, accepting or ending calls, or checking the battery via a voice message.
The touch-sensitive buttons take a bit of getting used to: it’s tricky finding the correct spot and the right cadence for the double-tap command. I know this stuff is all the rage and makes the design look smooth, but there’s nothing you can do with this that couldn’t have been accomplished with a third conventional button on the outside of the plastic case. Additionally, it means that you can only control play/pause on the right bud and “audio transparency” on the left.
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Source : Phiaton Bolt BT 700 Wireless Earbuds Review: a Vestigial Speaker Drags Down a Solid Design
