Microlab T1 Bluetooth Headset Review

Microlab T1 Bluetooth Headset

Conclusion

With any headset there are a few elements that are important. Sound quality, comfort and then price. With a wireless one there is also the wireless signal quality and ease of use.

The Microlab T1 has nearly everything perfected. We, as we always do, used a broad spectrum of media to test on. A few days with iTunes on shuffle cover the majority of punishments we can throw at our audio devices, thanks to a comprehensive range of eclectic music from the most popular artists and genres all the way through to white label tracks. As well as those we run the gamut of movie and gaming offerings to discover any weak spots that might exist. 

Sound quality is the most important. We can tolerate a strangely designed one if the audio is great, and the T1 has very good audio. It’s by no means the greatest we’ve ever heard, but at the £50 price point it’s up amongst the highest. The sound in general is aimed slightly more at the mids and bass end of the spectrum. As a closed back design with deep padding the bass is very tight and pounding. The midrange is the one with the biggest focus and, in a similar manner to the bass, everything is kept compact. If we were being really nit-picky we’d like a few more highs. It’s not lacking, but it’s hardly Motown either. Although some gentle tweaking of your equaliser can bring them in.

Comfort is impeccable. The T1 is extremely light and covers your ears well without pressing into your head. This lightness isn’t a product of using poor quality components though. The build quality is very good. It doesn’t creak or squeak, the buttons have a nice feel to them, the pleather ear coverings are soft and the decision to have mental hinges speaks of the attention to detail you’d expect to find from a company more used to high-fidelity speakers. This attention to detail is also manifested in the ability to use a 3.5mm jack in lieu of Bluetooth, and the speed with which the T1 can be paired with whatever Bluetooth device you care to use.

We like the included battery, which aids in creating a sleek design as the need for batteries is removed. Also the 2 hour charging time from flat to full allows you to be up and running quickly. If you were at a gaming convention you could charge the T1 between the afternoon and evening sessions. Microlab claim 10 hours of battery life, but we found in our testing that it was easily capable of going 14 hours or more. Finally the use of a microphone similar to those in smartphones allow the T1 to be fully usable as a hands free device, without compromising the all important style factor.

In fact the only thing we don’t like are the amount of beeps the T1 produces. It beeps three or four when you turn it on or off, it beeps when you adjust the volume. In short, it beeps too damn much, especially when the beeps are both loud and harsh and the LED surrounding the play button gives you all the “I’m on”; “I’m off” information you need.

Available in blue, yellow, pink, black and white, the T1 come in a colour to suit nearly everyone. At £50 they’re extremely good value with good build quality, good sound, excellent noise isolation, light and comfortable and a very clever design that is easy to use, there really is no reason to give the Microlab T1 Bluetooth headset anything other than our OC3D Gold Award.

     

Thanks to Microlab for providing the T1 for review. Discuss your thoughts in the OC3D Forums.