We, at MajorHifi have a love-hate relationship with true wireless earphones. Why? Because they’re a fantastic concept, but they don’t always work. We spend too much time dealing with pairing issues or lost signals in one ear. In fact, even the biggest headphone brands have yet to fully master the technology. But when someone says, “Bluetooth 5 under 150 bucks,” my ears perk up. And, apparently, Phiaton is the first company to introduce balanced armature drivers to true wireless buds with a charging speaker case. So, I have a feeling they’ll sound great. But what features do they offer, and how reliable are they? Let’s find out in this Phiaton Bolt BT 700 True Wireless Earphones Review.
Phiaton Bolt BT 700 True Wireless Earphones Review
IN the BOX
BOLT BT 700 Earphones
4 x Sets of Silicone Ear Tips (XS, S, M, L)
USB Charging Cable
Warranty Card
Quick Guide (Including 1-Year Warranty)
FIT
I love the fit on these buds. It’s the perfect balance between comfort and security. I think you could do back flips with these things in your ears and they wouldn’t fall out. This is partly because of the ergonomic rubber tips that fit in the contour of your ear. Other companies, like JBL and Sennheiser have employed this design in their sports earphones. But I have to say, none have felt as snug as the Bolt BT 700.
DESIGN
It takes 2 hours to fully charge the earphones, or 2.5 hours, including the speaker. Did someone say speaker? That’s right folks. Using the charging case that doubles as a tiny speaker, you can share music with your favorite insect.
Once fully charged, the Bolt BT 700 will give you 5 hours of usage. And this is about standard for true wireless earphones. But the great thing about true wireless earphones is that they come with a case that acts as a charger. And it’s got 4 charges on it. That is, 4 times 5 hours of charge, giving you a total of 20 hours. You just can’t blow all those 20 hours at once. That being said, if you don’t have 2 hours to spare, a quick 15 minute recharge will yield 1 hour of playback.
The Bolt BT 700 is IPX4 water resistant. IPX is a way of measuring how waterproof something is. If a product with IPX7 can be submerged in water for 30 minutes, then an earphone with IPX4 can withstand a thimble of sweat or a splash here and there.
The Bolt BT 700 also offers audio transparency. This means that you can switch the setting to ambient mode, which lets in outside noise. So, you can order your grande latte without taking your earphones off. The barista will think you’re an ass, but little does she know, you can hear the coffee dripping.
For those of you who love buttons and touchpads, you’re in luck. (That’s what she said.) The Phiaton Bolt BT 700 employs both, the left and right earpiece to navigate your sound. The two buttons on the left and right let you control volume, skip tracks and answer/end calls. To play and pause, you double tap the touchpad on the right earpiece. To switch to ambient mode, you double tap tap the left earpiece. This is all wonderful in theory, but does it actually work? YES. But it will take a few tries to get the hang of it. The only problem I ran into was a few a signal drops that would last a split second. Again, true wireless technology is not perfect. But freedom comes at a price…
The good news is that the call quality is excellent for a pair of true wireless earphones.
SOUND
In terms of genre, these earphones are very versatile. This is because they have a pretty flat response. It’s a nicely balanced sound profile that will work as a great all-rounder. There’s just enough oomph in the bass to give pop the punch it needs. And it’s a clean low-end that avoids bleeding into the higher frequencies. So, you won’t get any muddiness from these puppies.
Because of the even distribution of frequencies, rock sounds great too. You’ll get the full spectrum of sound in the midrange, with no harsh upper mids or vocals that lean too forward. I wouldn’t call it a particularly warm or rich sound, though it’s in no way hollow. But the Bolt BT 700 really shines with respect to clarity. For a wireless headphone, these buds offer a tidy, well separated sound. Acoustic guitars, for example, conveyed clean detail and resolve that can’t be matched by a Bluetooth 4 headphone. And instruments in the high frequencies had a good amount of transparency without any painful piercing in the highest registers. I dig it.
Warning: kids with premature tinnitus might not get the volume they want out of these buds. For reasonable ears, there should be enough power. But for you crazy rockers out there, the Bolt BT 700 might fall just short of loud enough. This is not a problem specific to the Bolt BT 700. Rather, it’s a “Bluetooth shortcoming” that we’ve encountered with many wireless headphones, especially in the lower price ranges.
SUMMARY
I can’t find anything to complain about. Great sound, solid functionality, fantastic value for money. Combine these factors with a water resistant sports design, and it becomes a no-brainer. If you have to go true wireless, go with these babies.
SPECIFICATIONS
Communication Network: Bluetooth 5.0
Driver unit: Balanced Armature
Impedance: 40 Ohm
Sensitivity: 102 dB/mW
Driver Unit Frequency Response: 20 Hz ~ 20 KHz
Max. Input Power: 40 mW
Operating Range: Within 10 m / 33 ft.
Call Time: 5 hrs Max.
Music Play Time: 5 hrs Max.
Standby Time: 94 hrs Max.
Full Charge Time: 2 hrs (2.5 hrs including Charging Speaker Case)
Fast Charging: Support 15 min. Charging= 1 hr Playing
Audio Codec: SBC, AAC
Operating Frequency: 2.4 GHz(2.402 GHz – 2.480 GHz)
Earbud Weight: 6.5 g
Charging Speaker Case:
Input Power: DC 5 V / over 1 A
Battery: Lithium Ion, DC 3.7 / 750 mAh
Full Charging Time including Earphones: 2.5 hrs
Number of ‘BOLT’ charging with ‘Charging Speaker Case’: 3 times (4 X 5 hrs + 20 hrs with fully charged earbuds)
Speaker Output: 3W Max.
Music Play Time via Bolt & Speaker: 8 hrs Max.
Standby Time(BT OFF): 220 hrs Max.
FDimensions(L x W x H): 3.70 X 1.45 X 1.41 in
Weight with BOLT Earphones’: 93 g / 0.21 lb
Operating Temperature: -20 ~ 45 °C / -4 ~ 113 °F
Compare the ranking of various headphones, earbuds and in-ear monitors using our tools.
Discuss this, and much more, over on our forum.
---MAJORHIFI may receive commissions from retail offers.
