With the relatively recent release of Apple’s iPhone 7, manufacturers of
Bluetooth headsets are likely to be seeing an uptick in interest and
sales of their products. We recently received a brand new set of Rowkin Bit Stereo bluetooth earbuds for evaluation.
ERGONOMICS / PHYSICAL DESIGN
Marketed as “The World’s Smallest” wireless bluetooth headphones, the
Rowkin Bit weighs in at 5.2 grams per earbud. The weight is so
negligible, I found them to be comfortable to wear for an extended
period of time with no discomfort. While I am amazed at how small these
earbuds are, and the amount of technology packed into a small device, I
can’t go as far as Rowkin would claim and suggest they are invisible. In
fact, they are quite noticeable due to their dark glossy finish. But,
they can be easily concealed with a hoodie or beanie.
The package includes 3 rubber tips for different sized ears and were
delivered with the medium size pre-installed. While I ultimately settled
on the medium-sized tips, one of our female co-testers was unable to
find a comfortable fit with any of the tips.
While the lipstick cylindrical design may appeal to some people, we feel
the inclusion of at least one flat side would be preferable. This way,
you can set the device on a flat surface without it moving.
Finally, I think some users would appreciate a case for the device to
prevent accidental dislodging of any of the parts.
SYNCING
The Rowkin Bit earbuds initial sync was relatively simple. By following
the included instructions, we simply held the switch on the back of the
earbud until each one flashed red and white, about 6 seconds. Then,
after waiting up to 30 seconds, the earbuds paired with each other.
The second step is to pair the earbuds to your device. In my case, my
phone did not immediately recognize the earbuds. But once I power cycled
my phone, the device was available in the bluetooth setup. Once
selected, they easily paired with my phone.
When the buds are sync’d with your phone, the Master (left) earbud will
blink once with a white LED. The slave (right) earbud will blink twice.
It is not clear in the Rowkin literature if one of the earbuds is
already programmed as master. If so, we feel “L” and “R” labels on the
earbuds would be much better than blinking lights. One problem is that
these LEDs continue to flash the entire time you are using them, so
people nearby can see your ears flashing, which is not desirable.
One nice feature is that the earbuds automatically sync with your phone
each time they are powered on. By pushing the switch on the back of the
earbud, your music will begin playing in a few seconds.
INITIAL TEST
Our initial test of the earbuds was at a local department store. I found
it super enjoyable that I could share an earbud with my friend, listen
to the same music, and still converse. When wearing both earbuds with
musical content playing, outside sounds become imperceptible. Similarly,
the earbuds do a good job of not bleeding music out so that others
around you cannot hear what you are listening to.
This initial test also gave us an opportunity to test the range of the
device which worked as expected. You can leave your music device
stationary and be doing other things in the house while listening with
the earbuds. The published range is 25 feet.
CHARGING
My next test was to start with a full charge, which revealed a major
design flaw. The design of the Bit Stereo charger involves a cylindrical
lipstick style enclosure which consists of 2 parts. When the cylinder is
assembled, the earbuds are magnetically attached to receptacles on each
end for charging from the cylinder battery. In the middle, the cylinder
is separated to reveal a micro-USB port with LED indicator on one side.
This is is the side which houses the cylinder’s battery. The other side
reveals a cavity which allows you to attach it magnetically over the
other earbud on the battery end. However, when the micro-USB cable is
charging the cylinder, it does not charge the 2nd earbud. This results
in a clunky charging method where you can charge the cylinder and one
earbud, but not the other. This extends charging time and is
inconvenient because you can never have a situation where the buds and
the charger are all fully charged at the same time. Finally, the
included 6-inch micro-USB cable is too short. We had to dump it for a
longer cable immediately.
Rowkin advertises less than 150 minutes for charging the cylinder. The
LED of the cylinder turns from red to white when fully charged. Our test
fixture charged in about 2 hours. However, due to the above charging
design flaw, we had to wait another hour+ for the 2nd earbud to charge.
Strangely, the earbuds LED change from red to “unlit” when charged. I
feel Rowkin should have been consistent here. Having the earbud and
cylinder have different indicators for charged status is confusingly
poor design. Our 2nd earbud would never fully charge and often had
flickering red LED which seemed to indicate a poorer connection to the
battery.
A typical charge lasted about 2 hours. When the earbuds reach the end of
their charge, there is a double-beep in the master earbud indicating low
battery. The earbuds lasted about 1-2 minutes after the initial beeping
started.
SOUND
Probably the moment you’ve been really waiting for, how do they sound?
Considering their size and the limitations of bluetooth connectivity
with a compressed MP3 format, I will say that I’m impressed with the
sound that these little guys put out.
For my tests, I auditioned the likes of Blue Sky Black Death’s “Glaciers
I (Featuring Child Actor)”, Jhene Aiko’s “The Worst”, and Interpol’s
“Turn on the Bright Lights”, among others, just to get some variety.
While these little buds could not reproduce some of the sub-low notes, I
found them generally very listenable across a wide variety of musical
genres.
My more scrutinizing ear perceived some issues in an overly boosted low
end, muddy low-mid range, a rolled off high-frequency, along with
various artifacts from bluetooth/MP3 transmission no doubt. During the
listening period of 1-2 hours, I found the earbuds to be a bit fatiguing
on the ears, which I attribute to the boosted low end.
While I think the music was ok, where I think I found a home with these
earbuds is with media. Using various TV or movie applications on my
devices, the Rowkin Bit Stereo was an excellent companion. The sound for
this application is superb as the Bit reproduces in the voice range very
well.
IN CALL USE
The Rowkin Bit is designed to control your phone. Various button presses
on the back of the device control answering, ending, or rejecting a call.
Incoming call sound was crisp and clear; However, callers reported
difficulty hearing me clearly. Also, because of the call controls, when
the earbud was slipping out of my ear during a call, I accidentally
pressed the button which unintentionally ended the call.
Fortunately, you can switch back to using your phone’s speaker or
internal if you need to. But ultimately, they may not make the best
earbuds for calls.
WARRANTY
Rowkin currently includes a 6-month limited warranty with the Bit.
Exempted from the warranty are the ear tips, batteries, and other
accessories. Overall, I find this warranty a “bit” lacking because a
significant part of the product is battery related, and I would expect
at least a 12-month warranty on an electronic product. I am concerned a
short warranty period means the company may not be confident about the
product’s longevity.
SUMMARY
The Rowkin Bit Stereo is a decent set of bluetooth earbuds which shined
for watching TV and movies on my devices and did an acceptable job for
light music listening. However, the short use time of about 2 hours for
music/media listening may not be long enough for some user’s
requirements, and it’s poor microphone reception did not perform well
for our test calls. Rowkin’s 6-month warranty is shorter than industry
average. It should also be noted that any user concerned about phone
battery life preservation may also want to avoid bluetooth use since it
tends to drain a device’s battery faster.
At the time of this writing, Bit Stereo is selling for an affordable
$109.99. However, given the innate charging issues, and lack of a flat
surface on the charging device, anyone interested in purchasing the Bit
should consider upgrading to the Rowkin Bit Charge Stereo ($129.99). The
charging case and charging capability appear to be a superior design.
