Bose SoundSport Wireless, Sweat Resistant, in-Ear Headphones, Aqua

In spite of Bose's reputation, I was a bit skeptical of these headphones, not for any particular reason, but perhaps only because a link over Bluetooth did not inspire confidence in me concerning final sound quality. Looking at the photos of the headphones, too, made me somewhat concerned that these would be a bit uncomfortable in my ear, due to their design and my sensitive ears. Well, I was proven wrong on both counts the minute I tried out these headphones. Without a doubt, these are the best earbud-style headphones I have ever heard. From the moment I started testing them, I was extremely impressed with their clarity, dynamic range, "presence," and, yes, even comfort. Most earbuds I have used over the years require a few days of use before they start to "break in" (and, yes, I know there is controversy about this issue, but I have experienced it myself on multiple brands of headphones at all price levels), but these sounded wonderful right from the first moment of play. If it is helpful, let me be clear and say that I am pairing these with an iPhone X and using high-resolution (24-bit, 192kHz) files, and so some individuals might attribute my reaction to those factors. And there is, of course, a sonic improvement with high-resolution files, and the iPhone X certainly has a good onboard sound system. But after those initial trials, I "downgraded" to lossless rips of CD's (16-bit, 44kHz), and then, finally, moved down to mp3 files (128 bps). Although I could certainly hear the sound quality reduce as I went "down the chain," the earphones themselves continued to sound wonderful, bringing new life to even those relatively low-quality mp3 files. All of this led me to conclude that these headphones sound so good, and are so comfortable to wear, that they are very likely best-in-class. Sure, you can spend over $1,000 on a set of earbuds, but I wonder if there might be a great diminishing of returns, where the tiniest incremental increase in sound quality carries with it a hefty, NON-incremental price hike. The sound from these Bose headphones is rich, easily covers the range from the lowest bass to the highest highs, has an exceptional presence, adds no noticeable noise from the Bluetooth connection, and presents a natural sonic quality that truly makes the headphones "disappear," leaving only the sound. I must say again, I was deeply impressed, so much so that I will now plan to use these with many of my audio players, not just my phone. Some of the information that is easily available in the product section I will briefly mention here, as well. The length of the cord, which goes around the back of the neck, is just about the right length so that when you take the phones out of your ears, the earpieces hang in front of your chest, but don't go so far down that they become a nuisance. A nicely-placed small clip attaches to the back of your collar to further secure the headphones (and is easy to attach, remove, even when reaching behind you because it is shaped for a "rear-handed" grip) A very intuitive and easily-accessible volume and microphone control are on the right side of the cord in a single housing (see the photos), and a single button for on/off, paring, and charging indication are almost invisible on the one ear housing, but still easily accessible without having to look. Charging is accomplished but pulling a discreet rubber panel open on the earphone body and plugging in a micro USB cable (supplied, but perhaps too short for a lot of situations: you might want to use a different cable). Battery length is rated at about eight hours, although I have not yet been able to absolutely verify this value as of yet, it appears to be accurate. The photos of the earbuds which led me to wonder if they would be uncomfortable in my ear (the skin of my ears, including my ears themselves, are sensitive, making many earphones uncomfortable for me to wear). Bose here has done a magnificent job of developing a form fit that is both comfortable AND secure. The curved plastic you see in the photos by the earbuds is actually not plastic at all, but a very flexible and gentle silicone. You simply put the earbud near your ear, press in and twist a little back and forth, and the curved silicone piece pops into the outer ear with just enough "grip" (for lack of better word) to very securely hold the earbud in place, yet are almost unnoticeable. In fact, since this curved silicone piece bears some of the body's weight, it turns out, unbelievably, that these are actually more comfortable than most all of my traditional earbuds which have nothing but the ear canal components (and which I have used for years because on-the-ear headphones hurt my ears in just a matter of minutes). All I can say is that, after testing these out, I thought to myself that there is a reason that Bose has built a reputation as it has. I do not have any other Bose equipment (I did have some of their speakers back in the 1980's), so I cannot speak at all to their other devices, either good or bad. They certainly have maintained an excellent reputation over these years. What I CAN say that these headphones have easily won me over, and I am truly impressed with their ability to put our truly good sound. Seeming a bit expensive when I ordered them, I now view them as a "bargain" of sorts, due to their sound reproduction. Truly an EASY Five Stars, and well worth your consideration, fully understanding that headphones are a very personal choice. But I recommend you try them out if you have not already, because they truly are amazing, particularly at this price point. NOTE; These headphones come with the Stay Hear+ tips, not the standard Stay Hear tips. You will currently (mid 2018) not find replacement buds on Amazon. However, you can purchase replacements directly from Bose at a very reasonable $10 for two pairs of replacement buds, with free expedited shipping. Make sure you get the "+" version when ordering replacement buds!

For several years now, Bose headphones have been a staple in our household. It began with the Bose QC15 over-ear noise canceling headphones. That purchase made us spoiled by great sound and discontent with any lesser pair of speakers of any type. So, could Bose duplicate their incredibly high audio standard on a small pair of wireless and rugged in-ear headphones? The answer is, absolutely! That said, the Bose SoundSport Wireless may not be for everyone. There are trade-offs that you should know about before you buy. I have had my pair for a couple of weeks now. Here are the details of my experience with the headphones... SOUND QUALITY The sound quality is absolutely fantastic. To describe it with just one word, the sound is RICH! There is a quality depth and warmth to the music that is better than I have ever heard on Bluetooth in-ear headphones. The music also comes across very detailed and dynamic. The high notes on a guitar tickle my ears while a deep bass line has more than enough punch to get me jiving. If you are new to Bose, you will be thrilled with the sound quality. If you already own other Bose speakers, then you will appreciate that the company's rich sound signature has not been lost on this wireless pair of sport headphones. FIT & COMFORT The Stay Hear ear tips do an amazing job of, well, actually staying in your ears. I also have a pair of Bose QC20 headphones with the same type of tips. With nearly two years of use, the ear pieces have NEVER fallen out with the QC20's. Not even when the wire is caught and tugged. Thus far, my experience has been the same with the new SoundSport. They have never fallen out. Plus there is no tethered wire to worry about getting caught on something. Perfect for activity. While jogging, washing the car and other various activities the headphones just stay in with no adjustment. The silicon tips are also very comfortable though not as soft as those on the QC20. I assume that the extra heft is to hold the additional weight that the SoundSport earpieces have. Understandable as the earpieces house a battery, Bluetooth antenna, buttons and other electronics. It is surprising that they still feel as comfortable and natural in the ear as they do. BLUETOOTH Pairing was straight-forward on my iPhone, iPad and iMac. I love that they are NFC enabled. The Bluetooth range is fairly great. I can leave my phone in one place and walk anywhere in our two story 2500 sq foot home without a dropout. When listening away from home (phone in a pocket), I also have never experienced even a hiccup in the connection. My only difficulty with the Bluetooth turned out to be something I appreciate. Let me explain.... once paired, the headphones automatically connect to the last two devices they were paired with. When you first power on the headphones, if one of those two devices is not in range, then the headphones find and reconnect to any other previously paired device. This is great, but for me it worked almost too well. One time I powered on the headphones to listen to music on my iPhone only to find music playing from the iMac that my wife was using. So, my wife wondered why her music was no longer audible on her computer and I was confounded by the mystery music on my headset. This type of scenario happened a couple of times and became very annoying until we downloaded the Bose connect App. With the App, we can now easily tell the headphones which device we want connected. Presently, I have grown to appreciate how "sticky" the Bluetooth pairing is. I have never had to re-pair anything and I can easily switch between devices using the Connect App. By the way, the App also automatically updates the firmware on the headphones when needed. Nice! DURABILITY I read several older reviews where people had faulty units with a malfunctioning earpiece overtime. I also read somewhere that Bose found the issue and fixed the problem in its latest production. I have had no issue with my pair. Everything feels solid and built for abuse. By the way, the included neoprene case feels incredibly seamless and protects the headphones very well. BATTERY LIFE Bose states that the headphones get up to six hours battery life per charge. I have found this to be fairly accurate. The battery has never died on me mid-workout. Neither have I ever been surprised when they do need charging because of the voice prompt that announces the battery with each power on. Still, consider that they are yet another thing to charge. For me, a welcome concession to be able to exercise wire free. CONCLUSION In the end, I am very happy with the Bose SoundSport Wireless. The bottom-line is that they sound fantastic, are comfortable, they stay in place and keep a reliable Bluetooth connection. If you are in the market for workout ready headphones - I highly recommend the SoundSport Wireless. I expect to enjoy mine for years to come.

I have had the Bose Soundsport Wireless Headphones now for three days (as of 9/20/2016). So far, this has been my best experience with bluetooth headphones to date. My past experience was with the Jaybird Bluebuds X and the Master and Dynamic MW60's. Neither the Bluebuds X, nor the MW60 were capable of passing what I call the outdoor back pocket test, but the Bose Soundsport Wireless do. This test consists of placing my phone in my back pocket and walking outside into an open area where the headphones cannot rely on the bluetooth signal bouncing off nearby walls. Both the Bluebuds and MW60's would quickly start losing signal and dropping out (this in direct contradiction to the Jaybird marketing material, and which they later admitted was an issue in emails - ahem, false advertising?). The Bose Soundsports deal with this situation no problem; maybe the very, very, very occasional hiccup, but it's almost unnoticeable since the signal is dropped and regained so quickly. I have taken the Bose headphones on several bike rides now paired to an iPhone 7 in both my back jersey pocket and rear pants pocket while commuting around town and on sweat-drenched rides in the hills with interval training, and they've hiccuped only a few times. Again, in each case the signal was regained so quickly that I wasn't certain it was even dropped at all. The Bluebuds X, by comparison, dropped out so frequently I couldn't use them for cycling at all without being incredibly annoyed. Same for the MW60's used outdoors; walking around outside with them on drove me nuts. The open ear nature of the Bose headphones is great for cycling because it lets enough sound from the environment reach your ears so that you can hear cars approaching from behind. While the design of the earbuds on the Bose are a little fiddly to get into your ears correctly the first few times you use them, once they're in they seem to stay in just fine and block enough ambient noise to make the music stand out. The Bluebuds, by comparison, with their in-ear design provided a lot more sound isolation, but that also felt disconcerting at times and unsafe when used on the road. The design of the Bose earphones may not appear as sleek as the newer Jaybird Freedoms or X2's, and would seem clunky, they are still very light and I don't notice them while wearing them. So, while perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing for others looking at you, functionally Bose gets the job done perfectly. If I have one knock on the Bose Soundsport Wireless Headphones, it's that they aren't particularly loud, meaning at full-volume they are not as ear-splitting as a set of Apple earbuds plugged directly into my phone. The sound quality, however, is much much better; somewhere in between Apple earbuds and a high quality over-ear headphone (like the Sony MDR-1A). Definitely pretty great for Bluetooth! However, if you're looking for a pair of headphones you can use in a noisy environment and achieve total sound isolation, these Bose headphones are not it due to both the open-ear design and inability to really crank the volume. For bike rides I have the Soundsports at three to four notches from full volume, and in a loud coffee shop I need to crank them all the way up to drown out the surrounding din (and sometimes wish I could go higher). Lastly, from what I understand, the first run of these headphones had some issues for people who sweat a lot. I'm one of those people (literally rivers of sweat roll off me when I'm cycling and working out), but so far I haven't had an issue with the Soundsport Wireless. However, I assume that the ones I received are the updated version that had that issue corrected. So, I guess we'll see if that changes as I use them more, but so far, so great!

These headphones are a solid bluetooth headset for all around usage though have room for improvement. Sound Quality: 7/10 Fit: 9/10 Connection: 10/10 Size: 7/10 First sound quality: Initial impressions were not great with these headphones. It seemed as though they were just not loud enough. The highs and mids are clean but the bass was lacking. First of all, I was listening to music streamed from Spotify (at 320kb/s) through my iPhone 7. I typically like to listen to music loud which was why my initial impression was bleak. Strangely, however, it seems as though to get these headphones to get loud you have to get to the last three bars of the volume control on an iPhone. Once I figured this out, I was very pleased. At higher volumes, the sound does not distort, typical of Bose, which is quite pleasing. Other than having to crank up the volume to get them to a worth-while listening range, the sound is clean through the range. The could have a bit more bass, though clean bass is better than more distorted bass any day. Fit: Fit is really nice. The silicone ear tips are softer than other buds I have used (most recently the JayBird X2) which makes you feel like nothing is in your ear. The buds themselves are rather large, though the main section of the bid does not touch your ear. The silicone tip keeps the plastic housings far enough away that they never touch your ear. This is great for active people that are looking for bud that fits well in your ear and stays put. These are, by far, the best fitting buds for working out. The softer tips allow the buds to flex and move around more than other buds so if you bump the buds they do not fall out of your ears like most will (these fit far better and stay put far better, for me, than the JayBird X2 with foam tips). Also adding the clip to the cord so you can attach the cord to the back of your shirt prevents snags that will tear the bud from your ear. Overall the fit is great and better than any bud I've had. I have run, weight trained, biked, and jump rope with these and they have never come out of my ear yet, and you barely feel them in there in the first place. I am excited to try them while golfing this spring. Connection: The buds connect super fast, which is great. I haven't had any issues with them connecting. With the Bose app, you can connect to two sets of headphones at the same time to listen to the same thing, simultaneously. I'm not sure when this would prove useful as everyone has a phone and their own headphones, but you can use it if you want. It's an interesting feature and might prove useful for some. Size: Common fact, these buds are larger than most, but don't be discouraged by that, again you barely feel them in your ear. They do not feel heavy or intrusive. I feel that the size is a benefit as the components of the bud are more outside of your ear, which means they may have better connectivity and better battery life. The JayBirds were compact but battery life was low and the Bluetooth would drop every now and then. Overall these are great earbuds. The only area for improvement would be the sound quality. If Bose can figure out how to increase the bass and keep it clean, I'd give them a 5 star rating.

These headphones took forever to arrive -- I actually had to cancel an earlier order which never got shipped, then wait for this one -- but the wait was worth it. Like the wired Bose sport headphones, these are the most comfortable imaginable, due to the soft rubber tip design by Bose. And as always with Bose, the sound quality is simply top notch. I wear these whenever I am out and about, whether walking, waiting for the bus, or working out, and they never come out and always sound great. They work perfectly for running, too. I am also very happy with the control on the headphone cord, which is quick and responsive and easy to use on the go. As usual with Bose headphones, these arrive in their own little case with alternative tips and wings to make the fit perfect for your ear. I do recommend always keeping the headphones in the case when not in use, as nothing is sadder than the idea of losing them. Update: I love them dearly but I am not happy that I am buying the same headphones again now because my existing set are cutting out at least once a day. They just stop working. Sometimes within minutes of leaving the charger. No amount of pressing the power button starts them again: they have to be plugged into the charger to revive. This gets old, as I really do not want to carry my external battery with me everywhere. Also, they sometimes stop charging on the charger, and the power level they say they have is not anything like 100% accurate. If these were old or mistreated headphones I'd understand but I think this is a design problem, based on the number of other similar review comments. I STILL love them best but Bose needs to build them better. Update: I still love these best but they are randomly turning themselves off and nothing revives them but being connected to power. And this is often with a full charge or near full charge. Last time this happened was during an acupuncture session -- no way to get up and connect them to my portable battery then. If this happened during a workout I'd be stone out of luck. Sometimes I carry my Anston earphones with lesser sound quality and poorer controls just in case. Which is crazy. This is a design flaw I see across many reviews.

Music I listen to: Rock (60's-present), Metal (60's-present), Dubstep/Electronica, Indie Rock, Rap (90's-present), Blues, and Jazz (usually John Coltrane) mostly. Uses: Jogging, Gym, occasionally work, and around the house. Definitely the best pair of earbuds I've ever owned. I guess I'll start with practicality, they're pretty comfortable and stay in my ears well, it takes some pretty intense movement to shake them out and with the shirt collar clip it's not a big deal if they do, they won't fall and break. They're also comfortable, the little in-ear hook is way better than the ones that clip over the outside. Feels weird at first but I got used to it pretty quick. As far as sound goes, they're great for ear buds. There's a range in the upper-mids that is a little lacking and the boosted bass sometimes drowns it out a little, something like Pantera where there's a lot of scooped mids is where it's most noticeable. But honestly unless you're an audiophile, I don't know why you'd be buying these anyway, they sound fantastic. The bass especially is really nice, it bumps good with electronica. They're also quite loud, all the way up it takes a pretty extreme noise to be able to hear. For example I work in a factory and if I have them all the way up, which I only do when it's the weekend and no one's there because I'm not a psychopath, I can't hear the pallet jack I'm dragging around. On the elliptical in the gym, there's absolutely nothing but my music. I don't sweat a horribly large amount and I have a decent amount of hair to soak it up, but as far as I can tell, they are completely fine as far as moisture goes. Probably just don't submerge them in water. The cord is also nice and thick (giggity) and they feel really well built, I think you would seriously have to try to break them inside of normal usage situations. Overall, 5/5. They have a couple flaws but the price far outweighs that. Sure, they don't sound as good as my Sennheiser HD1s, but they were also over half the price so expecting that would be silly. Oh, and the battery life, 6 hours is a lie. I don't know if I have a defective pair in a good way or something, but they last closer to 10-11 for me. So big ups for that. I've only had them for 3 months so I can't say for sure as far as the lifetime of them goes but for anyone debating spending like $50 on a cheaper pair that they'll probably have to replace in a year, this seems like a worthwhile investment that will pay for itself over the next few years.

First off, let me start by saying that I would love nothing more than to be able to give the Bose SoundSport headphones five stars. These are the most comfortable headphones I have even worn and the sound quality is excellent. The issue with these headphones is the build quality. I have used these headphones probably about 15 hours a week for the last 7 months and they are falling apart. For comparison, my wife has the Jaybird X3s and they feel like they could be run over and you wouldn't notice. The photos I've attached show a couple of the places where the headphones are falling apart. The outside of each ear piece is a rubber peice that attaches to a harder plastic peice that faces the ear. The rubber on both the right and left ear bud is detaching from the harder plactic peice. I feel like they could have made the whole ear bud out of the harder plactic and attached the two halves more securely. All prices of the X3s are nicely molded together and don't look like they will fall apart. Another thing that has come up is the rubber covering the control has separated from the body of the control. The buttons were always a little spongy, but now the volume down button is almost unusable with out moving the rubber cover into just the right alignment with both hands. The controls really should never been designed with a solid plastic body and a separate rubber cover. To compare to the X3s again, the controls on those headphones are a solid unit with individual buttons for volume up and down and play/pause. There are other little things as well such as the included clip breaking with a week and rubber pices that cover where the wire enters the earbuds coming lose and sliding down the wire. Given the durability issues with these headphones they cannot be recommended. I really hope Bose addresses these issues in the next version because these really are comfortable headphones with great sound, but until then I think I will continue to find myself stealing my wife's X3s as often as I can. Update: A little plastic piece broke off from the loose volume down button (see pic) and I now have no way to decrease the volume from the headphones without using my phone.

In short, I would purchase these again but I do think they are over priced and advertised incorrectly as a device useful for sport or high impact use. Pros/cons listed below. I purchased my Bose headphone in Aug 2018 and I use them almost every day mostly at home with some use for walking at the park where I don't work up a sweat or do anything but walk. I use these to listen to music and for making calls all day for work. I found these to be ideal for what I need them for, and worth the money, up until almost 2 years after purchase when the corner of the volume up button and wire cover broke off without any obvious reason. I will list what I think the pros and cons are since using these for 2 years. In short, I think these would be more appropriately priced at closer to $50 (not $100) because they are high quality earbuds but low quality and very simple buttons, they are advertised to be durable when they are fragile, and because they only come with 1 year warranty. Pros: - Good incoming sound for calls and music, high quality. - Good mic for phone calls, medium to high quality (mic picks up on wind and car humming while driving). --> Suggestion: Improve the mic noise cancelling feature but maintain the sensitivity to keep sound crystal clear. - Easy to use (simple set up and only volume up/down and power buttons - also a con for some). - Battery last about 8-10 hours of consistent use, high quality. - Length of battery use has remained consistent, high quality. - Charging time less than 30 minutes, average to high quality. - Charger is long-lasting and headphones are compatible with other chargers so I don't need to take multiple ones for travel, average quality for Bluetooth headphones in general. - Earbuds fit small ears and have larger and smaller earbuds to alternate for sizing, high quality but not worth the money to pay for 3 pairs of different size earbuds when you only use one. -- > Suggestion: I feel like one pair could be sold with the product and alternate sized could be sold separately, or each size could be sold with the product for consumers to choose what size earbuds they want with the headphones they buy. - Earbuds do not fall out, and mechanism to keep them from falling out is relatively comfortable (for up to 5 hours for me), high quality. - Overall long lasting product for low impact use (has lasted almost 2 years for me with daily use for working from home and school). Cons: - Plastic casing for volume button is not as durable. (The corner of mine broke off after 2 years of daily use which normally wouldn't be a bother, but I use these for at home and not working out, and I don't use the volume button on the earbuds because I adjust the volume from my phone. There is nothing I have done that would cause the piece to break.) --> Suggestion: Do not advertise as useful for sports, or high impact activities, and extend warranty to 2+ years included with the $100 or lower the price to a fraction of this for the 1 year warranty. Alternatively, improve the casing design or material to improve durability and prevent damage from low impact use. - No mechanism for keeping headphones from falling off if they are not in your ear. (I switched to these headphones from LG Bluetooth headphones that were attached to a neck piece and had magnetic ends to put the earbuds away in the neck piece when not in use. These will just slide around and fall off of your neck if you take them out of your ears.) --> Suggestion: Make the back of earbuds magnetic so they can "clasp" to each other and worn around the neck as a necklace. - Design is too simple: only includes volume up and down buttons but is missing play button, next track/fast forward button, previous track/rewind button, and mute mic button. For this reason I would use my phone to modify volume and all other functions because these headphones did not have these features. --> Suggestion: Add Play/ Fast forward button above volume up, add rewind button below volume down, and add mute button on the back of the volume up/down above where the mic is. - Mic and buttons piece does not stay stationary which can cause problems on phone calls when people hear a differentiation in the volume of your voice depending on where the mic is. -- > Suggestion: Add a detachable clip people can attach to the wire and use to clip on their shirt to keep it in place for phone calls.