Microlab T1 wireless headset review

1. Introduction2. Microlab T1 Wireless Headset3. Sound Quality4. Microphone Quality5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

Microlab is a relatively small company in the audio world but that isn't stopping it from delivering decent quality speaker systems. Previously we have had a look at the Solo 6C as well as the FC360 2.1 speaker systems and were impressed by both. Can Microlab deliver similar sound quality in a headset however? Today we are going to find out, with our review of the Microlab T1 Wireless Bluetooth Headset.

We review a lot of gaming products at KitGuru but the T1 isn't aimed at quite the same audience. This headset has been made with media consumption in mind for use with Phones, Tablets and other media players.

Features:

• Wireless Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity and music streaming.
• Quality headset with depth and full range audio performance.
• CD sound quality with aptX function.
• Clear sound with strong bass.
• USB charge and play function.
• 10m Wireless radius.
• Noise Reduction.
• In-built microphone.
• 3.5mm Stereo Jack.

Technical Specifications:

• Frequency Response- 60-20 000, Hz.
• Signal/Noise ratio- 85 dB.
• Nominal Impedance- 42 Ohm.
• 50mm speaker drivers.
• 2 hours charge time (6 for initial charge).
• 10 hours of wireless playback time.
• Standby time- 30 days.
• Omnidirectional microphone.
• Mic sensitivity: -42dB, +3 dB.

The box for the £49.99 headset is very sturdy and strong, It's the same style of box Apple uses for its iPads and the older iPod Classics.

 

The box has a magnetic clip on the side that flips the front of the box open, revealing the headset along with two cables: a 1.2m 3.5mm stereo jack and a 1.2m micro USB cable for charging.

The headphones are made out of a glossy plastic, on the left ear cup you will find some Microlab branding, while on the right ear cup you'll see some media controls which will allow you to play/pause, skip tracks, turn the volume up and down as well as answer phone calls.

 

The ear cups are very soft and and will act like pillows for your years- they are very comfortable.

The headband is adjustable and you can turn the ear cups slightly to better fit your head and ear shape, we found it very easy to adjust and upon finding the perfect fit, I was able to use it for entire days, often forgetting it was even on. It sits on the head quite well too, I was able to move my head around a lot without the headphones slipping or coming close to falling off.

The T1 headset was designed for music and movies rather than gaming and as a result, we won't be focussing too much on in-game performance in this review and will be paying more attention to music and movies instead.

Since this headset is mainly intended for media consumption, we went ahead and listened to some music tracks, first up on our playlist is Jaws on the Floor by You Me At Six, the main reason I chose this song was due to the amount of panning in the mix. The T1 headset performed very well, vocal harmonies were easy to distinguish, the bass wasn't over powering and the panning performance was excellent.

Next we listened to On And On by Hit The Lights, This song includes some acoustic instruments, lots of backing harmonies as well as some gang vocals. This headset was able to faithfully replicate the song, vocal lines were clear, the mid tones were rich, delivering a warm sound. Being able to close your eyes and pick out the different layers of a song really does make a difference and delivers an enjoyable listening experience.

The headset continues to impress while playing games and watching movies, ambient sounds are clearly distinctive, voices are clear and background music stays faithful to the mix.

The T1 provided an immersive experience while watching movies, performing particularly well while watching tense Sci-Fi movies with lots of ambient noise, such as the original Alien on Blu-ray.

That said, there is a downside- this is still just a stereo headset, so some virtual surround software would give a much better sense of direction when playing games and watching movies. This is a minor complaint though as not everyone likes virtual surround and for those that do, there is free software out there from plenty of companies including Razer.

In all, the audio quality on the T1 is excellent, the headphones isolate noise incredibly well, making it difficult to hear anything else in the room with them on. This combined with the level of comfort the headset provides makes for a superior listening experience.

While sound quality is great, that's just half the battle when shopping for a headset as the microphone quality also has to be up to par. Unfortunately, this is where the T1 fails to impress as the microphone's quality isn't great and ships with a few annoying limitations.

Firstly, the microphone can only be used in wireless mode, so if you're using this headset plugged in then the microphone just won't work.

As I mentioned earlier, this headset is not marketed towards gamers, which becomes increasingly evident as trying to get the microphone to work with Skype can be a real pain. On Windows 7 I had to limit the headset to mono audio only in order to get the microphone to work which had a knock on effect of causing the audio to sound terrible.

Things didn't get any better from there as when I tried a few calls the microphone came across as fuzzy, low quality and there was no background noise isolation. I tried the tests again on a Macbook Pro but I was met with the same results, I was limited to mono audio and the microphone's quality was pretty bad.

It's clear that the microphone is not made for PC or Mac use. That said, Microlab does seem to gear this towards use with tablets and smartphones as there is very limited mention of PC on the box as well as the website and the included instructions.

So does the T1's microphone get it right on mobile devices? Actually it does to some extent and while the performance was very poor on a Windows PC and a Macbook Pro, FaceTime and skype running on an iPad proved to be a better experience with Stereo audio and acceptable microphone quality.

My voice came across clear even two rooms away from the tablet but the microphone still suffers from a lack of noise cancellation – people could often hear background noises louder than I could due to the sensitivity of the microphone.

To sum up, the MicroLab T1 headset is one of the most comfortable I've tried- I wore it for days at a time without feeling the need to take it off. Wireless battery life would often last the ten hours Microlab advertises … if not a bit longer.

After spending many hours wearing the headset, my ears didn't overheat and the clamping pressure was well adjusted to not cause discomfort. For the price it is an extremely comfortable headset to wear – that positive trend continues in to the audio performance.

The sound quality the T1 produces caught us by surprise, especially as Microlab aren't a particularly well known company. Many might dismiss the T1 upon first glance but the audio performance proves that this headset is a diamond in the rough.

The T1 delivered a solid, immersive media experience with bluray discs, games and my music collection. Many headsets in this price sector suffer from weak bass, or inflated ‘booming' bass, however Microlab have managed to hit a decent middle ground that will please a wide audience.

So far I have been pretty positive about the T1 headset but there are some problems. While audio quality and comfort are both great, the plastic finish isn't particularly attractive. Unfortunately, sometimes when adjusting the headset the plastic will begin to creak – this diminishes the otherwise positive experience.

The microphone quality is disappointing. If the microphone is critical for desktop work, then we really find it difficult to recommend the Microlab T1. That said, the headset microphone had no trouble producing acceptable levels of performance on mobile devices such as the iPad.

You can buy the T1 Headset from Amazon or Scan for £49.99 and £47.63 respectively. There are also several colour options available including: Black, White, Blue, Yellow and pink.

Pros:

• Extremely comfortable.
• Surprisingly good audio quality.
• Able to hold a wireless signal up to two rooms away.
• Long lasting battery life.

Cons:

• Microphone could be better.
• Plastic can sometimes creak while adjusting the headset.

KitGuru Says: If you're looking for an inexpensive pair of headphones then the T1 is a solid choice. Microphone performance is disappointing however, especially within a desktop environment.

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