This is a review of Syllable G700 Bluetooth wireless headphones. http://www.gearbest.com/headsets/pp_131207.html
Wireless headphones with a design that's going to turn heads - check! Solid lightweight metal frame headband - check! A mix of high quality aluminum and leather materials - check! Endorsement by a former NBA star - check! Are we talking about a new version of Beats headphones? Not really since this pair of headphones is priced under $100 (and with GearBest exclusive coupon code G700HL you will get an additional discount with a free shipping and a tracking code). I'm talking about a new G700 model from Syllable which I just got an opportunity to review. Here is what I found.
It's not accidental that I mentioned "Beats" in my review intro. In the past Syllable had a reputation of manufacturing headphones with a resemblance to Dr Dre cans, though they always clearly labeled it as Syllable and customized it with their own sound tuning. Moving forward I'm very happy to see they finally broke that mold and had enough confidence to come up with an original design and a decent sound. I'm just not sure if it was really necessary to get Allen Iverson involved with an endorsement of these headphones. Perhaps it was necessary for credibility, but I wasn't too crazy about his signature stamped across the left earcup. Maybe there is a way to wipe it off
Starting with a packaging, G700 arrived in a very impressive large box with a high quality artwork and a lot of info printed on the outer sleeve. The headphone comes in three different colors with Blue and Golden being other two choices beside Red I received for my review, and I assume color of the selected headphones will be reflected on the sleeve graphics. Inside of the box, after removing the sleeve, you have a form-fitted display setting for G700 with a number of accessories underneath of it. Included in there was a very nice soft storage pouch, 3.5mm male to male cable (since headphones can be used both wired and wireless), usb to micro-usb cable for charging, and a detailed manual in Chinese and English. There is no need to worry about batteries since you can just charge these up for a few hours and G700 will have enough juice to work for up to 12 hours. Or if you are in the middle of listening and drain your battery - just plug in a cable into the left earcup and continue listening without interruption.
The headphones itself have quite a unique look. The entire construction is a solid aluminum headband with a memory alloy to retain original shape. The opening at the end of the headband houses sliding earpieces interconnected by a partially hidden matching red flat cable. The headband paint looks like it was baked into the metal and feels scratch resistant. Top of the headband has a black leather wrapping with a red stitching to match the color details of the finish. My only comment, I wish there would be more inner padding where the headband touches the top of your head. The padding is rather thin and doesn't feel too comfortable but I fixed that by tilting the headband slightly forward when wearing it. Besides, the headphones itself are rather lightweight so you are not going to feel the weight of it, but you will feel the clamping force when first put these on. The metal headband has a memory effect to keep the shape, but as a result you will need to stretch them out for a few days. I have a medium size head, and it felt rather tight at first, so I put it on a soccer ball for a few day while I was burning them in, and already noticed a significant improvement.
Earpieces have an oval shape and placed inside of the headband ends where they have a little bit of room to slide up/down to alignment with your ears. They also have some room to tilt in 4 directions to allow more comfortable adjustment to the shape of your ears. These details are important because on-ear fitment in general is a bit tricky when you are trying to find a sweet spot for your listening. Earpads itself are perforated with larger holes that make them more breathable and less "sticky" to your ears. The outside of earcups is plastic but not cheap looking. Right earpiece, which also happens to have micro-usb charging port, has a round 4-way control button with volume up/down at corresponding top/bottom locations and track skip next/prev at corresponding front/back locations. Also, by long pressing track skip you can fast forward/back. Left earpiece, which also has 3.5mm headphone jack, has a multi-function Power button that turns these headphones on or puts them in a pair up mode, as well as can be pressed to Play/Pause, pick up or hang up a Call, or long press for Google search on your phone or whatever function is associated with long press of your home button.
Though these headphones can be used wired, their main functionality is wireless. Pair up with my Note 4 was very fast and easy, and G700 got connected to phone and media audio without a problem. In addition to a regular BT pair up, for more convenience you can also use NFC pairing by placing your phone next to the left earcup. In open room I was able to maintain a wireless connection at a distance of almost 45 ft until it got choppy. You can expect a decent performance during your phone calls due to an excellent sound isolation and dual microphone setup. As a matter of fact, G700 has a VERY impression Active Noise Cancellation with a significant reduction of outside noise. But unfortunately with ANC you also get some background hissing as a result of noise canceling circuit. This is common for any pair of headphones with ANC, and Syllable is not an exception, but in comparison to some other headphones with ANC feature I tried in the past (like Beats and Bose), this hissing wasn't too distracting. But it is noticeable and will affect your overall signal-to-noise ratio when doing more critical music listening, which brings me to a sound test.
First of all let me start by mentioning about a soundstage which I found to be rather wide and deep. I totally didn't expect it from these headphones, and was pleasantly surprised. In general, sound signature of G700 is slightly v-shaped with more emphasis on bass, and a very smooth and warm sound with plenty of details. Starting with a bass, it goes deep to sub-bass level with a nice rumble, not too overpowering, and a mid-bass with a nice fast attack punch. Mids are clear and smooth with a nice full body. Treble is clear and non-fatigue, though doesn't extends too far while still capturing enough details. It is a warm bassy headphones, but they are not muddy or too veiled like you would expect from this sound signature. These are definitely not audiophile quality for analytical listening, but they have a nice fun musical signature.
Overall, I found Syllable G700 to be pretty good with a great original design, excellent build quality and functionality, and fun audio performance. The only concern I had was the comfort of fitment due to a rather strong clamping force and lack of inner headband padding. After 2-3 days of stretching I noticed a significant improvement in clamping force release. It actually speaks highly of the quality of aluminum alloy headband material that capable of holding the shape very well, but at the same time I'm afraid that those with a large head size will find these a bit uncomfortable even after stretching. Headband padding is something you can get used to. As an alternative, GearBest also sells Syllable G800 model which supposed to have exactly the same audio performance but with a more comfortable folding design, also at a premium price. Perhaps I will get a chance to review and to compare G800 in a near future. But fitment aside (affecting those with larger heads), I found these headphones to have a very impressive wireless performance and a great sound signature. Combined with a stand out design, excellent Active Noise Cancellation, 12 hour of rechargeable battery life, and an alternative wired connection - this is one very impressive pair of wireless headphones!
Here are the pictures.
Wireless headphones with a design that's going to turn heads - check! Solid lightweight metal frame headband - check! A mix of high quality aluminum and leather materials - check! Endorsement by a former NBA star - check! Are we talking about a new version of Beats headphones? Not really since this pair of headphones is priced under $100 (and with GearBest exclusive coupon code G700HL you will get an additional discount with a free shipping and a tracking code). I'm talking about a new G700 model from Syllable which I just got an opportunity to review. Here is what I found.
It's not accidental that I mentioned "Beats" in my review intro. In the past Syllable had a reputation of manufacturing headphones with a resemblance to Dr Dre cans, though they always clearly labeled it as Syllable and customized it with their own sound tuning. Moving forward I'm very happy to see they finally broke that mold and had enough confidence to come up with an original design and a decent sound. I'm just not sure if it was really necessary to get Allen Iverson involved with an endorsement of these headphones. Perhaps it was necessary for credibility, but I wasn't too crazy about his signature stamped across the left earcup. Maybe there is a way to wipe it off
Starting with a packaging, G700 arrived in a very impressive large box with a high quality artwork and a lot of info printed on the outer sleeve. The headphone comes in three different colors with Blue and Golden being other two choices beside Red I received for my review, and I assume color of the selected headphones will be reflected on the sleeve graphics. Inside of the box, after removing the sleeve, you have a form-fitted display setting for G700 with a number of accessories underneath of it. Included in there was a very nice soft storage pouch, 3.5mm male to male cable (since headphones can be used both wired and wireless), usb to micro-usb cable for charging, and a detailed manual in Chinese and English. There is no need to worry about batteries since you can just charge these up for a few hours and G700 will have enough juice to work for up to 12 hours. Or if you are in the middle of listening and drain your battery - just plug in a cable into the left earcup and continue listening without interruption.
The headphones itself have quite a unique look. The entire construction is a solid aluminum headband with a memory alloy to retain original shape. The opening at the end of the headband houses sliding earpieces interconnected by a partially hidden matching red flat cable. The headband paint looks like it was baked into the metal and feels scratch resistant. Top of the headband has a black leather wrapping with a red stitching to match the color details of the finish. My only comment, I wish there would be more inner padding where the headband touches the top of your head. The padding is rather thin and doesn't feel too comfortable but I fixed that by tilting the headband slightly forward when wearing it. Besides, the headphones itself are rather lightweight so you are not going to feel the weight of it, but you will feel the clamping force when first put these on. The metal headband has a memory effect to keep the shape, but as a result you will need to stretch them out for a few days. I have a medium size head, and it felt rather tight at first, so I put it on a soccer ball for a few day while I was burning them in, and already noticed a significant improvement.
Earpieces have an oval shape and placed inside of the headband ends where they have a little bit of room to slide up/down to alignment with your ears. They also have some room to tilt in 4 directions to allow more comfortable adjustment to the shape of your ears. These details are important because on-ear fitment in general is a bit tricky when you are trying to find a sweet spot for your listening. Earpads itself are perforated with larger holes that make them more breathable and less "sticky" to your ears. The outside of earcups is plastic but not cheap looking. Right earpiece, which also happens to have micro-usb charging port, has a round 4-way control button with volume up/down at corresponding top/bottom locations and track skip next/prev at corresponding front/back locations. Also, by long pressing track skip you can fast forward/back. Left earpiece, which also has 3.5mm headphone jack, has a multi-function Power button that turns these headphones on or puts them in a pair up mode, as well as can be pressed to Play/Pause, pick up or hang up a Call, or long press for Google search on your phone or whatever function is associated with long press of your home button.
Though these headphones can be used wired, their main functionality is wireless. Pair up with my Note 4 was very fast and easy, and G700 got connected to phone and media audio without a problem. In addition to a regular BT pair up, for more convenience you can also use NFC pairing by placing your phone next to the left earcup. In open room I was able to maintain a wireless connection at a distance of almost 45 ft until it got choppy. You can expect a decent performance during your phone calls due to an excellent sound isolation and dual microphone setup. As a matter of fact, G700 has a VERY impression Active Noise Cancellation with a significant reduction of outside noise. But unfortunately with ANC you also get some background hissing as a result of noise canceling circuit. This is common for any pair of headphones with ANC, and Syllable is not an exception, but in comparison to some other headphones with ANC feature I tried in the past (like Beats and Bose), this hissing wasn't too distracting. But it is noticeable and will affect your overall signal-to-noise ratio when doing more critical music listening, which brings me to a sound test.
First of all let me start by mentioning about a soundstage which I found to be rather wide and deep. I totally didn't expect it from these headphones, and was pleasantly surprised. In general, sound signature of G700 is slightly v-shaped with more emphasis on bass, and a very smooth and warm sound with plenty of details. Starting with a bass, it goes deep to sub-bass level with a nice rumble, not too overpowering, and a mid-bass with a nice fast attack punch. Mids are clear and smooth with a nice full body. Treble is clear and non-fatigue, though doesn't extends too far while still capturing enough details. It is a warm bassy headphones, but they are not muddy or too veiled like you would expect from this sound signature. These are definitely not audiophile quality for analytical listening, but they have a nice fun musical signature.
Overall, I found Syllable G700 to be pretty good with a great original design, excellent build quality and functionality, and fun audio performance. The only concern I had was the comfort of fitment due to a rather strong clamping force and lack of inner headband padding. After 2-3 days of stretching I noticed a significant improvement in clamping force release. It actually speaks highly of the quality of aluminum alloy headband material that capable of holding the shape very well, but at the same time I'm afraid that those with a large head size will find these a bit uncomfortable even after stretching. Headband padding is something you can get used to. As an alternative, GearBest also sells Syllable G800 model which supposed to have exactly the same audio performance but with a more comfortable folding design, also at a premium price. Perhaps I will get a chance to review and to compare G800 in a near future. But fitment aside (affecting those with larger heads), I found these headphones to have a very impressive wireless performance and a great sound signature. Combined with a stand out design, excellent Active Noise Cancellation, 12 hour of rechargeable battery life, and an alternative wired connection - this is one very impressive pair of wireless headphones!
Here are the pictures.
