SOL REPUBLIC Shadow Fusion Bluetooth Earbuds, Grey | 10-Hour Playtime | Comfortable Knit Tech Fibre Collar | Magnetic Connection Earbuds | Flexible Compact Storage | Convenient Carrying Case

Best thing I've bought in a long time! Never had headphones like this, but they came recommended to me. Total game changer for when wanting to listen to music as I am on the move.

Couldn't get them to pair up. Got a refund

I've been using these headphones for quite some time now, mostly for taking conference calls whilst on the go (picking the kids up from school, that sort of thing). Though I'm very happy with the battery life, which is as good as or better than I'd expected, I have had some comments on other peoples' ability to hear me during calls, often being told my voice sounds robotic (as side effect of the Bluetooth connection quality downgrading).As earphones, just for listening to music, I don't really have any complaints. Once the correct buds are fitted for you ears sound quality and (passive) noise cancelling are good, but not quite the best I've encountered. The ribbon wires from the neck strap to the buds is great, really limiting tangles and letting you get wired up quickly each time.Charging is via a USB C connector, which helps these earphones feel modern and eliminates worries about finding or borrowing compatible cables in the future. Charge time is short and the level of charge can be easily checked at a push of a button. They usually make it through the day for me with a fairly busy call schedule, but would die on the way home if I had to commute right now (thanks, lockdown).These types of earphones, with a neckstrap, tend to try to get away, either between your shoulder blades or down one shoulder and the Shadow Fusion one does too, to some extent, but not quite as bad as some others I've tried. The textured surface helps keep them in place, as well as improving comfort. The earbuds snap together via little magnets to keep them out of the way when not in use, but I find the magnets not strong enough to really do the job, which is annoying.Overall these are nice earphones. They're not ones a would enthuse over, but they're a well rounded, attractive and good performing package with a few flaws. They also come with a handy carry case and and short, portable charging cable. I certainly can't think of any flaws I would warn you away from.

Two years ago, even 18 months ago, this would have blown me away. Now it's just meh. It's OK, but with so many TWE (true wireless earbuds) becoming available, the disadvantages of semi-wireless earbuds are obvious. The best known TWEs are the Apple airpods, but many others are available.The major advantage is the additional battery life - though TWEs generally come with a case with a recharger built in - giving a similar or better total battery life.The cloth covered band, that sits behind the neck is clever, and comfortable. However, I did hear some microphonic noise from the wires to the earbuds - which would be absent with TWEs.The unit arrived completely discharged, so the first job was to charge it up. Then I connected over Bluetooth with my Shanling M0 hifi player. That was easy enough, and the Bluetooth worked up to 10m (though the Shanling M0 is particularly good in this regard).The sound quality of the earbuds was nothing special - it wasn't particularly "dynamic" or interesting to listen to. Compared to my SoundMagic E80 wired earbuds, there was a lot of detail missing. If you haven't heard headphones or earbuds that give this level of detail, you'd probably be happy with the SOLs. If you've heard the E80 or similar, you'd be forever smitten and never go back to anything muddled again.The SOL earbuds fold into a carrying sleeve - neat, but felt too tight for the earbuds to survive repeated bending.Packaging was also previous generation (2 years ago in technology) - over the top, worthy of an unwrapping video, but hard to get into, wasteful and non-reusable. Lots of single-use plastic, foam and card, that all ended up in the bin and wasn't designed even as a box to keep the parts in, but had to be destroyed to get the earbuds out.Overall, I'll stick to my wired earbuds for a little while, and then get a decent pair of TWEs.

A great pair of earphones which are comfortable to wear with the fabric band for hanging around your neck when not in use.I'll be honest that the sound quality isn't as great as with some other wireless earphones we have had but it is still good and doesn't have any tinny sound to them even at a higher volume. Battery life is great and even over six months of use in they still charge well and hold their charge which lasts for approximately 8 hours.I am mainly using them to listen to music and pod casts via my phone whilst at work and there has been no issues or connection breaks with them so far. An excellent pair of earphones with good sound quality.