Bragi “The Headphone” Review

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GlytchMeister
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Bragi “The Headphone” Review

Post by GlytchMeister »

Don’t buy it, especially not from Best Buy.

The Bragi “The Headphone” true wireless Bluetooth earbuds are poorly made, unreliable, uncomfortable, difficult to use, provide poor sound quality, and are far too expensive for the quality (or lack thereof) of the product.

I bought mine at Best Buy on cyber Monday for about $116. They are, in my opinion, worth about $16.

When I got them, I tried to swap the silicone “Fit Tips” to try the two sizes and to try the “Comply” foam tips.

However, one of the medium sized silicone fit tips that the product came equipped with began to rip when I tried to take it off. So I decided to leave it there, because it felt OK anyway.

The sound quality was dissapointing, and this is coming someone who usually can’t tell the difference between a $10,000 car stereo and an 80’s boom box, nor do I usually care.

The controls are three minuscule buttons on the right earbud that require a lot of pressure to press, which shoves the earbud around and against your ear - highly uncomfortable and possibly painful. This is what wore out the Comply ear tips, details below.

They frequently briefly disconnect from one another, causing skips in music.

They also have a hilariously difficult time working with apps like Discord - he sound quality is even worse, and they sometimes don’t even produce sound on voice chat.

In phone calls, they are useless. Their microphone is horrible, so nobody can hear you clearly, even if you yell at the top of your lungs and enunciate extremely clearly and carefully. The same goes for when you’re trying to dictate a message or use Siri.

The charging case doesn’t have an internal battery, like most true wireless earbuds. This one has to be connected to a separate power source - and the cord they provide is about 2 inches long.

Also, the battery life is advertised as 6 hours. I’m lucky to get 5, 4 is more common.

After about 30 hours of use, I switched to the Comply foam tips because the medium silicone tips kept making the product fall out of my ears. I switched back at the end of that day (10 hours) because the skin on those tips had already worn off, and the bare foam underneath had rubbed my ears so raw I could barely move my jaw without wincing in pain.

The next time I put them in, one of those medium silicone tips came off INSIDE MY EAR. Apparently, in my decision to be careful about installing the tips to avoid more ripping, one hadn’t fully seated. It was impossible to tell without risking more ripping. I was fortunate to have a very bright, small flashlight and a roomate with steady hands and a paper clip. Otherwise, I would have had to go to the hospital or a 24 hour prompt care.

I got the silicone tip properly installed (ripping it a little more), and continued use.

After another 30 or 40 hours of use, I decided to try the Comply tips again. After 5 hours, one of those ripped off inside my ear - fortunately, I was in the process of taking it out anyway, so it wasn’t in deep, and it fell out after some vigorous headbanging.

I switched back to the medium silicones, but in re-installing them, one of them ripped completely apart.

At this point, I contacted Bragi customer support, and they were highly reluctant to actually address the issue of the horrifically fragile ear tips - eventually, I was offered replacement tips. I declined, because the last thing I need are more ear tips coming off or ripping off inside my ears.

I switched to the small silicone ear tips, which move around inside my ears and don’t provide a reliable seal.

The reason I hadn’t given up on them is because they cost me $116 and because Best Buy won’t accept returns after 15 days. I was already past that point.

The small, improperly fitting silicone tips didn’t rip when I installed them, and they haven’t ripped since - a couple months of 60 hours/week usage.

However. During this time, they have been difficult to properly charge, as they often don’t charge all the way and frequently won’t connect to the charging case without a great deal of fiddling and cleaning of the contacts, and even then, they sometimes refuse to either recognize or indicate that they are fully charged.

And now, the issue that has finally made me give up entirely on these atrocious headphones and write this review: the right earbud, the one with the tiny button controls, is now suddenly much, much quieter than the left.

I am out of patience, and out $116 of heavy manual labor wages. These are a waste, and Bragi should be deeply ashamed. Either their engineers and designers are lazy morons, or their executives and accountants are money-grubbing, Corner-cutting gremlins.

Do not, I repeat, do not buy this product, nor anything from Bragi. And probably nothing from Best Buy, either, due to their atrocious return policy.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
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DinkyInky
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Re: Bragi “The Headphone” Review

Post by DinkyInky »

Someone fed you a line.

I returned several what turned out to be unwanted Christmas gifts purchased around that time, and Best Buy refunded me.

If they are defective, they should have replaced them.

BTW, for future reference...buy extended warranties on anything over $100. It ends up being worth it in the end for things like this.
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.

Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Bragi “The Headphone” Review

Post by GlytchMeister »

I tried to return them but their website said they were no longer returnable.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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DinkyInky
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Re: Bragi “The Headphone” Review

Post by DinkyInky »

GlytchMeister wrote:I tried to return them but their website said they were no longer returnable.
Eww.
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.

Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
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GlytchMeister
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Location: Central Illinois
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Re: Bragi “The Headphone” Review

Post by GlytchMeister »

I’m debating between getting Sol Republic Amps Air or Jabra Elite Sport. This time, I won't just chase the cheapest deal on them and will actually investigate return policies. That one is on me - I should have looked up best buy's return period.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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