Prior to purchasing the H1, I was using the Andoer LH-811 and although they were good, they have a few quirks.
So I managed to pick up a pair of these this week for only £9.99 and they are a definite step up.
In the box you get the headphones, 3.5mm aux cable, charging cable, an instruction manual and a storage pouch.
Charged them up before first use in order to see how accurate the 15-20 hours battery life claims are.
The first thing that I noticed upon wearing them was just how comfortable they are. Even Noddy's Big Ears or Prince Charles are accommodated by the slightly oval over the ear shaped phones and after 14 hours of use, they remain as comfortable as when I first put them on.
After the 14 hours of life I have yet to hear a low battery warning, so they are living up to the claim.
My main use for these is for watching TV etc, connected through either an Android TV box or Windows Mini PC, although I have also connected to my phone, laptop and desktop with zero issues.
In terms of sound quality, unlike other brands at the cheaper end of the market that I have tried, these deliver crisp, clear, well balanced sound and don't suffer from any form of background noise during quiet moments.
The bass is good, without being too deep and maximum volume is set at a level that ensures that your eardrums will never be in danger of being damaged.
The sound clarity and range is also noticeable when you find yourself being aware of the things that are often washed out from speakers in the TV or soundbar, that are naturally affected by the design of the average living room and other natural ambient noises. This makes for a more enjoyable movie/TV show experience that is closer to the cinema experience. At first it can sound a little odd if you are used to sound output via the TV etc but you very quickly appreciate the experience improvement.
There are just 3 buttons on the right phone for powering on/off, pairing, track skipping and volume control and they are all that you need and easily identified and with the finger when needing to adjust settings, with operation easy to make without having to fiddle around. Powering off is an oddly 2 stage process where you press the power button once for a few seconds to disconnect and then again for a few seconds to power off. Powering on and off and connection/disconnection notifications are all handled by an internal voice prompt to confirm operations.
They have what some might describe as a premium feel to them with very soft phones and headband with a leather style look and feel, which all contributes towards the comfort factor. They are not plasticy and are weighty enough to feel that they are not going to break any time soon.
I have a larger than average head and found the range of adjustment for heads of different sizes should be accommodated with ease and also, no clicky type function. Just a bar that is easy enough to move and tight enough to stay in position.
I haven't needed to carry out a full recharge yet, so cannot comment on whether the 2-3 hours recharging time is accurate.
Bluetooth connectivity is very quick and I was not able to find a device (tried 12) that it would not pair with quickly and easily. Once you have set up a connection, upon powering up again, connection is made immediately following the power on voice confirmation.
There is zero sound delay, which I have seen with other products, requiring some form of audio offset adjustment, so no messing around with these in order to obtain perfect sync.
Connection through the audio jack works as it should too. I had read on a couple of reviews that sound quality was superior when connected via wire but I could not really hear any noticeable difference of any significance.
Sound leakage at high volumes is kept to a minimum and you would have to be sitting next to the person wearing them and be particularly over sensitive for them to bother anybody.
External sounds and noises are not eliminated but then you would not expect this from any headphones of this type and personally I prefer be able to hear anything loud that might alert me to danger but if it's a case of other speaking in the same room, whilst you will be aware of it, it's not enough to want to tell anybody to shut up.
The travel pouch is of a soft cloth design and is quite snug but perfectly adequate.
In other reviews I had also spotted that one person had stated that they made his ears sweat. I can say that after a long period of use, upon removal, your ears are slightly moist but nothing to make you feel uncomfortable and it should realistically be expected for any enclosed part of your body to sweat to some extent. Any moist feeling disappears after a few seconds anyway.
I has also seen a comment from one reviewer complaining about drop outs but I have not had a single one from my 14 hours of use. Other wireless devices can sometimes cause dropouts with any wireless products, so always possible but with 7 other devices in wireless use, I cannot replicate any drop outs.
So for the key operational requirements for me, which are sound quality, consistency of wireless connectivity, comfort and ease of use, they fit the bill perfectly and for the price I paid, represents extraordinary value for money.
I am so impressed that rather than watch TV using my soundbar, I am going to use the H1 for just about all my watching, which also means saving a little in energy by not having to use the soundbar so much.
Had I paid the more regular price of around £24 or so, I would still be just as satisfied with the purchase.
My neighbour is a self confessed Bose audiophile (although I tend to think that most people that identify as audiophiles are more likely to be audio brand snobs) and this morning I asked his opinion and although, quite naturally, he would not want to move from his favourite brand, he was rather impressed with the H1 and that was before I told him the price, at which point, the surprise on his face did indicate that his £300 Bose outlay might have suddenly come sharply into focus. I did get a chance to try his Bose phones and yes, there is no question that they are better but not by anything like the differential of price difference and certainly not enough to make me envious of his Bose.
It does seem that H1 is becoming more of a rarity to obtain, so the manufacturer, Mpow might well have discontinued this model but I would say that they should rethink that if this is the case.
If there is one weakness that I could identify from the H1, it is with the microphone functionality that can be described as adequate and functional but nothing more than that.
So, in conclusion, I can say at this early stage that the Mpow H1 has so far been one of the best deals that I have had in ages and would highly recommend them to anybody that wants to improve their wireless audiovisual TV box, tablet, phone experience.
This brand doesn't seem to be in stock at any of the popular FT dealers but perhaps they might consider doing so.
So I managed to pick up a pair of these this week for only £9.99 and they are a definite step up.
In the box you get the headphones, 3.5mm aux cable, charging cable, an instruction manual and a storage pouch.
Charged them up before first use in order to see how accurate the 15-20 hours battery life claims are.
The first thing that I noticed upon wearing them was just how comfortable they are. Even Noddy's Big Ears or Prince Charles are accommodated by the slightly oval over the ear shaped phones and after 14 hours of use, they remain as comfortable as when I first put them on.
After the 14 hours of life I have yet to hear a low battery warning, so they are living up to the claim.
My main use for these is for watching TV etc, connected through either an Android TV box or Windows Mini PC, although I have also connected to my phone, laptop and desktop with zero issues.
In terms of sound quality, unlike other brands at the cheaper end of the market that I have tried, these deliver crisp, clear, well balanced sound and don't suffer from any form of background noise during quiet moments.
The bass is good, without being too deep and maximum volume is set at a level that ensures that your eardrums will never be in danger of being damaged.
The sound clarity and range is also noticeable when you find yourself being aware of the things that are often washed out from speakers in the TV or soundbar, that are naturally affected by the design of the average living room and other natural ambient noises. This makes for a more enjoyable movie/TV show experience that is closer to the cinema experience. At first it can sound a little odd if you are used to sound output via the TV etc but you very quickly appreciate the experience improvement.
There are just 3 buttons on the right phone for powering on/off, pairing, track skipping and volume control and they are all that you need and easily identified and with the finger when needing to adjust settings, with operation easy to make without having to fiddle around. Powering off is an oddly 2 stage process where you press the power button once for a few seconds to disconnect and then again for a few seconds to power off. Powering on and off and connection/disconnection notifications are all handled by an internal voice prompt to confirm operations.
They have what some might describe as a premium feel to them with very soft phones and headband with a leather style look and feel, which all contributes towards the comfort factor. They are not plasticy and are weighty enough to feel that they are not going to break any time soon.
I have a larger than average head and found the range of adjustment for heads of different sizes should be accommodated with ease and also, no clicky type function. Just a bar that is easy enough to move and tight enough to stay in position.
I haven't needed to carry out a full recharge yet, so cannot comment on whether the 2-3 hours recharging time is accurate.
Bluetooth connectivity is very quick and I was not able to find a device (tried 12) that it would not pair with quickly and easily. Once you have set up a connection, upon powering up again, connection is made immediately following the power on voice confirmation.
There is zero sound delay, which I have seen with other products, requiring some form of audio offset adjustment, so no messing around with these in order to obtain perfect sync.
Connection through the audio jack works as it should too. I had read on a couple of reviews that sound quality was superior when connected via wire but I could not really hear any noticeable difference of any significance.
Sound leakage at high volumes is kept to a minimum and you would have to be sitting next to the person wearing them and be particularly over sensitive for them to bother anybody.
External sounds and noises are not eliminated but then you would not expect this from any headphones of this type and personally I prefer be able to hear anything loud that might alert me to danger but if it's a case of other speaking in the same room, whilst you will be aware of it, it's not enough to want to tell anybody to shut up.
The travel pouch is of a soft cloth design and is quite snug but perfectly adequate.
In other reviews I had also spotted that one person had stated that they made his ears sweat. I can say that after a long period of use, upon removal, your ears are slightly moist but nothing to make you feel uncomfortable and it should realistically be expected for any enclosed part of your body to sweat to some extent. Any moist feeling disappears after a few seconds anyway.
I has also seen a comment from one reviewer complaining about drop outs but I have not had a single one from my 14 hours of use. Other wireless devices can sometimes cause dropouts with any wireless products, so always possible but with 7 other devices in wireless use, I cannot replicate any drop outs.
So for the key operational requirements for me, which are sound quality, consistency of wireless connectivity, comfort and ease of use, they fit the bill perfectly and for the price I paid, represents extraordinary value for money.
I am so impressed that rather than watch TV using my soundbar, I am going to use the H1 for just about all my watching, which also means saving a little in energy by not having to use the soundbar so much.
Had I paid the more regular price of around £24 or so, I would still be just as satisfied with the purchase.
My neighbour is a self confessed Bose audiophile (although I tend to think that most people that identify as audiophiles are more likely to be audio brand snobs) and this morning I asked his opinion and although, quite naturally, he would not want to move from his favourite brand, he was rather impressed with the H1 and that was before I told him the price, at which point, the surprise on his face did indicate that his £300 Bose outlay might have suddenly come sharply into focus. I did get a chance to try his Bose phones and yes, there is no question that they are better but not by anything like the differential of price difference and certainly not enough to make me envious of his Bose.
It does seem that H1 is becoming more of a rarity to obtain, so the manufacturer, Mpow might well have discontinued this model but I would say that they should rethink that if this is the case.
If there is one weakness that I could identify from the H1, it is with the microphone functionality that can be described as adequate and functional but nothing more than that.
So, in conclusion, I can say at this early stage that the Mpow H1 has so far been one of the best deals that I have had in ages and would highly recommend them to anybody that wants to improve their wireless audiovisual TV box, tablet, phone experience.
This brand doesn't seem to be in stock at any of the popular FT dealers but perhaps they might consider doing so.