I’ve been using neckband style headsets for years now, all LG. I’ve had the HBS-800, HBS-850, and HBS-A80. My HBS-A80 was getting a short in the left ear, so it was time to get a new headset. LG didn’t have any new “active” style headsets that offered sweat/splash resistance, so I decided to research other brands. I came across the Exfit BCS-700, which seemed to have all of the features I wanted as well as good reviews, so I decided to give it a shot. I’ve been using it for a few days, and while I haven’t put it though *all* the paces yet, I like it so far.
Pros:
– simplified controls. My HBS-A80 had two rocker buttons and two regular buttons (not including power button). The BCS-700 has one rocker and one button (not including power switch or audio passthrough switch). The simplified controls may not be for everyone, but I like how the buttons, etc. are minimized.
– volume. These seem to get louder than my HBS-A80 set, which is good for yard work.
– retractable. This is an absolute necessity. I don’t want headphones dangling everywhere, I want to be able to easily secure them when not in use.
– call quality. My wife hated trying to talk to me with the HBS-A80. I’d often switch it off Bluetooth in a call and hold the phone up to my head because otherwise the quality was intolerable. My wife said this headset actually sounds “good”. I haven’t tried talking in a noisy place yet but initial conversations seem to be good.
– sweat proof – I’m not gonna go dunk this thing and prove how water proof it is, but it’s nice to have peace of mind and not worry about getting this thing wet when I’m doing yard work, fishing, or whatever else.
Cons:
– retractable feature quality. Overall this is not a big concern, but I think that LG uses better quality retractor mechanisms, the headphones snap into place. The headphones don’t feel like they really snap into place on this.
– vibration. LG seemed to be able to make the whole headset feel like it was vibrating. This only vibrates on one side.
– rocker switch, more like a slider. It’s kind of awkward to have to grab ahold of the headset and push the rocker switch/slider in whatever direction you want.
– battery life. It would be nice if it had a little longer battery life. I’m already in the habit of charging every day, but 12 hours of battery life would be better.
– size – this headset is large, bigger than the HBS-A80 and the other headsets I’ve had. I’m a big guy so it’s not noticable on me, but it might look big on smaller people.
Neither pro nor con, just things I thought were odd:
– EQ settings. There’s normal, bass, and treble. Normal and bass seem to cut out a lot of mid-range frequencies. I leave this on treble, and it sounds almost exactly like my HBS-A80. No complaint, just an oddity.
– “Audio transparency”. If you turn this on, the headset mixes whatever comes in through the mics into whatever you’re listening to. I can’t figure out how this is useful unless maybe as a safety feature. Basically ambient noise comes through sounding like it’s coming through a telephone and with a very short delay.
Overall the cons are just very minor annoyances, this meets pretty much all of the requirements I have for a headset, and if mine was lost or stolen I’d buy it again without even shopping around.
I’ll update this again later if more new information comes to light.
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UPDATE:
I’ve had time to put this headset through a good amount of testing and wanted to report back. I’ve spent multiple days with this thing working outside, sweating profusely, and it has held up fantastically. No concerns with its build quality, it’s solid.
Something I forgot to mention in my original review is the Bluetooth range, which is outstanding. Better range than any LG headset I’ve owned.
I complained about the battery life in my original review, but after extensive usage, the battery lasts long enough for a full day of usage, and maybe then some. As long as you charge it at the end of the day, you’ll be fine.
Regarding music: I’ve listened to a good bit of metal with this, which has a lot of heavy, low bass lines, double bass kicks, etc. Oddly enough, when this is in “treble” mode, the bass sounds distorted. When in “normal” or “bass” modes, it sounds less distorted. So I’m a bit disappointed in that, but since I primarily listen to podcasts, this isn’t really an issue for me. Might be for someone that listens to more music and is trying to temper the bass a bit by setting it to treble mode.
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