Archeer AH07 Bluetooth Headphones Wireless Stereo Over Ear Headphones Headsets with Mic

INTRODUCTION
Hello. Areek Nibras here, junior Head-fier and physician from Bangladesh, currently studying to obtain a post graduation in medicine. Today I will be reviewing the Archeer AH07 Bluetooth stereo over ear headphones with built in mic. Archeer is a China based brand that produces mostly wireless audio equipments as well as cellphone accessories. The AH07 is their priciest headphone till now whice is currently selling for 49.99$ in amazon. It has an closed back, over-ear design with built in mic and in line controls and comes with apt-x audio technology which promises CD quality sound over bluetooth. The headphone also supports passive wired playback with a 3.5mm audio jack.

DISCLAIMER
I have received the Archeer AH07 as a free unit from Archeer in exchange for my honest opinion. I am in no way affiliated with them. The review I'm posting is just my opinion regarding the product and it was not influenced by any means by Archeer or anyone else.

SPECIFICATIONS (collected from amazon)
Bluetooth Version: 4.0
Talk Time: 14 Hours
Stand-by Time: 540 Hours
Playback Time: 14 Hours
Operating Range: 10m/33ft
Bluetooth Profiles: A2DP/AVRCP/HSP/HFP
Impedance: 32O
Sound Pressure Level: 103±3dB
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20KHz

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The headphones come in a brick shaped black box with a picture of the headphones on top, some special features on a side, and list of features and specifications at the bottom. When you open them by removing the top cover, you get-
1 x Archeer AH07 wireless Headphone
1 x USB Charging Cable
1 x 3.5mm Audio Cable
1 x User Manual

The headphone comes folded sitting on top of a plastic cutout. The remaining accessories are kept underneath. As we know, these headphones do support passive playback by using a 3.5mm stereo jack and it is a nice gesture that it comes with a 4 feet long cable. Although these headphones can be folded nicely to be carried easily, a carry bag/pouch would have been nice.


BUILD:
These headphones have a really good looking black and aluminium finish. Most of the headphone is made of plastic except below the hinge area where the earcups are attached to the headband. This portion is aluminium plated. Overall this looks & feels premium and built to last.The entire headband is covered in soft foam and sits comfortably on the head. The hinge portion is covered in plastic but silver in color, the earcups can be folded and extended from here. The earcups are connected to the hinge by a ball and socket type of joint it seems and allows some movement that allows users to adjust them according to their preferences.
The AH07 is a closed back, over ear design but I would not exactly call them that. The earcups are rectangular shaped and so are the earpads. The earpads are soft but shallow. There is only 3cm by 6cm space in between the pads for the ear to sit in and for me with an avg. sized ear it was too small.

The headphones have a call/power button and 2 volume buttons on the right earcup. The microphone, 3.5mm audio jack input and the micro-usb power input is also on the right earcups. There is a small light indicator in between the buttons that indicates the state of connection of the headphones.

What we get overall is a classy looking bluetooth headphone that will impress you from the time you put your hands on these.

FIT, COMFORT, ERGONOMICS
The fit is a subjective matter and will vary from indevidual to indevidual. The space that these provide in between the earcups is too small for my ears so some part of my ear remains under the pads while some in between. This, along with a modarately strong clamping force creates a proper fit issue as well as a comfort issue. I wear prescription glasses all the time, so after some time of it sitting on my pinna, it begins to hurt and it requires me to repostion/remove them entirely. The highest amount of time I could give them at a strech has been 2 hours. So I would say these headphones are good for short listening sessions like while commuting, cycling, gym but not for long listening sessions. It would have been better if archeer went for the on-ear design instead of it being partially over ear.


Connectivity & Battery:
Connectivity is simple. You turn it on by pressing the phone/power button for 2 seconds, go to pairing mode by pressing it for 5 seconds and turn it off by holding it for 3 seconds. I had no problems connecting these to my phones and even the laptop. The distance covered is also really good, I could easily connect to these from 10 feet away.

It can also be connected using a 3.5mm jack (included) which does not require you to power the device on, just like a wired headset.

Archeer states it has 14 hours of battery life and I can confirm their claim. I was able to run it continiously for more than 13 hours and still found these playing music. However there is no battery level indicator but you won't probably need one as I personally haven't had the battery die even once.

SOUND:
The AH07 is clearly targeted towards the casual, bass loving general population who would put bass 1st and clarity 2nd. This is a v shaped headphone with bass getting the crown and ruling over other spectrums, but letting the mids and highs have a place in his court as well, especially the highs, which, while do not match the quantity of bass it offers but has good quality and clarity to mark it's presence. What we get overall is a fun pair of headphones. In the following segments, I'll be breaking down the sq.

Gears used-
1. Huawei GR5 2017 (both wired and wireless)
2. Iphone 7 (Wireless)
3. Shozy Alien (wired)
4. PC>Schiit Bifrost> Schiit Lyr (Wired)
The headphones had more than 100 hours of music playback from all these devices combined. No signifant change in sound was heard during this process.

Bass-
From the moment I put these on I could say that these are meant to be bass heavy. The bass is big, easily the bassiest headphones I currently own in terms of quantity. Most of it is mid bass which quite frequently bleeds into the mids and can produce ear shattering thumps when bassy tracks are played. The bass extends deep down. The overall quality is not bad either and gets tighter when wired. however I would have preferred sightly tighter bass..

Mids-
Overall mids sound recessed. These take a back seat and allow the bass to show it's magic on em. Mid bass bleeds in to lower mids and makes these sound a bit muddy. Male vocals sound less clear and rough while running wireless but smoothens when used wired. Female vocals sound much better. Details are present but minutely. Instruments sound like they are a bit far away but do not sound vailed. There is no sibilance present.

Highs-
Highs are well balanced with good amount of clarity and presence and do not sound sharp at any moment. If I said there's too much bass and too receessed mids for my liking, I would say the highs are just right. These sound quite detailed for the price The snares and cymbals can be heard nicely but don't hurt the ears. easily the best aspect of these headphones.

Soundstage and Imaging-
These headphones, being closed back design, have avg. soundstage but falls short on imaging. These can give you a sense of space but sounds either appear coming from in front of you or from the sides but lacks the rear presence and the height factor. I was not expecting much either. But what surprised me that these were good enough to locate footsteps and other audio queues during playing counter strike global offensive. Watching a movie is fun too, specially the action movies with the emphesis on bass. Overall, not too bad.

Isolation & leakage:
Even though it was difficult to get a proper fit, these can isolate very well. It is difficult to listen to people speak around you if you have them on with music playing. Also, minimal sound leakage while wearing even though these can go quite loud.
Making calls:
The audio quality was crystal clear during phone calls and mic sounded clear to the listener on the other side as well. However I did face some dropped sounds during facebook group voice chats, but only on one occation.

CONCLUSION:
In a world that is leaning more and more on wireless technology, the Archeer AH07 brings great style and consumer friendly sound at a compatitive price point. The design of this is really classy and impressive, sounds fun and has great battery life. The biggest issue of these is the fit, I hope Archeer would really improve on that segment with a bigger earpad. I would reccomend these to anyone looking for a portable bluetooth headset for casual portable use that is aesthetically pleasing and sounds good as well.

There's no doubt that the age of Bluetooth is here and for the moment at least it's here to stay. With improvements to Bluetooth itself, APTX and battery life the platform has matured to a point where it's a viable alternative for all but the most demanding music fans. At the present time even a lot of the ultra-budget DAPs are equipped with Bluetooth and pretty much all mid and top tier DAPs now have built-in support as well. So today I'll be taking a look at a headphone with Bluetooth and APTX from a company called Archeer. According to their website, Archeer's goal is:

developing, manufacturing and vending innovative, attractive and novel electronic gadgets & peripherals for every customer in the world to enrich and ease their leisure lifestyle with comfort, consideration, entertaining and convenience

The Archeer AH07 is currently priced at $49.99 and can be purchased from Amazon or AliExpress. You can follow the links from their website HERE.

Disclaimer

This sample was sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. I am not affiliated with the company in any way and all observations and opinions here are my own based on my experience with the product. Thanks to Phoebe for reaching out.


Packaging and accessories
The AH07 comes in a simple, black box with "ARCHEER" printed in white at the top and a nice, clear image of the headhpones. Inside are the headphones folded up and sitting in a plastic tray. Under the tray you'll find the accessories which include a USB to micro USB charging cable, a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm audio cable and a user manual - basically everything you need to get up and running although a carry pouch would have been nice.



Build, comfort and isolation
When I took the headphones out of the box I was quite surprised with how sturdy they felt. They arrive in a folded configuration that is nice and compact, making them good for portability. As you open things up and pull the cups down there's a satisfying click as they snap into place.

The headband is constructed from metal and is generously covered in padded pleather that serves well to be comfortable on the top of your head. Running down the sides are strips that look like metal but are in reality plastic. That's probably a good thing as it helps reduce the overall weight and it feels sturdy enough.

The ear cups are plastic and rectangular in shape and have a good length but are very narrow meaning those with larger ears may experience some discomfort. My ears barely squeeze inside but the padding is sufficient enough to make them bearable. Clamping force is a little intense, at least for me and I found the pressure on my ears combined with the narrow pads forced me to take them off every thirty minutes or so to get the blood circulating in my ears again. One thing I do really like about the ear cups is that they can swivel a bit from front to back and top to bottom so you can get a really good fit with them. Because of that and the clamping force these have really good noise isolation which means you don't need to turn your music up as loud and it blocks out a lot of external noise.

On the right ear cup is where you'll find the control buttons, of which there are three in total. The top one is for powering on or off and also used to answer and hang up phone calls. Under the top button is an LED indicator that flashes when in pairing mode. Below that are the volume up/down buttons that also act as track forward and rewind. These buttons are on the back side of the cup and for me this is perfect as they're easy to reach and press using my thumb.

On the bottom edge of the right cup are the 3.5 mm cable jack for wired listening, the microphone for making phone calls and micro USB jack for charging.

Overall these do not feel inexpensive at all. There are no rattles or loose joints and the materials feel light yet strong.



Sound
Sources used for testing

• Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (Bluetooth)
• Acoustic Research M20 (Bluetooth + wired)
• PC/Foobar2000 > Sabaj D3 (wired)
• Benjie X1 (wired)

Archeer's offering has a "fun" tuned, bass heavy sound with a good dose of warmth. The AH07 won't likely blow away a seasoned listener with its technical ability but for the average consumer they should be a hit. This type of sound signature is perfect for games or action movies with things like explosions giving you a really good rumble and visceral impact. It's also suitable for casual listening and depending on what headphone you're coming from you should find your brain adjusting to the excessive bass in a fairly short time and be able to enjoy what it has to offer. I did personally find these to react really well to some equalization and when you pull down the bass a bit they actually sound pretty nice.

Its a super easy to drive headphone so there's no need for additional amplification and it doesn't seem to benefit any from using a different source though I would suggest pairing it with something neutral or bright if possible.

Bass is the star of the show here or, at least it's where the AH07 tries to get your attention. It's thick and boomy with a pretty large mid-bass hump that tends to dominate whatever is being played. Sub-bass is fairly meaty too but it doesn't have the best extension. The bass has decent control and by that I mean it doesn't distort at higher volume but it doesn't display the same control when it comes to separating itself from the lower mids or interfering with the overall presentation as there is some significant bleed into the lower midrange.

The mids have the task of competing with a bloated bass, however in bass but still in the end they sound pretty sweet. Vocals, both male and female sound clear and natural as do most other instruments but during busy sections things can get a bit congested. Detail retrieval is surprisingly good (even more so with EQ applied) and I was surprised by some of the small sounds I was able to pick out as the bass thumped along. The upper mids sound just a little bit off in tonality with things like transient on snare drums making them seem a little colored or veiled.

I don't pay much attention to the treble with these headphones to be honest. That's not because it's bad but because it gets overpowered again by the bass. There aren't any noticeable peaks or excessive early roll-off and again just like with the mids, taking a bit of the bass out with EQ allows the treble to stretch its legs. Crash cymbals are not a problem here, coming off fairly smoothly which is great for busy drum sections like in Pineapple Thief's "No Man's Land" where there's an abundance of cymbals smashing towards the end of the song.

Soundstage is fairly intimate and narrow giving a very stereo type presentation without much depth or space. Even on "Midwest", the title track of the Midwest album by Mathias Eick which normally sounds wide on almost anything things still sound inside the head-space. Imaging is also very average with everything coming together in a mashup in the middle so this area is definitely not a strong point for the AH07.

Bluetooth and pairing
Pairing is very easy and also fast with the AH07. You simply hold the power button down for a few seconds until you hear a beep and see the LED indicator flashing and it's in pairing mode. Once you choose the AH07 from your devices Bluetooth settings the pairing is very fast and painless.

I've had no dropouts or signal loss while connected and the sound quality to my ears is just as good as when using in wired mode. I can go into another room and the signal remains strong but if there's a thick wall in between you'll get some dropouts as you move farther away from the source. As an example I can leave my smartphone on the computer desk in the living room and go into my kitchen, which is behind a wall and the signal holds up perfectly until I get near to my back door. That's a good 10+ meters with a wall in between. Not bad at all!

Battery life
One of the things that steered me away from Bluetooth headphones for a long time was the short battery life that many suffered from in the early days but there have been significant improvements with power efficiency and battery technology in recent years. That has made the experience much less bothersome than it used to be and the AH07 fares really well in this department. You can expect an average of 14-15 hours of solid playback time with this headphone before needing a recharge or switching to wired mode.

Comparisons
vs Yenona/Oneodio Studio Pro ($38.50 USD)
The first difference I noticed is that the Yenona requires several extra bumps on the volume to match the same listening level. Compared to the AH07 the Studio Pro sounds a lot more balanced in terms of bass (although it is a bassy headphone). Upper mids sound a bit more natural as well and when it comes to comfort it's the Studio Pro all the way with its large, wide and thick pads along with much less clamping force. Soundstage seems quite restricted on the AH07 in comparison. Where the AH07 wins is obviously its wireless capability and it's better suited for portability, with a smaller size and more secure fit.

Conclusion
It never ceases to amaze me how many bargains are available to music fans right now and the Archeer AH07 is a perfect example of this. With its solid build, portability, decent sound, wireless connectivity and good battery life it's really good value for money. While the sound isn't the most refined it's those other aspects that make it a good thing to have in your collection. The additional option of going wired also makes it really versatile and if you find yourself low on battery power it's not really a problem, just plug in the 3.5 mm auxiliary cable and you're good to go again. Overall for the sound I'd give it 3/5 stars but considering it's other strong points as well as a very reasonable price I think it's worthy of a 4/5 rating.

DISCLAIMER:

This review is based upon a sample unit provided to me by the manufacturer in exchange for my honest and unfiltered opinion. I am not being compensated in any way for writing this review. I would like to thank Phoebe from Archeer for sending me this review unit.

ABOUT ME

I listen mostly to heavy metal, hip hop, and electronic music, as well as movie and video game soundtracks. I value detail, clarity, and soundstage above other acoustic qualities. Other headphones I own or have used in the past include the Mee Audio P1 Pinnacle, Fostex TH-X00, V-Moda M-80, V-Moda LP2 Crossfade, Beyerdynamic DT-770 (250 ohm), KZ ATE, Mixcder X5, Mee Audio M6, Hifiman HE-400S, and (very briefly) Phillips Fidelio X2.



TEST CONDITIONS

I have used the Archeer AH07 under the following conditions:

iPhone 5S > Bluetooth > AH07

Windows 10 PC > JDS Labs The Element > AH07 (wired)

Windows 10 PC > Fiio E6 > AH07 (wired)

Windows 10 PC > Bluetooth > AH07

I have tested these headphones with Spotify Premium high-quality streaming, Tidal HiFi, and local FLAC.

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

The AH07 comes in a sleek black semi-glossy box. Underneath the tray holding the headphones is the instruction manual and a plastic bag containing a 3.5mm SE – 3.5 mm SE cable and a Micro USB to USB-A cable for charging. I appreciated that Archeer included the 3.5mm aux cable instead of making the listener supply one themselves. Given that this is intended to be used as a portable headphone I would have liked to see at least a carry bag, if not a soft case, but I realize that this might have raised the cost of the headphone.

BUILD QUALITY / DESIGN

For a $50 headphone, I was very impressed with the build quality. The headphones look very stylish and sleek. The matte black plastic used for the driver enclosures is subtly textured and pleasant to touch. The brushed aluminum accents are very attractive. The earpads and headband are good quality pleather. The length of the headband is adjustable. The earpads fold inwards for transport.


FIT / COMFORT / ISOLATION

The pleather earpads are comfortable against the head for at least several hours. Clamping force is strong but not excessive. The earpads completely enclose my ears without squashing them, but I have small ears. I expect these would be more uncomfortable for someone with average-to-large ears. Isolation is high. I have a fairly noisy keyboard and I couldn’t hear myself typing this review over music at a moderate volume. I also cannot hear my girlfriend watching TV five feet away, though I can hear her when she laughs loudly. I have had no complaints from her regarding sound leakage, which has been an issue with my TH-X00s at high volume.

BLUETOOTH/MIC/ CALL QUALITY

Pairing with either an iPhone or an Android device has been painless, though reading the instruction manual is key. There is only one button for both power and pairing, which depends on how long you hold the button down. I have had a mixed experience regarding the ease of Bluetooth pairing with PCs as well as issues staying connected, but I am inclined to blame Windows or the cheap dongle I am using rather than the headphones. Call quality was not as good as over my iPhone for either me or the person I was in a call with, a little squawky but still completely intelligible. Max call volume is more than adequate.

BATTERY LIFE
Although I have not kept a close eye on the amount of time I've spent with these powered on, in the three weeks I've had these headphones I've only needed to charge them once. I believe that the 14 hours advertised on-time is probably accurate.

SOUND QUALITY

The sound is strongly V-shaped with very pronounced bass. The bass quantity is somewhat overwhelming from an audiophile perspective, though it is probably average for consumer headphones. I recommend cutting the bass using EQ (the Bass Reducer preset in the Spotify iPhone app is sufficient). Bass extension is good, and cutting the bass amount with EQ reveals texture. Mids are unremarkable. They work well with female pop vocals. The soundstage is very small. I constantly noticed details in songs that are supposed to be in the background being pushed up against my ears. Treble is dependent on the quality of the recording in question. Well-produced cymbals sound great, poorly produced cymbals are grating, even if not quite sibilant. In general, the sound quality is much more detailed than I would have expected given the target market and price point. I was also surprised by how much these headphones appear to benefit from higher bitrate sources. Even when I made an effort to volume match, Tidal resolved more clearly through these headphones than Spotify Premium. This is not something I normally notice.


AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

These are intended to be used over Bluetooth and do not need external amplification. I don’t feel that they benefit from it in any case. However, it is worth mentioning that they can be used with a wired connection without having to turn the headphones on, saving battery.

CLOSING WORDS

In general I was impressed with the build quality and sound quality of these headphones. They are well suited for wireless use with mobile devices, and are certainly one of the best looking wireless units at their price point. This is definitely one of the most affordable over-ear AptX options available, and they are good enough headphones that lossless audio is worth listening to.

The AH07 can be purchased on Amazon here : http://amzn.to/2olA81T

Please note, my eval was for 3.5 Stars but the new site does not allow 1/2 values.

Archeer approached me about doing a review in exchange for a sample set of the AH07 headset or the AH225 bluetooth speaker. I don’t own any Bluetooth speakers and really don’t have a lot of opportunity to use one, so I declined that review sample but gladly accepted the AH07 headset. I’d like to thank Archeer for the AH07 and their trust in me to do an objective review.

A short note about me: I am a music enthusiast, and audio hobbyist. I make no claim to have the level of experience of some. With children in college and Vet school, my budget is pretty limited so my dabbling is rather low end. Luckily for me, now is a great time to be a frugal audio enthusiast as great equipment can be had at very reasonable prices. I tend to be quite pragmatic and I don’t expect $35 products to sound like $10,000 products so my reviews are always tempered by that viewpoint.


Will the AH07 be the Bluetooth headset that finally convinces me to use them instead of a wired model?

Review Proper:

The AH07 arrived in the typical brown cardboard box with a neatly fitted black box hiding inside. Graphics are good, well laid out, and explain what is inside well. Inside the box, it is pretty spartan. When you first open the box, all you see the headphones sitting in a plastic tray as below.



The Phones fit snuggly between the box lid and the plastic insert and the insert is fitted well enough that little movement is possible and damage during transit doesn’t seem likely.


Accessories:

If you didn’t think to lift the plastic tray, you would miss what little else comes with the AH07. That being a thin manual, a 3.5mm cable, and a usb/charging cable.




In fairness, the only thing I think the package is really missing is a carry bag for the phones themselves and the charging cable (maybe a side pocket for the cables – more later). The manual is complete enough to make getting the AH07 up and running easy and after charging the headphones overnight it took less than 2 minutes to have them paired with my phone and listening to music.



Build Quality:

Build quality was an interesting mix of great and ordinary. Particularly impressive is the hinge between the metal portion of the headband and the upper plastic portion. When I first unboxed these, my thought was “Ok, so how long is that hinge going to snap in place as the plastic wears”. Good news, Archeer thought of that too and the hinge is reinforced with metal inserts so no plastic on metal contact is present. I must say, that is in impressive piece of engineering that shows good attention to detail and was not something I expected at this price point.







L and R are clearly marked on the inside of the headband just below the hinge (as shown above) and the controls are behind the ear on the right side. Being a lefty, I would have liked them on the left side but knowing that I am in the minority I understand the reasoning.



Controls are simple but effective. Volume Up/Down and a Phone/On button divided by a multi-colored LED. Long pushing the phone button turns on/off. A quick touch of the same will answer an incoming call. Buttons offer a tactile response as well as beep codes to let you know you have reached min or max volume or as the device is switched on or off.

On the ordinary side, both the plastic earcups and the metal band are subject to scratches and within a couple of days, both were starting to show. A simple lined carry bag in the package would go a long way to preventing some of these and would be a welcome addition.




Battery:

Confession time, I am an electronics nerd and have a serious battery testing setup (West Mountain Radio CBA) so I took advantage of it. I couldn’t find a mAh rating for the battery anywhere on the packaging but the test shows full discharge at 500Ma takes roughly 5.5 hours and equates to 1100mAh cell. The tester also registered the cell as a Li-ion type with a full charge voltage of 4.2 and a fully discharged voltage (when the headphones cutoff) of 2.9V. This is fairly deep discharge in order to extend usage time and may result in the battery lasting fewer cycles than a milder discharge curve would produce. For this reason, I would recommend not running the headset until it quits. I found that I could listen for 4 hours and then recharge without dropping the cell below 3.4V which is a much more battery friendly recharge slope and should make for a good long cell life. I don’t think the 14hour listening time is exaggerated based on these tests but I do think doing so repeatedly will limit the lifespan of the headset as Li batteries generally react poorly to that deep a discharge.


Microphone:

The microphone worked well for making and receiving calls. This was probably the best headphone mic I have used on a headset that wasn’t purpose built for phone use. It didn’t pick up a lot of extraneous noise and didn’t suffer from issues with wind noise. If sound quality on phone calls is a big issue to you, this is a headset seriously worth consideration. Voices were clear and plain and the microphone works very well. This was a pleasant surprise as the microphone on most of headsets is an afterthought at best.



Sound:

I am a lover of blues, blues/rock, classic rock, and anything with good guitar work in it. For that reason, I chose the following as my test tracks. (artist, album, track, thoughts)

Stevie Ray Vaughan – Texas Flood – Lenny (Guitar to die for but the thing I look for is the percussion.)

Lindsey Buckingham – Fleetwood Mac, Best of - Go Insane, Live (Probably the most complicated simple song you’ll ever hear, all about nuance and subtleties with this track).

Johny Lang – Lie to me – Lie to Me (Looking for tight bass, bleed over into the mids, and controlled sub-bass)

Tedeschi Trucks – Let me get by – I want more (Female Vocals, backing brass band)

The Blasters - Testament – Blue Shadows (Saxophone and piano with male vocals)

Vintage Trouble – The Bomb shelter sessions - Blues hand me down (Looking at attack speed and decay especially in bass and sub-bass. This track gets muddy quick if the equipment can’t handle it.)


(it is worth noting that I tested with both the Bluetooth and the 3.5mm cable to determine if I could hear a difference in the amplifier built into the headset and using a different amp to run just the drivers.)


Bass: HUGE, Just massive, enormous, bordering on gargantuan. To say these are V shaped is an understatement, these are canyon shaped with the bass canyon wall being about a mile deep. Not much below 80hz, but at frequencies between about 100hz and 200hz these have immense punch. I found myself with a rather heavy EQ with dropping everything below 250hz by 8db in order to be able to listen for the mids as they otherwise vanish behind the bass. Bass gets a bit loose when not roped in using an EQ but for a design who’s motto is “Massive Sound” and “Impact” they hit that on the nose.

Mids: If you can find them, the mids do a good job with instrument separation and vocal clarity. In order to find this, you will need to EQ the bass and treble down between 6 and 8 db. Once EQ’d this can be a good listening experience and didn’t have any trouble with the speed of Blues Hand me down that can get muddy. I really like the sound of these once EQ is applied.

Treble: The other side of the canyon wall. Exaggerated, somewhat shrill treble is very revealing of poor source material. I was not particularly sibilant, but was tough to listen to for extended periods without EQ. Again, with a quick adjustment it brought them into a much more listenable range. Treble extension was not fantastic, but was on par with most other headsets in its class that I have had the opportunity to tryout.

Soundstage: Somewhat claustrophobic as most inexpensive closed back designs are. Separation is acceptable but it still feels a bit like you tried to cram the brass section into the backseat of a Beetle.


Wired Notes: The drivers do react well to amping and when run through the Magni 2 on my office desk, I find better separation of a bit clearer sound than with the Bluetooth. Not unexpected as Bluetooth does impose limits that the wired version does not. We also have to remember that weight and battery life are trade-offs being made in order to get a comfortable headset that works long enough to be useful.


Gaming: Not being much of a gamer, I handed these off to my daughter’s boyfriend to tryout with some of his games. He uses an Alienware laptop and found pairing to be a breeze and thought they performed well. He made note that without 5.1 or 7.1 some sounds did not place themselves as cleanly as he would have liked, but said for a headset not specifically designed with gaming in mind they did well. He particularly liked the comfort as he was able to wear them for an extended gaming session (6+ hours) without his ears getting overheated or battery life becoming an issue which I gather are both common problems from his comments.


Overall Impressions:

I am not generally a huge fan of Bluetooth headsets, I think they usually cure problems I don’t have. Most of the time, a wire between my source and my headphones is not my biggest problem. Having said that, I really do like the utility these provide for moving around an office or the house while cleaning etc. I can see these being nice for travel, if I spent a lot of time in the air, as they isolate well and battery life (even with my caveat) is enough for most flights.

For those who love a bass cannon, this should be a headset you look into. For those looking for an analytical marvel, these will require heavy EQ as they are definitely aimed at the consumer V-shaped market. I think these do a solid job of hitting the target market, Big bass, V-shaped, easy pairing and use with Cell phones, good battery life, good call quality when paired with a phone, and looks.

I think an accessory bag to protect them would go a long way to preserving those looks and making them an even better value. Not sure why I worry about that as my daughter has now swiped them and they may never come home again. That alone is probably the best review I could give, teenager approved and in constant use amongst her friends.

My review sample was shipped from: http://amzn.to/2olA81T

Introduction

The Archeer AH07 Bluetooth headphones arrived in a sizable black box. I find the headphones folded inside. The headphones come with a 3.5 audio cable for connecting the headphone directly to a source, a micro USB charging cable, and a short user guide.

Picking up the headphones — it has a nice premium feel. Most of the body is plastic. Part of the body is silver colored plastic. Only the lower headband below the folding mechanism is metal, as well as the hinges. Both earcups fold and unfold with a small click as the metal band click in place.

Padding is soft. The headband and the earcups are covered in synthetic leather that feels nice on the head and on the ear. The earcups are rectangular. With my medium sized ear, the earcups cover my ear completely forming a nice seal. The clamping force is average and I have been wearing them an hour at a time without much discomfort.

Controls

All the controls are on the back side of the right ear cup. The power button is used for on, off and pairing. A multi-color LED below the button gives some visual feedback:

• Pressing the power button for 2 seconds turn the headphones on. It uses audio beeps to confirm user action. The LED flashes blue 2 times.
• Pressing the power button for 3 seconds turn the headphones off. The LED flashes red two times.
• To put the headphones into bluetooth pairing mode, press and hold the power button for 5 seconds until the LED flashes blue and red.
• When the batteries run low, the LED will flash red two times every two seconds.
• During charging, the LED stays red, and turn to blue when it is fully charged.

Below the power button and the LED are two switches for volume up and down. Short press changes the volume, while long press on down moves back one track, and long press on up moves to the next track. The volume control has 16 clicks across the volume range. An audio beep signals the end of the volume range.

Bluetooth Performance

The AH07 remembers multiple paird devices, but can only be actively paired with one source at a time. During testing I have the AH07 paired to both my Rentina Macbook Pro running Sierra, and my iPad Pro running iOS 10.3. To have the AH07 connect to either device, I need to disconnect the other connection from the source first.

Bluetooth range is fair. With line of sight I can go to about 30 feet. Without line of sight in my typical residential house the connection degrades quickly beyond 20 feet or so. This is comparable to many other headphones that I have tested. However, I also tested the A225 bluetooth speaker from the same company, and that speaker has amazing range.

Sound Quality

The sound quality of the AH07 is good. The response is fairly flat and not v-shaped like most lower end headphones. The bass is lively without overly boosted. KT Tunstall’s Black horse and the Cherry Tree has a lot of acoustic bass and drums and they all come through cleanly.

Christina Perri’s Trust is a track that is complex, with clear vocal overlaid on rocking bassline. The AH07 balances between the vocal and the instruments easily.

The AH07 good performance made me reach for Dire Straits’ Private Investigation. In the famous middle of the track, the acoustic guitar playing against the marimba and the simple bass drum, I find myself getting lost in enjoying the track instead of writing things down for the review.

Conclusion

Overall I like the AH07. As an affordable Asian branded headphones, the audio quality is very good. It is comfortable to wear. The folding design makes it ideal for portable use, perhaps throwing in your backpack for use during the commute or at the office. The low end Chinese headphone space is getting more and more crowded. Since these brands are not known it is hard to tell them apart. I can definitely recommend these Archeer AH07.

Disclaimer: Archeer provided the free review unit. Opinion is completely my own.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In side the box besides the headphones of course, is the 3.5m cable which allows you to plug them into wired with any source, then the USB charge cable, which is used to charge up the headphones. The cables are generic so they usually the kind that are included with a lot of these products.
 
The Ah07 is an interesting looking headphone, the one thing you notice when you first take a good look at it is, the headphone jack is on the right cup. Usually its on the left, I caught my self couple of times putting it on wrong, as I'm used to the cable being on the left side.
 

 
 
On the head band there is a thick padding which feel nice and comfortable on my head, The ear pads and cups are squared, They kinda sit on my ears, but sadly the ear-pads and cup design is not comfortable at all, after a couple of hours my ears start to hurt and i must take them off. This shape doesn’t do the headphone justice at all at the size that it is, if it was bigger then it be perfectly fine. The adjustment slider works very well, I didn’t have any problems getting the exact size I want. Lot of other headphones tend to do this poorly, but I glad this one does it right. The cup does rotate a little, when you get the headphones out the box they will be folded up, which is handy for those who travel with the headphones.
 
 
On the bottom where the 3.5 is located, the USB charge port is there, on the side there is the volume buttons to lower and raise the volume which also doubles for playing next or last track. Above it is the power /Call button, to power it on when you want to use it in Bluetooth or accept a call.

 
 
The AH07 supports Apt-X and Bluetooth CSR 4.0, so your ready to go if you have any device that will
Take advance of those features. I had a little of a problem connecting the headphones to my Bluetooth receiver, but it wasn’t the headphone fault but the receiver fault. The Bluetooth range is great, I walked all around my aptx, closed doors every thing I could to get it to disconnect nothing. No issues at all with the connection, no drop outs or any thing. Noise isolation does exist but its passive so it works at all times. It doesn’t do a very good job, as noises from my case fans, mechanical keyboard, sounds from my desk etc still come through but it does block some of their noises out.
 
 
 
Now the most important part of the review, The sound performance, I will start with Bluetooth audio first, which most likely gonna be the usage for these headphones, then analog quality. I will be using my computer on-board audio due to it being flat, and for Bluetooth I will use my Bluetooth receiver that I have plugged into my TV. Since on-board audio would most likely be used in a normal setting. Also the AH07 doesn’t need to amp-ed as they are easy to drive and will work off any source, so don’t worry about if they sound good with or without one, they will do good by their self.
 
 
 
 
Bluetooth
 
 
 
 
TV+ APTX supported Receiver
 
I listened to couple of music choice stations for this one. I know the stations won’t be good quality.
The sound is very good, the hit hats comes thru really well, and clear. The highs are smooth with no form of hashes any where. The details in the highs are good and are not lost, its not super detailed which is a very good thing and it is not thin at all.
 
The drums hits hard due to the bass, Singers voices are very good, lack of weight behind the voices. But its hard to imaging where they are located in the sound stage. All of the instruments are separated from each other, so are not blending into each other.
 
The sound image is small just outside of my ears including the depth, which also make it hard to position where they singers are. It like they are singing on your head, with the instruments on either sides of you.
 
Now the bass in general which is the major flaw of this headphone, the low bass boomy like a sub-woofer, where it’s one noted which isn’t good when you listen to songs with a lot of bass, such as dub-step, DnB or Rap, any thing that uses a lot of different bass notes, as it feels like a sub is firing off next to your skull.
 
In TV shows every thing good, but the same applies to the bass in TV audio, which takes the fun out of action movies. Where there bombs and gun shots going off, which makes it feel like your headphones are exploding and not the action on screen.
 
Analog
 
On-board Audio
 
The first thing you notice is the thunderous one note bass, it makes sure you notice it, regardless of the song. This is a major flaw in the sound performance of this headphone, It’s sounds like you are sitting between two sub woofers going at it when ever a bass note is played. The bass in the mid’s are very good, it just the low bass that isn’t. The Highs are not bright at all, but is smooth sounding, while you can hear the details good. The sound stage is small, and the separation of instruments is good.
 
Same results with LG Leon smartphone when I tried it in analog also.
 
Edit: For fun even know it's outrages and really overkill, I tried them on my Schiit Jotuheim that I own just for the heck of it as another source to see if bass would be improved. made sure to use an tiny turn of the volume knob which was enough, so I don't go flying out my chair from the volume, sure enough the sound did improved but sady the bass stayed the same.
 
Conclusion
 
While the headphones did a very good job with the sound performance, the major letdown is the low bass, the way it sounds on these headphones and the fact it’s not clean and that boom boom bass is a no no. But the other freq sounded really great to me.
 
The Bluetooth function was perfect which is a first for me, usually I don’t have that much luck with headphones that has it. The shape of the cup including the ear-pads could be better. If it wasn't for the bass and maybe a bit more sound stage, this headphone would be perfect for ^{a 3rd} pair of headphones.
 

Introduction –

The AH07 MKII is the successor one of Archeer’s most popular and most universally acclaimed models. It represents their flagship Bluetooth over-ear headphone yet simultaneously offers tremendous value. Priced at just $55 USD on Amazon and $59 AUD shipped on Banggood (might be the MKI), the AH07 MKII offers many discrete features overlooked by much more expensive models from more prestigious brands; features such as memory foam earpads, metal components and low-latency CD quality apt-x Bluetooth support.

Add in a sound that balances the warm low end of a consumer headphone with the nuanced high-end performance of a more dedicated headphone and the AH07 MKII might be the budget wireless champ we’re all looking for. Keep reading to see whether the MKII lives up to the glory of its progenitor and whether a headphone with native Bluetooth support is a superior solution to a wired headphone augmented with a Bluetooth adaptor.

*Of note, it is likely best to order these headphones through Archeer’s official Amazon page as they have not delineated between the first and second generation models and both are physically identical. The Amazon page for the AH07 is currently under review since the release of the updated AH07 is pending. Please click here for the Amazon page of the updated AH07.

 

Disclaimer –

I would like to thank Lucas from Archeer very much for contacting me and providing me with a sample of the AH07 MKII for review. There is no monetary incentive for a positive review and despite receiving the headphones free of cost, I will attempt to be as objective as possible in my evaluation.

 

About Me – Some background, Gear of choice, Preferences and Biases

I generally prefer a slight v-shape to my sound, but still closer to neutral. I like a lot of detail and clarity, but can appreciate a smooth, laid back sound such as that on the X10`s. I prefer a more neutral midrange within a relatively tight tolerance, but I`m probably more forgiving of brightness over darkness. I`m not particularly treble sensitive and can tolerate large amounts without fatigue, though too much ruins the enjoyment. If I use a different eartip/pad/cover during the review I will note that and describe the sound changes.

Read More

 

Accessories –











The unboxing experience of the AH07’s is imitated from some much more expensive headphones such as the Bowers and Wilkins P7 and Denon MM-400’s, both headphones I consider to be exemplary. The external box is black with a nice render on the front. The packaging could benefit from some low-key renders/photographs, but the external packaging is sufficient.

While Archeer don’t outfit the box with foams or imitation satin, the plastic molding holds the headphones snugly and securely for shipping. Beneath the headphones lies the two cables, a 3.5mm cable that enables wired usage of the headphones in addition to a micro-b charging cable. Archeer also include a manual which lists some brief specs and instructions.

Archeer do not include a case with the headphones, a soft pouch would have been nice for travel.

 

Design –

The AH07 was a Bluetooth enabled headphone with a nicely considered build and design that belied its very modest asking price. The MKII is physically identical, both in look and feel which means they carry the same strengths and the same weaknesses.

Although they are presented as an over-ear headphone in online renders and are even marketed as an over-ear headphone on Archeer’s website, the AH07 is really more of a semi on-ear headphone and I very much doubt anyone would be able to achieve a proper over-ear fitment. This frustrates me, because, as I will begin to divulge, the AH07 gets pretty much everything with comfort and feel so right yet still manages to have a somewhat awkward fitment.

I honestly didn’t find the AH07 to be an attractive headphone at first, but the design has definitely grown on me over time. While they still don’t quite stand up to the premium portable headphones I reviewed here, they are undoubtedly one of the nicest budget headphones I’ve tested. They are relatively low profile on the head and the build quality is very impressive for the price; there are no rough edges or stitching issues and the very slight wobble in the hangers is non-intrusive in daily usage.

The headphones adjust via a very clicky ratchet mechanism that holds its position better than most $400 headphones but still annoyingly has no printed markings on the metal slider. They also fold for travel/storage, becoming compact enough to fit inside pretty much any type of bag though it would still have been nice for Archeer to include a carrying case or pouch.  Such exclusions are excusable for the price but are small tweaks that could be addressed in a MKIII.

All points of stress such as the hinges are metal as are the outer faceplates which have a nice brushed texture, granting the headphones with a more premium look. The rest of the headphones are a solid plastic though there are no creaks and all surfaces are well joined without forming error.

That being said, the design and finish could do with some work. All of the corners are quite sharp, especially those just above the metal side plates, they feel sharp enough to rupture skin if you accidentally scraped by.

The faux leather, though reasonably soft, is also more plasticky than I am used to. Of course, they are a more budget orientated headphone, but a nicer pleather would no doubt aid comfort and seal. That being said, the earpads and headband are both well finished and well cushioned.

The headband is especially ergonomically shaped, wide in the centre and flat, very comfortably sitting on my head and forming no discomfort over time. The headband has abundant cushioning, it’s a very soft, plush filling that does wonders for wearing comfort.

The earpads are also well considered with soft memory foam internals that conform to the ear. So though the pleather is a little stiff, the headphones make up for it via extra cushioning and a wise choice of soft and memory foams. The earpads are also easily replaced, they simply slide into a slot that runs the permitter of the earcups, though the unorthodox rectangular shape will heavily limit aftermarket alternatives.

Unfortunately, the fitment isn’t so spectacular. From images available online, the AH07 appears to be an over ear headphone, but it has more of a semi-over-ear fitment. Archeer have done as good a job as they could have, given the headphone’s dimensions, but I will never really agree with an on-ear fitment and the AH07, like most on-ear headphones, tends to form a hotspot on my outer ear after about 2 hours of listening (after which I require a lengthy break). The clamp force is also relatively strong as they are a portable headphone, further pressuring my outer ear. The earcups could definitely do with more width, depth or both, though those with flatter ears than mine will likely have far less issue with the fitment. I can only guess that Archeer sacrificed long term comfort for portability as these are most definitely intended for travel over home use.

But apart from comfort, seal and isolation are actually quite good. Both earcups swivel to adjust to your ear and form a strong seal, though the right swivel mechanism was considerably stiffer on my unit that the left one, producing an uneven seal unless manually adjusted. I’m sure they will loosen up over time, but as is, it does get tedious constantly adjusting the headphones. When the right earcup was behaving, I managed to achieve a solid seal formed on account of those plush memory foam earpads and, in combination with their closed back nature, the AH07’s provide adequate isolation for commute, though I still wouldn’t take them on a plane or underground train.

Finally, running over the physical features reveals all of the playback controls and inputs on the right earcup. The AH07 possesses what I would consider to be thoughtful and logical button placement, with a unified volume rocker situated a moderate distance from the power/multifunction button, preventing accidental presses. In between lies a status LED that is very visible without being obtrusive. The buttons are all nice and clicky, they also fit snugly within the earcups and don’t rattle within the housings; an incredibly annoying oversight that afflicts far too many budget headphones/earphones.

On the bottom of the headphones lies a micro-usb port to charge the internal battery in addition to a 3.5mm jack should you run out of charge or want to use the headphones through a wired connection. I thank Archeer for using a regular 3.5mm port, it is not recessed so any cable will fit and function as intended, many portable headphones use keyed or recessed ports that vastly limit usability.

Overall, the AH07’s are a handsome and very well-built headphone for the price. The fitment is a little off, they aren’t truly over-ear but those who are acclimatised to on-ears will find them just as comfortable as any other. In addition, the uneven swivel mechanisms are a point of concern, though I am fairly confident that they will loosen up over time. That being said, these shortcomings are addressed by exemplary padding and headband design and the headphones usability is augmented by well-considered in-built ports and controls.

 

Usage –

Though the AH07’s supposedly support NFC pairing, I was unable to locate the tag anywhere on the headphone. Yet even without, they are no harder to pair than any other premium Bluetooth headphone. Power and pairing are controlled through the multi-function button situated just above the volume rocker. Holding for 5 seconds causes the headphones to enter pairing mode and the status LED flashes red/blue. I easily paired the headphone to both my laptop and HTC 10, the AH07’s are capable of remembering several devices but will not connect to multiple simultaneously even though they support BT4.0.








Once paired, the power button only needs to be held for 2 seconds, after which the headphones will simply power on and connect to the closest previously paired device. Pairing was incredibly rapid, make sure Bluetooth is turned off on your other devices before attempting to pair to your current one since it does bias the previously paired device. The headphones communicate connection and power via audio cues, a single chime when powered on, an ascending tone when paired and a descending tone when powered off. If the user isn’t wearing the headphones or is in a loud environment, the status LED communicates the same functions, blinking blue when powered on and turns off when paired, it also glows red when the headphones are on low battery or are charging.

The AH07’s also support apt-x which provides higher audio quality than a regular Bluetooth connection in addition to lower latency. While I was unconvinced that the audio quality was considerably better from my apt-x supported HTC 10 than from my BT4.0 laptop, latency was slightly lower on my HTC.

That being said, latency on my laptop, while slightly noticeable, was hardly unbearable; streaming videos, watching movies, even some gaming were all completely viable. In addition, the headphones offered nice wireless range, about 3 rooms through double brick wall, which was superior to the range offered by my Maceton MC4U Bluetooth adaptor (equipped on my Sony MDR-1A pictured above). There were some rare instances of interference resulting in slight audio stuttering, but the headphones were otherwise very reliable and experienced no dropouts or other connection issues.

The physical controls function only in wireless mode but did work correctly on all platforms. While the multi-function button simply acts like the centre button on any conventional earphone, the volume buttons control ~20 volume levels separate of source that reset every time the headphones are powered off. This enables some finer control and I didn’t notice any additional hiss when the internal volume was raised. The volume buttons can also be held to skip track, the AH07’s control similarly to Archeer’s Bluetooth speakers. The headphones also have a built-in microphone for calls, recipients did not note any quality issues during my testing.

Battery life is rated at 14 hours, well above average for a budget Bluetooth headphone, but not the best I’ve seen. In real world usage, the headphones managed just under that, around 12 and a half hours at low-medium volume. I was unable to test whether the internal volume drastically affects battery life like the Envaya Mini; essentially you turn the volume on the speaker/headphones down and turn the volume on your source up to increase runtime. Seeing as my result was so close to the estimate, I doubt they would achieve much longer runtimes. But even as is, the 12-13 hours that I am able to achieve is easily enough for a full day or 3-4 days of on and off usage. It’s also enough for most plane trips though as previously stated, isolation is not adequate for such an environment. Of note, you can’t charge the headphones and use them in wireless mode at the same time, the headphones will power-off as soon as they are connected to a power source.

 

Sound –

The AH07 is cheap and wireless, a recipe for audio disaster. But yet again, Archeer have pleasantly surprised me with the audio quality offered by the AH07’s. They aren’t quite as refined as a wired headphone of equivalent pricing, though there are very few proper headphones around this price anyway. While they do have a more consumer low-end response, the high-end and to a lesser extent midrange, really outperform their price and class. While I don’t have truly equivalent headphones on hand to compare, I will provide comparison to my Sony MDR-1A equipped with a Maceton apt-x Bluetooth adaptor that should provide some insight into the AH07 MKII’s performance, they also share many characteristics in their tuning. I should note that the Maceton adapter, due to the fact that it uses a wireless connection or perhaps due to its weak internal amplifier did degrade the audio performance of the reasonably efficient Sony’s. While it initially seems like a great idea to purchase this $20 adapter if you currently have a nice headphone with a removable cable, a dedicated Bluetooth headphone does still hold numerous benefits.

 

Tonality –

Listening to the AH07, the first thing that became apparent was the large lower/mid-bass emphasis. I’ve come to believe that many manufacturers employ such tuning to create the semblance of more bass extension as the AH07 has only average sub-bass extension. Upper bass is similarly elevated quite a lot, resulting in midrange spill, though male vocals are forward enough not to become overwhelmed. The midrange is relatively even with a slightly darker tone and female vocals do sit slightly behind male vocals in the sound, both of which sit behind the boosted bass response. Treble has a slight emphasis, strangely, it is not lower treble that is accentuated but rather the middle and, to an extent, upper treble, similar to higher end Sennheiser’s. That is not to say that the AH07 has a treble response that performs like the HD700 or ie800, but rather that it is tuned in a similar fashion and fans of a sparkly, airy response will be pleasantly surprised by this $55 USD Bluetooth headphone. Overall, although I have not heard the first generation AH07, from what I’ve read online, the new iteration seems to bring subtle tuning changes to the midrange to bring more balance as well as perhaps toning bass down a touch; I didn’t personally find them as overbearing as some have mentioned, they are about as bassy as the MDR-1A but suffer from the same downfalls as a result.

 

Soundstage –

Soundstage performance is similarly above average for a closed back portable and, considering the budget pricing and feature set, is quite impressive. Most headphones around this price, especially Bluetooth headphones, have little soundstage space, but the AH07 MKII has a reasonable amount of both width and depth. The presentation is more depth focussed making imaging a little fuzzy at times; instruments and vocals tend to get compressed forward compared to more rounded headphones. As a result, I do find myself wanting more width from time to time, though the amount of soundstage depth and centre image is still impressive for the price. The MDR-1A’s do have an outstanding soundstage for a closed portable, however when sourcing from a Bluetooth adapter, soundstage space certainly takes a hit. I would still consider them both more spacious and more separated than the AH07’s, partly because they have more midrange clarity, but the difference is not as pronounced as one would expect given the price difference. On that note, separation does occasionally suffer from the soundstage compression on the AH07 MKII, but they generally still manage to sound composed with complex tracks. Although I am mostly accustomed to more expensive headphones such as the Sony’s and Oppo PM3, the v-shaped tuning of the AH07 in addition to its airy high-frequency response both prevent the headphones from sounding as muddy as most of its more direct competitors. Overall, the AH07 has a rather outstanding soundstage and above average separation and imaging in its price range.

As an added note, given that the Sony’s have a standout soundstage among portable headphones and was just slightly superior when paired with the adaptor, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that most wired portable headphones with an external wireless adaptor would actually have an inferior soundstage to the AH07 MKII.

 

Drivability –

The AH07’s are internally amplified and really don’t sound all that different from my various sources. My 10 might sound a little cleaner in the high-end over my non apt-x enabled laptop but otherwise, the headphones don’t sound too compressed over a wireless connection. They have plenty of volume when both the internal and source volumes are maximised, enough to damage your hearing. Despite this, background hiss is minimal, barely audible in a quiet environment and completely non-intrusive, you won’t notice it at all when music is playing nor when in a noisy environment. The Sony’s with the Maceton adaptor, by comparison, produced a much more prevalent hiss that was noticeable even when music was playing but not when in a loud public space. While it is a lower frequency, less obtrusive hiss, it was nonetheless considerably less discrete than the Archeers.

 

Bass –

As aforementioned, bass is the most prominent frequency range on the AH07 MKII, namely lower and mid-bass. Upper bass is reasonably well tuned though as soon as notes descend further, the headphones start to sound muddy. Faster bass lines sound blurred and a lot of texture is lost to the uneven emphasis. Despite this, the headphones don’t have the slam of more extended headphones such as the MDR-1A and Bowers and Wilkins P7, of course both of those are more expensive. I do find the bass response at least as pleasing as that on the Beats Studio 2.0’s, not a great headphone, but one that costs about 7x more than the AH07. They both have the same kind of emphasis with heaps of punch to the mid-bass though more complex tracks do suffer from a loss of detail and definition, they also both lack sub-bass slam. The MDR-1A has a similar amount of emphasis, and while it does have considerably more bloat than the AH07, especially when connected over Bluetooth, it also manages a more textured mid-bass response and more pleasng sub-bass slam. Pop music is well flattered by the AH07’s, in fact, the bass is actually quite nice until it descends into the lower bass where the emphasis is too great for my, already bassy preferences. I might sound grim, but I’m honestly not surprised by the bass response on the AH07 MKII; it is inherenetly a regular, consumer headphone and is tuned as such. The quality isn’t terrible, it’s above average for the price and the tuning at least avoids that bloated sound that affects so many low-end headphones, even the higher end MDR-1A. The muddy lower bass response is completely acceptable given that they are so economical, however bass texture still isn’t quite up to scratch.

 

Mids –

The midrange is luckily much improved. While it still isn’t flawless, the tuning is much more pleasing than the low end. Listening to the Lala land soundtrack which has little bass (and is thus great for testing the midrange and high-end), revealed a surprisingly balanced midrange and a crisp treble response, much more so than one would expect from a budget portable Bluetooth headphone. Mids are slightly dark and clarity is just average. Veil is limited though they still lacked the nuance of the Sony MDR-1A’s. Lower mids are quite impressive, vocals are clear and clean if slightly unnatural and dry sounding though I still found that both instruments and dialogue in films were well portrayed by this headphone. Lower mids do sit behind the large bass response and spill is commonly present but I wouldn’t say that male vocals sound particularly recessed nor do they sound muddy due to that drier character. Lower mids were noticably clearer than the warmer MDR-1A’s though they might sound too dry for the particularly discerning.

Upper mids are quite the opposite being slightly recessed, granting the headphones with a darker midrange character not unlike the Sony’s. While I do occasionally want more upper midrange presence, female vocals are smooth and have plenty of body and instruments that reside in this frequency range such as acoustic guitar and lower strings are flattered and natural. Upper mids do have some veil and some added clarity would go a long way to improve detail presentation and insight. They most definitely possess a more laid-back midrange, detail retrieval is good but they aren’t presented aggressively. The brighter MDR-1A sounds considerably cleaner and clearer due to its added clarity. Though they don’t actually resolve a lot more detail, the details that are resolved are much more upfront, creating a more engaging high-end. The MDR-1A’s also benefit from a more spacious soundstage, creating more separation, granting the sound with more depth. The AH07 is still very surprisingly competent for what they are, the midrange is enjoyable with a nice tonality and reasonable versatility in addition to pretty standout separation. They remain composed during complex passages and will surely impress the average listener, though as aforementioned, the slightly more expensive Sony MDR-1A’s still boast a stronger midrange performance if at the cost of native wireless support.

 

Treble –

Highs are surprisingly crisp yet unfatiguing. Treble has increasing emphasis the higher you go, but rolls off in the upper treble, overall it is slightly accentuated from neutral, sitting in front of the mids but still a little behind the bass response. The treble grants excitement to the more laid-back midrange and enables the AH07’s impressive soundstage performance. As a result of their emphasis, treble notes do have that splashy character that affects some of Sennheiser’s high-end gear, treble notes tend to sound a bit tizzy and sometimes thin. Detail retrieval is quite nice but they would still benefit from a more even treble response. Treble isn’t accentuated to the point that sibilance or raspiness creeps in and the high-end is very well tuned for a Bluetooth headphone; most budget headphones either have no treble response at all or have an overly boosted one of poor quality, the AH07 has both quality and tasteful tuning.

The MDR-1A is still a stronger performer in the treble, but here the differences aren’t so pronounced. The Sony benefits from slightly more extensions and more body, granting higher notes with a more natural tone. However, the AH07’s higher emphasis results in a more atmospheric sound and often grants the impression of a more detailed sound. If the AH07 had a more aggressive upper midrange, it would help to counteract the strong low-end when combined with their airy treble response. As it is, bass detracts attention from the higher quality elements of the sound due to its quantity even if its quality is subpar.

 

Verdict –

While I don’t have any personal experience with the original AH07, the MKII has shaped up to be a very impressive headphone overall. As always, I’m a huge fan of apt-x, not necessarily due to any quality gains but due to the vast decrease in latency, making the apt-x enables AH07 much more versatile. The build quality is also standout as is the design of the headband and folding/adjustment mechanisms. There are a few little niggles with the finish and fitment, especially those swivel mechanisms, but apart from that, the headphones are attractive, cheap and sonically well-performing. A surprising amount of thought has gone into little details such as the clicky buttons and memory foam earpads, little things that make a huge difference in daily usage. This is also reflected in the sound quality and tuning, both of which are much more nuanced than one would expect. The Ah07 isn’t necessarily THE Bluetooth headphone to get, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to bass heads and general consumers on a budget.

Now in terms of whether the AH07 is superior or inferior to a wired headphone with an adaptor, price considered, I would say that they come out quite favourably. If you already have a nice ~$400 portable headphone, then a $20 apt-x adaptor such as the Maceton will serve you well with similarly low latency and quality, though you will experience a loss of soundstage and dynamic range compression. Ironically, if you have a higher end headphone, such an adaptor will struggle to drive it and will even further degrade sound quality; it already struggled to drive my efficient cans and would have no chance driving something like my HD700’s. In addition, the adaptor produced a very noticeable hiss, something that detracts notably from your listening experience. It’s more interesting if you have no headphones at all, I rarely come across a headphone as good as the AH07 for just $60. If you were to go with a wired headphone and adaptor, you would be left with a $40 budget for the headphones themselves, and the $60 AH07 will decimate pretty much any $40 wired headphone out there. The ideal solution, budget permitting, would be to buy the AH07 as a companion to a dedicated home headphone; they’re wireless and bassy, both great for commute and have plenty of battery life to get you through a few days of heavy usage. For just $60, I really can’t complain about their sonic shortcomings.

Accessories – 6/10, Enough for the price, neither a case nor pouch is included though both are easily purchased for just a few dollars. Included cables are adequate and manuals are well translated.

Design – 8/10, Visually speaking and price considered, the AH07 are an attractive headphone. Build is great and finish is good. Sharp edges and the stiff right swivel are an annoyance. The fitment is a little strange but is still above average due to the great headband and plush earpads. Folds for storage, adjustment clicker is nice and tight. Buttons are responsive with nice feedback.

Bass – 5/10, Lacking a little extension and slam but has great punch. Texture and definition are nice for the price.

Mids – 6/10, Nice balance. Clear, dry lower midrange. Smooth upper midrange. Laid-back sense of detail.

Treble – 6.75/10, Nicely detailed, unorthodox boost results in an airy and sparkly response.

Soundstage, imaging and separation – 5.5/10, Soundstage is above average for a closed back portable headphone. Especially impressive considering the price.

Verdict - 8/10, The AH07's are a very well rounded headphone, much more so than the vast majority at this price. While comfort could do with some work (almost every review has noted the small earpads), the headband and memory foam earpads themselves are both well designed. The audio performance is also standout. While I might have sounded negative in my review and scores, both are in reference to some much more expensive headphones and the AH07 are definitely a nice sounding headphone in their price range, especially when considering their feature set. They have a particularly strong treble response in addition to a midrange that is not great, but is much more mature than most consumer available headphones. Bass is strong and warm but also muddy, while I do not personally enjoy such a response, those who enjoy a bassy sound and those who have not heard more expensive dedicated audiophile headphones will likely find them incredibly pleasing. Finally, the wireless features and performance are all well realised, making them one of the most livable portable headphones around. The Archeer AH07 MKII's get my resounding recommendation as a bassy budget wireless champ.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this review, please have a look at my website for more just like this:

https://everydaylisteningblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/06/archeer-ah07-mkii-review-then-came-the-boom/

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Archeer AH07 Review
 
February 2017
 
 
Intro...
 
 
This is my first experience of using a Bluetooth headphone even though I had been contemplating getting one solely for watching TV late at night when speakers will keep others in the house awake as well as using with music.
 
The AH07 comes in a nice solid looking box and once the lid is off you will see the AH007 sat in the plastic moulded packaging in it folded position.
 
Inside the box there will also be a USB cable for charging and a 3.5 to 3.5 jack so you can use the headphones via cable if the battery runs out and you still need to use them until you get to charge the Archeer’s up again.
 
Also included is a printed manual which is quite comprehensive and straight forward to follow where I did not have to be a mind reader to work out the cryptic clues you sometimes get with a product from China.
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
Specifications

Bluetooth Version: 4.0 
Talk Time: 14 Hours
Stand-by Time: 540 Hours
Playback Time: 14 Hours 
Operating Range: 10m/33ft
Bluetooth Profiles: A2DP/AVRCP/HSP/HFP
Impedance: 32Ω
Sound Pressure Level: 103±3dB
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20KHz

Package Content 
1 x Archeer AH07 Headphone 
1 x USB Charging Cable 
1 x 3.5mm Audio Cable 
1 x User Manual 
 
     
 
 
 
Fit and design...
 
             
 
 
On first handling they certainly feel compact in general even before they are folded up into their travel storage mode. They feel quite light considering there is battery pack and electronics stored inside the headphone which comes in at 255 grams.  At this price it is never going to be made of luxury materials throughout but it does have quite a good padded headband which has plenty of sponge material to cushion the weight of the headband when wearing.
 
The adjustable length for the headband has a good solid click when adjusting and the foldable hinges seem quite sturdy and well made with a metal hinge incorporated in this section so should hopefully last a long time.
 
The pads are the same material as the band is made from which I think is some sort of PU leather effect and the cup size measures in at approx. 27mm wide by 54mm tall which is quite small so for anyone with large ears they may be too small or in effect be on ear pads but you will not get the isolation by design.  I am quite lucky my ears just about fit in there comfortably and also added bonus they do not seem to heat up too much even after wearing them for a longer session. 
 
I did find though with this small design and not much depth to the pads after a couple of hours I could feel the driver housing was irritating me slightly wear they are making contact with the other ear lobe as these do clamp rather well to the head also and do not feel loose at all when wearing them which would in theory make them probably good for jogging or gym not that I am in any fit state now days to try something as exertive.  I will leave that to the younger generation of reviewers to put it through its paces!
 
So I feel if the pads where just slightly wider and deeper in depth it might of just been a perfect fit for my personal preference.
 
Bluetooth and general operation

 
Been my first time using a Bluetooth headphone setting up was quite easy, firstly turning on for a two seconds until it makes an audible sound to let you know it has turned on.
 
Pairing the AH07 was an easy experience by holing the power button for five seconds then flashes red/blue alternate to notify headphone is ready to be found by a device as my Sony Walkman picked up the headphone within seconds and once selected it played straight away and subsequent uses the Walkman has found it without any issues each time.  
 
The power button/ pairing button also doubles up as the play stop button when music is playing just by pressing once. The volume buttons also act as next track by holding down until next track plays.
 
Taking calls using my HTC M9 (sure this will give away the age of this review one day) is simple and reliable and there is a nice ring tone that cuts in at a volume that doesn’t deafen you regardless of volume you are playing your music at and taking the call is a simple press of the power button to accept a call and also end the call.  Clarity of voices was really clear and concise and wish phone microphones even in top smart phones had this level of vocal quality for taking calls.
 
 
Sound Impressions
 
 
           
 
 
Pairing these with my Sony W1MA Walkman where my collection consists of using a mixture of 16 bit FLAC files and some high res files ranging from 96/24 up to some DSD files at 2.8 and 11.8MHZ. 
 
Firstly they do what they say on the tin as far as bass goes, there is plenty of it there, they sound like my Meze Classic 99’s type of bass just not quite as defined or controlled as the Meze but if your into Rock, Dance, R&B, Hip Hop this bass is really going to add presence to these songs. 
 
I have to admit I went into this thinking they would amount to much but have to say I am a bit surprised as they have tuned it despite having a strong emphasis with a bass lead signature  they have quite an all-round equal balance from each frequency range with punchy lows, very present mids with clear pristine vocals and an airy forward treble that for a headphone in this price range has quite good extension all though some music can be border line with the treble been a bit too sharp on the ear and Adele in the upper range did sound a tad nasally although for the most part sounded neutral in tone of her voice and had good grain to details in her vocals. 
I did notice also how these headphones pick out detail with things like taking a breath and gasping for air between versus.
 
These have quite an expansive soundstage for their size and are deceiving to be honest how wide they manage to sound for a closed back can. The AH07 have an ability to pan music very well with a good sense of depth and dynamics always make these headphones sound lively.
 
What did impress me was how transparent vocals are to the point they sound detailed and tonally life like it was quite uncanny, vocals are quite simply regardless of price here is amazing how it can reflect accurately the tonal palate of a singer.
 
 
       
 
The sound-stage is fairly massive for a closed back this size or any closed back any size come to that and imaging and stereo panning and depth of soundstage has a good kilter and been executed well to provide listening to these for hours will still be enjoyable without any listening fatigue.
Adele’s 25 album actually sounds like it has been recorded in a big concert hall even though it is a studio recording.
 
So listening to live concerts on these is perfect with its vast wide soundstage and cup shaking reverberating sub bass makes live recordings come to life.  Even classical music despite the bass enhanced signature and warmth not really suiting this area of music had good feel to proceedings with an enjoyable clarity to hear fine details in strings been played on violins on Mahler’s No.5 symphony in High Res files.  
 
The mid bass is fairly warm and bass strings sound really plucky with plenty of body. The definition and tightness in control is dependant of how good the recording is as I found it scaled well with very good recordings could have a could focused tight bass response and the sub bass is one you can feel at times as well as hear and can be quite effective in making songs feel more atmospheric and immersive especially with dance tracks or film soundtracks that use a lot of low end bass.
 
           
 
 
Listening to Michael Jacksons Billy Jean has great extension and decay with this treble focused track with a nice underlying delivery of mid to low bass beat giving its catchy rhythm or with Sia’s powerful vocals come through with a sense of a good headroom to her high notes.
 
The AH07 have a good tendency to reflect recordings in sense of reproducing their original signature recordings with albums like Adele or Sia sounding like they are in a bigger amphitheatre setting with plenty of echoes and very open wide and high soundstage whilst say Fleetwood Macs Tusk album as a more intimate recording in a smaller studio room with a drier flat response to notes is reflected accurately showing the AH07 is faithful to the recordings been played. 
 
The overall balance of these headphones have been done really well and still cannot quite get over how good they sound at this level as been used to headphones are usually more reference or flagship level and although they might not have the overall control or diligence to fine detail or ability to keep separation when there is a lot going on in some songs.
 
I could go on with how artist sound on these quite easily as the Ah07 adapts to each genre quite well considering it has a heavy tuned bass lead signature it seemed to just be enjoyable to hear this with any genre I listened to these with which made these reminiscent of another headphone which does that with a similar bass response in the Meze Classic 99’s which also sound better than their price point suggests.
 
Using with a cable…
 
If you happen to run out of battery on a journey and still need to listen to them then there is the handy option of going traditional by using the supplied cable which is a 3.5mm to 3.5 jack connection and have to say there is an improvement with control of notes I the high end not been quite squeezed or stressed out.
 
I happen to own a 3.5 – 3.5mm jack cable I had made for a previous headphone that used this connection and the cable cost me quite a lot a few years ago which is a silver/ copper hybrid designed cable and have to say took it to a level above the supplied stock cable just adding more control all round and tightening up of notes making it sound more defined and cohesive with a slightly more focused soundstage an imaging than previously. 
 
So using the cable whether a modded cable like I already owned or the supplied stock cable does further improve on the Bluetooth a little but does show these scale even more further when hard wired as they sound good enough to start with in their primary mode but shows a cable can help further if you was in the mood for an ultra-serious listening mode whilst sat in a comfy chair. 
 
        
 
Conclusion
 
Archeer have made these sound very pleasant and easy to listen too with a good punchy open live sound yet relaxed at the same time with stunning focused vocals that make these AH07 a joy to listen too.
 
There are some points that could be improved but they are actually not in the sound department, if they could maybe make the cups a bit bigger as not ears will fit as easily and a dedicated hard case to store them would be nice for transporting when not in use but only main draw back for me was the volume steps are to bigger jump and need to be re-fined so it is easier to get the correct volume as for me it was either a tad too low or too high past my threshold either side of pressing that volume button up or down.
 
If they could sort out the cons in my list above then I would of certainly given this 5 stars until the cows came home as sound POV I cannot fault it for the money and like my Classic 99's have shown me even after getting used to all these expensive headphones with a feeling of grandeur around now days you can still enjoy music at a very affordable price without thinking about it and just enjoy them for what they are... A very good musical headphone. 
 
I have and owned many headphones down the years and currently own the like of Grado GS1000e, Sony 7520 with same modded cable as used with this Archeer and Meze Classic 99’s as well as JH16pro CIEMS, Vibro Lab - Mayas IEM which all cost anywhere between £300 - £1000 range and have to say even though these AH07's will never match them toe to toe for detail rendering and subtle micro-phonics apart from the vocals, oh yes the vocals!
 
For the money these hold a respectable standard that have a good all round well thought out presentation of the way it delivers dynamics, harmonics with the soundstage and imaging gives it the impression of a headphone costing more than It does.
 
If you are looking for a reliable easy to use headphone when on the go for taking good clear quality calls and listening to a very flexible and adaptable sounding headphone with a good frequency sweep and big sound-stage that has plenty of sub bass the AH07 is a sound choice worth considering for what they cost and then some. Very happy first Bluetooth headphone experience indeed, that didn’t have to cost the earth at all.
 
 
.

Greetings Head-fi!
 
Today we are going to be checking out a Bluetooth headphone from Archeer, the newly revised, lower latency AH07.
 
With the trend of manufacturers phasing out 3.5mm jacks on smart phones (thanks Apple...) it seem Bluetooth enabled headphones are becoming less of a luxury and more the norm. With improved Bluetooth tech like aptX reducing the gap in sound quality between wired vs. wireless play, it's making more and more sense to spend that little extra on a high quality headphone so you can get the most out of your listening experience.
 
In the case of the Archeer AH07, you don't need to spend that 'little extra' to get a very well-rounded product and something that both feels and sounds much more premium than the fairly meager cost of entry would lead you to believe. It's certainly not a perfect headphone, but it's one of the best I've experienced so far in the Bluetooth world. Let's check out why.
 
Disclaimer:
 
I would like to thank Lucas at Archeer for reaching out to see if I would be interested in reviewing the AH07. It was provided free of charge in exchange for a fair and impartial review. Everything that follows are my thoughts and opinions, and are not representative of Archeer or any other entity. The AH07 is considered their property until they state otherwise.
 
The AH07 can be purchased through a variety of Amazon locations worldwide and at the time of this review is selling for 55.99 USD. You can access links to each regional Amazon store here on their website; http://www.archeer.com/Archeer-AH07-Foldable-Wireless-Over-Ear-Stereo-Bluetooth-Headphone-with-Built-in-MIC,Soft-Ear-Cups-and-Adjustable-Headband-for-Sporting-Gaming-Reading-Relaxing,Up-to-14-Hours-Playback-Time-p-20.html
 
A Little About Me:
 
 

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Packaging and Accessories:
 
When it comes to budget products, I generally don't have high expectations for the packaging. While the AH07's matte black package is about as basic as it gets, the cardboard selected is tough as nails. Somewhat ironic then that on the front below the image of the AH07 itself it says "Impact". It would have taken a serious one to cause the damage you see in those images, as that cardboard is solid.
 
The rear outlines product features such as apt-X, a mic for taking phone calls, and that they function both wirelessly or through a standard auxiliary in, 3.5mm connection. One feature that could be misinterpreted is "enhanced noise reduction function to ensure better entertaining experience." Translate that to 'strong passive noise isolation' and you've got a more accurate description of that particular 'function'.
 
Inside the box you find the AH07 folder and placed within a plastic tray. To emphasis just how much of a shock that box must have taken, the tray was cracked in two places. The headphones were untouched though. Kudos again to Archeer for making such a robust package. Lift out the tray and you find the included accessories; a micro USB cable for charging and a fairly basic aux cable terminated in 3.5mm connections. A user manual is included (English only) and is one of the few I've come across that clearly explains the earphone, how to use it, and all it's functions.
 
Overall an unspectacular unboxing experience with decent and perfectly functional accessories. This I am fine with because it's clear Archeer's money went elsewhere, namely towards build and sound quality.
 

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Build, Comfort, and Isolation:
 
Dense. That was the word that came to mind the moment I picked up the AH07 for the first time. It's surprisingly weighty, solid, and feels very durable. The earcups are composed of a very thick plastic. The earpads twist off and are easily replaceable as they're attached via a fairly thick plastic clip. Way more durable and effective than the brittle, hyper-cheap rings that hold the pads in place on the HiFiMan HE-350, and in line with what you find on the premium thinksound On2.
 
The headband arms seems made of the same material as the earcups, backed by a brushed aluminum strip. The headband itself I'm thinking is plastic as it is resists bending and flexing. Luckily it's covered by a fairly thick layer of plush padding. The folding mechanism is opposite the norm; primarily metal supported by plastic inserts.
 
The headband extensions are also primarily metal, supported by plastic, and move with solid clicks. Fully extended they give you an extra inch of room on either side which might not be enough for those with large noggins.
 
The AH07 is a pretty heavy earphone which you notice the moment they're placed on your head. The weight is distributed well, aided along by the plush headband padding and earcups that swivel and pivot quite freely. Unfortunately, comfort takes a hit, at least for me it did, when we move to those plush ear cups. They're square which itself isn't a bad thing, but they're not large enough to make the AH07 over-ear, or small enough to make them on-ear. As a result, I found it pretty much impossible to seat them comfortably as they were always putting pressure on some part of my outer ear, despite the pads themselves being fairly plush though somewhat shallow. This resulted in very mild discomfort after 20 minutes or so, and then further adjustments to accommodate for that. Rinse and repeat. Obviously not everyone will have these issues, but for me the earcup design was particularly troublesome.
 
The media control buttons on the right ear cup are hit and miss. It's easy to find the button you want, but they're pretty spongy when pressed. This along with a slight delay between when you press and when your player reacts means I often press too many times. I've gotten more and more used to it over the last few weeks, but it's still easier and more effective to just pull out my phone to change volume or songs.
 
Passive isolation is excellent pending you can seat the AH07 properly. With music playing, they did a great job of drowning out external noise, phones, talking, etc. These would be a solid option if you travel on public transit.
 
Overall the AH07 is a very well-built headphone with some potential comfort issues that arise from their indecision as to whether it wants to be an over- or on-ear headphone. Archeer, I would love to see you include both on-ear and over-ear pads options in the future to help address this. Shouldn't be too hard to do with the excellent pad removal system in place.
 

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Battery Performance:
 
They have a claimed charge time of 2 hours and run time of 14 hours. When they first arrived I drained the battery and tossed them on the charger. From fully drained, they took just over an hour and 50 minutes to charge to full. I left them on overnight at 50% volume on both the headphones and my HTC One M8. This is much louder than I personally would listen on a regular basis. At these settings, they died the next morning after just over 13 and a half hours. Solid.
 
Wireless Performance:
 
Outside of the occasional little skip here and there, pretty good! Pairing was as easy as you would expect. Hold the power button until the led starts flashing red/blue, search for devices through your source, and select the device called "AH07". Repairing later on down the road was as easy as turning on both devices. Within a couple seconds they'd find each other and you're good to go.
 
Archeer claims a 33 foot range which sounds about right. I was able to travel anywhere in my apartment without losing connection with my phone placed on my desk, only experiencing drops if I went into the bathroom. That puts two concrete walls between the headphone and source, so not entirely unexpected. I noticed that covering the right earpiece with my hand would cause drops. An unexpected mute feature? Heh...
 

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Sound Quality:
 
Wired vs. Wireless: I found there was a difference between the two with wired use offering up noticeably superior sound. Wireless use softened the sound taking away from the punch and authority of the low end, while also lessening detail and accuracy across the board. The AH07 was great either way, but wired used is the way to go if you want the best sound quality. The majority of my testing was done wired through my HTC One M8 or XDuoo X3/NX1 combo.
 
Slam, bam, thank you...Archeer for a very entertaining headphone. The AH07 is characterized by a warm, impactful, u-shaped signature with a prominent and powerful low end. Damn if they won't put a smile on your face.
 
Treble is smartly emphasized with a good amount of sparkle. Detail and clarity is on point, bringing everything forward but not in an aggressive, uncomfortable way. It's sharp and accurate without any sloppiness or splashiness getting in the way, something that can very quickly stand out when giving a headphone a go with Grammatik's 'Bluestep' or the grimy "low-fi" sounds on The Prodigy's 'Get Your Fight On'.
 
The AH07's midrange is just as clean and clear with vocals coming through loud and clear, albeit slightly recessed. When vocals or guitars are intended to be the primary focus, they seem to be just a little less prominent than the song would normally call for. A mild boost here would be welcome, though not entirely necessary since it doesn't detract from the experience.
 
Bass is where the AH07 shines for me. It's way punchier and more controlled than the competition I have on hand, and has awesome sub-bass presence with just the right amount of mid-bass. Despite being very prominent it somehow avoids bleeding into the midrange or distorting at high volumes. Very fun, very powerful, and not for the bass averse.
 
Soundstage is where the AH07 stumbles a bit in my opinion. I was hoping a good amount of "burn in", be it physical and/or mental, would help them out. The AH07 doesn't come across as particularly spacious and therefore presents you with a very forward and intimate experience. On particularly busy tracks this also leads to congestion, such as King Crimson's 'Starless and Bible Black'. Not an issue when you're listening to EDM or hip hope, but toss on some jazz and the AH07 loses composure. Disappointing because they're ace in pretty much every other way.
 
Overall, I find the AH07 to be a very competent and entertaining performer, especially with the genres of music I listen to most.
 

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Select Comparisons:
 
Ausdom M05 (~50 USD): The M05 is much darker and overly mid-bassy in comparison lacking clarity and detail found in the AH07. It is more open however, and avoid the same levels of congestion Archeer's offering can run into. The AH07 is the better built using high quality materials and with cleaner fit and finish. The only real edge the M05 has is it's flexible metal headband. Comfort is better on the M05 but ends up being a bit of a wash. The M05 is significantly lighter but has trouble sealing properly at the base of the ear cups, so as with the AH07, I'm always fiddling about to find the right fit. In the end, superior sound quality takes the cake and the AH07 is the one I'd take home.
 
Mixcder ShareMe 5 (~45 USD): As with the M05, the ShareMe 5 comes across as the darker and more mid-bassy of the two, however the ShareMe's treble presence and presentation does hold up better against the AH07. The ShareMe 5 is notably more airy with better instrument separation, though it lacks the directness and control of the AH07. Audio quality is closer than I was expecting, but the AH07 displays it's dominance via it's slightly more balanced, less bass focused signature and improved technical ability. The AH07 uses more durable plastics and feels more substantial, especially in the headband. That said, the ShareMe 5 is miles ahead in comfort. It's weighs next to nothing and gracefully perches itself upon your head with it's light, airy presence. Based purely on comfort alone the ShareMe 5 is the one I would choose, even though I prefer the AH07's sound and build quality. It's just too uncomfortable for me to wear for any length of time and given these are meant to be portable headphones used on the move, comfort is key.
 
Final Thoughts:
 
The Archeer AH07 is a very strong Bluetooth headphone with performance that exceeds similarly priced sets I've come across. The build quality is outstanding, wireless performance is great, and battery life is pretty good too. Their sound signature is fun and detailed with some of the tightest, punchiest bass I've come across, and it's a joy to listen to.
 
The only real complaint I can levy against them is the shape and size of the ear cups and the resulting discomfort this causes. Since fit and comfort will vary from user to user and this certainly isn't going to be an issue for everyone, so don't let it detract you from considering this very competent performer.
 
Thanks for reading!
 
- B9Scrambler
 
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
 
Test Songs:
 
Aesop Rock - Saturn Missiles
BT - The Antikythera Mechanism
Daft Punk - Touch
Dillon Francis and NGHTMRE - Need You
Gramatik - Bluestep (Album Version)
Incubus - 2nd/3rd/4th Movements of the Odyssey
Infected Mushroom - Deeply Disturbed
Infected Mushroom - The Legend of the Black Shawarma
Jessie J - Bang Bang
Kiesza - Hideaway
King Crimson - Red (full album)
Pink Floyd - Money
Run The Jewels - Oh My Darling (Don't Cry)
Skindred - Death to all Spies
Supertramp - Rudy
The Prodigy - Get Your Fight On

 
 
 
 
 
 
Introduction
 
Thanks to Archeer for the complementary headphone.  I was asked originally to review a bicycle speaker, and while it probably sounds pretty good (I’ll be publishing my Archeer Bluetooth Speaker review in the near future), I didn’t feel a need for it since I don’t personally bicycle ride anymore.  I saw that Archeer offered a Bluetooth headphone on Amazon, so instead of going with the bicycle speaker, they were able to send me a Bluetooth headphone - which would be getting much use as the time with it went by.  When I first listened to the AH07, I wasn’t blown away from the sound.  Once I let myself listen to it with more sources (such as the Questyle Audio QP1R) and used the cable instead of strictly Bluetooth, I grew into the sound, and happy that I’ve been able to share my thoughts of the headphone with you.  If you’d like to read more...let’s go!
 
 
Audio equipment used in the review
 
Headphone
 
Archeer AH07 Impact Wireless Bluetooth Headphone: $50.99
 
Headphones mentioned and compared
 
1MORE MK802: $129.99
Cleer DU: $129.99 
Massdrop x HIFIMAN HE350: $99
 
Sources
iPhone 6 (Space Gray, 128GB):  $849.99 or $399.99 with a 2-Year Contract
Microsoft Surface Book: Starting at $1,499
Questyle Audio QP1R Golden: $899 USD
 
DAC/Amp
iFi Audio micro iCAN SE: $299
 
Software Applications Used
Spotify Premium – Extreme Setting
TIDAL HiFi – Lossless
 
 
Here’s a video of my family friend DJ JMo giving his thoughts of the Archeer 07!

 
 
Inside the box
 
Archeer AH07
3.5mm cable
Micro USB charging cable
User Manual
 
 
 

Build and aesthetics
 
There is plastic galore, but the brushed aluminum of the sides of the headband provide a tasteful look.  The headband and earpads feel like pleather, and are thick in build, but has a pliable feel when the head and ears touch the pleather.  The headband can also extend a little over an inch on each side, to accommodate smaller and larger-sized heads.  The earcups can rotate forward and back about 45 degrees and in and out about 10 degrees.  The accent of aluminum in the earcups add to the tasteful look as well.  The included 3.5 mm cable is slightly hefty for a cable of that type and allows for more durability, especially with the strain relief on both jacks of the cable.  Buttons and ports on the back of the right side (from the top) denote: Power/Pause/Answer/End button, and volume up/down buttons;  the Micro USB port and 3.5 mm port are on the bottom.
 
 
 

Fit and comfort
 
At 255.5 grams, this headphone is one of the lightest I’ve felt that feels substantial.  Plasticy substantial, but substantial nonetheless.  Fit is very good as there is good play with the earcups, and the headband has easy retractability, even though it fits well without having to retract the headband at all.  The headband is very comfortable, soft pliable pleather, and the earpads are soft, cushy, and doesn’t get hot to my ears, even with extended listening.  Basically, it is one of the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever felt.
 
 
 
Disclaimer and hearing factors
 
The AH07 sound impressions are mainly for anyone wanting a point of reference regarding how they more or less pair with the iPhone 6, QP1R and Surface Book.  Other sources may vary slightly or greatly as the AH07 sounds different enough with these three sources to warrant mentioning.  The AH07 will have a warmer and pronounced effect in the overall bass region when pairing with the iPhone 6.  The AH07 will have a detailed with slight treble and bass with extended detail when paired with the QP1R.  The AH07 will have a more balanced and natural sounding approach to its presentation when paired with the Surface Book.  For reference, the AH07 is fairly easy to drive, as a smartphone such as the iPhone doesn't take full volume for the AH07 to emit levels that can damage hearing pretty quickly.
 
We all hear differently, and our experiences with regards to how our interpretation of what we hear vary greatly.  Some factors that come to mind (and not limited), are:
 
Your inner ear and skull’s overall composition: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-unique-vibrations-of-your-skull-affect-how-you-hear-music-654940/?no-ist.
 
Hearing loss as we age, also known as presbycusis: https://www.ohio.edu/news/months/nov1998/111.html,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbycusis.
 
Heredity, noise trauma, dietary habits, smoking, hypertension, atherosclerosis, are other factors that affect people’s overall hearing ability.
 
 
Analyze this and that
 
The test tracks that I use in my reviews are located in these albums (album alphabetical order)
 
1989 (Deluxe Edition) by Taylor Swift (FLAC 44.1kHz/16bit)
21 by Adele (FLAC 44.1kHz/16bit)
Bad (2001 Special Edition) by Michael Jackson (FLAC 44.1kHz/16bit)
Bangerz by Miley Cyrus (MP3 320kbps/44.1kHz/16bit)
Beyoncé by Beyoncé (FLAC 44.1kHz/16bit)
good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar (FLAC 44.1kHz/16bit)
Heart Blanche by Ceelo Green (MP3 320kbps/44.1kHz/16bit)
Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park (FLAC 48.0kHz/24bit)
Make Yourself by Incubus (MP3 320kbps/44.1kHz/16bit)
No. 5 Collaborations Project (EP) by Ed Sheeran (MP3 320kbps/44.1kHz/16bit)
One by One by Foo Fighters (FLAC 88.2kHz/24bit)
Random Access Memories by Daft Punk (FLAC 88.2kHz/24bit)
Schubert – Berliner Philharmoniker by Nikolaus Harnoncourt (FLAC 48.0kHz/24bit)
The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd (FLAC 44.1kHz/16bit)
Thriller by Michael Jackson (DSD 2822.4kHz/1bit)
X (Wembley Edition) by Ed Sheeran (FLAC 44.1kHz/16bit)
 
Several standalone tracks (track alphabetical order)
 
Dock of the Bay by The Persuations – A Cappella Dreams (WAV 44.1kHz/16bit)
M.O.R. by Blur – Blur 21, Blur (2012 Remaster – Special Edition) (MP3 320kbps 44.1kHz/16bit)
Schubert String Quartet No. 14 in D minor D. 810, Death and the Maiden: III. Scherzo. Allegro molto by Oslo String Quartet – The Schubert Connection (DSD 2822.4kHz/1bit)
Serenade (Spanish Dance), Op. 54, No. 2 by Jano Starker and David Popper – Wilson Audio Ultimate Reference (APE 44.1kHz/16bit)
The Peppery Man by Natalie Merchant – Leave Your Sleep (WAV 44.1kHz/16bit)
These Bones by The Fairfield Four – I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray (WAV 44.1kHz/16bit)
 
If I am listening to a product that is not able to be listened with the highest resolution tracks that I have mentioned, I will listen to the TIDAL versions (FLAC).
 
 
Sound impressions
 
The AH07 has a slightly laid back, reference sound.  This is a sound that you can listen to for hours because it doesn’t sound exaggerated on any end of the spectrum.  If you want an exciting-sounding headphone with gobs of bass and super ear-piercing highs, this headphone is probably not for you.  However, the even-keeled acoustic qualities make it for a fantastic sound once your ears get accustomed to the sound, especially if you are coming from more V-shaped sounding headphones.  The bass is not overwhelming, but of reference quality.  The midrange is smooth and competent, and the treble is compliant and doesn’t cause ear fatigue in the least - to my ears.  The headphone is closed-back and won’t sound as spacious or image pinpoint as an open-back, but does a good job conveying the sense of space as best as it can.  The overall sound of the AH07 is surprisingly satisfactory especially because of the headphone’s price point.
 
 
Headphone comparisons
 
Compared to the 1MORE MK802 (in its normal bass setting), the AH07 has less quantity of bass and slightly less treble emphasis.  Spatial capabilities are similar between the two.
 
Compared to the Cleer DU, the AH07 has less quantity of bass and a significant amount of less treble emphasis.  Even though the DU is a closed-back, the DU’s second driver (tweeter) helps to convey a more spacious and image-precise sound than of the AH07.
 
Compared to the Massdrop x HIFIMAN HE350, the AH07 has slightly more quantity of bass and a significant amount less treble emphasis.  The open-back HE350 has a leg up on the AH07’s spatial capabilities.
 
 
Should you modify?

It’s really up to you.  By now you should know that having this headphone as part of your collection (or only headphone) that it is an overall reference sound.  With that said, you may want to dial in modifications to help bring out the bass as well as elevating the treble in the process.  What can you do?

EQ – use your source’s EQ settings to dial in a preferable frequency response to your ears.
Bass Boost or equivalent – use your source’s Bass Boost or equivalent button or switch, as you can with a button press or flip of a switch have immediate results with increased bass with the expense of probably lower perceived treble.

Third-party elemental cables – copper, SPC, silver/gold or silver litz, etc. may help further refine the sound signature of the AH07.

I personally won’t be modifying as I am enjoying the sound signature that the AH07 produces.
 
 
Cultivate a fresh sound™
 
What does this mean?  Too often we focus on only the music we are accustomed to.  I am usually this way as well.  Here’s an opportunity to listen to something you either may not normally listen to, or haven’t heard of.  As I publish reviews in the future, I will have new and older tracks from various genres that I’ve listened to in this section, and will be largely based on what songs really moved me in particular to the reviewed product I’ve listened to on it.  Even though the tracks will be linked to YouTube videos or audio-only versions, the tracks will either be listened solely from the iPhone 6 and TIDAL HiFi - Lossless, or from my Microsoft Surface Book and TIDAL HiFi - Lossless.  Instead of describing each track in immense detail, you can simply listen for yourself and bask in the beautiful music you may have just found for the first time right now!  What’s also great is that you can come back here just to listen to the tracks mentioned!  If you have any personal issues with any tracks posted, please PM me and I'll replace it with another track.  It's all about positivity in our musical journey.  With those kind words of encouragement, here we go…
 
Don't Let Me Down ft. Daya by The Chainsmokers

 
Let It Go by James Bay

Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott

 
Holy War (Lyric) by Alicia Keys

 
 
Is the AH07 worth it?
 
I would say yes.  The AH07 not only fits the head admirably, but sounds satisfactorily reference-sounding and balanced as well.  Let your ears adjust, and you may begin to notice how truly competent the AH07 sounds.
 
 
Final thoughts
 
If you are looking for a headphone that may be one of your most comfortable to wear, offers Bluetooth, sounds costlier than the price offered and won’t break the bank, the AH07 may very well be worth a listen and purchase.
 
 
Specifications
 
Bluetooth Version: 4.0
Talk Time: 14 hours
Standby Time: 540 hours
Music Play Time: 14 hours
Wireless Range: 10 meters
Bluetooth Profiles: A2DP/AVRCP/HSP/HFP
Impedance: 32 Ω
Sound Pressure Level: 118 +/- 3dB
Frequency Response: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Weight: 255.5 g
Dimension: 200 x 180 x 65 mm