INTRODUCTION

   Listening to music is perhaps the only thing that keeps me going either when I’m on the treadmill and ready to give up or while using our somewhat overcrowded public transportation to reach my destination (fortunately that's a very rare thing for me). Unfortunately however as many of you have pointed out over the years there aren't really that many affordable wireless headsets out in the market worth getting your hands on whether that's due to mediocre audio clarity, low batter life, build quality and/or design. HAVIT may not be the first name that comes to mind when out in the market looking for a wireless headset but since to date all of their products to have made it here were quite balanced (price/performance) we decided to take a closer look at their latest i18 Ultra Comfortable Wireless Headphones.

   HAVIT, since 1998, is the global professional brand of PC and mobile terminal peripheral; it is the national A custom enterprise, the enterprise with independent international brand that is key cultivated and developed by Guangzhou government. Its business covers brand operation, import and export trade, cross-border E-commerce and supply chain service. The sales network evolves more than 80 countries and regions. Except that, it establishes branch office for marketing in Miami, America. It becomes specialized manufacture of many international brands and supplier of chain groups. In recent years, HAVIT has fully entered into new channel and industrial field such as cross-border E-commerce, mobile terminal, Borlee 3D printing. Under the promotion of remarkable achievements, the influence of its brand has become bigger and bigger, in future; HAVIT will continue to strive for more excellent achievements. Enjoy what I have!

   The i18 by HAVIT is clearly aimed towards people who are looking for a compact Bluetooth headset (weighs just 188g) made out of durable materials like aluminum (much like the REVO wireless by Jabra). Under the hood of the i18 we find two 40mm dynamic stereo neodymium drivers (frequency response of 20Hz-20KHz with 103+-3dB sensitivity and 32 Ohm impedance), Qualcomm's CSR8635 QFN single-chip mid-end Bluetooth audio ROM device (Bluetooth v4.1 with support for HFP v1.6, AVRCP v1.4, A2DP v1.2, DI v1.3 and HSP v1.2), noise-cancelling microphone and a 500mAh lithium-polymer rechargeable battery pack which according to HAVIT can last for up to 22 hours of play time and 25 hours of talk time. Just like with most products of its class the i18 can connect/pair wirelessly with up to two devices simultenously and can also be used in wired mode via its 3.5mm jack.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The headset arrived inside a blue/dark grey box that has the left side of the headset along with the company logo and the product name.

HAVIT lists the product specifications on the left side of the box.

Just the product name is printed at the rear of the box.

As you can all see the headset is placed inside a formed piece of plastic providing adequate protection.

Contained in the box is the i18 Wireless Headphones, carrying/storage pouch (made out of durable synthetic material), 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable, USB to micro USB charging cable, user's manual and two warranty information papers.

THE I18

Weighing at just 188g the i18 is even lighter compared to the REVO Wireless by Jabra (226g).

I can't say that red/orange would be my color choice for this headset but it does stand out.

HAVIT has placed their logo on the exterior of both earcups.

The 3.5mm port is located at the base of the left earcup while the micro USB charging port and the microphone are placed at the base of the right earcup.

At the rear of the right earcup we find the power on/off/play/pause button, the volume up/down/previous/next song buttons and the charging LED.

Both earpads are made out of cotton and are dressed with soft PU leather.

Left and right markings are placed right over both earcups.

The headband is also made out of cotton and dressed with soft PU leather.

Both earcups can rotate up to 90 degrees for easier carrying and storage.

The headset extends a total of 44mm to accommodate every head size (22mm on each side - 3 visible markings).

CONCLUSION

   Compact headsets are easier to carry and look better when used in crowded places but their size is also limiting their capabilities. We are of course referring to the drivers used and although from time to time we have seen 40mm ones which excel in all areas the ones used in the i18 are not among them since they lack bass. The good news is that both mids and highs are quite clear and accurate even at full volume but if you happen to like bass-rich music and you don’t like compromising then the i18 is not for you. In terms of battery life the i18 does very well although you will never reach the advertised battery life of 22/25 hours if you listen to music at almost full volume (for example we hit 14 hours which we feel is a very good number). In terms of materials the aluminum frame is good and so is the PU leather used. You may not like the feeling of the buttons (hard plastic) and the microphone is not the best we’ve ever used but that all comes down to just how affordable the i18 really is.

   With a current price tag set at USD29.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 26Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) the i18 Ultra Comfortable Wireless Headphones is yet another balanced product by HAVIT. Sure there’s a lot of competition in that price range from many unknown manufacturers but the good thing about HAVIT is that not only do they have a good track record thus far but having expanded into many markets they are far from unknown right now. Coming back to the i18 sure it may not be the perfect wireless headset but it offers a great bang for your buck and that’s also why it comes highly recommended by us.

PROS

- Good Build Quality (Aluminum Frame)
- Design/Size
- Good Mids/Highs
- Wired & Wireless Use
- Rotatable Earcups
- Battery Life (Up To 22 Hours)
- Price
- Available In 3 Color Combinations

CONS

- Bass Levels
- Microphone Clarity