In the past, the price of an item often correlated to the quality of that item. While that still holds mostly true today, every once in awhile something comes along that blows you away with how affordable it is without sacrificing quality or performance. Our Etekcity Roverbeats S1 review takes a look at one such product: a pair of super affordable, great-sounding in-ear Bluetooth wireless headphones.
Specifications
The Etekcity Roverbeats S1 in-ear Bluetooth wireless headphones have the following features and specifications:
- Aluminum alloy outer casing
- Bluetooth 4.1; AVRCP, A2DP, HSP, HFP
- 110 mAh battery (2x 3.7V 55mAh)
- Built-in mic and control panel for phone and playback control
- CVC 6.0 noise cancellation
- aptX pure sound
- IPX4 water resistance
- Weight: 4 ounces
What’s in the Box
- 1x Etekcity Roverbeats S1 in-ear Bluetooth wireless headphones
- 1x Micro-USB charging cable
- 1x Carrying case
- 3x earbud pairs (S/M/L)
- 3x ear hook pairs (S/M/L)
Design
At first glance, the Etekcity Roverbeats S1 in-ear Bluetooth wireless headphones look a bit odd with the large aluminium alloy outer casing. However, once inserted into your ears, they’re quite comfortable and lightweight. The main component to the earpiece consists of the outer casing attached to a plastic inner mould, and it’s actually quite thin and very conducive to comfort while wearing them. The earbuds themselves are angled forward towards your ear, and an ear hook tucks into your ear to help hold the earbuds in place. The only branding on the headphones is the Etekcity logo on the left earbud on the inside, which can’t even be seen while wearing them.
The cable connecting the two earbuds is about as wide as a USB cable but is quite flat. A small grey cord clip can be used to adjust the length of the cable. The in-line microphone, play controls, and Micro-USB charging port is located about two inches below the right earbud. A volume up/next track, power/play/pause/answer calls, and volume down/previous track button are all present on the module.
The included case is a hardshell case with the Etekcity logo on both sides. There’s a pouch on the inside for your extra ear tips, ear hooks, and Micro-USB cable, and a main compartment for your earbuds.
Ease of Use
Pairing the headphones is very easy. Simply hold down the power button until the light on the microphone module starts blinking blue and red and you’re ready to pair. Once paired, pressing volume up, down, or play/pause works as expected when used with a smartphone. Pressing volume up or down for a few seconds will skip to the next or back to the previous track and works as expected as well.
The earbuds also feature voice control if your device supports it, for example with Siri or Google Voice. Simply press the volume up or down button for 5 seconds until you hear a short beep and then you’ll be able to use the microphone in the control panel to control your device. I tested it using Google’s “OK Google” command and while it worked I really couldn’t tell if it was because it was because my phone was picking it up through the earbuds or my smartphone considering it was pretty close.
Sound
I wasn’t sure what to expect from a $35 pair of earbuds, I’ve been both impressed and disappointed with headphones and earbuds that cost way more. Truth of the matter is that I was absolutely blown away with the sound quality on the Etekcity Roverbeats S1 earbuds. The sound is crisp and clear, and the amount of bass these headphones push out took me by surprise. It didn’t matter which type of music I listened to — rock, rap, EDM, classical — I found that they worked just fine without having to fiddle with the equalizer on my phone to get a better sound. The sound did get a bit distorted at maximum volume, but unless you want to go deaf in a hurry, you won’t be using these anywhere near maximum volume — they’re that loud.
In addition, the CVC noise cancellation was very effective in tuning out the outside world while enjoying my tunes.
To say I was surprised and impressed with the sound from these earbuds would be a huge understatement, and in fact they sound just as good as other wireless earbuds I’ve tested that cost five or more times as much.
Call Quality
Call quality was pretty decent during our testing, there were no issues with either party hearing or understanding the other when in a call.
Answering and ignoring calls is pretty easy as well. Press the middle button once to answer or hang up on an existing call. If you wish to ignore the call, press and hold the middle button. You can also double click the middle button to transfer the call to the phone’s speakers. Pressing and holding the volume up or down button will mute the call, and when not in a call you can double click the middle button to redial the last number you called.
Battery Life
Etekcity claims up to 10 hours of battery life, but unfortunately over multiple tests, I was only able to get a maximum of just over 8 hours on a single charge. The average battery life I managed to get was between 7 and 7.5 hours. While it doesn’t quite live up to the advertised battery life, for most of my activities it was more than adequate and they did get me through most, if not all, of an average work day.
When drained, the earbuds take about an hour and 15 minutes to recharge through the Micro-USB port.
Price/Value
With an MSRP of $35.99, the Etekcity Roverbeats S1 in-ear Bluetooth wireless headphones are a steal. They’re currently selling for $27.99 on Amazon, which is highway robbery in my opinion for the sound quality alone that you get with these.
Wrap-up
If you’re looking for an affordable, great sounding pair of wireless earbuds, you can’t go wrong with the Etekcity Roverbeats S1 in-ear Bluetooth wireless headphones. The battery life is decent, and even though it fell below Etekcity’s claims, the fantastic sound, IPX4 sweat and waterproof rating, and comfortable lightweight fit make these a pair of earbuds you can’t really pass up for the price.
[button link=”http://amzn.to/29woCJQ” icon=”fa-shopping-cart” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Purchase from Amazon[/button]*We were sent a review sample of the Etekcity Roverbeats S1 in-ear Bluetooth wireless headphones for the purposes of this review.
Last Updated on February 20, 2020.
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