Wired earphones are a nightmare for anyone who works out, getting tangled into equipment and creating microphonic noise by rubbing against the clothes. These are some of the reasons I prefer wireless earphones in Gym. A few weeks back, folks at Bliiq contacted us and asked us to check out their latest Bliiq Hummingbird wireless earphone. I have been using it for a while now and I feel like I should share my developments. Let’s get started.
Bliiq Hummingbird is a wireless earphone developed for athletes and people on the run. It offers in-ear style earbuds with a long-lasting battery, splash and sweat resistance, dynamic tonal range, Ambient sound mode, and a lifetime warranty. These features did catch my attention but I don’t recommend anything without testing it to its full might. Here I have tested and narrowed down my findings to following bullet points.
- Build Quality
- Waterproofing
- Range
- Comfort
- Sound quality
- Ambient mode
- Battery
What’s in the box?
Unboxing the Bliiq Hummingbird was a pleasant surprise. It comes in a fancy box with dedicated foam cutout for each earbud. Removing the earbuds from the top, you get some user manual and a quick start guide. I believe a QR code should do the job. Underneath the manual, you get a USB cable to charge your wireless earbuds, multiple bud sizes, a clever magnetic storage case.Â
Build Quality
Out of the box, looking at certain angles gives me a shiny almost glittery reflection which isn’t that subtle as I wish it were. The design is supposedly inspired by the hummingbird, hence the name.
The earbuds fit snug on the ear and you can precisely adjust the fit with the ear tips for the best experience. The hooks are sturdy and do not come out while working out, in fact, I have tried all the intense workouts which would shake my body to the extreme but the earbuds did not come off.
The controls and the mic fit on the left side of the earbuds and the housing looks sleek and does not add much weight to one side. The cable which connects the two earbuds is sufficiently long that it fits most body profiles and short enough that it doesn’t add any dead weight.
With the initial look and feel, the product feels almost premium, almost. The shiny paint job and the sturdy built do offer better aesthetics but in certain lighting, it may look overdone to some. If you don’t like shiny object, go for black color.
Waterproofing
The only reason that it is even a bullet point in this article is that the website subtly mentions the waterproofing feature. The lines get washed out when we talk about waterproofing. Let me get this clear, Bliiq Hummingbird is not waterproof, but it does, however, comes with a hydrophobic coating which repels water and other liquids. It wouldn’t sustain any damage if it were to come in contact of sweat or an occasional splash of water. You still shouldn’t take your earphones to a shower, a swim, or even in rain.
Range
Bliiq hummingbird wireless earphones come equipped with Bluetooth version 4.0, it is developed for athletes and gym goers, the range doesn’t cross 30 feet within the line of sight with no interference. Now I also tested it behind the walls and with enough interference, the maximum range I got was about 10 feet.
I don’t think the range is going to be a dealbreaker considering you can do all the activities with your phone in the pocket, I keep my phone aside while working out and drift from equipment to equipment and the music starts as soon as I go out of range. This is not a dealbreaker but certainly to be kept in mind before making a purchase.
The video playback stops if you go out range.
Comfort
I don’t compromise with subpar devices and if I can feel the earphones in my ear after a couple of hours then there is something wrong. A good pair of earphones sit flush within the ear canal and make an airtight seal to provide the best sound quality. These earphones get an above satisfactory rating when it comes to comfort. I don’t have the problem with the ear tips at all. In fact, I chose the best fitting ear tips with a bi-flange and it improved my experience significantly. Considering the size of each earbud, the weight eventually became noticeable after a period of a few hours. I was able to use them for a fairly long workout without even noticing the weight.
The ear tips are the most important part of these earphones. You get eight sets of ear tips of various sizes and shapes. You get three pairs of silicone tips in different sizes, three pairs of round tip bi-flange tips, and two pairs of cone bi-flange tips. These would cater to almost everyone’s ear canals and provide a snug fit. The reason I’m focusing so much on ear tips is that people don’t realize that an improper seal on an earbud would depreciate the sound quality. So feel free to try and find the best fit from the options for the best fit.
Sound Quality
That said, these earphones sound pretty balanced, but I do find the bass missing. I do appreciate the dynamic tonal range which they claim on the website is something worth experiencing.
I tested the sound quality with various frequencies and obviously Bohemian Rhapsody, the results were cheerfully surprising. The earphones do lack the amount of bass you would expect during an active session but I didn’t feel the lack of bass. On the contrary, the sound is much fuller and balanced. Unlike most manufacturers who skip on the lower frequencies and amp up the higher frequencies to sound louder, Bliiq offers a more consistent sound with significant loudness. Maybe that’s just my personal preference but I can compromise bass for a much fuller sound.
Unfortunately, Bliiq Hummingbird does not support AptX codec.
Ambient Mode
One of the most highlighted features of Bliiq Hummingbird is a wireless earphone is the ambient mode.
With an over the ear hook and a bulky size of the earbud, it would have been appalling to remove the earbuds everytime you wished to speak with someone while wearing the earphones. To activate the Ambient mode, press the power button twice. When I tested this feature, it almost sounded like a misconfigured amplifier in my ears. Although real-time, the ambient mode doesn’t quite get the things right. You do get instant feedback of your surroundings and hear the voices clearly but it also picks up ALL THE NOISE. At this point, I think the feature could have been refined before including it in the final product. While the feature in itself is pretty intuitive but the implementation is rather incomplete.
Battery
The thing that Bliiq got right with this bulky earphones is the battery life. The earphones are claimed to last for 14 hours at a single charge. Bliiq also claims that you can get up to one hour of playback time with just 10 minutes of charging. I tested the claim and it does, in fact, last quite a while and I used it extensively to get a back up of about. Hours which is acceptable. The quick charge claim also holds up and does work as advertised.
Price
Bliiq Hummingbird wireless earphones are placed reasonably at $74 on Amazon.com. Considering the fact that you get 8 sets of ear tips, a charging cable, and a leather case along with the earphones, it sounds like a sweet deal. I would definitely recommend it as you get a lifetime warranty on the product.
Final Thoughts
Overall the earphones sound decent and I would probably have them as my daily driver. There are a few things that could have been corrected like the color combination, and the Ambient mode. Other than that the battery life is impeccable, the sound quality is fuller and balanced. Tell us if you like the Bliiq Hummingbird wireless earphones in the comments below.
Buy a Wired earphone for sound quality and Wireless earphones for commute and working out.
