INTRODUCTION

   Working out without any kind of entertainment can be somewhat boring at times so whenever i get on the treadmill or whenever i use the multi-gym equipment i like to either listen to music or watch movies on my tablet. Of course it goes without saying really but when you're not living alone or it's very late at night and you don't want to annoy the people living next door using earphones (preferably wireless ones) is pretty much the only valid solution (headsets work too but just too heavy for my taste while working out). Unfortunately most wireless earphones don't sit well on the head/ears and are far from sweat-proof something which i noticed just over a month ago when i had an rather expensive earset fail on me while i was using the treadmill. 66 Audio produces headphones and earphones primarily designed for athletes and today we're taking a look at their BTS Sport model.

66 Audio, LLC is an exciting and rapidly-growing LA-based wearable technology startup company that focuses on designing, engineering, and distributing world-class Bluetooth audio products for active consumers throughout the world. We are very passionate about hardware, mobile software and building the best possible consumer products for the active lifestyle. We're constantly on the hunt for innovative and groundbreaking ways to improve customer engagement and experience within the active category and are obsessively pursuing next-generation technologies that will change the way people experience their music on both the hardware and mobile app side of things. 66 Audio is based in Culver City, California with offices in Shenzhen, China as well as Krakow, Poland and London, UK. Learn more at www.66audio.com.

   To ensure that the BTS Sport Bluetooth headset doesn't fall from your head regardless of the type of workout you do 66 Audio followed the somewhat typical around the head design by using a very thin headband to connect the two medium-sized earcups. Stability is also always a concern for such headsets/earsets so to improve on that area the headband passes just over/behind your ear (in a way it locks in position) so there's really very little to no chance of them falling off your head. Under the hood 66 Audio has placed two 30mm drivers (20Hz – 20KHz frequency response with 32Ohm impedance), Bluetooth v4.0 connectivity with EDR (supports multi-point, A2DP v1.2, hands free profile v1.5 and AVRCP v1.0), CSR aptX codec support, built-in microphone with patented Clear Voice Capture Technology and a 400mAh rechargeable lithium-polymer battery pack which gives the device up to 25 hours of music playback and over 400 hours of standby mode.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 The BTS Sport get shipped inside a small white box (white on white is never easy) that has a large product picture at the front along with the company logo.

The features and specifications of the BTS Sport are printed at the rear of the box.

Along with the BTS Sport Bluetooth Headset 66 Audio also ships a carrying/storage pouch, USB to micro USB charging cable, club invitation card, product support card, quick start guide and a user guide.

THE BTS SPORT

 Weighing just 75g the BTS Sport is one of the smallest and lightest headsets to ever pass from our hands.

As always we used the compact REVO Wireless headset by Jabra to showcase the size of the BTS Sport.

66 Audio has placed its logo on the exterior of the left earcup.

The controls are placed on the exterior of the right earcup so here we have the play/pause audio button (also used to answer/end calls, power the headset and start Bluetooth pairing), next/previous track buttons and the volume increase/decrease buttons.

The micro USB charging port is placed at the rear of the right earcup and covered with a rubber cap.

Unfortunately although larger than expected and quite comfortable at that the earpads are not very large and that may potentially annoy some people.

You can fold the BTS Sport headset to place it inside the carrying pouch.

CONCLUSION

   So after 2 weeks of tests just how do we feel about the BTS Sport Bluetooth headset by 66 Audio? Let’s start with the positives. The BTS Sport is very small, lightweight and thanks to its design it's very hard for it to fall off your head even during intensive exercise. It's also very comfortable up to a point where you may even forget you have them on while the sweat-proof feature is for real since they are still alive and kicking. Battery life is also very good and although we weren't able to surpass 17 continuous hours of music playback it's still more than what the majority of similar models offer today (in some cases it's even twice as much). As for the bad things well audio quality is not on par with what we've come to expect from larger sized headsets (yes even the REVO Wireless is much better) but the BTS Sport is far from a large or even a medium sized headset (still I’d say it’s slightly better compared to some earsets). With that in mind mids and highs are good and it does quite well in terms of bass (does also well in terms of volume levels surprisingly for 30mm drivers) but for audiophiles who are looking for perfection this just isn’t it. Of course i really doubt that people who like going to the gym or work out in general would expect perfection from one such compact headset but we need to point out such things. I also would like "softer" controls than the ones the BTS Sport has on the exterior of the earcup (mainly because i don't know if they are built to last) but i didn't encounter any problems while using the headset so that's not really a bad thing. As for the microphone it does offer a good amount of noise reduction for the other end (for example me running on the treadmill was not something people could tell while i was talking to them) but again just like with most cases it's not what I’d call "good".

   It would make almost no sense at all for 66 Audio to set a high price tag for their BTS Sport Bluetooth headset (based solely on audio quality) and they didn't since currently you can find it for USD49.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 49Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). It goes without saying really that things are not like 10 or even just 5 years ago but although you may be able to find quite a few headsets at around the same price point (especially noname ones) they will probably not feature CSR's aptX codec and that's a big drawback for any Bluetooth headset. Overall the BTS Sport may bring very few things on the table that we don't see much in the market today (such as size, weight and stability) but it’s well worth your attention so if you're out looking for a headset which you can wear while exercising then we strongly recommend giving these a chance.

PROS

- Size / Weight
- Stability / Comfort
- Foldable
- Battery Life (Up To 25 Hours)
- Earcup Controls
- Sweat Proof (Not Waterproof)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Audio Quality (Overall)
- Headband Durability?