Towards the percentages, Below Armour, JBL and Dwayne Johnson himself have managed to create a really spectacular pair of headphones. The assured design exhibits that each one three events clearly perceive the wants of gym-goers, whereas the stable audio high quality and ANC modes – though bested elsewhere – are nonetheless proficient sufficient to make a tempting package deal general.
Execs
- Sturdy, gym-ready construct
- Thick, breathable ear cushions
- Nice general sound
- Excellent battery life
Cons
- Some disappointing equalizer options
- Vocals aren’t at all times as sharp as they might be
Availability
- UKRRP: £260
Key Options
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45-hour battery lifeKeep your exercise going for longer
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Made in collaboration with The RockAlongside JBL and Below Armour
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Breathable ear cushionsDesigned to dry sweat rapidly
Introduction
Bringing collectively the experience of Below Armour, JBL and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the UA Mission Rock Over-Ear Coaching Headphones must be seen (and heard) to be believed.
Each time a celeb will get concerned in a chunk of tech, I can’t assist however wince because it’s often a warning signal for what’s in retailer. Will.i.am put his title to quite a few weird merchandise within the 2010s (does anybody keep in mind the Puls smartwatch?), and who can overlook Soulja Boy’s disastrous gaming console? (Clearly most of us have.)
The precedent is difficult to disregard, however this time spherical all three events behind these coaching headphones have the nous to ship the key sauce to buck the pattern.
Dwayne Johnson clearly is aware of his approach across the fitness center, information that’s key to designing a pair of headphones for fitness-minded people. Throw in JBL’s monitor file of manufacturing great-sounding merchandise and Below Armour with its sportswear, and there’s promise. After a number of weeks of testing, the decision is in.
Design
- Understated, all-black aesthetic
- IPX4 score
- Comfy and breathable ear cushions
Take a look at the Mission Rock headphones and there’s no mistaking that their use isn’t for any venue aside from a fitness center. The all-black design coupled with the 2 bull icons on each ear-cups present they imply enterprise. With out a discernible stylistic flourish, they’re not going to catch anybody’s consideration on the road; however I actually benefit from the general aesthetic.
Not like plenty of fashionable headphones, the Mission Rock eschew contact controls in favour of enormous bodily buttons. As anybody who’s navigated contact controls on the fitness center will inform you, sweat and contact know-how don’t combine, so chunky buttons with an excellent quantity of give in them point out how a lot Below Armour understands its goal demographic.
The USB-C and three.5mm port are lined when not in use, and the general chassis boasts an IPX4 score, which means there’s little fear about breaking a sweat on the treadmill while sporting the headphones. All the fitting packing containers are ticked, however what actually impress are the Mission Rock’s ear cushions.
Of all of the headphones I’ve examined, none come near the extent of padding on show right here. They really feel extremely comfy, plus the ear cushions are made from a breathable materials across the sides that helps to forestall a build-up of sweat, however that additionally does an ideal job of drying out rapidly if it does develop into moist.
Within the effort to make the ear cushions comfy, UA hasn’t forgotten about hygiene, both; these cushions might be eliminated and hand-washed. On the design entrance, UA clearly understands the wants of its customers, and the one situation I had was a slight looseness across the ears when mendacity on a exercise bench.
Along with a USB-A-to-USB-C cable and a headphone aux cable, the package deal features a sturdy journey case. For individuals who tend to fling headphones right into a fitness center bag, the added safety afforded by the case is a plus.
Options
- Plenty of variations for ANC and Ambient mode
- Disappointing ‘Mission Rock’ equalizer
- Battery lasts for ages
If Below Armor might be thanked for the design, it’s clear JBL’s sound-engineering experience drives the system’s characteristic set. Lively noise cancellation is current, and there are two modes to select from: On a regular basis and Lively.
On a regular basis is the go-to default, and it does a wonderful job of retaining undesirable noise at bay. It isn’t fairly as highly effective because the noise-cancelling on Sony’s premium headphones, nevertheless it extinguishes the fitness center radio to a barely audible hum.
Lively mode is finest saved for runs, retaining a level of noise-cancelling while letting in some ambient sounds to determine consciousness of environment.
I’m happy that JBL has thought-about outside actions; nevertheless, personally I’ve had extra use out of the devoted Ambient mode. There are a few choices to select from: Ambient Conscious pulls in all exterior noise to be heard alongside music; TalkThru lowers the amount and hones in on close by conversations so you may have interaction in chit-chat with out eradicating the headphones.
Each Ambient modes do an ideal job of permitting the correct amount of the surface world to succeed in my ears with out drowning out music utterly, and the bull icon on the fitting ear-cup might be pressed to cycle by way of ANC and Ambient modes rapidly.
All of those settings might be discovered within the JBL Headphones app, the place there’s the power to tweak the equalizer settings for a sound that most closely fits. You may create a customized EQ profile, and select from quite a few presets, essentially the most notable being the “Mission Rock EQ”.
Designed to the musical tastes of Dwayne Johnson himself, I anticipated one thing epic. The app describes the EQ as with the ability to ship “premium sound high quality with wealthy bass amplified that can assist you crush your exercise”. You may think about my disappointment after I found the Mission Rock EQ to be the worst possibility out of all of the presets.
To ensure it wasn’t simply my go-to tracks that had been the issue, I examined the EQ with a variety of genres and bass ranges to see if I may discover a good match. However in each state of affairs the usual Bass preset simply outperformed the Mission Rock EQ.
Nevertheless, on account of the proficiency of the opposite presets on provide, this isn’t a dealbreaker; nevertheless it does make me surprise how such an oversight may have occurred. In spite of everything, Dwayne Johnson’s involvement is everywhere in the field and is the primary attraction for anybody after a pair of gym-ready headphones.
Exterior of the equalizer settings, there are a number of quality-of-life options price noting. Just like the Sony WH-1000XM4, the Mission Rock headphones have an auto-pause operate that kicks in when the headphones are eliminated. The characteristic works properly for essentially the most half, however there have been situations the place it didn’t recognise that I’d taken them off.
There’s additionally a operate button on the left-hand ear-cup to summon the popular digital assistant on a cell system, or toggle between the On a regular basis and Lively ANC modes. Whereas I recognize the button being there, it might have been good had it delivered a bit extra performance, reminiscent of the power to toggle varied EQ presets.
One of many largest options of the Mission Rock headphones is the monumental battery lifetime of as much as 45 hours. After all, it’s tough to check that in a single go, however I discovered over the course of six hours of steady playback that the battery dropped by solely 10% from a full 100% cost. Charging the headphones to 100% from zero takes two hours – which isn’t quick by any metric, however hardly a difficulty with such prolonged stamina at its disposal.
Sound High quality
- Nice general sound high quality that’s a pleasure to listen to
- Vocals can get misplaced in bass-heavy songs
- Non-workout tracks fare simply wonderful
So the construct high quality of those headphones is nice, and the characteristic set – regardless of a number of points – is basically stable – however what concerning the Mission Rock headphones’ sound high quality? Properly, given their meant use, let’s kick issues off with certainly one of my favorite exercise tracks: Godzilla by Eminem.
Anybody who’s heard it is going to know the music maintains a heavy bassline all through, and the power behind it may be felt proper from the off with the Mission Rock headphones. I’ll say that the vocal separation isn’t fairly as profound as I’d like, however the mids come by way of clearly; I used to be capable of distinctly choose up the piano keys that echo by way of the refrain.
I discovered this to be the case for different go-to fitness center anthems reminiscent of Kickstart My Coronary heart by Mötley Crüe, with the guitar and drums nearly outweighing the vocals all through the music. In all of those circumstances, although, switching over to the “Vocal” equalizer labored as a makeshift repair.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t apply to songs the place the combination already favours the vocals over every part different channel. Pop classics reminiscent of Gwen Stefani’s The Nice Escape and The Seaside Boys’ Kokomo – I’ve eclectic tastes – come by way of simply wonderful and are a joyful pay attention.
Newest offers
Do you have to purchase it?
You want gym-ready headphones The Mission Rock Over-Ears are simply the most effective pairs of headphones you may take with you to the fitness center, delivering a rugged design that’s powerful the place it must be however breathable across the ears.
You need best-in-class sound These headphones definitely do an admirable job, however they aren’t in the identical league as different pairs such because the Sony WH-1000XM4 or the Bowers & Wilkins PX7.
Closing Ideas
Regardless of the percentages which are often stacked in opposition to celebrity-endorsed merchandise, the UA Mission Rock Over-Ear Coaching Headphones are fairly an achievement, mixing nice audio with a design that gym-goers will love from the outset.
Not each characteristic sticks the touchdown, such because the bizarrely underwhelming Mission Rock equalizer, however with loads of ANC and Ambient mode settings, to not point out monster battery life that’s good for all-day exercises, the Mission Rock headphones are a implausible piece of equipment.
Trusted Rating
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We check each pair of earbuds we evaluation completely over an prolonged time period. We use business commonplace assessments to check options correctly. We’ll at all times inform you what we discover. We by no means, ever, settle for cash to evaluation a product.
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Examined over a number of weeks
Examined with actual world use
