BOSE SPORT EARBUDS REVIEW

Bose are a well-known name in the headphone industry and there’s a good reason for that – they always produce high quality sound.  They’ve produced sports earbuds before and while they sounded great they were rather large and cumbersome.

The Sport Buds are their latest sport earbud offering and they seem to have learnt a lot from their first foray into the sports buds.  The Bose Sport Buds follow the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds design style albeit smaller and much more lightweight.  If they sound anywhere near as good as the QuietComfort earbuds then these will be another impressive set from Bose.

WHAT ARE THEY

The Bose Sport Buds are an IPX4-rated set of true wireless earbuds designed to produce a high-quality sound while at the same time being comfortable enough and robust enough to survive even the toughest workouts. They do not have any form of active noise cancellation but instead rely on noise isolation through a good fit in the ear. Speaking of fit in the ear, these are possibly the lightest earbuds I have tested in a long time, weighing in at just 6.75 grams each!

HOW DO THEY FIT?

The Bose Sport Buds continue with Bose’s StayHear Max ear tips to help with securing them in your ears.  These StayHear Max eartips have been a feature of Bose in-ear headphones for a long time and they are as good as ever.  I did find when using these that I had to go from a medium size down to a small sized ear tip to get that comfortable secure fit.  The medium size, my usual size, took a fair bit of manoeuvring to fit into the ears and then they were not as comfortable as they normally are.  

Using the small option though made them incredibly comfortable – you know that you have found the sweet spot when you can barely feel them in your ear and kind of forget they are there.  At that point they don’t feel “wedged” into your ear but still do not fall out even when going full tilt in your workout.

The Bose Sport Buds provide their sound based on the fit in your ear and rely on noise isolation to prevent outside noise creeping into your own personal workout – ie. there is no active noise cancellation.  For this reason, it is imperative that you get that fit right in the beginning before you head out for your workout – there is no pocket in the case to carry different sized ear tips in the charging case.

HOW DO THEY SOUND?

There’s no point having earbuds that fit and look as good as these if they don’t sound great. As mentioned above Bose have a history of great sounding headphones and at the price they charge you’d hope so. These are no different to their other headphones with an amazing sound produced no matter the style of music you listen to.

They were not as good as the Bose QC Earbuds but they are more expensive and much larger than these and thus not as ideal for a workout. The sound was slightly better than the Skullcandy Grind, but not by much and with the Skullcandy headphones currently around half the price it’s a tough sell. The Bose Sport Earbuds excelled over the Skullcandy though in their fit and security within the ear — those ear wing tips really do make a big difference. If you are on a tight budget I’d recommend checking out the Skullcandy but if you want the best fit and the best quality sound for the gym then the Bose Sport Earbuds are for you.

The Bose Sport Earbuds are currently one of, if not the, best workout true wireless earbuds on the market. If you purchase them you will not regret it.