This is the first product I am reviewing which is not in the audiophile / enthusiasts category, so this is a sort of a challenge for me.

Presentation

First, these headphones are not expensive at all. Actually, I’ve recently seen them at gearbest.com at only 20$.

The T1000 as you already surely noticed in the title are wireless and work through Bluetooth connection. The left-right earbuds are connected through a braided (military grade) nylon line.

I find this useful because it’s harder to loose them. On this cable you also have the microphone and controls.

The earbuds are made of plastic, however it seems well built overall, even though, the logo on the left earbud wasn’t very well glued down on the earbud and it fell.

I managed to put it back quite easily and to glue it in it’s place. Other than that problem, I have nothing to report.

Specs and Features 

 

Description

• Bluetooth 4.1
• CSR8645 chip
• Apt-X Bluetooth lossless protocol
• Liquipel waterproof anti-sweat
• 80mA battery
• The language of the voice prompts : English and Chinese (Can be switched by yourself )
• 5 hours of continuous run time
• 10 meters Bluetooth effective range
• 170 hours standby time

Proficient type, High quality sound

• Top CSR8645 Bluetooth chip, multi-chamfering optical coating technology, exclusive custom 12mm composite diaphragm
• Inspired by the track and field stadium, using multiple chamfer cutting process, the beauty of endless repetition, overlap and delicate organic

Independent acoustic system design
Customized version of the 12mm composite diaphragm dynamic unit, high resolution, triple frequency  balanced, delicate vocals, powerful bass
Indulge run, free wireless

• High sensitivity microphone noise reduction, whether you’re in the gym, drive or business negotiation, hands free, enjoy the quality of the call

Digital noise reduction more clearly

• Military grade braided nylon line, texture, flexibility, comfort and durability

US Liquipel nano waterproof technology, the effective water level up to IP4

• Note: This product is only applicable to general life waterproof, is not suitable for long time contact water environment like swimming, shower, etc.

Ergonomic, wearing more comfortable

• Professional design team and acoustic team participate in the design of cavity and tuning, more comfortable in-ear design, not falling, long wear without fatigue
• No matter from the Angle of the wear, very comfortable

With Bluetooth, can use anytime and anywhere

• Fully compatible with various types of Bluetooth devices on the market

iPhone Bluetooth dedicated power display

• Let you know headphones electric power at any time

Specification

• Brand: macaw
• Model: T1000
• Transmission distance: 10m
• Earpiece design: earbud(In-ear)
• Standby time: 7 days
• Bilateral stereo
• Bluetooth Version: 4.1
• Channel: 2

Listening Impressions & Tests

The first thing I noticed and I liked was that when I powered them on, a voice inside the headphones announced they were powered on and also stated the battery level. That was pretty cool.

I also tried to use them while running on the treadmill and they did pretty well, considering the fact that they weren’t affected by the sweat and they seemed pretty comfortable overall.

Besides this, I also used them in conference calls and the quality of the voices was quite nice. From what I’ve seen, the others also understood me well, so I would gather that the microphone did it’s job properly.

Actually, since then, I frequently used them as hands free in calls and conference calls and they’ve been quite useful in this regard.

Let’s get down to the sound quality. Well, I can’t tell you that they enter the audiophile/enthusiast class, but considering the price, I didn’t expect them to.

Summary

Bass

The bass is quite poor. It’s distorted and takes over the other frequencies on many occasions. If you get a perfect seal, this is more apparent. This is why I sometimes prefer on some songs not to go for a perfect seal, and I get a thinner, but essentially cleaner sound overall.

Mids

The mids are a little recessed, especially in the upper part of the frequency range. However, the mids are quite natural and pleasant overall, and overall I think this is the strongest part from these headphones.

Treble

The treble is  recessed and it lacks sparkle, but it is natural and pleasant to the ears.

Vocals

The vocals were surprisingly good on Macaw T1000 and impressed me through tonality and timbre. They sounded natural, smooth and overall really pleasant to the ears, even though there were occasions when they were pushed back into the scene.

Soundstage

The soundstage, as you would expect is not very spacious, but when the bass doesn’t go into the other frequencies, it can have an intimate but rather natural scene presentation.

Tonality

Well, these headphones sound very warm due to the very present bass section, but there are some occasions where they can sound smooth, intimate and natural. These occasions occur, usually on songs without prominent bass.

Summary Conclusions

There were some songs where these headphones took me by surprise, and I am referring to songs where the bass wasn’t very present in the scene, and let the other frequencies from T1000 to be properly heard.

I was quite surprised with their presentation on classical music where they sounded quite nice to my ears. Now don’t expect super details, textures, cathedral soundstage and so on, but rather a natural sound which presented the timbre of the instruments quite nicely.

I also liked them in choral songs and with voices in general, which were very smooth, intimate and natural.

General Conclusions

Considering the price of these earbuds, and the fact that lots of handsfree’s cost even more, I would say that the Macaw T1000 do a pretty good job overall in it’s price range.

If you want portability, earbuds for listening to music while doing sports or just a handsfree for conferences and phone calls, the Macaw T1000 might just be what you are looking for.

However, if you are looking for audiophile grade sound, you must be prepared to look elsewhere and to pay more.

If you want a good price for it, you can find it on gearbest.com .

Pros

• Good portability
• Easy to connect
• Good battery life considering the size
• Splash / Sweat resistant
• Good microphone and voice quality in calls/conferences
• Nice voices
• Smooth and sometimes natural sound
• Good price

Cons

• Too much bass that bleeds into the other frequencies. Also the bass is distorted on many occasions
• Recessed upper midrange and treble