Out
from the shadows.
So
it seems as if Jabra weren't the only ones making a 'round-the-neck'
set of Bluetooth headphones, as Sol Republic have assembled a tasty
looking pair as well. If you're looking for a water and sweat proof
pair of cans that can function for sport as well as fun, check out
the Shadow Wireless... we did.
The
Sol Republic Shadow Wireless Headphones feature a pair of in-ear
monitors attached to a flexible base. That base sits comfortably
around your neck on top of your shoulders, and as it is bendy and
exceptionally light, we hardly knew we were wearing it when we had it
on. The flexibility of the band, and its ability to be moulded into
shape and stay that way, should mean it could be worn by pretty much
anyone of any age.
The
device boasts a battery life of up to eight hours, and first time
round we let them play endlessly, connected to a phone. Sure enough,
the Sol Republic Shadow Wireless Headphones gave up the ghost after
just over eight hours of playback, which means, off and on, these
will see you right for a whole day of heavy use. On that note, the
charging time was also very quick, and we think we juiced them up
fully in under an hour.
Connecting
via Bluetooth is a doddle, and we found that the headphones were both
discovered by music sources, and discovered devices themselves, very
quickly. Switch them on, and so long as your phone's Bluetooth is
already enabled, they'll connect in less than five seconds. And,
obviously, while connected to a phone you can still make and take
calls via the headset's built-in microphone.
In
use, they performed exceptionally well. The earbuds (extra fittings
included) create a reasonably tight seal, so even at low volumes
you'll be hearing every little detail of the track. It would be an
understatement to say that the Sol Republic Shadow Wireless
Headphones excelled at reproducing bass, but heavy and thudding tunes
were a real pleasure to listen to with them.
All
genres sounded nice however, not just bassy efforts. Spoken word
tracks were clean and crisp (as were phone conversations), while high
points and lyrics just seemed to pour into our ears smoothly –
again, all helped by those comfortable and tight seals.
Bluetooth
headsets of this design are becoming increasingly popular, and it's
easy to see why. By taking them off the head they are more
comfortable and less conspicuous, meaning they can be work pretty
much anywhere and used not just for music throughout the day. The Sol
Republic Shadow Wireless Headphones epitomise this, as they could be
worn for listening to tracks while running and also for taking calls
in the office. Some nice work here.
£99