Around-the-head style headphones have taken over the world in the past few years. While true wireless headphones are often considered to be the more premium options, they have their issues — and they’re a little expensive. Around-the-head style headphones, like the Acil H1 headphones, however, allow users to enjoy the portability of the in-ear form-factor coupled with the convenience of wireless.
At $60, the Acil H1 headphones aren’t necessarily cheap. But are they worth buying? We put them to the test to find out.
Design
As mentioned, the Acil H1 headphones feature an around-the-head design, similar to that of headphones like the JLab Epic in-ear headphones. The earbuds themselves are pretty basic, featuring an angled design.
Part way down each side of the cable, you’ll find a small module. On the right side of the cable, you’ll find a control module with a basic three-button setup and a MicroUSB charging port, while the right side doesn’t have any controls, and likely serves as a place to store the battery. On the back of the cable, there’s a cinch-clip, allowing you to easily tighten the cable around your head.
There are a few issues that we had with the design. For starters, it doesn’t seem as though the earbuds have any indicators to help users figure out which is left and which is right. While it’s easy to figure out given the angling of the earbuds, it’s still not something that should be left out.
In the box, apart from the headphones themselves, you’ll get a MicroUSB charging cable and a total of four pairs of ear tups. A carry case would have been nice, but you won’t find one with the Acil H1 headphones.
Comfort
The Acil H1 headphones are in-ear headphones, which means they’ll suffer from a few comfort-related issues. Thankfully, however, it seems like these are a little more comfortable than some.
Because of the fact that there’s either a battery or control module on either side of the headphones, it sometimes feels as though the headphones could fall out easily. The wire clip on the back does help with that a little — but you can’t tighten the clip too much or else the earbuds will get pulled from your ears.
Still, we found that even without being overly tightened, the Acil H1 headphones remained relatively comfortable. We wouldn’t really recommend them for running or sports, as they’re likely to fall out — but for casual use they’ll work just fine.
Sound
In the end, perhaps the most important thing to consider is how the headphones sound — and thankfully, they don’t sound too bad. There are, however, a few things we would change.
Let’s start with the bass, which we actually found to be a little weak. It’s not non-existent, to be sure — but the bass simply doesn’t extend as we would have liked, and the bass that is there could be a little more boosted than it is.
The mid range, we found, was slightly better tuned. The low mids were generally warm and present, while the high mids offered enough response for things like vocals and guitars to shine through a mix.
The high-end was relatively clear and detailed, but like the bass, it could have extended a little higher than it did. As with any Bluetooth headphones, you simply won’t get as much clarity as you would with a wired pair — but comparatively, these headphones do alright in that department.
Performance
The Acil H1 headphones are wireless, and as such there are a few performance issues to keep in mind. For starters, the headphones offer a battery life of up to 11 hours on a charge, which is fine, but not stellar. Most comparative don’t have quite as much battery life, but some have a little more, which is helpful.
The headphones connect to your listening device through Bluetooth 4.1, which means they should offer a listening range of around 10 meters, or 33 feet. We found that they were pretty good at keeping a constant connection without too many skips or jumps.
Conclusions
The Acil H1 headphones clearly have a lot to offer. They’re decently well-designed, despite the fact that the design is a little boring. They’re also relatively comfortable, and have a decent sound-quality.
But at $60, are the Acil H1 headphones the way to go? Well, no. There are a few options that we consider to be a better choice. For starters, the JBL E25BT headphones come at the same price, but offer a better sound quality and are a little more comfortable too.
Still, considering their decent quality, we’re awarding the Acil H1 headphones the Headphone Review Bronze Medal.
| Store | Price |
|---|---|
 |
$59.99 |
| Frequency response | 15Hz – 22kHz | Active noise cancellation |
No |
| Driver size | Unknown | Noise attenuation | Unknown |
| Driver type |
Dynamic/Balanced Armature | In-line controls | Yes |
| Design |
Closed | Microphone | Yes |
| Sensitivity | Unknown | Eartip material | Gel |
| Rated impedance |
Unknown | Magnet material | Unknown |
| Total harmonic distortion |
Unknown | Water resistance | IPX5 |
| Rated input power |
Unknown | Battery life | 11 Hours |
| Maximum input power |
Unknown | Wireless distance | 10m (33ft) |
| Wireless connection |
Bluetooth 4.1 | Cable length | N/A |
| Wired connection |
No | Case type | N/A |
| Detachable cable |
N/A | In-the-box |
|
| Weight | Unknown | Colors | Black |