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