#Review: Sound-One V9 Bluetooth-headphone: Plenty of bass for the price
Hong Kong-based Sound One recently launched its new V9 Bluetooth headphone in India at an introductory price of Rs. 1,390. It offers an on-ear wearing design, up to 8 hours of battery life on wireless mode, built-in FM tuner, microSD reader, and support for wired streaming as well. We've tested the V9 thoroughly to find out if they are worth the price. Here's our review.
Sound One V9: Design
Built-wise, the quality is decent. They feature a rubberized, matte-finished headband with leatherette-lined cushioned earmuffs and a sandblasted design on the outside of the ear cups. The functionality buttons for power on/off, music play/pause, skipping tracks and answering calls are clicky and responsive. The headband is also foldable which makes the headphones small enough to be carried around in a backpack.
Sound One V9: Wearability
The earcups on the V9 are big enough to cover your ears and the cushioning allows for a snug fit. Adjusting the headband was not a smooth process but once you find the right fit, the band will stay in place. However, the headphones do apply a little pressure on the ears and if you wear spectacles, you will require some extra adjustment.
Sound One V9: Sound quality
The Sound One V9 sounded good for a cheap on-ear headphone. It will appeal to bass lovers who prefer a sound profile that accentuates the lows. We tested the headphone across all popular genres to find some clipping at max volume. The sound signature felt a little muddy with boomy bass often bleeding into the mids and lows.
Sound One V9: Battery life and connectivity
In our testing, we got over 6 hours of music playback at around 70-80% volume and roughly an hour of calling on a single charge. As for recharging, the headphone took nearly 3-hours to fully come to life. The call quality was good and the on-ear fit did offer some passive noise reduction. Also, Bluetooth 5.0 support allowed for quick pairing and good range.
Sound One V9: Bonus features
The V9 comes with a built-in FM tuner and supports a microSD card for music playback. So, if you don't want to carry your phone for running, you can simply load a microSD card and use the headphone as a standalone music player. There's also built-in AUX support (cable comes bundled) which can prove handy in case the headphone runs out of charge.
How things stack up?
The long and short of everything is that the V9 is a good on-ear, truly-wireless headphone under Rs. 1,500. Surely, the audio profile is not most natural-sounding but if you like thumping bass, these will be right up your alley. What more? You get reliable connectivity, respectable battery life of 7-8 hours, and nifty additional features (built-in FM, AUX support). Overall score: 3/5.
