INTRODUCTION

   Roughly three weeks ago while i was in the subway heading home someone next to me was listening give in to me by Michael Jackson (one of my favorite songs of all time) on his smartphone without using a headset or earphones (because of that he had the volume turned almost all the way down). Well it didn't take long for us to start talking and much like many people i know he too was looking for an affordable yet good quality and performance headset to use on the go. Unfortunately with capital controls in effect where i live there aren't many stores one can buy such a headset online (Amazon is always the most popular and easy way out) but after roughly 15 minutes of searching through such products over a cup of coffee our eyes fell on the HB-8A Bluetooth Headphones by AudioMX which arrived soon afterwards in our lab for testing.

   In AudioMX brand, we try to understand customers’ needs and create products of lasting quality that delight you in unexpected ways. Utilizing advanced electroacoustic technology, we provide superior hi-fi headphones that deliver optimized sound quality, state-of-the-art functionality & gorgeous design in combination with personality, fashion & style. To suit various needs, AudioMX brand consists of Bluetooth headphones, 2.4GHz wireless headphones, game headphones, monitor headphones and wired headphones, which cover different uses of mobile, home, professional, teaching, conference, etc, and can be integrated with personal mobile devices, PCs, TVs, Hi-Fi equipment, game consoles, etc. Our premium-quality headphones of AudioMX brand enchant you with their wonderful sound no matter where you are. If you are an audiophile and seeking for perfect headphones or earbuds, we are delightful to offer you the most satisfactory products.

   Compared to most of their competition in the market today the HB-8A Bluetooth headphones by AudioMX have quite an interesting list of features largely thanks to the use of Bluetooth V4.0 connectivity with CSR and Qualcomm’s aptX codec which enables wireless CD-like quality audio. In terms of specifications the HB-8A are equipped with two 40mm stereo drivers that feature a frequency response of 20Hz-20KHz with 32Ohm impedance and 103db (+-3) sensitivity, build-in noise cancelling microphone, aluminum frame, rotating earcups, foldable design, passive noise cancelling technology and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack which enables audio playback for up to 19-20 hours (standby time is set at a staggering 760 hours). Audio quality is perhaps the one thing not always revealed by the specifications sheet so let's move forward with our review of the AudioMX HB-8A Bluetooth headphones to see what you can expect from them.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The HB-8A arrived inside a black box with their picture at the front.

On the left side of the box AudioMX has placed several drawings showcasing the main features of the headset.

A product drawing is placed at the rear of the box right over the aptX logo.

Packaging is good since the headset is placed inside a formed piece of plastic.

Contained inside the box is the HB-8A headset, USB to micro USB charging cable, 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable, carrying/storage pouch and the user manual.

THE HB-8A

AudioMX has used black and silver as the primary colors for the HB-8A.

In terms of size the HB-8A is not much larger compared to a compact headset like the Jabra REVO Wireless.

Both sides of the headset feature brushed aluminum plates right beneath the company name.

The HB-8A has 3 control buttons on the left front along with an activity LED (answer/end call, volume increase/decrease and previous/next track).

The micro USB charging port is placed at the base of the left earcup right next to the integrated microphone and the 3.5mm port.

Left and right markings are placed on the interior right over the earcups.

Both earcups can rotate forward and backwards as seen above for improved comfort.

AudioMX has used a good amount of padding for the medium sized ear cushions.

The headpad may not feature the equivalent amount of padding compared to the ear cushions but still we had no problem during testing.

The headband extends a total of 27mm on each side (54mm total) via 8 increments (not visible ones).

Foldable designs are not something rare nowadays but it's always a nice feature to have.

CONCLUSION

   When AudioMX asked us to test the HB-8A i have to admit that at first i was somewhat skeptical since we had never heard of them in the past. Fortunately after checking the specifications sheet some features like the aptX codec used were enough to ease my concerns but not nearly as much as the moment i took the headset out of its box. Of course build quality is not the best I’ve seen with a similar headset (still the aluminum frame and brushed aluminum plates are not two things we see often) but it's still quite high while the design of the headset is also very good. But that's not all since the ability to rotate the earcups and fold the headset for easier storing can both come in handy. Things are very good in the audio department as well with surprisingly clear and accurate mids and highs although i must say that with some specific types of music bass seems just a tad too much. Of course you can always fix that by tweaking the equalizer of your device (if it's a smartphone for example) and i know that some people love too much bass so i guess that's just me. Overall there's nothing bad with the HB-8A in the audio department something which hardly ever happens with an affordable Bluetooth headset. Unfortunately when it comes to battery life at almost full volume we didn't even come close to the 19-20 hours advertised by AudioMX and as a matter of fact we hardly crossed the 12 hours mark. It goes without saying however that 12 hours at full volume is a very good number and again not one we see a lot with similar products. As for the microphone once again we didn’t use it much but again nothing separates it from all the similar ones used in most headsets in the market (bottom line don’t expect anything over average).

   So just how much do you need to throw at AudioMX for their HB-8A Bluetooth headset? Actually things could hardly get any better here as well since currently the HB-8A retail for USD65.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 58Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Now if you can afford or just want to spend twice as much or more then you have quite a few models to pick from with better build quality and perhaps even better audio quality but if you don't then the HB-8A is a great choice for the money AudioMX asks. At the end of the day we all enjoyed using the HB-8A and although yes you can't expect perfection from an affordable Bluetooth headset still it's very good and exactly what we were hoping it would be and for that it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Good And Accurate Mids
- Good Bass Levels
- Battery Life (Up To 19-20 Hours)
- Wired & Wireless Use
- Media Controls
- Design
- Rotating Earcups
- Foldable Design
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- None