The war for "real" wireless headphones has only just begun, and there is one challenger who has been on the battlefield for quite some time, but is now getting a lot more attention for Apple's decision to do without the Jack of headphones and the launch of the AirPods. The Dash are true wireless headphones, like the AirPods, without any type of cable that connects them, but Unlike the AirPods they go beyond the simple task of listening to music, since they are a physical activity monitor that allows you to control your heart rate and distance traveled without having to wear a quantifying bracelet or anything like that. These are the most advanced headphones of the moment, and we have been able to test them to see if they deliver on what they promise.
Design and ergonomics
Unlike the AirPods, The Dash has a fairly discreet design and the earbuds are placed in each ear with hardly any prominence. When you go down the street with them on, most will not perceive that you are wearing anything in your ears, which for many is important. Although their size may seem large, they barely protrude from the ears, and you should not have the slightest fear that they may fall to the ground., because they are perfectly fixed and even if you practice exercise they do not move at all. I have been able to check it by running, and even forcing some gestures to see if they ended up on the ground, but not a millimeter was dislodged. Of course, it is very important to use the right pad for you, and for that it includes four sizes that will adapt to any ear.
They are very easy to put on, in just two movements they are perfectly embedded in your ear, and they are really comfortable, without ending up causing you discomfort even if you wear them for several hours. At no time is there a feeling that they are heavy or uncomfortable. The headphones are completed with a carrying case that also acts as a charging base and an external battery to recharge them while you are not using them.. The size of the transport box is slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes, and it can be carried in any pocket without fear of damaging them because the cover is metallic, giving solidity to the set and protecting it from possible blows.
Autonomy of up to 3 hours
In this type of accessories, autonomy is its main handicap, and if we add to this that we are talking about a device with motion and heart rate sensors, the result could have been disastrous. The Dash lasts about three hours with a full charge, which may seem very scarce, but if we consider that its case allows up to 5 full charges, this problem is minimized unless you are a very intensive user who uses headphones of this type for more than 3 hours straight. I have not been able to personally verify if the figures that The Dash promises are exactly fulfilled, but Yes, I can confirm that the headphones last for more than two hours in a row, and that I have been able to not worry about recharging the charger-case for a week.
The headphones do not show their battery in the top bar of your iPhone screen, something that other bluetooth headphones do, but it is not a serious problem either because you can see the remaining battery making use of the LEDs that they incorporate. When you shake the headphones, it turns on, and its color depends on the charge level:
- Blue: full charge
- Green: charge above 50%
- Orange: medium load
- Red: charge about to run out
The charger case also has an LED that also lights up just when you place the headphones inside, indicating the charge you have. When the LED is green, do not worry that it still has enough recharges, but if the LED starts to appear red, connect it to the USB of your computer with the cable that it incorporates to recharge it again and thus be able to continue enjoying your The Dash without fear of draining your battery. It is really comfortable to take the headphones out of their box knowing that they are full of charge and that we can use them without problems, and it is said by someone who has been using bluetooth headphones for years and has been on many occasions without being able to listen to music because they have been downloaded.
Placing the headphones on the charger is simple, and there is no fear that due to movement while we walk they will move and stop charging properly, since they are perfectly fitted thanks to a magnet that fixes them in the correct position. To put a catch, say that the connector used in a microUSB, so we will have to take a specific cable to our trips in addition to the Lightning for the iPhone.
Configuration and operation
The headphones connect like any wireless headset, linking them from the Settings menu of your iPhone. Place the right earbud on your ear, touch the touch surface for a few seconds and when your iPhone shows it in the bluetooth settings menu choose it to pair. You can now use them as conventional headphones. Nevertheless to use them as a physical activity quantifier, another link will have to be made, this time using the left earphone and the specific Bragi application. By the way, the vocal instructions that the headphones give you can be configured with the application for Mac and Windows into Spanish, something very welcome.
This is what summarizes all the operation and management of the Dash: the right earphone is the one in charge of the music, the left one of the physical activity. Knowing these two premises the rest is more than "sucked" although it may seem complicated at first:
- Right earphone:
- One touch to start / pause playback
- Two touches to advance the song,
- Three to go back.
- Hold for a few seconds to pair the headset to your device.
- Swipe forward or backward to increase or decrease the volume
- Left earphone:
- Touch and hold to link to the app and track physical activity
- Tap to start a physical activity
- Swipe forward to start the «Transparency» function (I'll explain later)
- Swipe forward to start Windshield function (later)
In addition to these gestures, we can use the movements of the head to be able to accept calls, affirm with the head, or reject them, without shaking the head. If we use the internal player (The Dash allows us to store up to 4GB of music) with these same gestures we can reject the song that is starting to play and move on to the next one. After the last update we can also make another gesture to invoke Siri: hit your right cheek, near the ear, and you can speak directly with Siri to play your favorite music list.
Sound quality and range
If you want to get the best sound quality headphones for € 300, The Dash is certainly not your choice. But this does not mean that the audio quality is bad, far from it. I have compared them directly with the Lightning EarPods and my iPhone 7 Plus, and the truth is that I do not perceive any notable differences in terms of quality. The sound is good, and also with enough power. The first users complained that the volume was too low, but with the updates this has been fixed and now you can exceed the security limit that The Dash establishes, although it warns you. Regarding its use as a hands-free, if you do it in quiet environments, you will not have problems for the other interlocutor to hear you well, but in noisy environments, conversations sometimes become difficult to maintain.
Another problem with these headphones that caused them to have negative ratings at their launch was the instability of the bluetooth connection. This has also improved with updates, and the connection is stable, although the range is quite limited, less than other bluetooth headsets I've used. As long as your iPhone goes with you, in the back pocket of the pants, in the backpack or in the purse, you will not have problems, but do not use it to move around the house without carrying the iPhone because you will not get it. Of course, in places where many people accumulate with many electronic devices, the connection becomes more unstable.
Before I was talking about two functions and now is the time to explain them. The Dash isolates quite well from the outside, thanks to the fact that the pads adapt perfectly to the ear canal, but this can be a problem when you are doing sports on the street, for example. To avoid this being a problem, you can activate the Transparency option, sliding the left earphone from back to front, and the microphone of the headphones will be responsible for transmitting the sound through the earphone to your ear so that you are not isolated from the outside. This function is currently half-way, and although it improves the reception of sound from outside, it gives the feeling that it still needs to be improved. The Windshield option that is activated by repeating the previous gesture prevents the wind from making noise and transmitting with the Transparency function activated.
Physical activity monitoring
The Dash has an accelerometer, gyroscope and heart rate sensor, sensors that through the Bragi application allow you to monitor your physical activity, and As it is also compatible with the iOS Health application, the data will be transferred to your iPhone. The Dash has three monitoring programs:
- Running: distance, calories, heart rate, steps, duration.
- Bicycle: heart rate, duration and cadence
- Swimming: heart rate, breaths, duration and distance
The heart rate sensor is quite tight, and the data does not differ too much from that obtained with the Apple Watch, as does the distance traveled. The data obtained may be insufficient for those who want to have an exhaustive control of their physical activity, but for the amateur, it is more than enough and you won't need to carry a quantizer pulse or the Apple Watch.
Conclusion
I reaffirm what I already indicated before: they are not the headphones with the best sound quality that they can offer you for that price, but after explaining everything they offer, I think I am not wrong if I say that They are the most advanced headphones that you can buy right now, at least in that price range. Being fully aware that the audio quality is good but not excellent, and that they have their limitations in terms of the range of their Bluetooth connection, the rest of the features differentiate them from any other headset on the market, even the expected AirPods.
Its autonomy of 3 hours, together with the cover-charger that incorporates, the control by means of touch gestures and movements of the head, the ease with which they connect and disconnect from your iPhone just by placing and removing them from your ear, and the physical activity monitoring optionsThese are characteristics that make them unique and worthy of that "premium" price that you must pay to already have what almost everyone will offer in a while. You can buy them at Amazon por 299 €.
Editor's opinion
- Editor's rating
- 4.5 star rating
- Exceptional
- The Dash by Bragi
- Review of: Luis Padilla
- Posted on:
- Last modification:
- Integrated
- Benefits
- Sound quality
- Price quality
Pros and cons
Pros
- Comfortable and light
- Good finishes and materials
- They do not fall with physical activity
- Water and sweat resistance
- control of heart rate, distance, duration of activity, etc.
- Control by touch gestures and movements
- Charger case that gives them great autonomy
- Discreet and comfortable to transport
- 4GB internal storage to listen to music offline
Cons
- High price
- Limited connection range
- Microphone for short-range hands-free
These headphones seemed very interesting to me during their presale given their characteristics (even more than Apple's), unfortunately they are not shipped to my country ...
Excellent review, just one question when you write what: "As long as your iPhone goes with you, in your back pocket, backpack or purse, you will have no problems." Really there will be no problem? Since that is the only point why he did not buy those headphones since many complain about their connectivity, personally I would not mind having my iPhone and headphones with me all the time, thanks and greetings from Tampa bay Florida 🙂
It was something they complained about at launch, but with version 2.2 they largely fixed that problem. I have not had problems if my iPhone was with me, except in places with a lot of people and a lot of device interference, where there were small cuts.
Hey.
You can tell me how I do to load music to the headphones and not use bluetooth.
Thank you.
Through the iOS app