SonicGear Airphone 300L review

One of the main reasons why I have never used wireless headphones is because of the pricing. Wireless audio devices are usually more expensive compared to their wired counterparts. All my hardware and gadgets also feature 3.5mm jacks. I also doubt the audio quality over a wireless connection. Recently LeapFrog Global Distribution send me a wireless headphone, the SonicGear Airphone 300L. Let’s see if it can put my prejudice to rest, shall we?

Unboxing

A big picture of the product takes the stage on the front of the box with a little window to give you a little peek of the actual product. SonicGear Airphone 300L comes in three different colors, black, grey and red, which is the one we have here.

At the back we have detailed specifications of the headphone. The SonicGear Airphone 300L is the successor of the Airphone 200L, with a bigger battery, as well as a new design.

Inside the box we have the headphone itself, along with a micro USB cable to recharge the battery, a AUX cable to use it with devices with a 3.5mm jack and a user manual on how to pair the headphone with devices.

Appearance

The headphone has a relatively small size compared to the rest of my headphones/headsets collection.

Unlike the Airphone 200L which sports a foldable design that might have been more fragile, SonicGear changed things up and went with an adjustable headband design.

The on-ear pads are soft and the size will sit well on most ears but you can’t expect good noise isolation from these. Being equipped with on-ear pads, the SonicGear Airphone 300L does have a tendency of falling off your head. That said, the SonicGear Airphone 300L has adequate clamping strength to stay on your head, unless you decide to go head banging with it.

The headband is wrapped in pleather with the SonicGear branding on it. The headband size is small and the padding is not that thick, but it is still comfortable enough given that the SonicGear Airphone 300L is pretty light.

On the front edge of the right driver we have a full all in one control for the headphones. It might be quite difficult to get used to it, but it didn’t bother me much since I rarely found a need to use it. I do wish it was located on the back edge of the earpiece instead, for a clean look from the front.

Two ports on the SonicGear Airphone 300L allows for charging and 3.5mm input are at the bottom of each earpiece, along with a microphone hole and status LED. The SonicGear Airphone 300L have a built-in non-removable 300mAh battery that is touted to last up to 8 hours of continuous usage.

Specification

User Experience

Before we get to the audio quality, lets talk about the build quality first. SonicGear Airphone 300L is really light and sometimes I tend to forget that it is still on my head. It feels and looks kind of flimsy, but I don’t think it is that easy to break it. I used it as I use all my headphones, and it is still in one piece. The soft cushion on the ear pads are actually quite comfortable for long hour usage. Overall the build quality is fair for the price, but for me audio quality is the main concern.

I’m pairing the headphones with my smartphone and I have listened to many podcast and videos on YouTube. Pairing the headphone with the devices is very easy. The user manual covers everything you need to do, so read it. Something I like about the headphone is the audio notification each time you connect or disconnect.

The SonicGear Airphone 300L has decent audio clarity especially when i’m listening to audio podcasts. The bass is not that powerful as SonicGear claims, but it still there and for me, the amount of bass is adequate for casual usage. As it was never touted as high fidelity audio equipment, the audio quality on the SonicGear Airphone 300L is fair.

Battery usage is pretty good,. The 300mAh battery didn’t take much time to full charge for up to 8 hours usage. If it so happen the battery ran out, the 3.5mm auxiliary port allows you to continue enjoying music. If you’re going to use the 3.5mm audio jack frequently, it would be wise to get a more durable and better looking one

The only thing that bothers me is the all-in-one control. SonicGear should have positioned it on the back of earcup. It would be easier for me to use it if it’s on the back compared to the current position. It also help to improve the look from the from view.

Conclusion

SonicGear Aiphone 300L is actually a decent wireless headphone at its price. Its comfortable, offers good battery life and decent audio quality which are all in line with what I expect at this price range. Design wise, there is a lot that can be improved, such as the all-in-one audio control, for starters. SonicGear Airphone 300L might not suitable for people used to high quality audio, but for me the sound quality it produced are more than enough for normal end users. You can buy the SonicGear Airphone 300L directly from Leapfrog’s digital store on Lazada for RM99.90.