I have had my IQbuds over a month and have been able to test them in a range of different environments. My Samsung Galaxy S7 gives a line of sight bluetooth range of eight meters when paired with the IQbuds. This results in good bluetooth reception when the phone is in a shirt pocket, jacket pocket, or an upper arm strap when exercising. With the phone in trouser pockets frequent bluetooth dropouts occur.
Music quality is excellent and phone calls are very clear and easy to handle with the touch controls.
Noise isolation is passive and it is therefore essential to choose the correct size silicone ear tips. Initially I had a lot of problems selecting the right ones until I worked out that I have bilaterally asymmetric ear canals. I use a medium round for my left ear and a large round for the right ear. The noise reduction is good enough for most environments. For running or cycling, I find that the passive noise isolation lets just enough ambient sound through that I can maintain environment awareness using just music mode and a phone volume level of 6 or 7. The silicone tips are very secure. I have run over 180kms wearing the IQbuds without any problems.
It is possible to improve the passive noise isolation by using the expanding foam type of ear tips. For normal use I prefer the silicon tips as they are more comfortable for long term use. I have tried the Comply Foam Isolate 160 tips and use one size smaller than the silicone tips (small for the left ear, medium for the right ear). They have a similar feel to expanding foam earplugs. I have found they provide noticeably better noise isolation on flights, and provide enough noise reduction to comfortably shoot an air pistol match. Due to sound transmission through the body of the earbud they are unsuitable for general rifle, pistol or shotgun use. 30 meters is as close as I have comfortably got to a live firing point using the the Isolate 160 tips.
When using music mode in quiet environments I use a phone volume level of 1 or 2. Using the same volume level in office mode with the IQ volume and SINC both set to the 12 o'clock position gives me audio transparency for external sounds. The default settings for the various modes are just starting positions and it takes a little while to optimize the settings.
External IQ volume, SINC, and the live equalizer can be adjusted to produce a range of external sound modification. I have used different settings for a variety of applications such as boosting or suppressing birdsong, or enhancing motor bearing noises produced by mechanical pumps. The only application where I have found that the external sound processing does not work is in high wind environments. The turbulent wind noise generated by high speed airflow over the IQbuds microphones overwhelms the external environmental sounds that are being boosted. In such situations it is best to turn off the external sound amplification by changing to music mode and reducing the music volume until enough external sound bleeds through the passive noise isolation to provide situational awareness.
To prevent feedback when removing the buds, I always switch to music mode and case the left earbud first. For similar reasons when putting the earbuds on, I always put the right earbud in first.
Generally to minimize battery degradation I try to avoid running the earbuds or the charging case completely flat. On the one occasion I ran them down I was able to charge the earbuds to a 50% charge state in 30 minutes.
There are some minor problems that could be solved by an update to the app. I have found that the tones and vocal notifications are too loud. A simple app based volume control setting for these features is required. I found I could not use the IQbuds when it was raining, as every time my raincoat hood touched an earbud it activated a touch function. The ability to disable the earbud touch controls via the app would solve this problem, and would also be useful for anyone who wants to lock them in just one mode. An option to enable enhanced graphic equalizer functions would be welcomed by the more advanced users.
In summary, IQbuds are a very well executed first generation product. Overall rating 8/10.
NUH Price at posting:
6.8¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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