Tag: jbl

Fiio FT1 Review

~ Veselin ~ 2 Comments

I purchased several headphones this year. I’m still not entirely sure how or why, but it happened.

I do some calls. Not a big number, but still more than one per day on average. Both planned and unplanned. That means I need to be able to open my laptop and jump on a call at short notice. To make that work, I either need to carry a sufficiently good headset everywhere, or keep one at each place where I take calls. Since I have three such places, I ended up buying three different JBL headsets over the years, plus one backup in my backpack at all times, just in case.

One day, the best one of the JBLs broke down, and I replaced it with a flashy new SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7. They were so much better than the rest of my headphones that I started carrying them with me everywhere, gradually ignoring both the other headsets and the backup from my backpack. They are wireless, but came with a backup cable. Even if the wireless connection failed, I could always plug them in, and I did once or twice during calls.

Still, something didn’t feel right. My backpack became heavier, and the lack of a proper case made me feel like I was going to crush them sooner or later. So I decided to order another, similarly priced headset for the co-working space, together with an external microphone. After some research, I went with one of the leaders in the budget headphones category: the Fiio FT1.

Here come the only two ugly photos of the headphones, for reasons that will be revealed below:

Pros

  • The headphones sound well. The sound is clear and pleasant. My ears aren’t trained enough to judge things like depth or soundstage, but to me they sound sufficiently good without a wow.
  • More comfortable than the old JBLs.
  • Very solid cable. It feels durable and will probably survive cat encounters.
  • Good box, which I adopted for my other headphones.
  • Build quality is fine.

Cons

  • Exaggerated bass. My current favorite band, Lorna Shore, sounds noticeably off in the bass-heavy parts. I often find myself lowering the volume during those moments. Over time, this also becomes tiring when listening to metal, unlike the SteelSeries.
  • I don’t like how they look. I find them quite ugly, and this might actually be their biggest problem for me. They don’t spark any joy. They’re bulky, seemingly built around hiding the 60 mm dynamic driver rather than elegance.
  • Less comfortable than the SteelSeries. While they may be better than the JBLs, they can’t compete with the light, well-designed Arctis Nova 7. I’ve already been spoiled by something that fits my head better.
  • No microphone. This greatly limits their usefulness for work. In practice, I only use them at my desk.
  • Mediocre isolation. I have the feeling my external microphone picks up some of the sound leaking from the headphones, which can be an issue during calls.

Overall, I don’t think I made a wise choice buying these. I don’t listen to as much music as I used to, and they’re not particularly good for work calls either. I genuinely don’t know who they’re made for.

Perhaps somewhere a marketer decided the market was ripe for headphones that look audiophile, sit in the pricing range of gaming headsets, and ultimately sound like a gaming headset. The result probably sells well, but I’m ready to move on from them long before they show any real signs of use.

Headphones for Calls – SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7x/7p

~ Veselin ~ 8 Comments

My one of my old JBLs broke and I needed a new headset for work. After a careful research, I ordered Arctis Nova 7x. The 7x is the XBOX version of the headset and differs from the other 7 by one additional button, which is irrelevant to me. I liked the green/black color.

So I got them yesterday and I decided to make some recordings and see if I can actually use them. The main issues I have during calls are two:

  • Can people hear and understand me loud and clear
  • Can I hear them. I’ve had headphones that were too quiet

As it turns out, Arctis Nova 7 produces a different result depending on what kind of connectivity I use. I tried the recommended 2.4GHz Dongle and a 3.5mm TRRS. They also support Bluetooth but I’m not enthusiastic about it. It’s supposed to come with more latency and connection woes.

Noisy environment

I went to the local Starbucks, where people chat, and the music is loud. The sound was sharp and clear. It can be so loud that it can be harmful, which is something I’ve not recently experienced with other headphones. It’s good and I don’t think I’ll have issues hearing people.

However, the mic captures too much background noise. I would need to rely on additional software removing that noise. I didn’t have that problem with the previous headphones. People speaking nearby would be mostly filtered out.

Quiet environment

The sound is great, particularly when connected with a cable.

Using the 2.4GHz dongle produces much louder recording. Unfortunately, all I can hear from it is SSssssSSS. Do I really talk like that? It’s not great.

When connected with the cable, the sound is a bit more muted and I find it tolerable, although chair movements and breathing can still be heard.

Overall, I think I can rely on them when doing calls from home but not when working from the outside. I’ll use them for a week or two and gather feedback. I feel like the microphone can be a source of discomfort during calls, mainly for the people who need to understand what I say. The cable would be the way to go for me.

Comfort and controls

  • The button placement is well picked and I can’t roll the volume or mute by accident.
  • The microphone pulls out and is great when hidden. However, I have my doubts about how long this pulling in and out can last before something breaks
  • The headphones feel very soft and comfortable when used with glasses.
  • The 2.4GHz dongle is very wide. When I plug it in, thy cover the next USB-C port and I can’t charge my computer. I think the dongle is not something I’ll be interested using. I may give Bluetooth a chance but not that thing.

Am I happy

Not quite. I can have a better experience listening to music compared to my 3 pairs of mildly broken JBLs but the microphone is a source of anxiety. I’ll give them a try and will post an update in a month or two.

UPDATE:

  • The headphones have a green light that blinks and is visible at night, feels like I’m on an airplane at night
  • They’re very good for music and movies, and I actually use the dongle for that
  • They seem to turn off when they consider are in idle, even if you’re actually using them
  • When the dongle is plugged, the audio is directed to it so switching between headphones and computer audio means clicking a navigation somewhere
  • Mic also needs to be manually changed (did I mention I love wired headphones? Everything is so simple with them)

UPDATE 2:

  • I got used to everything and kind of like them far more than the JBLs. The sound is better, the buttons and rolls just never click themselves, except the maybe mute button, which can be pressed in the backpack.

Headphones for calls – JBL Quantum 200 vs JBL Quantum 400.

~ Veselin ~ 9 Comments

I do many calls and my environment is often noisy – coffee shops, kids around, and ninja turtles on TV. I’ve tried finding headphones that have a good microphone and are comfortable for my ears. I believe the headphones need to be wired so I don’t charge them. I like retractable microphones. Over the last months, I used JBL Quantum 200 with a good success. Unfortunately, they broke so I bought a replacement. The local electronics shop only had Quantum 100 and 400, and here we are.

JBL Quantum 100 doesn’t have a retractable microphone but otherwise looks like my old headphones.

JBL Quantum 200 has a retractable mic with no cover and a roller for volume control. When folded, the mic is muted. That roller was a bit inconvenient until I got used to it because it would roll while the headphones were in my backpack. They broke soon-ish but come with a 2-year warranty.

Quantum 400 has a retractable mic with some cover, volume control, some other roller with unclear purpose, and a mute button. They also mute when the mic is folded.

Here are some mic samples from Starbucks, the speakers are right over my head and quite loud:

Quantum 200

Quantum 400

My backup Devia headphones for reference

Here is how they look.

The patch is not the broken old headphones, it’s the new ones. The reason is that the mute button is loose and makes a clicking noise that annoys me. So here I fixed it. I’ll upgrade myself with a fancier patch at some point.

Out of those three, my old JBL Quantum 200 headphones were the top pick. Sure, the 400s come with buttons, rollers, extra cables, and flashy LED lights packed in a fancy box. But, the loose mute button and the extra roller with no clear purpose actually made them worse. The microphone quality is sufficient in both.

Matt Mullenweg wrote a much more detailed post on the same subject – his recommendation was for a Sennheiser, which I followed 5-6 headphones back. The locally available set didn’t have a retractable microphone and couldn’t use it for calls from coffee shops. I moved on quickly.

UPDATE 2025-03-10

The JBL Quantum 400 also broke down. It’s a very minimal problem but nevertheless I’m going to look for a replacement in the following weeks. Overall, I think the Quantum 400 are significantly better than the 200 because of the better cable that can be replaced.

I think they’re better overall than the other headphones I used over the last 10 years but the build quality is not fantastic.

Disappointed by the second roller on my Quantum 400, I bought a pair of Quantum 100 as well. These are not up to the bar needed for my daily work needs. They’re less comfortable, the mic is located on a piece of wire, which is much less convenient than the Quantum 200/400 mic. I didn’t use them much and actually kept doing calls with the slightly broken Quantum 200s.