They’re really small, lightweight and understated. I when I say small I mean really small. Small enough to make you wonder how they fit everything in and also how long before you might lose them.
I liked that there were different size silicone tips, to match the different size ears rather than one size fits all. The small cloth bag to store the headphones and USB charge cable is a nice touch making it much easier to grab them out your backpack or pockets, and also stop them tangling with the rest of your contents.
Set up
The instructions were pretty clear, after charging for an hour they were ready to go. I swapped the medium size silicon tips for the smallest, to see how they fitted.
The next step was to connect via Bluetooth and you start pairing by holding down the middle button for 8 seconds and then selecting the AF33W device from the list of available devices.
As mentioned before, the AF33W uses Multipoint, which to the layman is a Bluetooth® technology, which means that if you are listening to music wirelessly on your laptop or tablet, a phone call will automatically be transferred to the same headphones when it rings. Pretty neat really.
Fit
On the whole, these headphones are pretty comfortable, after they have been broken in for a week or so. They fit snug and secure in my ears, much more than the standard issue, one size fits all headphones.
It was quite a revelation to be unchained from my phone. To date, I’ve been using with the standard iPhone headphones, and being able to throw my phone into the depths of my backpack is somewhat liberating. I can’t believe that I’ve not made the switch to some form of wireless headphones earlier.
It’s great being able to move my head around, without something getting snagged, trapped or yanked, resulting in one side getting ripped out of my ear. I don’t need to worry about shifting my phone around pockets and hands, as I jump between modes of transport, and hustling to make the next train, bus or ferry.
The silicone tips certainly kept them in place, and being sweat resistant they are ideal for using the gym or on a run. The controls were easy to access, and I favoured wearing them around the back of the neck. However, to receive a call I found that I would need to unplug one ear and bring them around the neck to get the microphone closer to my mouth.
Sound
The sound quality and clarity was good with the bass and treble sounding balanced and full, and only distorted at the higher volumes. At lower volumes you could still hear some of the external noise, which is handy for traffic noises and opal card beeps.
There is also a nice set of voice announcements to let you know that they are powered on, that a device is connected and when they are powering off. The only thing lacking in this department was some indication of battery charge left. There was only one notification, to let you know that the power was low and then very shortly after that it powered down, with very little notice.
Battery Life
The battery recharge takes about an hour and will last 3.5 hours when playing and 200 hrs in standby mode. If you need longer play time, then you need to upgrade to the AF56W or AF100W.
Round-up:
If you want to be untethered during your workouts or general day to day listening, you can’t go wrong giving these little headphones a try. They certainly punch above their weight on sound quality, are comfortable, easy to use and they are a great price too.
Thumbs Up
- Small form factor
- Different size Silicone tips
- Bag to keep the earphones and charging cable neatly together
Thumbs Down
- Battery Length
