Need high-quality music to accompany you while you pound the gravel? Bose may just have the answer.
Your choice of headphones has become more complex than finding the right smartphone or camera: in-ear or over the ear, noise cancelling vs noise isolating, add to it a host of brands and ear sizes to that mix and things can get quite confusing. Bose’s all-new noise isolating headphone has just debuted in India and comes in two versions–one crafted exclusively for the the iOS ecosystem and one for Samsung and other Android devices. We dived into our music playlists with the iOS version that is crafted for those zillions of iPods, iPhones and iPads.
The trademark Bose quality is the first thing you will notice with the SoundTrue – nothing flashy or over the top but yet reassuringly elegant with that premium build quality. The other aspect that stands out is a T-joint that breaks away from the standard Y-joint cable. It’s not without reason: this new design tweak ensures the headphone comes less into contact with your body – particularly handy if running is part of your daily fitness regime.
The device also sees the debut of Bose’s new StayHear Ultra tips that take the ‘ear fit’ out of the equation. The headphones rest outside of the ear canal for an acoustic seal and use a high-precision driver for high quality audio reproduction. We totally dig these new Ultra tips. We spent about almost two hours plugged in to the headphones. They didn’t fall off even once and fit quite snugly without adding any undue pressure to the ears.
Ultimately it’s the sound quality that makes or break any pair of headphones. The SoundTrue totally shines in this department. No exaggerated sound or unnatural boosts in audio output; just accurate sound reproduction that does full justice to the high-quality recordings on your playlist. You don’t have to worry about shoving those headphones deep into your ear canals–the noise isolation takes care of that.
We tested the SoundTrue on an Android Smartphone and an Apple iPad. The results on our review unit were clearly better on the iPad. This is one of the slight handicaps of this device: you are stuck with the ecosystem you opt for. There is no perceptible difference in sound quality, but the controls are quite restricted if you use the iOS version on an Android phone. You can switch tracks on your iOS devices with the play/pause key, something you can’t do if you’re on Android. A hard press of the play/pause key activates Siri on iOS devices so you can actually navigate your playlist with voice commands. The same hard press transports you to Google Now on an Android smartphone.
The SoundTrue works quite well across platforms as a ‘hands free’ device for your calls. The device comes with very thoughtful inclusions in the box–three pairs of StayHear Ultra Tips in three sizes (Small, Medium and Large) and a cool carry case for the headphones. This accessory is particularly handy when you have to toss your headphones into a backpack or a satchel while you travel.
The SoundTrue Ultra is easily one of the best in-ear headphones your money can buy. At Rs 11,138, they are certainly not cheap, but they do deliver a high-quality audio experience. The StayHear Ultra tips are one of the coolest features of this headphone making it equally relevant as a fitness accessory as they are for those long commutes or flights.
What we liked: Elegant design, great audio output, the StayHear Ultra tips
What we didn’t like: Pricey, some controls don’t work across mobile platforms
Price: Rs 11,318
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 "Bose SoundTrue in-ear headphones")
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