Boat Bassheads 950 Review

Name: Boat Bassheads 950 Review
Item: boAt BassHeads 950 Wired Headphones

The Boat Bassheads 950 costs Rs. 1,299 in India

By Aditya Shenoy | Updated: 3 January 2020 18:20 IST

The Boat Bassheads emphasise the low frequency range, as the name suggests

Highlights

The Boat Bassheads 950 is a budget wired headset
The cable can be detached from both earcups
The audio quality isn't the best for the price

Accessory maker Boat has been launching products at a steady pace, addressing the market at multiple price points. We have tested the Boat Bassheads 225 budget earphones in the past, as well as the Boat Rockerz 400 which was a wireless headset. The company has now launched the Boat Bassheads 950, a pair of wired over-the-ear headphones which is priced at Rs. 1,299. Is it worth the price it commands, or should you pick an alternative? We review it to find out.

Boat Bassheads 950 design and specifications

When you unbox the Boat Bassheads 950 you might mistake it for a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones, because the main body does not have any wires attached to it. The headphones are made out of plastic but the metallic finish gives this device a premium look. The earcups on these headphones swivel inwards which makes it easy to fold and store the Bassheads 950.

We found the headset to be light, and the cushioned headband makes it comfortable to wear. You can adjust the headband for length. We found the clamping force to be average. Both the earcups have 2.5mm sockets for the audio cable that is bundled in the box. The audio cable has a Y-splitter with a microphone and multi-function button on the left side. This opens up the option for users to swap the cable for a new one in the event it gets damaged. Boat provides rexine ear cushions which are comfortable when worn, but these will cause your ears to feel warm after using the headset for long durations

The Boat Bassheads 950 has a plastic body

The Boat Bassheads 950 sports 40mm drivers in each earcup, but the company has not disclosed its frequency range and impedance. The company also could have included a pouch to store these headphones in.

Boat Bassheads 950 performance

We tested the Boat Bassheads 950 using a MacBook Air and a Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus, which still retains a 3.5mm headphones socket. We used JioSaavn and YouTube for streaming music and played a few high-resolution FLAC files of our own.

The Boat Bassheads 950 has a bass-heavy sonic signature with only a slight spike in the highs. We aren't surprised since the company advertises this proudly in the product's name. At lower volumes, we noticed that the low-end tends to overpower the other frequencies. However, at higher volumes, the mids were slightly better. If you prefer boomy bass, the Bassheads 950 delivers on that front, but we found the overall audio quality to be muddy. In a few tracks that are bass-heavy we could feel our ears tingling.

The audio cable is detachable which makes it easy to store these headphones

The sound produced by these headphones did not distort at higher volumes when playing from the laptop or the smartphone. Cable noise is low, and we found stereo separation to be good for the price. Sound imaging could have been better, as it isn't easy to focus on a single instrument in a song. Listening to high-resolution audio does make these headphones sound slightly better.

We did take a few calls using the Boat Bassheads 950, and our callers had no issues hearing us, but the audio quality was strictly average. While watching videos, we wished the mids had been a tad more dominant since sometimes struggled to hear dialogue. We also played PUBG Mobile wearing these headphones and didn't have any issues.

We found that the Bassheads 950 can get quite loud, and the on-ear design does result in some leakage at higher volumes, but not to the extent that someone sitting nearby would recognise what you are listening to.

Verdict

In a fiercely competitive market, the Boat Bassheads 950 does feel overpriced for what it offers. It faces serious competition from products such as the Boat Rockerz 400, which offers Bluetooth functionality for a slight premium. If you fancy in-ear earphones, the Boat Rockerz 225 and the Boult Audio ProBass Curve are strong alternatives.

Pros

Light and comfortable
Detachable cable

Cons

Repressed mids
Muddy audio output
Strictly average build quality

Ratings (out of 5)

Design: 2
Audio Quality: 2
VFM: 2
Overall: 2.5

boAt BassHeads 950 Wired Headphones

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Headphone Type On-Ear

Microphone Yes

Connectivity Wired

Type Headphones

Colour Silver

More boAt Headphones & Headset

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