Gear Review: 66 Audio BTS Wireless Headphones

How do these things even stay on?  Cool design!

This summer, 66 Audio asked it I would like to test drive their BTS wireless head phones.  Of course I would!  I love testing new gear and was excited to see how these wireless headphones would perform on my various adventures.  I have always been an ear bud person, so I will admit I was a bit skeptical about how I would enjoy the external style headphones.  Here is how my test drive went down...



*Disclosure: I was promo'd these headphones from 66 Audio to test them out.  This review, as all of my reviews, is entirely my own and is not swayed by anyone or anything.  I write my reviews straight up and all opinions are mine and mine alone.

BTS wirless headphones- collapse to fit in the palm of my hand.

Within a week my headphones arrived in a nice little kit complete with a start up guide, charging cable and a little cloth bag to store the headphones in.  They fold up quite compact which is a nice feature - I remember the old headsets that were rigid (and with wires) and they got caught on everything and crushed in your bag.  Nice evolution.

The blue tooth pairing process with my phone was super slick and within a few minutes the headphones were connected to my music and ready to rock.  There are step by step instructions in the quick start guide, for those who do not have experience connecting blue tooth devices- easy peasy.  In addition to the quick start guide there are troubleshooting notes and 24-7 email support provided so you can avoid frustration if things don't go as planned for some reason.  Nice!

Trail Run Test!

Pro's:

• Great sound.  I LOVE music.  Particularily very loud music:)  That is why I have always loved ear buds, because you can block out ambiant sound and play the beats right in your head.  These were suprisingly loud for external headphones- and got to the level that I enjoy.  
• Easy to use functions: Skip forward, back, pause, play and volume up/ down are all a tap away, on the side of the right headphone.  
• No wires!  This was my first experience with wireless headphones and I have to say it is hard to go back to wires now!  I loved just sticking them on my ears and heading out the door.  No need to find the best way to route your wires through your shirt or stuff them into your pack.  Pretty sweet.
• No head squishing!  The headphones sit behind your head, with a small loop over your ear to hold them into place.  Not like the headphones that rest on top of your head and give you a headache after 10 minutes, these were virtually invisible and really hard to believe I was even wearing them.  My friends had varying experiences with the fit, however.  Most thought they fit very well but one or two found that they put pressure on the head, just behind the ears- depends how big your head is I suppose.  They didn't put any pressure on my head and felt weightless.  I honestly didn't think they would stay in place running- but they didn't even budge!  Great design.
• Phone calls- as they connect with your phone, the headphones allow you to make and receive phone calls without getting your phone out of your pack or pocket.  That was pretty sweet too.  Although I did accidentally call someone while trying to turn up the volume once lol;).
• Insane battery life.  I don't think I have had to recharge them yet!  I have worn them biking, running, to the gym, on the plane and have lent them out to friends and they are still going strong.  HUGE pro.
• Warranty and Support.  They have a 1 year warranty on the hardware and 24/7 email support which I think is huge.

Just trying to move this boulder off the trail.

Con's:

• Warmer than ear buds.  Although they are a very small design, of course, the external headphones are warmer than ear buds.  On colder days this was actually a PRO, however!  They took the chill off my head and acted like ear warmers.  But on hotter days it got a bit icky.
• Occasional delayed response.  99% of the time the headphone controls worked very well.  But every now and they wouldn't respond which was a bit frustrating.  However, after a few more tries, they would always do what they were supposed to. 
• Bluetooth- well, you know, not the headphones fault so I can't really call it a Con.  But bluetooth uses up your phone battery faster but it is the price you pay for no wires.

Running- awesome!  1.75 thumbs up!  Great to not have wires to deal with in addition to your phone.  They were sweaty on the hot days though.  And when I am running I always like to keep one ear open to pay attention to my surroundings, and unfortunately this was virtually impossible with these external style headphones.  So, running alone with them in the trails wasn't an option.

Mountain Biking- awesome!  2 thumbs up!  Again, no wires was even better biking than running - as they often get tangled up and cause all sorts of trouble while riding.  They fit really well under my helmet and straps so no problem there.  And, the best part was I could keep one ear open, as the headphone rested in my helmet strap when I pulled it off one ear.  Perfect.

Gym- awesome!  2 big thumbs up!  I think this is where they shine the most actually.  No wires, means you can tuck your phone away and not worry about getting caught up on weights and machines during your workout.  The sound is great and the external headphone gives your wee ears a break from buds being shoved inside them all the time.  And, let's be honest, they just look cool;) 

OK so how much do these high tech headphones cost??  

I was very suprised to find out that this model, BTS, goes for $59.99 USD!

The larger, louder, big sister, Revolution model, goes for $169.99 USD.

If you are keen on wireless headphones I would definitely recommend that you order a pair from 66 Audio for your adventures while they are still priced so affordably.  Hitting the radar rapidly, you never know where these babies will go...

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Happy Trails!
SS