A couple of weeks ago, The Techie Lifestyle was invited to an
event hosted by Philteq – distributor of various consumer electronics in the
Philippines. The event became the venue where Philteq
launched its newest audio products, which includes Doss speakers and Hoomia
& Cannice headsets.
Philteq was kind enough to give away a pair of headsets to
all who participated in the event. Luckily, we were able to snag one of the
company’s entry-level headsets – the Hoomia Bon5. And though we have to admit
that we were kind of busy (and lazy) in doing a review for this gear, we’ve
finally muscled the energy to write something about the Bon5.
INSIDE THE BOX
Headsets in general usually comes in small and very basic
packaging, but Hoomia did something extra by housing the Bon5 in bigger box and
adding a few items to complement the headset.
After opening the box, the user will be greeted with a small
card with some Chinese writing. We suppose this is the welcome card which
doubles as the warranty card. The headset is held inside the box with black
paper with numerous cuts and holes in which the headset’s wires are threaded.
Unwrapping the black paper box reveals a plastic filled with
rubber extender sleeves with different sizes and a small pouch to store the
headset when not in use.
DESIGN
In terms of design and aesthetic appeal, the Bon5
differentiates itself from the rest of the horde of headsets in the market with
wood caps that encloses the sound drivers. Otherwise, the rest of the device is
typical headset fan fair.
The headphones also feature some metallic accent and the
Bon5 still packs round wires that are covered in red rubber, so it’s still
prone to tangles in case you’re that type of person who just shoves a headset
into a bag after use.
Being a headset, the Bon5 also comes equipped with an
integrated microphone with a call/end button. The device is MFI certified so
the button works with the double or triple click functionality found on most
smartphones.
SOUND QUALITY
A headset may look good but it’s worthless if it doesn’t
produce good sounds. When it comes to the Hoomia Bon5, sound quality is quite
average. Under normal settings, the headset produces average to above average
bass levels, which surprisingly is maintained even at higher volume levels.
Treble on the other hand is also good. Audio clarity is also
pretty good and the overall sound coming from the headset wasn’t at all tinny.
And if you’ve managed to put the best pair of extender sleeves with the
headphone and get a snug fit, the headset does provide some sort of noise
cancellation which improves the listening experience.
FINAL WORDS
To sum it all up, the Hoomia Bon5 headset sits in the middle
of the class when it comes to hardware design and aesthetic appeal. With the
exception of the wood design element, the Chinese brand fails to differentiate
itself from products from other manufacturers.
In terms of performance, the Bon5 do offer quality sound
that offers a good listening experience, but just like in the design
department, doesn’t make it stand out from the competition.
At present, Hoomia is facing incredibly tough competitors in
the headset market, including the likes of Philips and Sony. And with a price
of almost PHP1500, we have to say that the Bon5 doesn’t really give a lot to
the table to make consumers choose it from more popular brands with longer
experience in the production of such devices. In fact, with a price tag of 1650PHP,
the Hoomia Bon5 is more expensive than Apple’s Earpods.
So on that note, the Bon5 might be at a disadvantage. To be
honest I think it’s meant for the eccentric consumer who loves to go against
the current. With all things considered, we’re giving the Hoomia Bon 5 a rating
of 3 out of 5.
