I’ve been on a long quest for the perfect true wireless bluetooth sports earbuds to replace my aging Jaybird X3s. By perfect, I mean:
a. Cheap, but no so much so they sound terrible. More than $60 but less than $100.
b. Bluetooth 5.0.
c. Decent to good sound for the gym.
d. Comfortable.
e. Sweat proof.
I knew from the beginning that it wasn’t an easy list to fulfill. I searched online and in audio stores for days, if not weeks, and after much trial and error, I think I found just what I was looking for: The Havit G1.
Up until now, I’ve never heard of this brand. I did some research and found out, these earbuds were designed by Hakii hGroov as part of a Kickstarter project. It looks like Havit and Hakii hGroov got into some sort of joint venture to build the headphones in China, as indicated in one of Havit’s product page.
I’ve tried many Bluetooth earbuds and headphones, both wired and true wireless models, with prices ranging from $40 to $800, and although Havit’s offering is not perfect, they offer some nice features unmatched by any other earbuds in the same price range. I didn’t find many reviews online, so I decided to share my thoughts here. Note that I bought them with my own money, and Havit is not sponsoring this site or post in any way.
Sound Quality
I would characterize their performance as flat, in the sense that they don’t emphasize any part of the audible spectrum and provide a reasonable differentiation between low, mid and high frequencies. I couple of reviewers indicated they lack on the bass response, but I disagree with that assessment and I think it might have to do with not having a proper ear canal seal. Once I picked the right silicone tips and wings, I had no problem with the low frequencies. In all honesty, I would say other offerings like the Jabra Elite 65tperform better on every part of the spectrum (crisper on the mid/high range and a better bass response), but for the price, these earbuds perform quite nicely. They sound better than the Jaybird X3, bass is not as pronounced and minds and highs are well balanced.
Design
This is where these earbuds truly shine. They have a smooth rubbery surface and are very lightweight. Their ergonomic shape allows them to sit very comfortably on the ear without causing any ear fatigue. I would say they are more comfortable than the Jabra Elite 65tand the Jaybird X3.
The earbuds are rated to provide around 3.5 hours of autonomy. With the included charging case they are supposed to go up to 21 hrs. I didn’t put this claim to the test, but I can confirm the case can provide at least 4 additional charges.
The charging case is not as small as Apple’s AirPods case, but it’s small enough to be carried in the pocket. The earbuds fit snugly in it and it closes magnetically. The G1W model (pictured) can even be charged wirelessly, which is a feature I haven’t seen in any other wireless headphones in this price range.
Each earbud hides a button beneath the rubbery front surface. These buttons are the only way to interact with the earbuds, which support just basic operations: Play/Pause/Answer/Decline calls (one or two clicks), Next Track (click and hold on right earbud) and Previous Track (click and hold on left earbud). Although other manufacturers have also opted to include front buttons, Havit implementation is not the best. The tactile feedback when using the buttons is not the same satisfying click one would get from other products like the Jabra 65tor the Jaybird X3. Actually, half the time I couldn’t tell if they had registered the action when pressing the buttons while running or working out. Also, they are a bit hard to press, so I ended up constantly shoving the earbuds down the ear canal, which was extremely unpleasant.
Wireless Connection
Havit claims the G1s are provided with Bluetooth 5.0, which is supposed to be rock-solid with regards to connectivity. However, I had several issues with my units. Sometimes they wouldn’t automatically turn on when taken out of the case, and some other times they wouldn’t turn off when stored in the case. Both issues can be easily fixed just by manually turning the earbuds on/off (long-pressing the buttons). However, the third issue I had was a bit more annoying: sometimes the left and right earbuds would disconnect and would go back and forward between them. Music kept playing, but it was alternated between channels. This happened half a dozen times, to the point of being a real nuisance. I reached out to Havit and they were quick to point out I must have gotten defective units. They’ve indicated they’ll replace them right away, but I will have to wait more than two weeks for them to be delivered. I’ll update this review once I got them in the mail.
They can be paired with more than one device. Although they may get confused when turning them on and both devices are present. Unfortunately, the included instructions don’t provide much detail on the matter, and there is no way to reset them to “factory settings”.
In Summary
Pros
- Really good sound for the price.
- Good connection with Smartphone and between earbuds most of the time (I’ll report back once I get the replacement units).
- Great ergonomic design, extremely comfortable.
- Nice array of silicone tips and “ wings” included.
- Excellent carrying/charging case design. It provides at least 4 additional charges.
- Acceptable audio quality when using them as phone headset.
- Model G1W’s case can be charged wirelessly.
- Sweat proof (IPX5 rated).
Cons
- Connection to phone can take some seconds. Pressing the button on both earbuds sometimes helps them connect (not always).
- Included instructions are confusing, not clear indication of how many devices can be paired.
- There is no included App (for iOS or Android).
- It doesn’t allow to connect more than one device at the same time.
- Buttons are hard to push, and it’s terribly annoying to do when wearing them (it shoves the earbuds down the ear canal).
- No way to reset them back to “ factory settings” .