This is another review of a Bluetooth set of headphones. I was initially hesitant to include these headphones as this brand is not very well-known.
The blue ant for those of you that do not know is a wasp like looking ant that is native to Australia.
So, I guess it should not surprise you that the blue ant headphones are an Australian brand. This is the BlueAnt Pump Zone wireless over ear headphones HD audio.
For an unknown brand, they certainly have all the bells and whistles that you would expect from the better-known Brands such as the Sony and the Bose.
The headphones include a built-in microphone, a simple One Touch controller, an input jack for Wired listening, 30 hours of playtime and the best part is it comes with a carrying case which is a bonus and rarely included even by top brands especially at this price range.
These headphones do make me reminiscent. They remind me of the classic Beats by Dre first generation studio wired headphones as well as the first-generation solo’s.
Folding design for compact storage. The ear cups are BTX Kodak Comfort sealed ear cups with antimicrobial sweat proof cushion.
There are multiple colors to choose from including black/grey, rose gold, blue, red and green.
So, let’s get into the review
So, what’s in the box
So, let’s talk about the box itself
Even the box is shaped very like the Beats by Dre first generation headphones, with the buttons at the top and the little flap.
Firstly, you get the headphones themselves (obviously). Also, included in the box is a silver plated, tipped thick wired black cable that is useful for use when your battery dies.
When you take the headphones out of the box, you will notice that the carry case is covered by transparent plastic.
Also, included in the box is a USB charging cable. The headphones do not come with a USB charging block.
BlueAnt could have really made the supply input cable thicker and longer.
Carry Case
The carrying case is a hard-shell case and looks very nice. It is known as is the blue ant deluxe carrying case.
Because the carry case is a hard cover case this means that your headphones will be protected from bumps and scratches as well as overall damage.
The compact case indicates that the ear cups can be folded. This is good work from Blue ants as they have made these headphones with the travelers needs in mind.
No matter how small your luggage is you can fit these headphones right in any luggage and be connected to your music and entertainment no matter where you are.
Inside the case you’ll find a Velcro fitted compartment which stores the micro USB input cables, and can double up as a compartment that you can use to keep items like your cash.
I also like the texture of the case. You will see that the case is made from a knitted material that covers the hard shell.
Ear Pads/Cousins
The squishy memory foam on the ear cups looks sleek and even somewhat sporty in nature. The memory foam ear cups are also covered in nice looking leatherette to enhance their appeal.
The headphones themselves are antimicrobial, meaning that they are sweat proof, showing again that these are in fact made for the gym.
The makers of BlueAnt headphones made sure to provide as much padding as they possibly could in the ear cups.
Man, they were generous with the amount of padding. It literally feels like you are wearing a pillow on your ears, it’s so amazing.
On the left earcup you will find the N for NFC, which is where you will place your device to pair using NFC technology.
The right ear cup includes all the controls, as well as the input jack and the charging port.
Sound Quality
The one thing that they have optimized these headphones for is the bass. Man, these things have an incredible level of thump.
You could almost go deaf in these bad boys if you do not listen to them with reasonable volume levels.
In fact, the base in these headphones is probably in the league of beats by Dre.
Yes, I said it, they have as much bass as beats by Dre, and they retail well below the Beats by Dre.
What they obviously do not come with is active noise cancellation. But if you are buying headphones for the thump instead of the quiet, then these should be on your radar.
These headphones are real value for money, you really do get everything you pay for and more.
When looking at the sound quality of the headphones, they are also very similar to a particular brand of beats by Dre.
You would swear that the makers purchased Beats by Dre headphones and tried to remake them with a BlueAnt logo.
I feel like I am listening to music in a pair of beats studio pro headphones in so far as bass, clarity, loudness and crispness is concerned.
The headphones come with Mega HD audio, and mega bass. The use of the word mega is not in any way an exaggeration, they are really detailed when it comes to the audio output and the bass is extreme, so it is important to be careful with the bass.
I myself experienced a lot of ringing in my ears because of listening to these headphones at high bass. Sometimes these headphones can sound like an earthquake is coming.
Now the obvious criticism of headphones that tend to emphasize bass, is that they tend to overpower the mid-range and treble, resulting in very muddy sounds.
The BlueAnt have not been able to solve this problem as you do feel as if mids and trebles are a little muddy. So, whilst the bass is exceptional, other audio ranges are not so great.
So, the hip hop and EDM, and even house heads out there will absolutely love these cans, other music genre lovers may not be completely satisfied.
But again, for the gym lover, this is perfect as most gym heads prefer the up-tempo stuff anyways.
The headphones come equipped with Apdex technology which cleans up your music.
The bass is rich and punchy and can give your ears a kicking.
Unfortunately, as you experiment with music genres that are not EDM, house and hip hop, you will be disappointed with the mids.
I found that the mids can be shallow and even a bit tinny and vocals do suffer as a result.
One other criticism is the fact that the audio does leak above a certain volume level (around mid-level) and this can be disturbing to passengers on a flight or people at work or in the library.
Call Quality
Call quality in these headphones is not bad at all. They are equipped with a built-in microphone for purposes of making calls.
The built-in microphone is located at the bottom of the headphones by the USB port.
I personally did not experience any issues with phone calls and all the people who I was speaking to on the phone said they could hear me just fine.
Headband
You will notice that the top of the headband has the BlueAnt ANT logo.
Just above the right and the left ear cup you will find Pump and Zone imprinted.
One drawback of the headband is that it only extends 7cm, which may be a bit short for people with larger heads and if you decide to wear a cap.
Controls
As with most headphones the controls are situated on the right-hand ear cup.
Right in the center of the headphones you will notice the pause / play button, which doubles as an on/off button.
To turn on the headphones you press the button for about three to four seconds, and then a blue light will flash indicating that the headphones are on.
When the headphones are off you will be notified by a red light.
On the controls, you get the standard functionalities. Such as skip backwards and forwards, and volume up and down.
The buttons on the controls are nice and raised, and provide great tactile response. The cans were designed specifically with one touch capabilities in mind.
The volume up and down buttons are conveniently placed both at the top and the bottom of the right ear cup.
Design
Looking at the headphones and the headband you quickly recognize that the BlueAnt Pump Zone are not cheap at all.
The feeling you get when you touch them is that they are a premium set of headphones.
There are metal frames on both sides of the ear cups. Which also adds to the weight of the headphones.
One very interesting design feature is the little wire running down the headphones between the ear cups and headband.
I am not sure if this was done deliberately or to cut costs, but it is weird and in my view potentially dangerous.
This is especially so in the gym, where you may spill a bit of water on the headphones or some of your sweat glands may touch the wire and that could have negative consequences.
This is a negative of these headphones, I really think that they could have covered up the wiring to some extent.
I am not sure if the exposed wires are aesthetically appealing or just plain dangerous, you can be the judge of that.
These things were built to last, and you will hear a nice click sound whenever you fold the headphones for storage or when unfolding them for use.
Another drawback for me are the oval shaped ear cups. These were designed for better grip and noise isolation which they do achieve.
However, they do end up resting on your ears and as a result can irritate the ear. For me personally, I could not go for more than 90 minutes before my ears needed a break from the cans.
On a side note, I do think that they could have worked on the design of the box a little, although this is not a big factor.
Battery
I do not know how they got this done, but the BlueAnt Pump Zone is able to provide 30 hours of playback time before the cans need to be recharged. That is incredible.
The top headphones tend to average towards the late 20-hour range, so 30 hours is a real treat.
This is perfect for the average gym goer, as you can use your headphones for 3 weeks straight, assuming a 1-hour gym session per day, that is convenient in my view.
I charge these bad boys once every 2 weeks, as I usually use the headphones to listen to an hour of motivation audio prior to my gym session.
But if you use them for a one-hour gym session then you can recharge these cans once a month.
The charging time necessary to get these headphones fully charged is roughly 80 minutes which is impressive.
The headphones do not come with a quick charging feature, which is unfortunate as most headphones today come with quick charging.
Voice Assistants
As is becoming common place these days, the headphones are compatible with Siri and Google assistant.
Noise Cancellation
As far as noise cancellation goes these cans are not active noise canceling headphones. They are decent at isolating noise however and most noises were very well muffled out.
If you would like to learn more about noise canceling headphones then see this link.
Bluetooth/NFC
The headphones come with Bluetooth 4.1 which should work with most Bluetooth devices.
The headphones are NFC enabled. Meaning that they can pair with other NFC devices. NFC stands for near field communication.
This means that instead of connecting to Bluetooth the traditional way. You simply hold your device close to your headphones and then the two are connected.
In the case of the BlueAnt headphones, simply hold the device close to the left earcup and the two should be connected.
IF you hold the play/pause/on/off button for a long period then your headphones will enter pairing mode.
For those of us with Android phones you need to tap your device on the left earcup and your device will instantly pair.
The Bluetooth range is roughly the standard 10m or 30 Ft with the Bluetooth 4.1
The Bottom Line
Do not let the price fool you, these are amazing headphones, and really do give some of the biggest rivals a run for their money.
Over all the listening experience is pleasurable and they really do an amazing job.
