Hakii Mix smart headband headphones – Review

What are they? A Sports headband with built in headphones, that sit above and outside your ears when in use (Colour blue)

Specs – 8 Hour battery life on 50% volume – 22mm Extra Large Drivers – Waterproof IPX5, Codecs: SBC,AAC – Frequency response 20

Included in the box? The headband, two adaptable size headbands, a USB-C charging cable and small organizer bag.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hakii/hakii-mix-a-sports-headphone-game-changer

Picture taken from the Kickstarter webpage, detailing the products pre-launch story.

Hakii, a Chinese company, make multiple products within the headphones sector, all with a slight edge or unique design/function, with the fitness consumer in mind. As well as the headband under review here, they also do sunglasses with headphones built in, so you can see the multi-functional technology they are focusing on, for which I applaud the creative approach and vision.

Or to put it in their own words:

HAKII, a brand “focusing on smart sports equipment”, is
committed to designing differentiated products that satisfy different sports scenarios so as to create a brand-new “smart×sports” lifestyle experience for young people and meet
the potential sports demands that pay more attention to intelligence, social contact and
trendiness in the future.

The Hakii Mix smart headband headphones, to call them by their full name, are aimed at those that want to work out with music, but not use the traditional in ear or over ear headphones, either due to comfort preference or to increase awareness of surroundings, be it for family or safety reasons.

The headphones have two rather protruding speakers that are attached within each side of an adjustable headband, meaning the sound is amplified just above and not directly within your ears. Build quality looks premium, well-constructed and nicely designed. They come with two sized headband adaptors, plus two further adjustments you can make on the headband itself, giving you a total of 4 different size options. These, as well as the fact that the headband is elasticated, means they should fit heads of varying sizes. Once you have the headphones on and adjusted them to the size that works for you, they fit securely, are comfortable and not intrusive, though take a little getting used to. They come in bright sporty blue or a more understated black. Volume and skip track controls are present on the unit, and a more than adequate 8 hour battery life from one charge is provided.

The unique design does give the audio a different feel to normal headphones, meaning that music sounds a little distant and not as immersive as in ear or over ear headphones, which is to be expected. That said, the sound while not at premium audio levels, delivers a decent experience and does all the basics well. Sound is crisp, insightful and gives a solid sense of stereo separation. There is no sign of that tinny sound found in cheap headphones, and yes while there is very little base, it is aided by the subtle vibration that occurs on the side of your head when listening. While they don’t get very loud, sound leakage is present but minimal when music is played at low to mid volume levels, so you could wear these at the gym. They only become audible to others, when they get very close to you. More on whether you would want to wear them in a public later though! When using for calls, I found the sound and mic quality to be excellent and above expectations.

If you are doing a reasonably stationary exercise, they will be comfortable, effective and do their job well. Though you do become more self-aware that you have two, albeit small speakers strapped to your head. The above benefits start to fade when you run or do more movement based exercises, where these activities increase the head motion. I tested it on a 5k run, where I found that they sit very securely on your head, and so the fears you get that normal ear buds may fall out mid run are eliminated here. While running sound is clear with a rock solid Bluetooth connection, it allows you to fully focus on getting that PB.

As your run progresses, although as headband headphones they are water resistant, they do become much more uncomfortable, and irritable to wear. As your forehead sweats, the more they chafe and cause the skin to itch, so you feel the urge to remove them and replace with traditional ear buds, which is a shame as they do have a lot going for them. A similar product I use during winter is a hat with built in headphones which keeps you warm and provides music, by cleverly combining the two. This product is trying to do the same for summer or winter exercise, but as it uses the less common headband, it falls short of the same practicality. Exercise can come in many forms and levels; I also used these to listen to podcasts/radio, while doing house work, DIY and gardening. Again, the open ear dynamic was suited to these tasks where you want that ability to hear the world around you, which these deliver better than the best ambience mode on expensive headphones. So they do give you options but without doubt, the biggest issue with these are…well you just look a bit plain silly wearing them! You are too aware of how you look, for you to ignore this, although if you are less follicly challenged than me, this may balance the look a little!

So it comes down to the much debated functionality v appearance, which is more important? Well in the world of technology, I would say both. You want your tech to make your life easier or more entertaining, but also look a bit cool with it. Especially when it is tech you are seen wearing. That

said, just like the appreciation of audio, how you feel wearing them or how much you care about such things, is very subjective, and if it doesn’t matter to you, these are fully worthy of your consideration.

Although there are many products within the sports headphones sector, few stray from the common in ear headphones. As mentioned above, Hakii do their own alternative in the form of the “Hakii Wind” sunglasses. There are also varying styles of beanie hat headphones, wrap around headphones that sit above the ear in a loop form, as well as bone conducting headphones (But these are not ideally suited for sports). The only other headband headphones of sorts, are designed for the sleeping stage of your day and not exercise. So this product is original in its overall concept, which makes assessing its value for money difficult. I would say that if paying the full RRP of £120, you would be overspending, but if they became available at around £75 to £100 that would give value for money, depending on what they achieve for your requirement.

So, in summary, these headphones sound good and fulfil a need for those who want an open ear dynamic when working out with music. If you use them on your own at home, they will even serve a purpose to listen to your favourite music or podcasts. But when working out, the core activity they are aimed at, the lack of comfort and appearance of wearing them are two big draw-backs which stop me recommending them to the majority. Like the best gadgets though, some will find they work well for them and enjoy their benefits accordingly. It is the kind of innovative and unique gadget that I really like, and respect companies for producing, as that is how the use and boundaries of such technologies are pushed. If future versions could stretch out the size and shape of the speakers, so they blended more into the cosmetic appearance of the headband, it would look more sporty, subtle and stylish, which are such big factors in today’s sports market.

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