Article reviewed & edited on 30 Mar 16. This is a full review on the 66 Audio Wireless Bluetooth Sports Headset my video review can be seen at the end of this article.
For those who have already seen my video review on YouTube and are specifically looking for the purchasing details: cost/price; where to buy etc, here they are first up. Also, as a special offer our readers get a 12% discount on any product they buy from 66 Audio's online store simply enter the code SELFBLOG and the discont will be applied.
Buy 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset at Amazon $49.99 USD (I believe this is the only retailer selling this product). Edit: It's now sold on eBay here for US and overseas customers.
If you live in Australia (like me) you will not be able to purchase the 66 Audio Headset from Amazon but you can contact the supplier directly through the 66 Audio website and purchase them by requesting an invoice. You can now also buy them from their eBay store here don't forget the discount code SELFBLOG.
I was able to pay for my 66 Audio Bluetooth Headset through PayPal directly via the 66 Audio website with a shipping fee of $16.95 for a total cost of $61.90 posted to my door in under 10 days.
Any questions prior to purchase were answered promptly and professionally so I felt comfortable purchasing the headset directly from the manufacturer.
Review conditions and setup
I’ve written a few other reviews on wireless headsets and I guess it’s fair to say I’m a little obsessed with my quest to find the perfect headset.
When I decided to write a review on the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset, I just didn’t want to pump out a standard unboxing and feature gloss over taken from the user guide because I hate reading those type of reviews myself. I wanted this review to have some credibility so that’s why I tested them over a 6 week period and ran over 300 kms whilst wearing this headset.
I put the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset through some pretty heavy testing and deliberately pushed it beyond its manufacturers stated limits. I can honestly say this headset and I have been through some tough times together such as extreme heat, high humidity, long operating periods, and even a thunder storm.
Therefore, if you want a comprehensive review on the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset then you’ve definitely come to the right blog so please keep reading on…
Type of headset
The 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset is an “on top of the ears” earmuff type of headset (not fully covering the ears). Therefore, it doesn’t require ear buds to be pushed into the ear canal to hold them in whilst exercising and instead uses a foldable plastic frame, which fits over the ears and wraps around the back of the head, to secure the earmuffs.
Being a foldable frame the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset can fold away and be packed or easily placed into a pocket or into the provided microfiber pouch for safe storage.
The unit is wireless and uses the latest Bluetooth technology enabling it to pair with any other Bluetooth device such as phone, tablets, iPod, iPad, Android devices, or most digital music players.
If being used with a mobile phone the headset can be used to answer or reject calls with a simple press of the central operating button on the right earmuff. This central button is also the on/off power button plus pause and start music playback.
A long press of the central button starts the unit and another long press will turn the unit off. A short press will pause the music and another short press starts the playback again. Same for any incoming calls except if you want to reject a call then it’s simply a matter of holding the central button down for about 2 seconds until the unit beeps and then the incoming call will be dropped.
The other 4 buttons circling around the central multifunction button are volume up and down and skip song forward or back.
Naturally, all control aspects can be done though the device itself (phone, iPod, mp3 player etc) rather than the headset. In fact, that’s what I do personally as I prefer to run with my mobile in hand so I can view my screen when required but for those who run/exercise with their phone/device in a pouch, arm strap, or backpack controlling music playback and phone calls directly from the headset is extremely handy.
This feature should not be taken for granted as I have used other well-known and top brands of wireless headsets, which failed to properly “talk” to my device and enable full control via the headset, and this can be quite frustrating.
Connectivity
Speaking of “talking” (or connecting), my experience with the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset not only showed how good it was at syncing with the controls of devices but it also has excellent connectivity.
Commonly, wireless devices are prone to dropouts and wireless headsets are notorious for bad connectivity especially when jogging or exercising outdoors where the signal can become corrupted or easily lost.
However, I’m happy to say I have had no problems with loss of signal or connection problems using the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset. From the beginning, it paired easily to my phone and it has never dropped out during use.
Battery life
When it comes to battery life wireless headsets can be terrible and in the past I’ve found some top brands of wireless headsets shockingly way under their supposed specifications.
Nevertheless, I can happily report the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset excelled in battery life and I was able to get close to the huge 20 hours of playback time out of my unit. This means, I didn’t have to remember to charge my headset after each workout and I had less chance of grabbing my headset for an impromptu workout only to find it was flat.
Durability
The 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset is marketed as sweat resistant and this means it’s supposed to withstand perspiration without speaker or unit failure.
There are two main design reasons why this headset is the best sweat resistant wireless headset I have ever used; firstly, it has been water resistant treated to protect the unit from moisture; and secondly, its open design actually helps the sweat to run away from the speakers.
In contrast, in-ear headphones tend to swim in perspiration within the ear canal and are prone to failure. For those of us who do perspire profusely when exercising (the tennis player Rafael Nadal comes to mind) headsets with an open design such as the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset allows the sweat to flow out of the ear and away from the headset.
During my testing, I can honestly say I drenched my headset in sweat every time I wore it and it continues to function perfectly as new. Furthermore, I foolishly kept wearing them during a thunder storm and got the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset completely soaked all over and unfortunately under these extreme weather conditions I managed to get the headset to finally fail.
Caught in a storm wearing my 66 Audio Headset (image above)
The good news is when I got home from being caught in the thunder storm and heavy rain I immediately placed my headset into my food dehydrator at 38 °C (100°F) for 10 hours and was able to bring them back from the dead!
Astonishingly, my 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset has been working perfectly ever since and it proved to me just how robust this headset really is even though the manufacturer’s guidelines does not claim this headset to be weather proof (only sweat resistant).
By the way, if there is a chance you could get caught in the rain whilst wearing this headset then I strongly recommend you take measures to protect them!
Sound quality
Historically, the trouble with open earmuff type designed headsets, which sit on the outside of the ears (as opposed to fully covering them) has been the sound quality and mainly the problem of outside noises overpowering the sound from the headset particularly during exercise.
Thankfully, the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset doesn’t have any sound issues at all and has surprisingly good sound with a high volume range useful in those noisy situations like running along a busy road when pumping the volume up can really help enjoy your motivational music.
I found this headset so effective that I am yet to require turning the volume up to full, in fact, I usually have the volume set on about half and I’m finding that’s plenty loud enough even for an aging guy like me with suspect hearing loss caused by my military service.
Also, the sound quality is amazing compared to other headsets I have used; although, I must stress I’m no technical music buff but I do know reasonable sound when I hear it.
Comfort and stability
I’ve already detailed how the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset fits over the ears so I won’t rave on too much more about fit only to say it’s refreshing to finally wear a headset without having to constantly fiddle with them as I’m jogging along.
In-ear headsets (and I’ve used many) tend to wiggle out over time, or slip out due to sweat or sunscreen, and fall out after a jolt. Insecure ear buds are extremely frustrating and in my opinion can ruin a good run; however, the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset is a dream to wear and I can’t emphasise enough just how stable they are on the head.
Seriously, this headset does not budge, slip, fall, or anything once in position and once I have them on I never need to adjust them or touch them – ever.
Comfort wise they are light and hardly noticeable and don’t put pressure on the ears like some other brands do.
Conclusion
Straight off the bat, I recommend the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset.
If it was weather proof and I could run with it in the rain I would give it a 10/10 but being sweat resistant (and living up to it) is still pretty good so I’ll give it a 9.
After trying and using so many other types of wireless and non-wireless headsets and being disappointed time and time again, I’m elated to finally find a headset that performs as it says and should.
Firstly, it really is sweat resistant and that’s imperative for a sports headset. Plus, this headset is comfortable and stable – it stays on and doesn’t move. It has excellent battery life and good connectivity which means the unit works as it should and isn’t a pain to keep charged up.
Lastly, the sound quality of the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset is awesome (for a sports headset) and I really am hearing my music collection the way it should be played for the first time in years (perhaps ever).
On top of that, the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset is the cheapest wireless sports headset I have purchased to date, even including postage from the USA, with some of the other headsets I have purchased over the years costing me over twice as much as these.
You can buy the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset at Amazon $49.99 USD (I believe this is the only retailer selling this product).
If you live in Australia (like me) you will not be able to purchase the 66 Audio Headset from Amazon but you can contact the supplier directly through the 66 Audio website and purchase them by requesting an invoice.
Am I impressed with the 66 Audio Bluetooth Sports Headset? You bet, I just hope one day they bring out a weather proof one…
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Mark Valencia – Editor SSM
Respect your body and keep it healthy through regular exercise…
