SuperEQ S1 Hybrid Wireless Headphones Review

Wireless headphones are convenient and modern and are now coming way down in price. As the technology develops, the price of entry is lowering, to a point that everyone can get on board if they choose to. One of the most recent entries into this genre of on-the-go audio listening gear is the SuperEQ S1 Hybrid Headphones, which can be either wired or wireless. Let’s put them to the test.

This is a sponsored article and was made possible by SuperEQ. The actual contents and opinions are the sole views of the author who maintains editorial independence, even when a post is sponsored.

Be Young, Be Free

Using a Bluetooth v5.0 receiver, you can use the SuperEQ S1 Hybrid Wireless Headphones wirelessly with any Bluetooth device. Alternatively, using the included cable, you can attach them with a wire to older tech which doesn’t use wireless technology. Convenient.

Included in the box are the headphones, a soft matte vinyl drawstring carrying bag, a very short charging cable (presumably meant for plugging into a laptop on the table rather than a charging block) and an airplane adapter for use during air travel.

The headphones fold up nicely and are protected adequately by the bag. The build quality is nice, and the materials used are tasteful and smooth. The set features Active (or powered) Noise Cancelling, aka ANC, which means you get to choose to shut out ambient noise or hear it, and this is why the headphones need a battery, along with powering the Bluetooth receiver.

On the box and also printed on the headphones are the words “Be Young, Be Free,” which gives us a big clue for the intended audience for these ‘phones.

Buttery Bass

The first impressions of the SuperEQ S1 Hybrid Wireless Headphones are stylish, solid and made from well-engineered and nice-looking materials. Clearly, they are styled for the younger user. The second impression is how heavy they are. This is both good and bad.

I don’t know if off the top of your head you know the average weights of headphones. I didn’t and had to look it up. Lightweight headphones are anything under 240g. My Sony set is 110g, my gaming Air Joys about 170g. Above 340g, the headphones are considered heavyweight. The reference headphones I previously used for mixing audio were about 370g.

The S1 set weighs in at 280g which places it squarely in the middleweight category. The main reason a set of headphones is heavy is to accentuate bass, as you can’t move air without some weight behind it. Lightweight headphones have great clarity, and heavyweight headphones have great bass, it’s a fact of life. The SuperEQ S1 is not lacking in the bass department, but it does to my ears lack a tiny bit of the clarity that I’d look for in a set of good quality headphones. It’s noticeable if you’re looking for it. But let’s get more precise.

Running our favorite test the frequency range is about 15Mhz down to 20Hz, which is about average. The drivers are matched quite well, with a little bit of wibble at the top end and leaning towards the right a little bit at certain frequencies. The drivers are well mounted and don’t rattle – even at low frequencies – and are wired correctly with no polarity weirdness.

The headphones are heavily weighted toward the bass end, but I figure this has to do with the intended market of this kind of headphones. Younger users go for much more bass-oriented music – like dance, electronic and hip hop styles – and this is the kind of music this type of headphones reproduce well.

My only criticisms of the set are more to do with ergonomics than audio fidelity. Although the SuperEQ S1 Hybrid Wireless Headphones are middleweight and have good bass, the head strap is not really padded sufficiently, so it presses on the top of your head a bit. My old reference headphones had a sort of hammock to brace their bulk against your noggin. They also seem to be designed for a smaller head than mine (see comments above about target market), so they squeeze my huge melon a bit. It’s not that they are uncomfortable or painful, as they are fine, but any pressure on the head reduces the amount of time you can have them on. It’s a fine balance.

There is also a weird anomaly with regard to the ANC. In wired mode with ANC off, you get good bass, but with ANC on in wired mode, the sound becomes thinner and has hardly any bass. In wireless mode, you get good bass whether ANC is off or on. I can’t explain this. Additionally, the wired mode doesn’t work when the headphones lose power.

For More Details

The SuperEQ S1 Hybrid Wireless Headphones is a stylish and decent-sounding set of wireless headphones with good bass. Designed for medium to small heads and aimed at a youthful market, they represent good value for money and make a great starter set for fans of music with a lot of oomph. Pick them up for just $54.99 after the Prime $10 discount and clipping the $5 coupon on Amazon.