Great sound, confusing controls
I love music. The problem that I have these days is that I have pretty profound hearing loss. This makes finding a set of headphones a difficult task most of the time. I want something comfortable and something that will allow me to hear music normally. Even though I experienced a little bit of control confusion, the Cleer Flow Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones ended up being a great fit for me.
DETAILS
The Cleer Flow headphones employ hybrid noise canceling technology for noise-free listening. The headphones are available in two colors – silver and black – and feature Bluetooth 4.2 with NFC for connectivity. The headphones have a built-in microphone for hands-free calling and touch controls for accessing the headphones playback functions. The battery boasts a 20-hour playback time and recharges via Micro-USB (cable included). Hi-res sound is provided by the 40mm ironless drivers and the headphones have a swivel, folding design for flexible storage.
USER EXPERIENCE
Unboxing the headphones was a nice experience as when I opened the heavy package I was greeted with a hard-shell carrying case that the headphones were laying inside. You will find a pamphlet and a black paper folder with two deco rings inside. You get two pairs of these rings — one on the headphones and the second pair with a slightly different color packaged separately. Inside the hard-shell case are the AUX cable, Micro USB cable, and in-flight adapter.
I like to try a product for the first time without reading instructions. I do this because besides being impatient, I want to be able to tell people if a product is user-friendly right out of the box or if it’s something that they will need to read the instructions thoroughly before understanding it. The pairing process was super simple so anyone should be able to do this without thinking twice but the controls on the left ear were a bit tricky to get the hang of at first. With no writing or arrows on the ear cup, I wasn’t sure where to find the touch controls. I did find that if you take the headphones off of your head, they will pause the track you are listening to. After a few more attempts, I found that a double tap in the center also paused the tracks. A swipe forward changes the track to the next track and a swipe back will take a track back to the start or the song before the one currently playing.
Once I read the instructions pamphlet, I found that the double tap also answers calls. There are no other features with the touch controls. You do have an ambient aware control on the left ear cup that with one press you will go from ambient normal to ambient voice. I was unable to find an explanation for this feature on the pamphlet or website.
I’ve been very happy with the sound quality of these headphones. Since I suffer from moderate hearing loss, it can be hard for me to enjoy headphones unless the sound quality is perfectly crisp. I would rate the sound quality of these headphones above average since I have not had any trouble hearing my music through them. The noise cancelling is amazing and I haven’t noticed any sound bleed. They are comfortable, but a little heavier than some other over-ear headphones I’ve used.
CONCLUSION
As someone who has to wear hearing aids for high range hearing loss I am always looking for headphones I can use without my hearing aids. I want headphones that put off a wonderfully rich sound while looking classy and not taking up lots of space and weight in my bag. Where the Cleer Flow headphones shine is the sound quality and the noise canceling. The size is standard but they fail when it comes into weight as these to feel a bit hefty. I think some of the weight could have been eliminated if the decorative circles were removed but I understand these are there to give the owner an option to express themselves but the color options in the rings are so close that it seems like a missed opportunity to make the headphones a bit lighter.
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