To set the framework here, I’m currently about a 20-mile per week runner, both indoor and outdoor with a blend of both running and aerobic machines. I rotate between two different iPods as well as my smart phone occasionally, and music can make or break my workout….so headphones mean everything to me when I’m working out.
Today we’re highlighting the Padmate PAMU X13 Wireless Earbuds and you can check them out here. I tested these earbuds over the course of a few days with mostly indoor running on a track, running on a cushioned treadmill and some cross training on an elliptical trainer, and here is my experience.
First off these earbuds are wireless and Bluetooth compatible. If you’ve every struggled with wired headphones on a long run, you’ll agree with me that wireless is a must. The PAMU headphones paired easily with my phone and iPods and they are really simple to use. Just pulling them out of there charger case powers them on. No buttons to mess with and no switches to struggle with. Once they were connected the first time, they easily connected when I powered the iPod on and removed them from their charging case. No one wants to fuss on the track trying to get their earbuds to work…so this simple power-on was a really nice feature.
The next most important thing to me is size, weight and form-factor. My previous set of Bluetooth earbuds had a cord with a volume and power switch attached. With each running stride, the weight of the switch tugged at the earbuds and every few strides the earbud would pop out of my ear. The PAMU earbuds are lightweight and through several days of working out, they never popped out of either ear. They have a nice angle into your ears with a rubber gripper (they call it a “wing-tip”) that helps them stay put, even if you’re a heavier stride runner (like me). The PAMU earbuds also come with adjustable ear cones to tailor them to the size of your ear opening. The default size worked perfectly for me.
Up next we checked out the sound quality and I was really pleased with the true stereo quality sound and how good both more modern digital music and older music sounded in my ears (playing through my iPod nano). Padmate tells me the earbuds have a 10mm dynamic audio driver Biodiaphram cell to improve balance of the lows, mid and highs. They do sound good and I can tell you that the sound remained true as the earbuds bounced around with my running as well. The earbuds also talk you through the left and right side earbuds connecting to your Bluetooth so no need to fumble with your iPod or earbuds to confirm they have connected.
Charging was quick and easy with the charging pod. Each earbud locks in magnetically to make perfect contact with the charging points, and the charging pod can connect to power via USB (cable included). You can also add an adapter to plug them into the wall for charging on the same USB cable. The charging pod has a visible row of blue lights to indicate charging level (each light is a 25% increment) and the earbuds themselves have lights to indicate when they are connected or searching. The charging pod also has a cool rotating and latching lid to protect your earbuds when not in use. I thought it was also cool that you can charge the pod itself, disconnect it from the charging cable, and continue to use it to charge the earbuds themselves when you’re away from power.
I tested battery life and I will update this post, but so far I’ve had them on for about 2-hours of use (listening to music) with no need to charge them. I will track how long they last and update, but I’d say so far their battery life is as good or better than competing products. I’m also storing them in the charging pod so we’ll get to see how long both last before I have to charge the pod and earbuds again.
My PAMU headphones have only seen sweat so far, (no rain) but Padmate tells me they are IPX5 “splash and moisture resistant” and they even show someone kite surfing with the PAMU earbuds. I will not likely get them very wet, so beyond them being fine with sweat, I probably won’t have much experience to update in the future.
The PAMU earbuds are compatible with Android devices (like my smart phone) and iOS devices (like my iPods). They are also compatible with Windows computers, macOS computers, VR headsets and Bluetooth car audio, however I did not test these platforms.
As far as tech specs (above), the PAMU earbuds are Bluetooth V4.2, they weigh 6-grams, they have a minimalist button design (for redial and answering calls on your smart phone), up to 3.5-hours of play time & 4.5-hours of talk time, 10M transmission range, 20Hz-20KHz frequency response range, and up to 80 hours of standby time.
In the end I found these to be very good wireless earbuds. The sound is very good, the battery play time is very good and most importantly, they stay in your ears when you are working out. Overall I’d have to say these are the best Bluetooth earbuds I’ve used to date, so be sure to check them out on Facebook, their website or on Twitter to see how you can get these earbuds for yourself.
You can also subscribe to their newsletter to see when these earbuds hit INDOEGOGO.
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