Bluedio R+ Legend
$99.99
The Good
- All-day battery life
- Decent audio quality (for bass lovers)
- Strong wireless signal
- Soft, comfortable ear pads
The Bad
- Line-in doesn't work with dead battery
- Bass does muffle treble
- Build quality is iffy
Summary
These headphones have been my daily driver for over a year now and are constantly proving themselves to be a decent set of Bluetooth headphones in their price range. For under $60 US, you absolutely can’t go wrong, especially if you love heavy bass. However, if you do purchase these headphones, treat them gently as the build quality seems a little questionable.
Author’s Note:This review applies to both the Bluedio R+ and R+ Legend editions since they are the same headset with different paint. I advise purchasing the standard R+ headset if you want to save a few dollars.
Build Quality & Appearance
On first glance these headphones are stylistically similar to Beats Audio – but it really is hard to be entirely unique with a device where the design concept has been proven many times. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the way they look, however they don’t stand out and in a line of headphones I wouldn’t put them as the sexiest. They’re big, really big, and they stick out a lot. That being said, they’re very comfortable to wear over extended periods of time.
The materials the headphones are made from are also a little bit iffy. They’re a fairly typical plastic base with metal highlights. I had some issues with quality control a few months into ownership but not anything that couldn’t be solved with a little glue. On another note, the folding function is well built and quite useful but it does cause a little bit of creak if the headphones are twisted or stretched.
The headphones won’t win any awards for appearance or materials, but suffice to say what they’re made from works and I wouldn’t expect much more for the price.
Audio Quality
This headset excels in one thing: bass. Out of the box they’re very bass heavy and it muffles treble and mids. It’s fine for Electronic and other music with heavy bass profiles, but for rock and pop and classical everything sounds muddy until you apply an equalizer. Spending five minutes with the equalization software on my phone has made the headphones more than adequate, in fact, surprisingly good in Bluetooth mode. The clarity jumps up remarkably and there no distortion whatsoever. The bass is booming. They don’t compare to a high end wired headset but we’re talking Bluetooth. Since I do most of my listening in a noisy environment (commuting) I don’t notice much difference. In fact, any loss of audio quality from Bluetooth is totally worth the convenience of not tripping over cables when running for transit.
I have used these in a phone call once or twice but I tend to avoid it. The microphone is too sensitive and picks up background noise from everywhere around. It is not possible to communicate on the train or in a vehicle with these. That being said, in a quiet room there is no problems.
Battery Life
With normal use (50% volume) I am getting approx. 16 hours of music time.
Other Notes
There’s a few more things I’d like to note about these headphones:
- Line-in is not very useful. They’re wireless headphones. Don’t buy them for line-in. And when the battery dies the line-in won’t work anyways.
- After purchase support is a little iffy.
- They advertise APT-x but do not support it out of the box.
Conclusion
If you’re in the market for a great pair of wireless headphones that don’t break the bank, the Bluedio R+ has got you covered, especially if you like bass heavy music. And even if you don’t, downloading a free equalizer app or using the EQ in your favorite media software will make these headphones a remarkably great pair. Just be gentle to them as the materials they’re made from are not exactly top tier.