Syllable D900 mini wireless earbuds review
Apple's AirPods have started a conversation around wireless earbuds. Are they worth the premium over a wired pair? Is the sound quality any good? How long do they last without charging? These are the most common questions that consumers have, and it's only natural to be wondering how wireless earbuds perform and whether they are a legitimate alternative to the established wired options.
As someone who has used two excellent pairs of wireless headphones (the Noontech ZORO II and Hammo TV), I find that it's hard to go back to wired pairs. The Syllable D900 mini earbuds are no different, being a good example of a quality wireless pair that won't actually break the bank.
With the D900 mini, Syllable gives you a wireless set of earbuds that will work fine in a wide range of conditions, have decent battery life, sound nice, and are priced shy of $50. The cost is probably the main reason why you'll be looking at the D900 mini, seeing as the AirPods, for instance, are sold for more than three times as much -- and whether they're worth it is still up for debate as my colleague Brian Fagioli explains in his review.
The D900 mini are meant to be used with a smartphone but, really, they work with any device that can play music via Bluetooth. I've been using the wireless earbuds with my Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and Apple MacBook Air with zero issues. They connect quickly, once paired, and work without disconnecting up until the battery dies.
That's probably the only downside to the D900 mini: the battery. Syllable quotes up to two hours of battery life in one go, which is on par with my experience. But it's not really long enough to impress. So, what you get is a charging case, which lets you top the battery and carry the earbuds too.
It is said to let you charge the D900 mini up to six times, and when it comes time to charge it you will be able to use a smartphone charger for that. There's a USB cable provided in the box, but you don't get an adaptor too. When the case charges the earbuds, you can see how much battery it has left based on how many of the four blue LEDs light up.
To aid with comfort, Syllable provides a couple of different-sized tips so that you can get a good fit. The tips are also designed to keep the D900 mini in your ears while moving. How effective they are when you workout is hard to evaluate, as we all have different ear shapes, but I believe they won't fall out if they fit well -- which, in my case, they do.
Now, what about sound quality? This is subjective, but personally I find that the D900 mini sound quite good. Considering how much they cost, how small they are, and the fact that they connect via Bluetooth, it's hard to fault them. The lows are the best I've heard in a pair of earbuds -- but, admittedly, I haven't used anything other than what was in the box with my smartphone. They also get loud -- really loud -- if you want.
The only problem that I see with the D900 mini, other than what's already been mentioned, is that you can lose one earbud. That's a problem that's been mentioned with other similar pairs, like the AirBuds, and it's of concern here too. There's nothing to hold the earbuds together, so if you lose one it's game over. There are no replacements available, so you'll have to buy a new pair.
At $49.99, it's hard to argue against the D900 mini though. It's a quality pair of wireless earbuds that gets plenty of things right and is actually very good value for money. What's not to like?