Bluedio Headphones Review: Pattern Break from Beats Creators
It is believed that the developers of smartphones and other mobile electronics (tablets, laptops, smart watches, etc.) are cashing in on poor consumers. Did you see news with a headline like “iPhone is sold to us for 500 bucks, and the price of its component parts is only 250”? I'm just about that. However, Apple with its smartphones is still a relatively honest manufacturer who makes the minimum markup. Is it worse? It happens. First place in the field of divorce buyers keep - taram-pam-tam - headphone manufacturers!
The fact is that the production of headphones is an extremely high-margin business. Apart from professional audiophile models priced at a couple of thousand dollars, where unique components really are used (such as STAX or Astell & Kern models), the approach to creating “ears” for all manufacturers is approximately the same. We take the old stuffing, slightly twist the sound (well, so that the new model is at least slightly different from the old one), we change the design a bit (with the same purpose), we sell. Everything! Considering that there are no really expensive components in mass-produced headphones, but there is no need to spend on developing “c zero”, the cost of production of a single flagship copy of almost any brand rarely exceeds 50, well, a maximum of 70 dollars. Where do models for 500 bucks come from and more expensive? From there they appear - the brand is not so much technology and sound as it is delivered to the consumer. Let's look at the situation deeper and in parallel, we will review the line of “anti-pathetic” headphones that have recently appeared on the Russian market of the Bluedio brand. Headphones of this manufacturer are focused just on those who do not want to throw out even an extra ruble (even if they can afford it) and at the same time want to get really cool, good-sounding “ears”. No extra charge for "pathos."
')
To begin to answer the main questions that may arise from the respected readers of this material.
- Why do I need to buy headphones if there are cool EarPods included with the same iPhone?
Are you sure that they are cool? I do not think so. Rather, to say the following: as for complete headphones, they are really quite good. Because other manufacturers of smartphones for the most part put much lower quality and cheaper “ears” to their models. But if you look at the EarPods objectively and impartially, then the “ears” are very mediocre. Anyway - what do you want from liners? The perfect sound? Haha Ho ho
In general, any headphones that come with smartphones - this is, so to speak, a demo version. Make sure the smartphone is working properly. That he plays music normally. Make sure - and immediately go to buy decent "ears". In order not just to listen to music somehow, but to experience at least some pleasure from this process.
Well, one more thing: wired headphones - this, alas, is already the last century. Apple itself hints at this in an opaque way, drastically removing the 3.5 mm jack from the iPhone 7. Yes, the future is with Bluetooth headphones - and this is true. Because they are corny more convenient. So, it is worth buying “blue-eared ears” today (it sounds scary, I know).
- Well, how do you think you need to choose decent ears? (Some readers hurt their feelings offended, as the EarPods were considered ideal.)
Given that the production of headphones is extremely profitable, hundreds of companies, young and old, rush into this pool. Indeed, why not make “ears” for a couple of bucks, and then not sell them, say, for 20? Or make for 50 and sell for 300? God himself commanded! (Or rather, the devil, yeah.) As a result, the shelves of electronics stores are literally littered with tons of headphones of different colors, form factors, designs, and even smells. (Chinese sludge is uniquely determined by the smell of burning plastic and rubber - note to the buyer without a cold!)
It’s not just difficult to choose normal “ears” in all this variety, and in most cases it’s not at all possible. No, of course, if you give 300-500 bucks for you is not a problem, then at your service - Beats, Sony, AKG, Sennheiser and another two-three brands with a long history, with pathos names and the type of cool ears. "Type" - because you still, most likely, cynically profit. Even many (not all, of course, - I don’t speak for everyone!) Of these seemingly giants follow the usual pattern, when headphones are created, conditionally speaking, for three kopecks, and sold for three rubles. Especially if the company has any promoted brand. If the same Sennheiser always offers at least expensive, but consistently high-quality "ears", then Sony, unfortunately, "floats" in quality. The Japanese company does not have a model for a model: something is not bad, but something is not much better than a budget Chinese "slag". Everything is clear with the Beats - these headphones, although not bad, are not sold at the expense of quality, but rather in the wake of fashion for the brand. Which, to the credit of the Beats, they have successfully created and quite well supported in recent years.
Thus, the only reasonable option for buying sound-based headphones in terms of price and sound (without overpaying for a name) is to find a pearl in a mound of digested food. That is, study along and across the proposals of inexpensive and not so eminent manufacturers and try to find in this ocean of the same type of typical epic slag islets of hope. This I will do below.
- And I still buy Beats!
Congratulations! You are the real major. Then you can not read. For it is useless.
- Ok, well, what kind of headphones should you buy, so as not to throw out too much money, and not spoil your ears? Stopudovo, now will be advertising ...
There will be, do not hesitate. Well, of course, I don’t just write this and I deal with different ears ... But try to argue with at least one thesis cited here. Argue! If, of course, there is something to say in essence :)
Remember Xiaomi smartphones? Well, these are such Chinese devices with top features and prices two times lower than those of analogs and the iPhone. It seems that everyone remembers Xiaomi. So, Xiaomi sells its smartphones in China below their cost, and the profit comes from the pre-installed software. For the buyer, this is the ideal situation: you pay a little, you delete the “garbage” software, you get a cool machine and the feeling that ... you broke the system. Surprisingly, in the headphone market there is an example similar to Xiaomi. It is called Bluedio (reads like “Freak” - sorry for my French, but that’s what the Chinese call their brainchild - specifically specified by the manufacturer). This is a Chinese office that makes headphones and audio speakers. Only headphones and speakers only. And nothing else. A couple of years ago, rich guys from Baidu came to Bluedio (this is “Chinese Google”, if someone doesn’t know) and said: “We're messing up the music service by subscription, we need high-quality ears. We will hand them over to those who spend more than 100 bucks on tracks per month. We give the loot to the development of good ears and their launch into production. Take? ”In Bluedio took. Yes, only a little bit of "push through" partners from Baidu, adding to the contract a clause that allows not only to give headphones to subscribers of the music service, but also to trade them on the side. Under its own brand. Therefore, taking into account that the production of Bluedio’s “ears” is heavily subsidized by Baidu, they are cheaper than they really are in production.
That is, the situation is unique: the “ears” are not offered with wrapping, but even at a lower price than they cost. So Bluedio is really Xiaomi, but not in the world of smartphones, but in the world of headphones.
- I do not believe that some cunning Chinese with an indecent name made normal "ears"!
Here the story is even more interesting. Not everyone knows that the staff of the company Beats, bought by Apple itself in May 2015, was not a single engineer and developer. Beats actually engaged only in PR and promotion of headphones. But the development of headphones was carried out under a contract - first by Monster, and then by an unnamed team in Asia. It was there that a group of high-end audio engineers was located, who provided the Bits with their legendary sound. After buying Beats by Apple, part of the engineering team was out of work - at the whim of Tim Cook, who for some reason decided to disperse the Asian division and make headphones inside Apple. And most of the development team of 32 people fully joined the Bluedio team. So Bluedio headphones are actually new Beats. Only a) is much cheaper and b) much more functional. The policy of Beats did not involve the implementation of a number of cool functions (for example, the MP3 player built into the headphones), and at Bluedio, engineers' hands were completely untied.
“Get out, nasty. In bl * dio, let's go! "- as Tim Cook says to the engineers who created the sound of Beats
- These are all words, and all words, as Yegor Letov sang, - n [CENSORED]!
Words - this is when Tim Cook once again, smiling sweetly, talks about the excellent sales of Apple Watch, forgetting to publish the numbers in the financial report of Apple. I was not accustomed to throwing words and within the framework of work on this material I organized a large-scale testing of the sound quality of the headphones. The participants are as follows: three models of Bluedio and as examples for comparison - two models of Beats, one mass model from Philips and one semi-professional from Sennheiser. And, of course, I took the EarPods - just to prove the thesis voiced at the beginning of this material: the complete headphones are slag, intended only for those who, in childhood, were clumsy teddy bear. I drew my friend audiophile, a professional sound producer, to the test - see below. By the way, testing and writing this material took me three weeks - it was necessary to study in detail the history of the brand, bailiff directly to the manufacturer, the contact of which was given to me. Most like with all the headphones with testing. And if you consider that I received the first Bluedio test model even earlier ... Well, in general, I approached the material with full responsibility - please love and favor.
So, I'm testing ...
It makes no sense to talk about design, everything is very subjective here, and each sandpiper will extol its own swamp. Someone likes the design of the Beats, someone who is a fan of the calm classic "Senkhov". I, here, am absolutely delighted with the bright Bluedio T2 +. This is normal - before you start arguing about beauty, remember that Arkady Ukupnik is a singer for someone, Justin Bieber is the standard of male beauty, and Whoopi Goldberg already had three loving husbands.
But what is not normal is the quality of the materials and wires of many premium headphones. You roll off the horse money, and in two months you will have the ear cushions peeled off, or one of the “ears” will suddenly stop talking. Beauty! Bluedio doesn’t suffer from such nonsense, because the firm, on the one hand, is Chinese, and the local material suppliers are better versed in Europeans and Americans. On the other hand, these guys are atypically serious and, as already mentioned, with the roof of Internet giant Baidu over their heads. So if someone pushes bluedio low-quality leatherette, then the next batch will be with ear cushions made from 100% genuine leather, if you know what I mean.
Do not believe? Go to any electronics store, look at the state of the Beats headphones displayed on the storefront. I was not too lazy, I went, I was impressed - according to the consultant, the headphones came to such a life in just two months. Yes, this is my own photo of a real demo sample from a store - these samples are sometimes tried on by customers (lately, less and less often, for it is nasty). For comparison - test Bluedio, which is in perfect order, although already two months, 5 days a week, they spend almost the entire working day on the rough head of the author of this text.
I never considered myself an audiophile, did not buy platinum cables, did not “warm up” headphones with “pink noise” and, in general, I do not pretend to be an audio expert. Therefore, to check the bravura maxims about the magical Chinese sound, I invited friends from DShow, which professionally adjusts the sound at concert venues and ate it at all these audiophile features. Their chief sound engineer Dmitry Ostrovsky, I handed a healthy box with headphones. He overheard everything and put points on his quality scale, where an abstract ideal, unattainable in the segment of consumer headphones, is taken as 100%.
While you haven’t "floated" from the abundance of audiophile terms, here are the simple summary labels.
Scored points in the test headphones. An absolute ideal is taken as 100%, which is unattainable in the segment of consumer equipment.
For convenience of orientation on the second graph, next to the column displaying the average score, a column representing the recommended market price is displayed. No sensations. Philips, which has long been a Dutch signboard for deshmanskoy Chinese, predictably pissed off. Apple’s “hooks”, in general, also didn’t matter, but it’s forgivable for its price. But "Senha" and "Beats" as close as possible to the abstract ideal. However, if you remember how much these headphones cost, everything will become much more interesting. It turns out that for the transition from 65% of the ideal to 68% you need to pay four times more! That's how they make money on us. For a slight preponderance of the depth of the bass or a more detailed "middle", you have to roll off an extra ten to fifteen thousand. Why, why and - most importantly - can you hear the difference between Bluedio and Beats? But some I-mom-audiophiles take expensive fashion headphones on credit! The logic in this is no more than in the back of the jeans in -25, but who can understand these hipsters.
Seriously. If you do not suffer from a warm tube sound and have not earned the medal "For the search for sand on plates" of the third degree, go to the last section. I, in order not to be “damaged by the phone”, transfer the imaginary microphone to the sound engineer Dmitry Ostrovsky, who will briefly go through all the models that participated in the test.
Bluedio T2 + Turbine (1 950 rubles). There are no ultra-low frequencies, the middle center is too much bulged out and the high ones are not sufficiently developed. Mids, by contrast, sound satisfactory. Passive insulation is great, the sounds are cut off almost completely. This is a good option for headphones for those who do not have money for something more serious. Bluedio T2 + are interesting in simple music with a small amount of low frequencies. Pop music plays on them quite well. Well, the additional functions of the radio and the player are also worth noting: you do not have to buy a separate device, only a memory card.
Bluedio A (Air) (2 600 rubles). There are few low frequencies, but good, clear, high-quality mids and very clear frequencies in the medium-high segment. The noise isolation is excellent, the detail is average, the background sounds are lost. In general, who does not care "quality", he can take these headphones. Stereopanorama and "presence effect" is also available. I liked that when transmitting via Bluetooth, the sound does not deteriorate, the headphones play at the same level.
Bluedio R + (3,250 rubles). This model has very deep and well-developed bass, the whole range of low frequencies sounds very good. The mids are a bit failed, they have no accent, lower detail. But then there are good high frequencies, elaborated and detailed. Excellent music lovers headphones in its price segment. They will definitely please those who love aggressive styles of music and are looking for “swing”, but lovers of more relaxed genres will not be offended.
And now, actually, about reference models:
Beats Solo2 / Solo3 (up to 20 000 rubles). Very loud headphones. Instruments sound separately and distinctly. Very balanced sound throughout the frequency spectrum, well listened to frequencies from 20 Hz to 18 kHz. No bulging frequencies, good level of noise isolation.
Apple EarPods (2 400 rubles). Low detail throughout the spectrum, excessive emphasis on low frequencies, poor noise insulation. Of course, for this form factor and for the money, Apple EarPods play relatively well. They only cope with the basic task of creating some background music for your trip or shopping trip (behind normal headphones, ha ha). But at home or in a noisy subway, you definitely want to listen to music on other headphones.
Philips SHB3080 (4 000 rubles). Ultra low frequencies are cut off, they are not audible. The lower middle sounds quiet, with no pronounced accents on the bass. The vocals are deep and, in general, the voice is very good. At the same time, there is a lack of detail in playback, the sound picture is very simplified. Ultra-high frequencies above 16 kHz are cut off. In general, these headphones have a flat, inconspicuous sound with weak bass. There is a compression effect, it is difficult to distinguish between musical instruments. The noise isolation level here was rather mediocre, as was the landing on the head.
Sennheiser Momentum Over-Ear Wireless (M2 AEBT) (about 20,000 rubles). Loud headphones with clear sound and good attack. The instruments sound very accurate, the vocals are rich and lively. Very balanced sound throughout the frequency spectrum, well listened to frequencies from 20 Hz - 20 kHz.
In general, if you want a good attack, run to the bank - for a loan to Senha! See only that then your wife does not attack you for buying headphones for the price of the restored iPhone 5s.
And now I will continue to answer questions ...
- All the bullshit, you invented everything: the expert, and research, and maybe there are no such headphones at all!
Oh, well, everything, the network Pinkerton exposed me, folding fishing rods!But seriously, for any questions about the quality of the sound of Bluedio headphones or reference models, you can write yourself - directly to Dmitry Ostrovsky by e-mail audiofun.ostro@gmail.com.
- It is clear that all the loot went to the sound, but otherwise Bluedio is empty - the functionality is at zero!
Nothing like this.Above, I already cited the name of the Bluedio models, but I did not specifically say anything about their other features. Just because I wanted to concentrate primarily on the evaluation of sound. And now it's time to tell what headphones can do, taken for my test, in addition to high-quality (or not very high-quality) sound. But for starters - a sign that will give answers to many questions:
I did not in vain say that after leaving the evil Tim Cook, the ex-Beats team untied their hands. As a result, a number of unique features appeared in the Bluedio models. Really unique. For example, Bluedio T2 Plus and R Plus have an MP3 player with a memory card, so you can listen to music without a smartphone at all. No other inexpensive “ears” on the market of any other manufacturer have such a function. A function, you see, extremely useful.
Briefly about the capabilities of Bluedio can be read below, although I recommend and take another look at the table above.
Bluedio T2 Plus (price - 1 950 rubles). Ultra-affordable hybrid of wireless headphones and player. In fact, the world's only budget headphones with a memory card. That is, you insert a regular MicroSD card with MP3 music and you can throw a smartphone into the window of the bus as unnecessary. Neither the Beat, nor Sony, nor the sane, inexpensive Chinese hybrids have a memory card slot, and Bluedio does.
Headphones FOR TWO! Among other things, I want to note the possibility of connecting second headphones using a 3.5 mm cable. Thus, Mouzon can be listened to together: Bluedio is connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth, and to Bluedio - some other “ears”. (Considering that this super-convenient chip is in all tested Bluedio models, I will not repeat below.)
Bluedio A (Air) (price - 2 600 rubles). Design headphones - can be either black with letters, or white with geometric shapes. The headband is flexible, so you can twist your hands like a rosary. I recommend, among other things, to lovers of freebies: there are already four cables for every taste, a bag for cords and a hard carrying case. There is no player here, but Bluedio A is “sung” a lot better than Bluedio T2 Plus.
Bluedio R + (Legend BT) (price - 3,250 rubles).For lovers of hi-tech - here, except for jokes! There is support for NFC to quickly connect with Android-smartphones (with the iPhone, alas, will not work). There are already eight drivers - four for each cup against the usual one driver per cup for almost all inexpensive headphones. There is support for the aptX codec, which allows you to stream losseless music over Bluetooth to your headphones with minimal loss of quality. In the headphones themselves there is an FM radio and a player with support for both the Loser MP3 and all the same losseless formats. There is not such a wide range of high-tech options not only in the Chinese counterparts, but in the majority of branded headphones priced at 20-30 rubles in the thousands. I answer! In the same "Beats" NO! And in Bluedio there is!
- Well, OK, I will order your Bl ... Bluedio from China, and then everything will be like with Xiaomi. No guarantees, glitches ...
You do not need to order anything from China - God forbid you! Bluedio headphones are officially and exclusively sold at ummall.ru. Which, by the way, ordered this detailed test for me :)
Moreover, if official Xiaomi smartphones in Russia cost one and a half to two times more expensive than Chinese, then they sell Bluedio headphones for the same price as on Aliexpress. That is, the price tags in Russia are the same as in popular Chinese online stores. When was it? Yes, this has never happened, they just went crazy, not otherwise!
I note that the official "ears" of Bluedio have a number of important advantages:
- There is no risk to get counterfeit instead of real Bluedio. Do not laugh: Bluedio headphones are already forging other cunning Chinese. So it’s very realistic to run into something unintelligible with sound like from a rural outhouse.
Bluedio headphones are fake, as agitated users regularly whine about in social networks - he stumbled while he studied the topic.
Check the license number on the box - Bluedio did an online check check like Beats and Xiaomi.
- The speed of delivery of headphones from ummall.ru - 3-9 days across Russia instead of 14-60 days when ordering on AliExpress or in any Chinese online store.
- Russian-language technical support by mail / phone and official warranty of 6 months.
*****
Well, as a conclusion from the foregoing. Finding a pearl in digested food is difficult, but in the case of headphones you can do it. It is clear that I did not listen to all over 9000 models that are on the shelves in stores. This is just unreal. But I know for sure that these same over 9000s are not in the development team of ex-Beats engineers and subsidies from a giant company - “Chinese Google”. At least these two points allow me to assume that Bluedio headphones are a very interesting product. Still, it stands out against the background of over 9000 Chinese junk that flooded the headphone segment.
Actual sound testing only confirmed this assumption of mine, as well as a comparison with analogues - both more expensive (Beats and Sennheiser), and comparable in price (Philips). Particularly "pleased" model Philips: it costs even a little more expensive, but it plays much worse. Not at times - an order of magnitude worse! But with all the rest - even branded - headphones priced at 3-5 thousand rubles will be exactly the same. "Singing" they will be worse than Bluedio. Which, if not subsidies from Baidu, would cost 10 thousand rubles. And if Bluedio was a world famous brand, then these “ears” could be boldly “pushed” even for 20 thousand. And people would have hawala. Well, just like he hawks the Beats ... Well, the EarPods ... Do you still think they are cool? .. If so, then everything’s clear with you, and if I convinced you, then the next time you get confused cables and psihanete on this basis, look at ummall.ru. There you can find a much more interesting and correct option than the EarPods. Bluedio they rule, anyway! :) Advertising mode off!
PS Well, to consolidate the material - I will list again the advantages of Bluedio in the list:
1. Affordable prices : on average, 50-70% cheaper than analogs with similar characteristics and functionality. The difference with the Beats completely discourages: Bluedio models are cheaper by 4 - 20 times!
2. At the same time, there are no complete analogs of Bluedio, many functions of Bluedio models are unique. For example, the ability to play music from the MP3 player built directly into the headphones (there is a MicroSD card slot).
3. High sound quality- headphones do not really have competitors among models with similar prices. And not too inferior in sound to the same Beats! This happened because experienced engineers at Bluedio know how to achieve comparable sound results at lower cost. And Bluedio does not charge for the brand.
4. Long battery life - from 20 to 45 hours against 10-20 from the closest competitors.
5. Bluetooth function with voice dialing / chatting with Siri.
6. Built - in MP3 player with support for microSD memory cards up to 32 GB (for T2 + and R + models).
7. 3,5- , , . , , 3,5- – Bluedio .
8. « »: Bluetooth , 3,5- Bluedio , . , , .
The fact is that the production of headphones is an extremely high-margin business. Apart from professional audiophile models priced at a couple of thousand dollars, where unique components really are used (such as STAX or Astell & Kern models), the approach to creating “ears” for all manufacturers is approximately the same. We take the old stuffing, slightly twist the sound (well, so that the new model is at least slightly different from the old one), we change the design a bit (with the same purpose), we sell. Everything! Considering that there are no really expensive components in mass-produced headphones, but there is no need to spend on developing “c zero”, the cost of production of a single flagship copy of almost any brand rarely exceeds 50, well, a maximum of 70 dollars. Where do models for 500 bucks come from and more expensive? From there they appear - the brand is not so much technology and sound as it is delivered to the consumer. Let's look at the situation deeper and in parallel, we will review the line of “anti-pathetic” headphones that have recently appeared on the Russian market of the Bluedio brand. Headphones of this manufacturer are focused just on those who do not want to throw out even an extra ruble (even if they can afford it) and at the same time want to get really cool, good-sounding “ears”. No extra charge for "pathos."
')
To begin to answer the main questions that may arise from the respected readers of this material.
- Why do I need to buy headphones if there are cool EarPods included with the same iPhone?
Are you sure that they are cool? I do not think so. Rather, to say the following: as for complete headphones, they are really quite good. Because other manufacturers of smartphones for the most part put much lower quality and cheaper “ears” to their models. But if you look at the EarPods objectively and impartially, then the “ears” are very mediocre. Anyway - what do you want from liners? The perfect sound? Haha Ho ho
In general, any headphones that come with smartphones - this is, so to speak, a demo version. Make sure the smartphone is working properly. That he plays music normally. Make sure - and immediately go to buy decent "ears". In order not just to listen to music somehow, but to experience at least some pleasure from this process.
Well, one more thing: wired headphones - this, alas, is already the last century. Apple itself hints at this in an opaque way, drastically removing the 3.5 mm jack from the iPhone 7. Yes, the future is with Bluetooth headphones - and this is true. Because they are corny more convenient. So, it is worth buying “blue-eared ears” today (it sounds scary, I know).
- Well, how do you think you need to choose decent ears? (Some readers hurt their feelings offended, as the EarPods were considered ideal.)
Given that the production of headphones is extremely profitable, hundreds of companies, young and old, rush into this pool. Indeed, why not make “ears” for a couple of bucks, and then not sell them, say, for 20? Or make for 50 and sell for 300? God himself commanded! (Or rather, the devil, yeah.) As a result, the shelves of electronics stores are literally littered with tons of headphones of different colors, form factors, designs, and even smells. (Chinese sludge is uniquely determined by the smell of burning plastic and rubber - note to the buyer without a cold!)
It’s not just difficult to choose normal “ears” in all this variety, and in most cases it’s not at all possible. No, of course, if you give 300-500 bucks for you is not a problem, then at your service - Beats, Sony, AKG, Sennheiser and another two-three brands with a long history, with pathos names and the type of cool ears. "Type" - because you still, most likely, cynically profit. Even many (not all, of course, - I don’t speak for everyone!) Of these seemingly giants follow the usual pattern, when headphones are created, conditionally speaking, for three kopecks, and sold for three rubles. Especially if the company has any promoted brand. If the same Sennheiser always offers at least expensive, but consistently high-quality "ears", then Sony, unfortunately, "floats" in quality. The Japanese company does not have a model for a model: something is not bad, but something is not much better than a budget Chinese "slag". Everything is clear with the Beats - these headphones, although not bad, are not sold at the expense of quality, but rather in the wake of fashion for the brand. Which, to the credit of the Beats, they have successfully created and quite well supported in recent years.
Thus, the only reasonable option for buying sound-based headphones in terms of price and sound (without overpaying for a name) is to find a pearl in a mound of digested food. That is, study along and across the proposals of inexpensive and not so eminent manufacturers and try to find in this ocean of the same type of typical epic slag islets of hope. This I will do below.
- And I still buy Beats!
Congratulations! You are the real major. Then you can not read. For it is useless.
- Ok, well, what kind of headphones should you buy, so as not to throw out too much money, and not spoil your ears? Stopudovo, now will be advertising ...
There will be, do not hesitate. Well, of course, I don’t just write this and I deal with different ears ... But try to argue with at least one thesis cited here. Argue! If, of course, there is something to say in essence :)
Remember Xiaomi smartphones? Well, these are such Chinese devices with top features and prices two times lower than those of analogs and the iPhone. It seems that everyone remembers Xiaomi. So, Xiaomi sells its smartphones in China below their cost, and the profit comes from the pre-installed software. For the buyer, this is the ideal situation: you pay a little, you delete the “garbage” software, you get a cool machine and the feeling that ... you broke the system. Surprisingly, in the headphone market there is an example similar to Xiaomi. It is called Bluedio (reads like “Freak” - sorry for my French, but that’s what the Chinese call their brainchild - specifically specified by the manufacturer). This is a Chinese office that makes headphones and audio speakers. Only headphones and speakers only. And nothing else. A couple of years ago, rich guys from Baidu came to Bluedio (this is “Chinese Google”, if someone doesn’t know) and said: “We're messing up the music service by subscription, we need high-quality ears. We will hand them over to those who spend more than 100 bucks on tracks per month. We give the loot to the development of good ears and their launch into production. Take? ”In Bluedio took. Yes, only a little bit of "push through" partners from Baidu, adding to the contract a clause that allows not only to give headphones to subscribers of the music service, but also to trade them on the side. Under its own brand. Therefore, taking into account that the production of Bluedio’s “ears” is heavily subsidized by Baidu, they are cheaper than they really are in production.
That is, the situation is unique: the “ears” are not offered with wrapping, but even at a lower price than they cost. So Bluedio is really Xiaomi, but not in the world of smartphones, but in the world of headphones.
- I do not believe that some cunning Chinese with an indecent name made normal "ears"!
Here the story is even more interesting. Not everyone knows that the staff of the company Beats, bought by Apple itself in May 2015, was not a single engineer and developer. Beats actually engaged only in PR and promotion of headphones. But the development of headphones was carried out under a contract - first by Monster, and then by an unnamed team in Asia. It was there that a group of high-end audio engineers was located, who provided the Bits with their legendary sound. After buying Beats by Apple, part of the engineering team was out of work - at the whim of Tim Cook, who for some reason decided to disperse the Asian division and make headphones inside Apple. And most of the development team of 32 people fully joined the Bluedio team. So Bluedio headphones are actually new Beats. Only a) is much cheaper and b) much more functional. The policy of Beats did not involve the implementation of a number of cool functions (for example, the MP3 player built into the headphones), and at Bluedio, engineers' hands were completely untied.
“Get out, nasty. In bl * dio, let's go! "- as Tim Cook says to the engineers who created the sound of Beats
- These are all words, and all words, as Yegor Letov sang, - n [CENSORED]!
Words - this is when Tim Cook once again, smiling sweetly, talks about the excellent sales of Apple Watch, forgetting to publish the numbers in the financial report of Apple. I was not accustomed to throwing words and within the framework of work on this material I organized a large-scale testing of the sound quality of the headphones. The participants are as follows: three models of Bluedio and as examples for comparison - two models of Beats, one mass model from Philips and one semi-professional from Sennheiser. And, of course, I took the EarPods - just to prove the thesis voiced at the beginning of this material: the complete headphones are slag, intended only for those who, in childhood, were clumsy teddy bear. I drew my friend audiophile, a professional sound producer, to the test - see below. By the way, testing and writing this material took me three weeks - it was necessary to study in detail the history of the brand, bailiff directly to the manufacturer, the contact of which was given to me. Most like with all the headphones with testing. And if you consider that I received the first Bluedio test model even earlier ... Well, in general, I approached the material with full responsibility - please love and favor.
So, I'm testing ...
After nuclear war, only cockroaches and Bluedio will survive.
It makes no sense to talk about design, everything is very subjective here, and each sandpiper will extol its own swamp. Someone likes the design of the Beats, someone who is a fan of the calm classic "Senkhov". I, here, am absolutely delighted with the bright Bluedio T2 +. This is normal - before you start arguing about beauty, remember that Arkady Ukupnik is a singer for someone, Justin Bieber is the standard of male beauty, and Whoopi Goldberg already had three loving husbands.
But what is not normal is the quality of the materials and wires of many premium headphones. You roll off the horse money, and in two months you will have the ear cushions peeled off, or one of the “ears” will suddenly stop talking. Beauty! Bluedio doesn’t suffer from such nonsense, because the firm, on the one hand, is Chinese, and the local material suppliers are better versed in Europeans and Americans. On the other hand, these guys are atypically serious and, as already mentioned, with the roof of Internet giant Baidu over their heads. So if someone pushes bluedio low-quality leatherette, then the next batch will be with ear cushions made from 100% genuine leather, if you know what I mean.
Do not believe? Go to any electronics store, look at the state of the Beats headphones displayed on the storefront. I was not too lazy, I went, I was impressed - according to the consultant, the headphones came to such a life in just two months. Yes, this is my own photo of a real demo sample from a store - these samples are sometimes tried on by customers (lately, less and less often, for it is nasty). For comparison - test Bluedio, which is in perfect order, although already two months, 5 days a week, they spend almost the entire working day on the rough head of the author of this text.
Big and sonorous test
I never considered myself an audiophile, did not buy platinum cables, did not “warm up” headphones with “pink noise” and, in general, I do not pretend to be an audio expert. Therefore, to check the bravura maxims about the magical Chinese sound, I invited friends from DShow, which professionally adjusts the sound at concert venues and ate it at all these audiophile features. Their chief sound engineer Dmitry Ostrovsky, I handed a healthy box with headphones. He overheard everything and put points on his quality scale, where an abstract ideal, unattainable in the segment of consumer headphones, is taken as 100%.
While you haven’t "floated" from the abundance of audiophile terms, here are the simple summary labels.
Scored points in the test headphones. An absolute ideal is taken as 100%, which is unattainable in the segment of consumer equipment.
For convenience of orientation on the second graph, next to the column displaying the average score, a column representing the recommended market price is displayed. No sensations. Philips, which has long been a Dutch signboard for deshmanskoy Chinese, predictably pissed off. Apple’s “hooks”, in general, also didn’t matter, but it’s forgivable for its price. But "Senha" and "Beats" as close as possible to the abstract ideal. However, if you remember how much these headphones cost, everything will become much more interesting. It turns out that for the transition from 65% of the ideal to 68% you need to pay four times more! That's how they make money on us. For a slight preponderance of the depth of the bass or a more detailed "middle", you have to roll off an extra ten to fifteen thousand. Why, why and - most importantly - can you hear the difference between Bluedio and Beats? But some I-mom-audiophiles take expensive fashion headphones on credit! The logic in this is no more than in the back of the jeans in -25, but who can understand these hipsters.
Lamp audiophilia (do not read to normal people)
Seriously. If you do not suffer from a warm tube sound and have not earned the medal "For the search for sand on plates" of the third degree, go to the last section. I, in order not to be “damaged by the phone”, transfer the imaginary microphone to the sound engineer Dmitry Ostrovsky, who will briefly go through all the models that participated in the test.
Bluedio T2 + Turbine (1 950 rubles). There are no ultra-low frequencies, the middle center is too much bulged out and the high ones are not sufficiently developed. Mids, by contrast, sound satisfactory. Passive insulation is great, the sounds are cut off almost completely. This is a good option for headphones for those who do not have money for something more serious. Bluedio T2 + are interesting in simple music with a small amount of low frequencies. Pop music plays on them quite well. Well, the additional functions of the radio and the player are also worth noting: you do not have to buy a separate device, only a memory card.
Bluedio A (Air) (2 600 rubles). There are few low frequencies, but good, clear, high-quality mids and very clear frequencies in the medium-high segment. The noise isolation is excellent, the detail is average, the background sounds are lost. In general, who does not care "quality", he can take these headphones. Stereopanorama and "presence effect" is also available. I liked that when transmitting via Bluetooth, the sound does not deteriorate, the headphones play at the same level.
Bluedio R + (3,250 rubles). This model has very deep and well-developed bass, the whole range of low frequencies sounds very good. The mids are a bit failed, they have no accent, lower detail. But then there are good high frequencies, elaborated and detailed. Excellent music lovers headphones in its price segment. They will definitely please those who love aggressive styles of music and are looking for “swing”, but lovers of more relaxed genres will not be offended.
And now, actually, about reference models:
Beats Solo2 / Solo3 (up to 20 000 rubles). Very loud headphones. Instruments sound separately and distinctly. Very balanced sound throughout the frequency spectrum, well listened to frequencies from 20 Hz to 18 kHz. No bulging frequencies, good level of noise isolation.
Apple EarPods (2 400 rubles). Low detail throughout the spectrum, excessive emphasis on low frequencies, poor noise insulation. Of course, for this form factor and for the money, Apple EarPods play relatively well. They only cope with the basic task of creating some background music for your trip or shopping trip (behind normal headphones, ha ha). But at home or in a noisy subway, you definitely want to listen to music on other headphones.
Philips SHB3080 (4 000 rubles). Ultra low frequencies are cut off, they are not audible. The lower middle sounds quiet, with no pronounced accents on the bass. The vocals are deep and, in general, the voice is very good. At the same time, there is a lack of detail in playback, the sound picture is very simplified. Ultra-high frequencies above 16 kHz are cut off. In general, these headphones have a flat, inconspicuous sound with weak bass. There is a compression effect, it is difficult to distinguish between musical instruments. The noise isolation level here was rather mediocre, as was the landing on the head.
Sennheiser Momentum Over-Ear Wireless (M2 AEBT) (about 20,000 rubles). Loud headphones with clear sound and good attack. The instruments sound very accurate, the vocals are rich and lively. Very balanced sound throughout the frequency spectrum, well listened to frequencies from 20 Hz - 20 kHz.
In general, if you want a good attack, run to the bank - for a loan to Senha! See only that then your wife does not attack you for buying headphones for the price of the restored iPhone 5s.
And now I will continue to answer questions ...
- All the bullshit, you invented everything: the expert, and research, and maybe there are no such headphones at all!
Oh, well, everything, the network Pinkerton exposed me, folding fishing rods!But seriously, for any questions about the quality of the sound of Bluedio headphones or reference models, you can write yourself - directly to Dmitry Ostrovsky by e-mail audiofun.ostro@gmail.com.
- It is clear that all the loot went to the sound, but otherwise Bluedio is empty - the functionality is at zero!
Nothing like this.Above, I already cited the name of the Bluedio models, but I did not specifically say anything about their other features. Just because I wanted to concentrate primarily on the evaluation of sound. And now it's time to tell what headphones can do, taken for my test, in addition to high-quality (or not very high-quality) sound. But for starters - a sign that will give answers to many questions:
I did not in vain say that after leaving the evil Tim Cook, the ex-Beats team untied their hands. As a result, a number of unique features appeared in the Bluedio models. Really unique. For example, Bluedio T2 Plus and R Plus have an MP3 player with a memory card, so you can listen to music without a smartphone at all. No other inexpensive “ears” on the market of any other manufacturer have such a function. A function, you see, extremely useful.
Briefly about the capabilities of Bluedio can be read below, although I recommend and take another look at the table above.
Bluedio T2 Plus (price - 1 950 rubles). Ultra-affordable hybrid of wireless headphones and player. In fact, the world's only budget headphones with a memory card. That is, you insert a regular MicroSD card with MP3 music and you can throw a smartphone into the window of the bus as unnecessary. Neither the Beat, nor Sony, nor the sane, inexpensive Chinese hybrids have a memory card slot, and Bluedio does.
Headphones FOR TWO! Among other things, I want to note the possibility of connecting second headphones using a 3.5 mm cable. Thus, Mouzon can be listened to together: Bluedio is connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth, and to Bluedio - some other “ears”. (Considering that this super-convenient chip is in all tested Bluedio models, I will not repeat below.)
Bluedio A (Air) (price - 2 600 rubles). Design headphones - can be either black with letters, or white with geometric shapes. The headband is flexible, so you can twist your hands like a rosary. I recommend, among other things, to lovers of freebies: there are already four cables for every taste, a bag for cords and a hard carrying case. There is no player here, but Bluedio A is “sung” a lot better than Bluedio T2 Plus.
Bluedio R + (Legend BT) (price - 3,250 rubles).For lovers of hi-tech - here, except for jokes! There is support for NFC to quickly connect with Android-smartphones (with the iPhone, alas, will not work). There are already eight drivers - four for each cup against the usual one driver per cup for almost all inexpensive headphones. There is support for the aptX codec, which allows you to stream losseless music over Bluetooth to your headphones with minimal loss of quality. In the headphones themselves there is an FM radio and a player with support for both the Loser MP3 and all the same losseless formats. There is not such a wide range of high-tech options not only in the Chinese counterparts, but in the majority of branded headphones priced at 20-30 rubles in the thousands. I answer! In the same "Beats" NO! And in Bluedio there is!
- Well, OK, I will order your Bl ... Bluedio from China, and then everything will be like with Xiaomi. No guarantees, glitches ...
You do not need to order anything from China - God forbid you! Bluedio headphones are officially and exclusively sold at ummall.ru. Which, by the way, ordered this detailed test for me :)
Moreover, if official Xiaomi smartphones in Russia cost one and a half to two times more expensive than Chinese, then they sell Bluedio headphones for the same price as on Aliexpress. That is, the price tags in Russia are the same as in popular Chinese online stores. When was it? Yes, this has never happened, they just went crazy, not otherwise!
I note that the official "ears" of Bluedio have a number of important advantages:
- There is no risk to get counterfeit instead of real Bluedio. Do not laugh: Bluedio headphones are already forging other cunning Chinese. So it’s very realistic to run into something unintelligible with sound like from a rural outhouse.
Bluedio headphones are fake, as agitated users regularly whine about in social networks - he stumbled while he studied the topic.
Check the license number on the box - Bluedio did an online check check like Beats and Xiaomi.
- The speed of delivery of headphones from ummall.ru - 3-9 days across Russia instead of 14-60 days when ordering on AliExpress or in any Chinese online store.
- Russian-language technical support by mail / phone and official warranty of 6 months.
*****
Well, as a conclusion from the foregoing. Finding a pearl in digested food is difficult, but in the case of headphones you can do it. It is clear that I did not listen to all over 9000 models that are on the shelves in stores. This is just unreal. But I know for sure that these same over 9000s are not in the development team of ex-Beats engineers and subsidies from a giant company - “Chinese Google”. At least these two points allow me to assume that Bluedio headphones are a very interesting product. Still, it stands out against the background of over 9000 Chinese junk that flooded the headphone segment.
Actual sound testing only confirmed this assumption of mine, as well as a comparison with analogues - both more expensive (Beats and Sennheiser), and comparable in price (Philips). Particularly "pleased" model Philips: it costs even a little more expensive, but it plays much worse. Not at times - an order of magnitude worse! But with all the rest - even branded - headphones priced at 3-5 thousand rubles will be exactly the same. "Singing" they will be worse than Bluedio. Which, if not subsidies from Baidu, would cost 10 thousand rubles. And if Bluedio was a world famous brand, then these “ears” could be boldly “pushed” even for 20 thousand. And people would have hawala. Well, just like he hawks the Beats ... Well, the EarPods ... Do you still think they are cool? .. If so, then everything’s clear with you, and if I convinced you, then the next time you get confused cables and psihanete on this basis, look at ummall.ru. There you can find a much more interesting and correct option than the EarPods. Bluedio they rule, anyway! :) Advertising mode off!
PS Well, to consolidate the material - I will list again the advantages of Bluedio in the list:
1. Affordable prices : on average, 50-70% cheaper than analogs with similar characteristics and functionality. The difference with the Beats completely discourages: Bluedio models are cheaper by 4 - 20 times!
2. At the same time, there are no complete analogs of Bluedio, many functions of Bluedio models are unique. For example, the ability to play music from the MP3 player built directly into the headphones (there is a MicroSD card slot).
3. High sound quality- headphones do not really have competitors among models with similar prices. And not too inferior in sound to the same Beats! This happened because experienced engineers at Bluedio know how to achieve comparable sound results at lower cost. And Bluedio does not charge for the brand.
4. Long battery life - from 20 to 45 hours against 10-20 from the closest competitors.
5. Bluetooth function with voice dialing / chatting with Siri.
6. Built - in MP3 player with support for microSD memory cards up to 32 GB (for T2 + and R + models).
7. 3,5- , , . , , 3,5- – Bluedio .
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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/401459/
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