PLAY, an Indian start-up popular for its accessories, launched the PLAYGO BH22 Wireless Headphones recently. It has 40mm EBEL Drivers with Dual Equalizer, features a lightweight foldable design, and it connects via Bluetooth 5.0 that promises a long 35 hours of listening time, and it even has an AUX port for wired operation in case the battery runs out. I have been using the headset for about a week now. Let us check out the review to find out what it has to offer.
Box Contents
- PLAYGO BH22 wireless headphones in Champagne colour
- Micro USB Cable
- 1.2m braided AUX cable with microphone
- User manual
Design and build
Starting with the design, the headphones has a familiar design, and have a matte finish on the outside that makes it free from fingerprints and smudges. There is a champagne colour ring around the earbuds that look good. There is also a lush lava colour version with the only differentiation being the ring.
The headphones feature a foldable design for easy storage, and feature an adjustable headband to fit your head. Even though it has a huge 500mAh battery, it weighs just 196 grams. Sadly, it doesn’t come with any IP ratings, so is not resistant to splashes, but I used it during workouts when I was sweating without any issues. However, I wouldn’t recommend using it for outdoor running or cycling when it’s raining.
The quality of the ear cups are good, and it is comfortable and doesn’t strain your ears even when you wear it for long hours. Since these are over the ear headphones, you might want to take a break once in every few hours since there might be sweat with long term use.
The headphones feature several buttons on the side of the left ear cup. These include volume control buttons with the play/pause + power on / off button in between. There is also an LED indicator next to it that glows in Blue and Red colours. There is also an AUX port using a wired connection when the battery runs out. The quality of the bundled braided cable is good. The headphones feature a micro USB charging port.
You can press the function button once to play/pause music, or hang-up / answer a phone call and long press to hang the call. When you are not on a call, you can double press the play/pause button to launch voice assistant on the phone. When you triple press, it activates the extra bass mode. You can long press the volume buttons to move to previous or next song. Overall, the build quality of the headphones is good.
Audio Quality
Coming to the audio quality, these offer loud audio output, thanks to 40mm Enhanced Bass, Extra Loud (EBEL) drivers with a frequency response rating of 20 – 20,000 Hz. Hardware specifications aside, highs and treble performance is good, but the loudness is on the higher side, and if you prefer a punchy bass, the extra bass mode helps. The soundstage is decently wide for a closed back headset. You can’t expect ANC support in the price range, but the passive noise cancellation helps.
There is no gaming mode for ultra low latency, so it might not be the best for gaming. The headset has a built-in microphone which is good even in most conditions, but it is not the best in crowded and noisy environment. But you can use the microphone in the bundled AUX cable, so you can use the headphones in wired mode, if you want the best calling experience.
Connectivity and Pairing
The Bluetooth headset supports Bluetooth 5.0 with AAC high quality audio codec. The connection range is around 10 meters, which is common in most headsets, but the connection quality is good. The pairing process is very easy, simply press and hold the function button for a few seconds until the status light blinks, this means that the headset is now ready to be paired to a device. Now open the Bluetooth settings on the phone, and it shows up as PLAYGO BH22, and you can connect to it. As soon as the connection is established, the blinking LED should go off, and it should blink Blue.
There is no companion app, but it lets you pair the headphones with up to two Bluetooth devices at a time, thanks to multipoint support. We tested it on a PC and a phone and with two phones, and switch between them easily.
Battery Life
The headphones pack a 500mAh battery, that promise up to 35 hours of music playback. We got over 30 hours of battery life in about 60% volume. The headset automatically turns off when it’s not in use for about 5 minutes. Charging the headset takes about four hours using the micro USB cable, which is long since it doesn’t come with fast charging support.
The LED light rapidly flashes red when the battery life is low, remains red when it is charging and turns blue and remains lit when it is fully charging. When the headphones are turned, it gives the battery status such as medium or low, which is useful.
Conclusion
PLAYGO BH22 is a decent Bluetooth headphones with a good build quality, foldable design, crisp audio and a long battery life. It also comes with AUX port for wired listening. Wish it had fast charging support and a water resistant body. It is available on Amazon.in and Play website priced at Rs. 2499.