Optoma NuForce BE6i wireless Bluetooth earphones review
I was recently lucky to win a competition and won some Optoma wireless earphones! The competition was on the T3 web site – the website/magazine all about gadgets. It was a really nice surprise when I received a pretty big parcel from UPS. It was a bit odd no note or anything in the box but worked out it was from T3 (they confirmed on Twitter later on).
These earphones will be perfect for the gym. They are of course wireless as I mentioned (Bluetooth) but also water resistant – so not worry about any sweat! The BE6i are actually an minor update to the original model – with better battery life (up from 6 hours to 8 hours) and the water resistant feature. More specifically its got an IPX5 certification which means its better dealing with dust, sweat and rain.
I currently have some sport style headphones I use in the gym – with band going behind head – but they are showing signs of wear and tear. The Optoma earphones are packaged nicely and come with a little carry case. As well as the wire to charge the earphones, you get several different silicone ear tips – different types and different sizes. There are the proprietary NuForce silicone ear tips. You can 6 sets of these. 3 are slighter shorter than average ear tips which apparently are more comfortable with long use (the medium sized one of these is already on the earphones). Then there are 3 other sets which are longer – designed for improved noise isolation and a more secure fit (e.g. for when running).
Then there are the “Comply” soft foam ear tips which are made out of a memory-foam material which, because it blocks out more external noise, means you get better audio performance. They are heat activated. They expand to fit the ear canal for a secure fit and improved noise isolation.
I have tested the earphones with just the ear tips which were already on it. I think I may need to try another to give a better fit. It fits ok in right ear but feels bit loose in left ear. Everyones ears are different so hopefully one of the ear tips will provide a good fit – but I know with some earphones e.g. Apple earphones, they don’t fit my ears too well and tend to fall out. Especially if moving about which likely to be with these earphones.
You also get some ear wings. Never seen these things before but they attach between the actual ear piece and the ear tips. Apparently the wings will naturally wedge within the crease of your inner ear. Keep the earphones in position. To be honest, not tried the wings out myself.
I tested the sound quality with a variety of different songs and songs really good.
Also tested the earphones while exercising – since that will be when I plan to use them. With some earphones e.g. standard Apple earphones, they tend to fall out when I exercise – thats just my ears. I know for must people its fine. I fit the memory foam type ear tips to the Optoma earphones which have a more snug fit (as mentioned above). The earphones felt a little bit like they may thought out and a couple times I re-adjusted them. However, they never actually fell out while I ran on treadmill, was on indoor exercise bike, weights, ab exercises even though couple times they felt like they did.
I thought they would do on the treadmill or maybe even doing crunches and moving head up and down etc. I think one thing which helps them not fall out is less weight and no wire to get caught in something and pulled out. There is more weight on the earphones compared to e.g. Apple Airpods but less weight and also since its around the neck, nothing is really pulling down on it and it getting caught on e.g. t-shirt.
Back to the actual earphones, more specifically the in-line remote, and probably the only negative. The microUSB port, to connect headphones to USB to charge, is a bit fiddly. Its a small plastic thing on the in-line remote which is difficult to open. Maybe easier if you had longer nails.
Looking online, the price of these earphones are about £80. Looking online at reviews for it, and it generally gets very strong reviews.