We have sweated into it profusely, thrown it around on grass and gravel, pushed it rudely into bags of different types, and the Ant Audio Wave Sports 450 Neckband Earphone has gone along, with nary a protest.
The UK brand that entered India towards the end of last year, specialises in audio tech and does earphone, speakers, and sound bars. We tested the wireless earphones (with mic) across four months, with two people (my son and I) using it, mostly running with it, but also sometimes dozing onto it on a cool, hard floor (because running in Delhi’s 45-degree heat is not easy). It has seen careless-teenager and busy-mother treatment and has stayed strong.
It has a battery that lasts and lasts (upto 10 hours), is splash-proof (you can’t dunk it in water), is comfortable around the neck with its soft neckband (it’s not a tangled mess when you take it out), and has magnets on the tips of the earplugs for easy storage. Once you connect to your phone or watch, it reconnects without a glitch.
The best part is the design of the plugs. Little silicone extensions ‘hook’ into the crook of the ear, holding them in place, unlike most other earphones that end up falling out. You also put them into the ear intuitively, and don’t need to look for the R sign.
I’m not sure what the magnets, Bluetooth and all the germs from the running together do to your health, but just as earphones go, I’d buy them again. Perhaps earphone companies should include cleaning kits for sports models. They have thoughtfully given an e-waste disposal link on the pack, too! The only problem? It takes 10 seconds to come on, and because I’m going long-sighted but resisting it, it takes a couple of seconds to locate the on/off and volume buttons.
A tiny addition: a bunch of stickers, one of which says ‘YES’, not ‘YAAS!’ for which I am eternally grateful.
₹4,999; ₹1,249, amazon.in; ₹1,499, tatacliq.com
