Philips SHQ1200/10 ActionFit Sweatproof Ultra Light Sports Headphones - In-Ear (New for 2013)

I love these headphones, they were such a great buy! I was a little sceptical buying a pair of sports headphones, having read reviews on how they generally have poor sound quality. However after taking my "good" (they were still cheapish) pair of in ear headphones up onto Dartmoor for a Ten Tors training weekend where they were subjected to dense fog and driving rain. Then coming back and finding out I now have to turn them up crazy high just to get them to a volume level which they easily achieved before, I decided I needed to get something more suited to purpose. Especially as besides the wrecking them I also had to push them back into my ears literally every 2 minutes, made worse by the fact I hadn't brought decent gloves either!I decided to buy these ones, after reading mostly positive reviews about the old model. The headphones themselves are really nice in design, I really like the orange and grey colour scheme, I think it fits their active purpose well, but I guess it's a personal preference. All the connections are well designed, the jack itself fits securely into the socket and the right angled connector is such a great feature, it means the headphone add very little overall length to a mp3 player or phone, also I think it'll mean the cable is less likely to get worn away at this point. The left/right split is reinforced by sturdier grey plastic, I'm sure it would survive you literally pulling the cables apart, but it should avoid you ripping your headphones apart while pulling them out of a pocket. The little reflective patch is to be honest not very reflective, definitely not enough to supplant the use of reflective clothing, but it adds a look of slickness to the headphones. I think the colour of the headphone cables themselves is bright enough to make them very conspicuous and easy to find if you drop them in the dark. The cable is very light, so you don't notice the weight of it pulling down on your ears, so the clip at first assessment appears to be superfluous, however I came to find that the clip is in fact very useful, so don't rush to throw it away! It's primary purpose I found is not so much to stop the headphones being pulled down but to keep them from riding up. I found that without it every time I moved my head my hood pushed the earbuds up out of my ear, the clip stopped this happening, and meant I barely ever had to adjust the earbuds to keep them in my ears. The earbuds have an extra plastic sheath around the cable where they connect, this makes them very comfortable to wear and easy to handle when your hands are cold. The headphones come with three different sized silicone covers, I found that they really do help keep the headphones in the ear even when jogging and are very comfortable. You can actually even wear the earphones without the silicone covers if desired. Don't be fooled though they have virtually no sound isolating ability, however the design does stop extra noise being generated due to air movement from the wind. I think in some ways the lack of isolation is actually better, as it feels odd (and dangerous) to be completely disconnected when listening to music outside.I really wasn't expecting much from the sound quality of waterproof headphones, and of course it has flaws but so do any portable headphones. My basic ipod style headphones have poor bass, are impossible to listen to on public transport, but are good in the vocal range, have adequate depth and they're cheap! My in ear headphones produce a slightly reverberating muffled sound, which can muddy lyrics, and they never last for than more than 6 months before their sound quality turns bad, but they're great for blocking out sound on public transport so you can actually listen to music. My overear headphones are cumbersome, take up a lot of space, but have hands down the best sound quality. So I think it's only fair to compare these headphones knowing all have strengths and weaknesses. The sound wasn't quite what I was expecting, I thought it might be tinny and headache inducing, however it's actually something quite different. It was odd, when I first got them the closest thing I can compare it to was kind of like listening to sound underwater. I guess that's just a consequence of the waterproof membrane. It could be just my imagination but I think they have 'burnt in' over time, comparing them to my other headphones now, that watery quality isn't nearly as distinctive as I remember it being when they were new. The sound quality now actually has quite a lot of depth and vocals are always clear, I'm hearing lyrics in songs I could never decipher before. The bass is obviously a bit lacking, but it's as least as good if not better than almost all headphones I've owned so far. Actually as a testament to the adequacy of the sound quality, they've become my first choice headphones for listening to music at home. The headphones have a good level of sensitivity, they can be turned up really loud on a phone or iPod, which is really useful for blocking out environmental noise when outside. Due to their design they do leak a lot of sound though, they're approx. 50% as loud projecting sound the "wrong way", which means they're probably really not the best headphones for use on the bus. Not that that's the situation they were designed to be used in though.In terms of durability, I have been impressed. They easily coped with driving rain and wind with no loss in sound quality, unlike the disastrous experience with my in ear headphones! I haven't actually attempted to test their waterproof claim though immersion, however from the plasticy look of all the membranes I think they would survive. They've certainly survived high humidity and condensation. I can't quite remember where I left the headphones in my tent when on Dartmoor, but I think it's quite possible they have also survived freezing temperatures, however they would have been inside a sealed plastic bag.The only real disadvantage to the headphones is their lack of an inline control, something which I have become very accustomed to. It is a of a pain to have to get your ipod/phone out of an pocket each time you want to change a song, or even adjust the volume. I think it was probably an intentional practical omission. I guess an inline control with buttons would provide many more potential routes for water ingress, would add weight and would compromise the integrity of the cable under strain, so I can understand why it was left out. The problem can be solved by planning ahead and creating playlists before setting off.Overall I would really recommend these headphones to anyone wanting to use headphones for exercise or outdoor pursuits. They are just far superior to standard headphones under the conditions. Don't expect to be blown away by the sound quality, but it is at the high end of lowish cost headphones, and be prepared to wait a few hours for them to reach their full potential. I was so impressed with them I bought another set for my brother, he's been really impressed with them too.

I hate it when a favourite pair of headphones suddenly dies on me, as then the dreaded search for a suitable replacement begins in earnest. I've tried a few pairs in the last couple of years and never been satisfied till now. I only listen to music in a sedentary position or while walking, so the question of durability rarely becomes an issue for me (I've used them around 3 hours every day for the last 6 months & they're still as good as new). For the price range (I paid £11) I would say that soundwise these phones certainly punch above their weight & actually outperform more expensive pairs I've owned. Some may prefer a more thicker bass response but I reckon the sound is pretty natural, which in turn allows the mid/high frequencies to shine through in impressive detail.I listen to a fairly wide cross-section of music which includes the likes of heavy/hard rock, jazz-tinged rock, country, folk, country/folk rock, etc, and all have sounded equally impressive. Of course the phones are only ever going to be as good as the device you plug them into, and so far I've tried them on three MP3's - a Sony (good) a Samsung (even better) and I'm currently listening to a Cowon X9 which raises the bar to another level.Comfort wise I find these very good - I can hardly feel them. The in-ear earpieces are flexible and the fluted soft rubber earpiece covers are easy to remove, clean & replace. I was so pleased with them I quickly ordered a standby pair just in case the line was discontinued, so you can take that as a recommendation!

Having tried a pair of Bluetooth sport earphones, and finding that the fitting for my ear was very complex, and that the weight of them made them fall out frequently, I went looking for a pair of wired sport earphones. Most had a similar fitting system to the old pair I had, which involved a normal rubber cap and a cam-shaped piece to hold it in, so when I found these I was interested to see how well they worked...Fit: These earphones fit perfectly. I use the smallest of the 3 size of cap included, although I also use the smallest standard cap, so these should fit everyone. They stay in incredibly well, and I have tried them with a static bike, running, elliptical, and even during a 5K ergo test, where they stayed in the whole time, no problems. The clip on the cord also helps, as it removes tension, and can stop a slight catch on a piece of clothing from yanking the earphones out from your ears.Sound Quality: At £10 these were never going to rival an expensive pair of JBL or Sennheiser earphones, but they weren't meant to either. They were, however, very surprising with their sound reproduction, so much so that in a blind test with some friends, they rated these higher than a pair of Skullcandy earphones, and the proprietary Apple ear pods. In particular the bass reproduction is good, meaning the heavy beat of those workout tracks will not be lost.