Onkyo E200BT Review - The Good Affordable Good Wireless IEM?
Over the past few years, we witness how wireless audio evolved for the better. From mostly expensive mediocre sounding earpieces to something more affordable that actually sounds decent even from mostly unforgiving audiophiles.
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| Onkyo E200BT review |
Enter Onkyo, a well respected Japanese audio brand with the release of E200BT. It's an affordable Bluetooth 4.1 powered earphones with microphone that features higher-end looks, twisted braided cables, and a custom designed 8.6 mm speaker driver to deliver great sound quality.
Will wireless IEM continue the trend of affordable decent sounding earphones? Let's check it out!
Disclaimer: This Onkyo E200BT wireless IEM was seeded by Philippe Gadgets & Accessories Inc. for an honest review.
Onkyo E200BT Specs
Driver type: 8.6 mm dynamic drivers
Impedance: 16 Ohms
Frequency response: 8 Hz - 24 kHz
Sensitivity: 107 dB / mW
Cable: Twisted braided
Battery: up to 8 hours
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1, (HSP), Handsfree (HFP), A2DP, AVRCP
Microphone: Buttons: Pause, Play, Next, Previous
Dimensions: 175 x 95 x 25 mm
Weight: 73 g
Price: PHP 4,999 (PHP 3,999 sale price)
Unboxing / Accessories
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| Onkyo's packaging |
Onkyo's usual simple and neat packaging is present with the E200BT. It's easy to open and well arrange. It resembled what we saw with the higher-end E700M.
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| Everything found inside the box |
Upon opening the box, the E200BT treated us with the Bluetooth IEM itself, 3 pairs of soft silicon eartips, USB to micro USB charging cables, extra rubber cap to cover the micro USB charging port, and paper documentations.
We're mostly good at this package except for few things: we want more tips and a even just a soft carrying pouch.
Build Quality / Design
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| Twisted cables on a Bluetooth IEM, that's rare! |
The general construction of this Bluetooth IEM is in between very good to great. Onkyo impressed us with its use of a very sturdy aluminum shell with ceramic like finish. It also has a thick yet flexible twisted cables, and good strain reliefs. There are few plastic parts, but they still feel tough enough which is forgivable.
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| Bluetooth and battery here! |
It looks professional looking, very elegant!
Design-wise, this has a professional looking vibe due to the ceramic finish of its body and twisted braided cables. It's Pause, Play, Next, and Previous buttons located on the left wire side is also easy to locate.
Comfort / Isolation
Wearing this IEM is simply a joy. Using the smallest eartips provided great comfort and fit overall. The body is also smooth which won't hurt your ears at all even for deeper insertions. The tips used is also made out of good quality materials that doesn't get itchy even after long hours of use.
Checking its isolation, its good enough to block the noise of people chatting beside you. Even some speakers on loud volume won't be audible once this thing is on your ears.
In real life usage, it is almost as good as advertised. We recorded 7 hours and 48 mins of straight music playback on 60% volume. We only charge this earphones 2x a week. Charging time is roughly around 2 hours from 0 to 100 percent.
Setting up the device is easy, it can pair with up to 8 devices, connect up to 2 devices a the same time, and has a Bluetooth range of 10 meters. It also has an English voice prompt that tells you when the devices is "connected" or "phone 2 connected" and "battery low" when you need to charge. Like what we stated above, this IEM has Pause, Play, Next, and Previous buttons for multimedia controls.
However, there are several instances where we experienced loss of connection when our player is in our pockets or when we are moving. For PC use, connecting and reconnecting it is harder compared to using mobile phones. For steady use, you won't have a problem at all.
Bass region is well emphasized and slightly enhanced that provides deep slams and engaging sub-bass vibrations. It's tight enough, even if it isn't as fast as we wanted. Mids are crisp, clear, detailed enough even for nitpicky listeners. Highs has proper extensions, though hiss is hearable at times. Soundstage has slightly above average hall-like wideness. We find it decent on most genres.
Rated at 16 Ohms, this earphones is also easy to drive. Usually, 50 - 70% loudness is enough for us. It's not as loud as the AD503 by Musicanywhere, but there's less audible distortion with this set.
Microphone quality is surprisingly good as well.
Checking its isolation, its good enough to block the noise of people chatting beside you. Even some speakers on loud volume won't be audible once this thing is on your ears.
Battery Life
One of the highlights of Onkyo E200BT is it can last for up to 10 hours on a single charge. On paper, that is at least 4 hours more on most Bluetooth powered earphones we tested in the past.In real life usage, it is almost as good as advertised. We recorded 7 hours and 48 mins of straight music playback on 60% volume. We only charge this earphones 2x a week. Charging time is roughly around 2 hours from 0 to 100 percent.
Sound Quality / Performance
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| Left marking, oblong nozzle shape, and metal filter |
Setting up the device is easy, it can pair with up to 8 devices, connect up to 2 devices a the same time, and has a Bluetooth range of 10 meters. It also has an English voice prompt that tells you when the devices is "connected" or "phone 2 connected" and "battery low" when you need to charge. Like what we stated above, this IEM has Pause, Play, Next, and Previous buttons for multimedia controls.
However, there are several instances where we experienced loss of connection when our player is in our pockets or when we are moving. For PC use, connecting and reconnecting it is harder compared to using mobile phones. For steady use, you won't have a problem at all.
Onkyo's well loved house sound is present with E200BT!It's sound-quality is also on par or better than most expensive Bluetooth powered earphones we tested this year. While it isn't as detail freak compared to the E700M, Onkyo was able to retail its distinct warm and smooth house sound that we love. The sound is close to natural sounding, clear, and fairly detailed for a Bluetooth powered device.
Bass region is well emphasized and slightly enhanced that provides deep slams and engaging sub-bass vibrations. It's tight enough, even if it isn't as fast as we wanted. Mids are crisp, clear, detailed enough even for nitpicky listeners. Highs has proper extensions, though hiss is hearable at times. Soundstage has slightly above average hall-like wideness. We find it decent on most genres.
Rated at 16 Ohms, this earphones is also easy to drive. Usually, 50 - 70% loudness is enough for us. It's not as loud as the AD503 by Musicanywhere, but there's less audible distortion with this set.
Microphone quality is surprisingly good as well.
Pros - Onkyo's popular good house sound is still present, great tangle free twisted wires, solid housing, very comfortable to wear, proper isolation, long battery life
Cons - No water / dust resistance, random loss of connectivity when walking, few extra eartips, hard to determine left and right markings
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