I've never really been satisfied with the performance of Bluetooth audio from my Android TV boxes, with some headphones purporting to have the functionality but not even able to connect in the first place or able to hold a consistent connection.
So following a post on a local deal site and generally positive reviews from other sites such as Amazon I decided to take the plunge on what was pair at the cheap end of the market, the Andoer LH-811.
They offered what appeared to be a wide range of functionality, with Bluetooth 4.1, Wired connectivity, Micro SD card slot for music and FM radio.
Ordered from TomTop, from a stock in their UK Warehouse with a Royal Mail tracked 48 hour service for the paltry sum of £12 ($17 US).
Ordered on Thursday and delivered on Monday as expected and supplied with a tracking number within a few hours of ordering.
In the box you get the headphones (available in many colours), micro usb charging cable, wired cable with 3.5mm audio jack at both ends and a basic user guide.
Surprisingly good sound quality with great bass.
Bluetooth connectivity is quick and consistent across a range of devices (Android TV box, Windows Laptop, Windows Mini PC, Mobile phone).
Connected to my Android TV box and able to watch TV more loudly at night without disturbing anybody and with the sound being beamed directly to your ears instead of around a room, you get to hear all the things that might otherwise be missed, which makes the experience feel more real. Consistent connection without dropouts, so better than previous experience.
Popped in a 32Gb Micro SD card and plays MP's well with good quality and bass as you want with music.
There is a continual although very quiet beep in the left earphone and a very slight amount of background noise but nothing that is annoying and you quickly find yourself forgetting about it unless you consciously think about it.
Whilst they do not claim to be noise cancelling, external noise is kept to a minimum thanks to the overall fit over the ears. If you have unusually large ears then they may not fit as well as others.
They are light and comfortable and not overly snug that you find with others that becoming uncomfortable after a few hours use. The rubber padding under the top of the headband feels flimsy to the touch of the hand but when worn, does it's job well.
Have yet to find out exactly how long the batteries last but so far I'm up to 4 hours of continual use. Up to 8 is claimed.
The FM radio function is useless, although I suspect that not many people will use it and not something that I wanted anyway.
Connection with the supplied wire also works well across all devices.
The buttons to control volume etc are clicky and perhaps don't have a premium feel to them but they work, so not that much of a downside really.
The only annoying feature is that whilst you have a Micro SD card installed you cannot use the Bluetooth functionality and so have to remove the card to do so (Correction: I have found the way to cycle through modes to allow the card to remain in place).
But overall, for £12 delivered from their UK warehouse via Royal Mail Tracked 48, I would give them an 8 out of 10 for performance satisfaction and pretty much 10 out of 10 for their value.
They say that you get what you pay for and in this instance I got incredible value for money.
You can of course order from stocks in their China, United States, French and German warehouses too, so if in the US or EU, you may get a faster delivery and although unlikely to be subject to customs fees or duty due to being so cheap, the option for faster local supply and delivery may well be of great benefit.
From the perspective of use with an Android TV box, they get the thumbs up from me.
https://www.tomtop.com/p-v1267r.html
Update:
After a few days use I have discovered a few quirks and have more information.
Whilst video/audio sync was perfect when I started using them, I have found that it has become slightly out of sync when used with some boxes, requiring an audio offset of ahead by 0.143 in Kodi.
After depleting the battery and charging up, I discovered that whilst the micro SD card in inserted, usage drops to a paltry 3 hours. There is no reason why this should be the case as there should be no power drain when using any other functionality that as an MP3 player.
I also noticed that even then the card was removed, the general usage time was reduced to just over 4 and a half hours, a lot less than the claimed length. Volume levels do seem to have a great effect on how long they will last.
The charging also has an issue in that when the red light goes out to indicate a full charge, this is not the case because if you unplug the cable and then immediately plug it back in, the charging cycle continues for some time and I have found that you need to unplug and reconnect the cable twice in order to obtain a true full charge.
The maximum time that I can get out of these is 5 and a quarter hours, which is good, even though I would have expected at least 6.
I have since spotted an offer for a set of Mpow H1 headphones that I could not resist and have now switched to them (review to follow).
So I still think that the Andoer represent good value but the charging issue is rather annoying and the battery life should be longer.
So following a post on a local deal site and generally positive reviews from other sites such as Amazon I decided to take the plunge on what was pair at the cheap end of the market, the Andoer LH-811.
They offered what appeared to be a wide range of functionality, with Bluetooth 4.1, Wired connectivity, Micro SD card slot for music and FM radio.
Ordered from TomTop, from a stock in their UK Warehouse with a Royal Mail tracked 48 hour service for the paltry sum of £12 ($17 US).
Ordered on Thursday and delivered on Monday as expected and supplied with a tracking number within a few hours of ordering.
In the box you get the headphones (available in many colours), micro usb charging cable, wired cable with 3.5mm audio jack at both ends and a basic user guide.
Surprisingly good sound quality with great bass.
Bluetooth connectivity is quick and consistent across a range of devices (Android TV box, Windows Laptop, Windows Mini PC, Mobile phone).
Connected to my Android TV box and able to watch TV more loudly at night without disturbing anybody and with the sound being beamed directly to your ears instead of around a room, you get to hear all the things that might otherwise be missed, which makes the experience feel more real. Consistent connection without dropouts, so better than previous experience.
Popped in a 32Gb Micro SD card and plays MP's well with good quality and bass as you want with music.
There is a continual although very quiet beep in the left earphone and a very slight amount of background noise but nothing that is annoying and you quickly find yourself forgetting about it unless you consciously think about it.
Whilst they do not claim to be noise cancelling, external noise is kept to a minimum thanks to the overall fit over the ears. If you have unusually large ears then they may not fit as well as others.
They are light and comfortable and not overly snug that you find with others that becoming uncomfortable after a few hours use. The rubber padding under the top of the headband feels flimsy to the touch of the hand but when worn, does it's job well.
Have yet to find out exactly how long the batteries last but so far I'm up to 4 hours of continual use. Up to 8 is claimed.
The FM radio function is useless, although I suspect that not many people will use it and not something that I wanted anyway.
Connection with the supplied wire also works well across all devices.
The buttons to control volume etc are clicky and perhaps don't have a premium feel to them but they work, so not that much of a downside really.
The only annoying feature is that whilst you have a Micro SD card installed you cannot use the Bluetooth functionality and so have to remove the card to do so (Correction: I have found the way to cycle through modes to allow the card to remain in place).
But overall, for £12 delivered from their UK warehouse via Royal Mail Tracked 48, I would give them an 8 out of 10 for performance satisfaction and pretty much 10 out of 10 for their value.
They say that you get what you pay for and in this instance I got incredible value for money.
You can of course order from stocks in their China, United States, French and German warehouses too, so if in the US or EU, you may get a faster delivery and although unlikely to be subject to customs fees or duty due to being so cheap, the option for faster local supply and delivery may well be of great benefit.
From the perspective of use with an Android TV box, they get the thumbs up from me.
https://www.tomtop.com/p-v1267r.html
Update:
After a few days use I have discovered a few quirks and have more information.
Whilst video/audio sync was perfect when I started using them, I have found that it has become slightly out of sync when used with some boxes, requiring an audio offset of ahead by 0.143 in Kodi.
After depleting the battery and charging up, I discovered that whilst the micro SD card in inserted, usage drops to a paltry 3 hours. There is no reason why this should be the case as there should be no power drain when using any other functionality that as an MP3 player.
I also noticed that even then the card was removed, the general usage time was reduced to just over 4 and a half hours, a lot less than the claimed length. Volume levels do seem to have a great effect on how long they will last.
The charging also has an issue in that when the red light goes out to indicate a full charge, this is not the case because if you unplug the cable and then immediately plug it back in, the charging cycle continues for some time and I have found that you need to unplug and reconnect the cable twice in order to obtain a true full charge.
The maximum time that I can get out of these is 5 and a quarter hours, which is good, even though I would have expected at least 6.
I have since spotted an offer for a set of Mpow H1 headphones that I could not resist and have now switched to them (review to follow).
So I still think that the Andoer represent good value but the charging issue is rather annoying and the battery life should be longer.
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