First impression of Bluedio Air
What's in the box
Bluedio is known for the hinged cardboard box. With the Bluedio Air, this is particularly large, because the cardboard box contains a hard-shell case with a transport handle and carabiner, with which the Air can be transported safely and easily when on the move. Also included is a neoprene bag with accessory cables. The cables are a 3.5mm jack audio cable, an audio cable with remote control, a so-called Y-cable that splits the headphones' signals into a microphone and audio signal and of course a micro USB charging cable. An operating manual is also included in the scope of delivery, which explains all the functions of the headphones in a beautiful way.
Facilities
The Bluedio Air uses the latest Bluetooth standard, namely Bluetooth 4.1. If you have a Bluetooth 4.0 playback device, the connection for both the headphones and the playback device is particularly easy on the battery. If the headphones are fully charged, you can listen to music for about 20 hours. The standby time is approximately 1000 hours.
The Bluetooth profiles A2DP, AVRCP, HSP, HFP are supported. The aptX codec is unfortunately not supported. In addition to wireless operation, the headphones can also be operated with the audio cables supplied. Differences in sound quality were not noticeable. Only the so-called "white noise", which is common with Bluetooth devices, disappears when operated via an audio cable.
The Air also has a hands-free function that can be used to take calls. Calls can also be made using the integrated microphone. Another feature is a 3D audio module, which makes the sound a lot more spatial. The 3D mode is activated via the function keys.
Design and comfort
The housing of the Bluedio Air is on the one hand flexible and yet stable. Although the headphones are almost entirely made of plastic, they still don't look inferior. The temple was printed with the so-called heat transfer printing technique, which makes the headphones look very attractive. Thanks to the flexible bracket, the Bluedio Air sits particularly comfortably on the head. Even after long periods of wear, the Air sits comfortably on your head.
Klang
Compared to the R series, the Bluedio Air only has one driver unit per auricle. The size of the driver unit is an impressive 57mm. The 3D sound module creates an artificial 3D surround sound. The sound is emulated by software adapted by the manufacturer. Unfortunately, the Bluedio Air does not have an integrated equalizer.
For me personally, the Bluedio Air sounds rather neutral. The bass is there, but not as strong as the Bluedio R series. This makes the Air ideal for a wide range of music. Mids and heights are nicely displayed thanks to the large driver unit. The maximum volume is also impressive.
