If you're in the market for a new pair of headphones, the only ones you should seriously be considering are noise canceling Bluetooth ones. The combination of freedom from pesky wires and being able to block out the noises of the world around you is fantastic, but more times than not, headphones that offer this combo end up costing a pretty penny.
TaoTronics has made a pretty big name for itself on Amazon for selling a variety of audio products for not a ton of cash, and its latest gadget is an updated version of its Bluetooth noise canceling headphones.
The company's TT-BH040US headphones promise to offer long-lasting battery life, powerful audio, and a comfortable design for well under $100. That's a challenging feat, but for the most part, TaonTronics absolutely achieves it.
The Good
- Very comfortable to wear
- Good sound quality
- Noise canceling works really well
- Comes with a carrying case
The Bad
- Uses Micro-USB for charging
- Not the most portable headphones around
These things do it all
TaoTronics Noise Canceling Bluetooth Headphones What I like
Starting first with the headphones' design, TaoTronics did a great job with both the look and feel. Everything's made out of plastic, but even so, the headphones never feel cheap. Instead, they're lightweight and very comfortable to wear.
There are generous amounts of faux leather padding around the earcups and headband, creating for a soft (if a tad snug) fit. When you decide to take a break from your tunes, the earcups swivel 90-degrees toward you so you can keep wearing them while giving your ears a rest. The earcups are also spaced generously apart in this mode, and I find that they don't pinch around my neck the same way the QC35s have a tendency of doing.
The silver accents stand out nicely against the all-black paint job and the power/volume buttons are easy to press with good tactility and feedback.
In regards to sound quality, I really enjoy listening to music on these headphones. Bass is nice and punchy, the surround-sound effect works great, and you can listen at high volumes without songs sounding distorted. Add that together with active noise-canceling that does an excellent job at blocking out ambient noises, and you end up with a great pair of cans for jamming out to your favorite music.
Some other tidbits about these headphones that I really like:
- TaoTronics promotes 30 hours of battery life, and in my experience, that results in about a week's worth of moderate listening before needing to charge up.
- You get a free carrying case for safely storing the headphones while on the go
- If you don't want to use Bluetooth, you can use the included 3.5mm cable to plug the headphones into your phone/computer for a wired experience.
Corners need to be cut somewhere
TaoTronics Noise Canceling Bluetooth Headphones What I don't like
There's no such thing as a perfect pair of headphones, and this TaonTronics option is no exception to that rule.
While I'm glad you get a carrying case for safely storing the headphones in a bag/backpack, it's one of the bulkiest ones I've ever used. You can move the headphones so that one of the earcups folds up towards the headband, but for whatever reason, the case is designed to store them with both cups extended.
I'm also not a fan of Micro-USB being used to charge the headphones up once you do deplete the battery. I get that it's still the more widely-used port, but if you've got a phone that was released within the past couple years, it means you'll likely need to lug around yet another cable with you.
If you're releasing a pair of headphones (or any gadget for that matter) in mid-2018, there's no excuse to not use USB-C.
TaoTronics Noise Canceling Bluetooth Headphones
For $70, TaoTronics has an excellent product here that really is worth your time and money. I'm admittedly not much of an audiophile, but if I was looking to buy a new pair of headphones and only had around $100 to spend, I'd go for these in a heartbeat.
Not only are these good headphones for the money, they're just good headphones in general. They sound good, the noise canceling component works better than I anticipated, and they feel great to wear.
The carrying case is bulkier than I'd like and the use of Micro-USB is a pain in the butt, but aside from those two complaints, TaoTronics did an excellent job with everything else.
TaoTronics sent us this review sample and the following discount code, but in no way impacted our review content or final score.
If you decide to buy these headphones, be sure to use promo code C48VLFPG at checkout after clicking the button below to save $25 for a final price of just $44.99! (Code is valid until August 31, 2018 at 11:59 PM PDT).
