Aukey EP-B60

The robust and durable design of these headphones might be betrayed slightly at first sight due to its plastic housing, but look closer and there’s plenty to savour here. The ergonomic shape of these headphones is complemented by the earhooks, ensuring a secure hold, even when you’re moving at high speed, performing rapid movements or taking swift turns around corners. At the same time, they remain comfortable to wear and do not cause any kind of contact pressure problems. This is even true when you’re wearing them for long periods of time. The headphone housing has integrated magnetic points that serve as a chain closure, meaning that the in-ears can be worn comfortably around the neck when not being used for audio applications. It’s a practical addition to ensure that the system is protected against weather-related moisture, with the water-repellent properties also meaning that caring and cleaning of your headphones is made all the more easy. On the other hand, the fact there’s slight cable noises noticeable when listening to audio is a slight pain, although this can be reduced by suing the supplied cable clip.

Two lithium polymer batteries are on hand with a 60mAh capacity each, serving as the main power supply for this device. In total, a full charge yields approximately seven hours of running time. When connected to iOS devices, battery status is indicated by an icon display next to the Bluetooth symbol. If batteries are empty, you have the advantage of a quick charge function that allows for almost spontaneous use by providing 80 minutes of playback after a mere 10 minutes of charging. A complete charging process via the supplied USB-C to USB-A cable takes approximately 90 minutes.

Device Control

These in-ears support Bluetooth 5.0 and offered reliable ranges of up to eight metres in the field test we carried out with various Android and iOS devices within an urban environment. Pairing is achieved by disconnecting the magnetic fastener keeping the two parts of the housing together, with the system then automatically switching on. Automatic switch off as soon as the magnetic components rejoin each other again. This means the remote is reserved solely for device control options, rather than rudimentary commands like on/off. Things are very intuitive when it comes to the controls, with plus and minus signs allowing you to easily distinguish between key commands. In addition to volume control, you’ve title navigation to hand, track skipping and basic playback functionality. You can also take and make phone calls with the same selection of buttons. Satisfactory speech intelligibly comes as a welcome standard.

Sound

The EP-B60 enjoy a well rounded, harmonic sound that prevents overemphasis at higher volumes. All in all, the sound is earthy in tone, firm and intense, with a character that’s present in the highs and pleasing in the mids. A powerful bass undercurrent rounds things off beautifully. The bass that is present is more in the middle and upper ranges, however. The low bass range is barely noticeable at all, unfortunately. Apart from this slight limitation, there are no noteworthy negatives to report. Complex recordings and productions are showcased with a full spectrum of sound, with the stereo staging well structured and spatial. However, those who prefer a brighter sounding character and are more discerning about pitch perfect resolution might be better off investing in something like the more expensive EP-B80.