Review – Edifier W200BT; A Run For Your Money
Edifier W200BT
RM 99
Pros
- Great Sounding
- Sports-oriented build
- Comfortable
Cons
- Bass envelopes some frequencies
- Glossy finish
We reckon the Edifier W200BT SE as one of the great value sports-oriented Bluetooth earphones we have ever tested so far. Today, we will be taking a look at its sibling the W200BT which has a shaped-neckband design to it. Read on to find out more.
Unboxing Experience
The W200BT comes in a box similar to its sibling the W200BT SE with the exact same material and cardboard thickness. The only difference would be the image on the front as the W200BT differs significantly from the W200BT SE.
Opening it up like a pizza box, it shows the earphone nicely laid out by a moulded plastic. Underneath the plastic, it contains a micro USB cable, 3 silicone ear tips of different sizes, 3 silicone ear hook of different sizes, and paper documentations.
Build Quality and Appearance
The Bluetooth earphones spot a very glossy finish on the earbuds and the ends of the neckband which is made out of plastic. The wires are thin and covered in silicon similar to the neckband which retained its shape of a U and is bendable enough only to fit your neck through it. The neckband also has a slight curvature horizontally which follows the shape of your body connected to the neck giving it a comfortable resting position on your neck.
The earphone is light as a whole but that doesn’t mean it’s fragile. The earbuds are made out of plastic with a glossy finish. On the ends of the neckband, the right side is the earphone’s remote for volume down(-), a general button, and volume up(+) along with a charging port. The left counterpart of it has the exact same shape as the remote control but it does not do anything. We presume it holds battery cells in it.
The W200BT comes in 4 colours: black, red, white and grey. The model I received is red. When in use, it just screams attention due to the bright red colour it has. However, the design just shouts that it’s a sports earphone.
The build quality on this thing is reasonably tough. It can take some beating or handling vigorous movements, it’s a sports earphone after all. The wires, unfortunately, are not tangle-free. But so far, I have not experienced the wires being very tangled up that it retains the badly tangled up shape. The tough build makes it easier to bring around without worrying of damaging it.
In addition to that, it also has a water-resistant rating of IPX4 which is lower than it’s sibling. This means that the W200BT is able to withstand some lightly sprayed water on it. Rinsing it under light running water to clean it is fine.
Battery Life
Battery life on the W200BT is 7 hours which is fairly good for light usage (like during a workout session or a quick listen). Charging takes 1.5 hours.
Calls
Connecting with your friends on the W200BT is quite good. It has little to no distortion in the voice. You hear what you’re supposed to hear. There’s no alteration of voices unlike in some earphones you hear. The microphone is good on the other person’s end too. However, due to the W200BT’s noise isolation, it makes you feel as if you’re speaking in a vacuum environment of zero gravity. Kind of a weird feeling. Other than that, no complaints.
Small Details
A handy feature that the W200BT has, and also similar to its sibling, is the earphones magnet in their earbuds. It clips to each other preventing it from dangling around when it’s not in your ear.
Other similar features include the voice of the earphones stating the battery percentage when it first connects to your mobile device.
Comfort
If there’s any earphone I’ve tested that doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable after wearing for over 2 hours, the W200BT is one on them. The silicon on the ear tips is just at the right firmness and thickness. The ear tips sit tightly and comfortably in the ear and don’t fall out even during vigorous movements. It doesn’t feel as if the silicon is expanding your ear canal as every minute passes on screaming subconsciously at you to take it off for a while. Somehow, I don’t know how, Edifier has found the right material, and thickness with a normal ear tip design. Even surprisingly, it is only RM 99 for this pair of earphones. I’ve never enjoyed wearing an earphone for so long without having the need to take it off every now and then. It really doesn’t even feel like you’re wearing an earphone after a while.
When in use during sports, the earphone sits tightly in your ear as said earlier. The neckband doesn’t get pulled during any movement and it sits comfortably on your neck. Even while jumping, the earbuds still don’t budge and it doesn’t get pulled out if the neckband moves. Edifier has chosen the correct length for the wire to cause any of these problems.
When not in use, the neckband sits comfortably on the neck. The earbuds when not in use, it doesn’t shift the weight of the earphone causing it to drop to the left or the right. With the earbuds clipped magnetically, it is quite secure as long as you walk. The magnet is not strong enough to hold together during vigorous activities.
But a late discovery I found about the W200BT is the discomfort that the neckband causes. When in use, the remote may touch near your upper chest. That’s not the problem. But when it is touching your skin, the charging port cover can cause a small itch to your skin. It’s not an allergic reaction to the plastic, it’s just due to the opening slot scratching against your skin. Just lift your shirt up a bit higher to solve it.
Noise Isolation
The noise isolation is pretty decent. Even on soft music, it isolates most sounds from your surrounding. Of course, you’ll still be able to hear high-pitched sounds at whatever volume of the music. At normal volume, it’s dangerous to walk on a street or drive a car.
Sound Quality
Now for the bread and butter for every audio equipment for sale, the W200BT can easily take on most of the more expensive sports earphone out there I reckon. Even though it is an earphone for sports, I still find it very enjoyable for my daily driver. The bass is deep and powerful with the right resonance. Perfect for most songs nowadays that are very bass oriented. However, the sub-bass produces some echo that I’m unable to tune out. This causes some bass to pour out into the low mid-tones and treble and muddles up some of their details. The midrange is relatively good as long as you tune it correctly. Above -4db, the 500Hz, and 1kHz frequency tuning are not pleasant to the ear. It’s not painful to hear, it’s just disturbing. I’ve never come across an earphone like this where I had to tune the midrange so low only will it sound good. With heavily midrange-oriented songs, the bass creeps into the mid-tones and plays its resonance.
The treble sounds pretty well provided it’s at the right decibel. Surprisingly, it played it smooth enough with no crack or rattling sound from the drivers. I find the treble underpowered compared to the bass and it just doesn’t sound right with the tuning of the treble so high up the decibel. Of course, it’s not an audiophile’s earphone, can’t expect that kind of quality for RM 99. In some cases, the bass plays the resonance of the treble instead, resulting in blunt classical music performance.
All in all, it’s a very enjoyable earphone to listen to. It is not a serious listener’s go-to high-end audio equipment, but it gets the job done is most cases of modern songs and 90’s music. The only drawback would be the bass somehow just creeps into every part of the frequency’s resonance and muddles the background sound that the particular frequency is supposed to produce. Despite this, it still plays well. It’s not very obvious to be a dealbreaker to reject it, but a trained ear would be able to tell.
Conclusion
Is this the Bluetooth earphones for you? If you’re looking for a sports earphone, this is one good choice provided you don’t mind the neckband. The W200BT is one earphone that can you can use where it be a workout session or for casual listening. The W200BT is portable, tough, highly comfortable, and costing only RM 99. What’s not to like?
