Sports in-ear-earphones

We have been using a pair of Bose SoundSport in-ear headpones, new and old and also a pair of Bose powerbeats2. While both are high end earphones the main difference is obviously 1 is wireless/ bluetooth requiring charging and the other is wired. We note these are not sponsored, all sets were purchased outright and this is not a paid review. So basically we can say what we like.

Firstly, controls:

These are pretty much of a muchness. Using them while running or at the gym is intuitive and simple. Nothing really to see here. We score 1-1.

Next is the ear pieces:

The Beats earpiese is solid, doesnt fall out no matter how much you sweat and is comfortable despite appearance. Doesn't even feel like you are wearing a headset. The Bose earpieces can move around when you get sweaty and you end up pushing them back into ear every now and then. 1-0 to Beats.

Wires:

While Beats need to be charged and there is always the risk of running out of battery, there is a quick charge option which takes 15 minutes and gives you 2 hours odd. On average we found around 5-6 hours of usage per charge for the Powerbeats. In the gym, having no wires is an added bonus if you are flinging weights around or in fact any exercise which requires a lot of arm movement, not having any wires is huge and we thing a safety issue. We found wearing the Powerbeats wire around the front, below the chin best and most comfy. Wearing it around the back of the neck irritated a bit especially with high movement. We would go wireless everytime. Beats 1- Bose 0.

Sound:

This is the big deal. We found the Beats to be more pitchy and lack the base of the Bose. Keep in mind in in-ear earphones this is never going to be that awesome. We uploaded the latest software for our Beats headset, yess you can upgrade software in your earphones with no improvement. If you can use the equaliser on your phone, for example we set the iPhone to Loudness or more base and this helped, however if you are using a streaming service these settings dont apply.

Definitely noticed this. Also every now and then a break I assume due to connectivity with the Beats bluetooth. This is not a big deal but if there is a low battery it happens and can be irritating. Bose with the wires don't miss a beat excuse the pun. However, we think the quality of the Bose sound from the older IE2 to the latest SoundsSport is not as good and the build quality feels poorer. Just our perception on this. We think Bose 1- Beats 0.

Both work equally well on phone calls, no drama here.

Pricing

RRP on the Powerbeats is $259.95, obviously available from the Apple store. Hefty price when they are only US$130 in the US. RRP on Bose SoundSport is $199 and USD149.95 and are not available from the Apple store. You go figure?

More on Powerbeats 2 wireless here.

More on the Bose SoundSport here.

The weight is marginal and not noticed, so we didnt include any thoughts on this.

Judgement

Having all these options available. Running mostly and gyming in the Bose for around 12 months and then using the Beats. We only use the Beats now. The trade off of not having wires when exercising is worth what we think is the slight loss in sound quality. Final score 3-2 to the Powerbeats wireless earphones.

Only other thing to consider is if you use these at work. Having a cable due to battery recharging required can be better. You need to decide on your need. We loved the Powerbeats, the packaging, the build quality, what comes in the box, fitting, everything. Sorry, the SoundSports are gathering dust and the Powerbeats are used dailly and if they broke I would scrimp and save to buy another pair.