If the PowerBeats Professional are too costly then the Runner 60 are a fantastic low-cost various. Stamina is outstanding, match is respectable, and in the event you experiment with the ear-tip sizes then the sound high quality will be superb, too. Contemplating the value and the function set, these are first-rate operating headphones.
Execs
- Inexpensive
- Waterproof ranking
- Respectable match
- Lengthy battery life
- Good sound (with the proper ear-tip)
Cons
- Default ear-tip appears reasonably lean and tinny
- Cumbersome charging case
Key Options
-
Battery life80 hours in whole
-
WaterproofIPX7 ranking
Introduction
There’s definitely one thing of the Beats PowerBeats Professional within the Again Bay Runner 60 headphones.
Just like the Beats, these headphones have a health focus, coming with an ear-hook design for stability and water-resistance to deal with the sweatiest exercises.
The most important variations between the 2 lie within the worth and battery life. The Runner 60’s 80 hours is critical, 3 times that of the PowerBeats – and so they price 4 occasions much less.
That’s plenty of multipliers. For those who’re spying a pair of fitness- and value-focused wi-fi earbuds, the Runner 60 are right here to make you a proposal you may’t refuse.
Availability
- UKRRP: £35.99
- USARRP: $54.99
- EuropeRRP: €41.99
- CanadaRRP: CA$61.99
- AustraliaRRP: AU$64.99
Design
- Beats impressed
- Over-ear hook design
- Numerous ear-tip sizes
- Good match
There’s greater than a touch of the PowerBeats Professional within the Runner 60. Whereas the Beats’ design isn’t unique, after all, I can’t assist however suppose how they could have impressed the Runner 60’s look. Even the ‘B’ for the Again Bay emblem may idiot you into pondering they’re from the PowerBeats vary – however these aren’t clones.
Taking the ear-hook method over the earbud (such because the Jaybird or Jabra), the stem suits over and down the again of the ear to maintain the earbuds in place. They’re made out of plastic, which retains the load down, so that they don’t change into a persistent annoyance throughout train.
Contact controls are positioned on the Again Bay emblem – and I’d at all times hit the ‘entrance’ a part of the ear-hook earlier than remembering the place the controls truly had been. They’re a bit delicate, however responded nice to my faucets throughout runs. I do want the quantity and track-skipping buttons had been swapped spherical, although – it appears extra intuitive to carry for quantity and faucet twice for skipping.
The match was good as soon as I discovered a place I used to be proud of, and having taken them on a number of runs, there have been only some events the place I’ve felt the necessity to reposition them. This was largely all the way down to the number of ear-tips – there’s a big selection to select from, starting from small to huge. The six ear-tips have a pronounced impact on sound and match.
I selected one of many greater choices since that supplied a tone I most well-liked, a greater match, and improved seal to make sure exterior noises weren’t infiltrating my headspace as a lot. On this sense, the noise-isolating design isn’t nearly as good as extra conventional true wi-fi models current. The variety of ear-tips allotted is welcome, because it permits for flexibility, however I want that the default possibility was higher – extra on that later.
You will get the Runner 60 in each color, so long as it’s black. Black means there’s little probability of them exhibiting up dust, nevertheless it makes the Runner 60 considerably plain in comparison with the competitors. The clamshell-like charging case is huge – higher suited to being stowed in a bag than a pocket. The LED indicators on the entrance characterize 25% of battery life, with a USB-C charging port around the again.
Options
- Enduring battery life
- Qi wi-fi charging assist
- AptX connectivity
Whereas there’s lots to say about how the design, the Runner 60’s function checklist is reasonably transient. Fortunately so, I ought to add.
The Runner 60 include an IPX7 ranking, which suggests they’re waterproof to the purpose that they will survive submersion in a metre of water for half-hour.
Battery life – as typical with Again Bay – is super-generous. The Runner 60 quotes 80 hours altogether, with the earbuds having round 8 hours of cost. To place that into context, the entire is greater than 3 times that of the PowerBeats Professional. The cumbersome case helps Qi wi-fi charging, and in the event you don’t have a Qi mat then charging to full takes round 90 minutes.
Bluetooth connectivity is 5.0 and the Runner 60 components in assist for SBC, AAC and aptX codecs; the latter you don’t typically see in true wi-fi that price 3 times as a lot. There’s a built-in microphone for taking calls – and that’s your lot.
Sound high quality
- Value taking part in with the ear-tips
- Can sound lean and tinny with default ear-tip
- Detailed, clear sound
- Bass emphasis with greater ear-tip choices
The Runner 60’s audio high quality is sweet, inasmuch as getting the proper ear-tip and match. It isn’t not like the expertise I had with the Duet 50 Professional, the place the default ear-tip produces a brilliant, skinny and barely harsh tone. There was additionally a looser match to cope with, because the wash of visitors filtered by means of.
I went for the larger ear-tip possibility, which resulted in a fuller-sounding efficiency with extra bass. If plenty of bass isn’t to your liking, then the beneficiant provide of ear-tips will provide help to to fine-tune the sound. It should additionally have an effect on the match and, consequently, the effectiveness of the Runner 60’s seal.
The tone of the Runner 60’s 8mm drivers doesn’t diverge too a lot from the Duet 50 Professional’s 6mm drivers, though there are variations. For one, the mid-range sounds clearer, extra detailed and higher outlined than the Duet 50 Professional taking part in the identical tracks. The soundstage can be wider and extra expansive, which permits the devices in Brian Bennet’s Picture extra room.
There’s an satisfying degree of dynamism, too, sharply deployed in Planetarium from the La La Land soundtrack, or contributing to an efficient sense of rise and fall in different tracks. Regardless of bumping as much as the largest earbud, there’s nonetheless a crispness to their tone, so the opening excessive notes in Rick Smith’s Bullet Lower have extra presence than they did with the Duet 50 Professional.
Bass response is kind of efficient, including a agency really feel to tracks – though there are occasions the place the low-frequency efficiency veers right into a messy sense of organisation. Flying Lotus’ Parisian Goldfish has the thumping bass line, however different devices change into misplaced within the combine.
In order for you extra bass – and Runner 60 delivers lots – then three faucets on the proper earbud engages Bass mode. The result’s a thicker sound and greater bass in The Prodigy’s Invaders Should Die, however element and separation aren’t nearly as good.
It’s fairly an upfront sound, identical to the Duet 50 Professional – and by that I imply it has a presence and measurement. Vocals are easily outlined and detailed, in addition to avoiding sibilant tones, which makes the Runner 60 a sensible choice in the event you take heed to a variety of genres, particularly R&B and hip-hop.
Whereas utilizing the default ear-tips ends in a lean sound, taking part in with the choices at hand brings the Runner 60’s higher sonic traits into view. I’d charge them as better-sounding low-cost headphones than the Duet 50 Professional, as tonally I believe they’re judged a little bit higher. The ear-tips play their half, however I believe there’s an affordable quantity of room to discover a tone that works for you.
Conclusion
The Again Bay Runner 60 are a snip for his or her worth. For those who’re somebody who wants a cheap set of headphones for operating and exercises, then they’re completely price trying out. Battery life is prolonged, the match is efficient, and the sound high quality is sweet – in the event you mess around with the ear-tips.
Finest Provides
Must you purchase it?
You’re after low-cost fitness-based headphones: Steady match, water resistant design, lengthy battery, and good sound. The Runner 60 just about fulfil all you want from a pair health headphones
Having plenty of ear-tip choices is a matter: Numerous ear-tips isn’t a difficulty in my view, nevertheless it is perhaps one right here. The preliminary sound is a little bit tinny in tone, however a bounce as much as an even bigger measurement improves issues
Verdict
If the PowerBeats Professional are too costly then the Runner 60 are a fantastic low-cost various. Stamina is outstanding, match is respectable, and in the event you experiment with the ear-tip sizes then the sound high quality will be superb, too. Contemplating the value and the function set, these are first-rate operating headphones.
Trusted Rating
FAQs
What codecs does the Runner 60 assist?
The Runner 60 helps SBC, AAC and surprisingly for the value, the aptX Bluetooth codec
