Brainwavz has always prided themselves as being the alpha male when it comes to 3rd party earpads since most would think that when you say Brainwavz, it’s automatically, Earpads. So when they offered me to realview a divergence from the usual line that I realview from them, then and there I agreed. That divergence came in the form of a Bluetooth earphones, the Brainwavz BLU-300.
The Brainwavz BLU-300 is a wireless Bluetooth sports earphone designed and made as the perfect exercise partner. It features Bluetooth 4.1, 10mm Dynamic driver, IPX7 water resistant rating, inline mic controls, magnetic earphone clasps and an 8-Hr battery life.With the BLU-300 utilizing Bluetooth 4.1 which allows for a guaranteed stability for a 10m connection range and a 24MBs connection speed which I hope will hold its ground later. The Brainwavz BLU-300 is priced for only $39.50 which at the moment is currently on a holiday season sale for just $33.58, you can head out to the Brainwavz Official Site and their Brainwavz Amazon and Brainwavz Amazon UK counterparts to check out the BLU-300 and their other audiophile offerings.
Specifications and Packaging
Brainwavz BLU-300 Spec sheet:
- Drivers : Dynamic, 10mm
- Rated Impedance : 16Ω
- Frequency Range : 20Hz ~ 20kHz
- Sensitivity : 102 dB at 1 mW
- Rated Input Power : 5 mW
- Bluetooth Version: 4.1
- Pairing : Single & Dual Pairing
- Operating Range : Up-to 10 meters
- Voice Prompt : Yes
- Play Time : ~6-8 hours
- Standby Time : ~250 hours
- Charge Time : 1-2 hours
The Brainwavz BLU-300 came in a simple white cardboard box white the BLU-300 silhouette printed on the front and the products’ specifications with bullet points to highlight its most notable features. Opening the box immediately reveals the BLU-300 which is stored appropriately in a way that doesn’t stress the neckband and protects the actual earphones and the inline mic controls, this is probably the only time I can remember now which the BLU-300 has been stored since I started using it. The accessory is as basic as its gets with only coming with a set of silicon ear tips(S, M, and L) and the charging cable.
Build quality and Mic Controls
Marketed as the perfect exercise partner, the Brainwavz BLU-300 is mostly made of smooth matte rubber with touches of metal for the magnetic clasps and then an unverified hard plastic or maybe metal earphone housing and inline mic controls housing. No other color option is available and anyone is stuck with black which might push away the trendy and flashy gym bods and audiophiles.
The neckband utilizes the flat rubber cable which isn’t sticky and did great when used with a collared shirt as it contours well with the curves and when used with sports jerseys leaves a lighter impression on the neck although it is indeed very light as opposed to a round cable even when lightweight. It also allows for an easier storage solution since braided cables are welcome to be absent on sports earphones after all.
The BLU-300 utilizes a neckband design to house the inline mic control via a standard 3-button configuration, one used to turn on/off the BLU-300,initiate pairing, activate “hey google”, play/pause while the other 2 buttons are for the usual volume controls as well as doing the forward/previous controls. The buttons are easy to spot and has good identifiable shapes which worked really great, I didn’t find any issues with navigating the numerous BLU-300 features with it.
Connectivity and Stability
Utilizing the already old 2014 released Bluetooth 4.1 for its connectivity needs and you might be wondering why the choice and we’ll dig into that. The BLU-300 features a single LED light indicator which toggles between red and blue. Charging is signified red while battery full is blue, turned on is a quick blue blinking, turned off is quick red blinking. Pairing mode is with quick red/blue blinking while intermittent blue blinks at around 8 second interval signifies paired and connected mode and volume changes doesn’t have LED light indicators although it uses a 15-step volume control independent from the source which was great when adjusting an already locked volume source.
Pairing and connecting the BLU-300 was an easy task and had never encountered any issues with connecting and pairing for the full month I used it daily to pair with my mobile phone, laptop and DAP. Stability was also top-notch, all daily tasks that required an earphone that I do regularly was improved when using the BLU-300 from watching movies, streams, taking in calls and listening to music. The advertised 10m range was on point and only encountered hiccups when I moved to a room separated by a concrete wall, the 10m was to be found but audio was cutting out already. Taking out for a jog was also a joy although the neckband bouncing around was a bit annoying but not straining to the neck. It did well with backing its IPX7 rating although the rubber flap protecting the charging slot wasn’t as snug as I would expect.
Sound Quality and Battery Life
The BLU-300 was advertised to pump out 6-8 hours of wireless audio connectivity and it is accurate, my average usage time for the BLU-300 clocked in at 5 to 6.5 hours with source swapping at around 4-6 times and at 9-12 volume steps. 8 hours was to be achieved if you stick with a single source and at 5-9 volume steps. Charging time was an average 2 hours maximum which I’m fine with given it was very stable and was really able to eke out all the minutes worth my charge.
The BLU-300 was never marketed to give an overall excellent sound experience but a powerful bass was marketed. With a dynamic driver to its name,I gave it all the time in the world for a full burn-n which after around the 100-hour mark indeed showcased a great fat bass response which although lacks in attack delivery was compensated by a soft decay presence that doesn’t congest the midrange but instead complimented it. The midrange performance of the BLU-300 was its best aspect soundwise which is just perfect for those voice call quality and video watching session, not to mention that latency was great and no delay was too great for the BLU-300. The midrange was natural sounding with a touch of the subtle lower frequency bleed. Timbre is a tad off with a lean towards the lower spectrum. The Highs are mediocre and at this rate is already no-brainer since minute details are still distinguishable enough to say yeah, there’s those highs.
Conclusion
The Brainwavz BLU-300, although not the perfect exercise partner, scratched off all my Bluetooth 4.1 worries away, this wireless earphone is the perfect example of a greatly implemented BT4.1 with zero connection and stability issues and still provide a sound quality that is both warm and smooth sounding. The build quality is top-notch and the choice of the flat cable neckband is a standard to be observed, round cables just doesn’t sit right on the neck. Did I mention that the 6-8hour battery life is already just an added bonus for how stable the wireless connection was? Yeah, you got that right, the Brainwavz BLU-300 is and will be staying on my neck from now on.
