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Talking about Bose in the field of headphones is not easy since you run the risk of repeating what has already been said, in particular to praise the musical and build quality, yet every time the famous brand of the aeronautical school continues to amaze with cutting-edge solutions, which focus on some novelty or innovation, as in the case of the SoundSport Pulse, subject of this test.
Of these particular headphones we had already had a taste a few months ago with the Italian presentation, where they had already made an excellent impression on us, but having them in hand allows us to deepen the theme and closely deal with some of their peculiarities including the sporty imprint with the ability to detect the heartbeat.
Let's start by saying that the product returns what it promises and that the implementation is very sophisticated, in some respects too much given the sporting target, a an area in which the result comes first, while here the options are wasted. In particular, the ability to read the heartbeat is treated here as one of the functions, not the main function. The headphones are appreciated, before that for the small number placed here and there depending on the App you are using (this is also important, but we'll talk about it later) for the sound quality and for the comfort when they are worn.
Out of the box
Before you can use the headphones it takes a few minutes of preparation: out of the box the headphones are joined by a small very soft rubber cable, on which a small clip for attaching to the shirt stands out in the middle (the clip is not present in the official photos). The rubber earphone is interchangeable and washable in a very practical way.
Being Bluetooth headphones, the pairing with the phone would probably be automatic, but Bose recommends downloading and using the 'Bose Connect App, which we had already seen during our review of the QC35: the App, in fact, invites the user to perform a second pairing, with the cardio detection chip, also Bluetooth.
Within the App it is possible to have every aspect of the operation of the headphones at hand, view the heartbeat in real time, choose the language (Italian is also available, but the speech synthesizer is frankly terrible so we preferred to stay on English) and also use a simple application for playing music. The App in each case is very well done, clean and essential. The only flaw is the absence of a historical beat track, which is present in other Apps but not here.
Once worn (it takes a little practice, the external part of the headset is a cumbersome) you are ready to listen: for this, in addition to the digital controls of the player, you can also use the small remote control on the right side of the cable, where there are three keys for the main functions.
SoundSport Pulse, animal beat
The sound of SoundSports Pulse is very good, together with the softness of the rubber which adapts perfectly to each ear. The bass is dosed, the mid and high frequencies instead rich in details, so much so that it is unusual for a pair of sports headphones to reach this level of quality.
In addition to this, the beat control is at the same time simple and very complex. Once worn and turned on, a voice alerts the user when reading is difficult, inviting him to better adjust the headset. During the running sessions we did, there were a couple of times where the voice was heard, but on both occasions it all settled down on its own a second later.
The reading of the beat in the ear, among other things, should be even more precise than what different wrist devices can do, because the adherence of the sensor is higher than that offered by a strap: the conditional is a must because there are many variables, not least the position of the earphone itself (the voice checks that the reading is active, not that it is correct).
In any case we have carried out cross-readings with the Fitbit Charge 2 and noticed a minimal deviation (152 of maximum beat according to Bose vs 160 according to Fitbit).
The interesting aspect of the SoundSport Pulse system is that the reading is open, for which even if the Bose App can detect it in real time, the data is shared with all the App ch and they ask for it: Health first of all, but in our case everything also ended up in the Nike + App we usually use.
Within the Bose App there is an App area recommended but it must be said that thanks to the compatibility with Health, which acts as a “bridge”, the beats are detected by any App compatible with the latter.
As far as we have been able to see, the system is very elementary: there are no thresholds beyond which the user is warned of an excessive heartbeat, leaving this task to the third-party apps that receive the data in real time and that can process them in the way chosen by the user.
Perfect audio in a manic rhythm
The advantage of using the SoundSport Pulse is obvious: for those who play sports and do not have or cannot wear a bracelet with a heartbeat (because they have chosen one without such as the Fitbit Flex 2) this is a practical solution, which does not want to replace the professionalism of a heart rate monitor, but which is useful for immediate control. Otherwise, even those with an advanced bracelet may want to use headphones for a double check, or for greater precision under stress.
The sound quality, not essential when doing sports but always and in any case a welcome bonus, it is an aspect that appears immediately here, not so much for the name behind it but for the clear and clean response given on any type of song.
Otherwise, we do not see these headphones in the '' everyday use, if only for the waste of technology (Bose has much more interesting models for casual use on the list).
Bose is present in Italy with several stores single-brand with all products, but it is also available in large-scale distribution: our readers, however, can also find headphones directly on Amazon.it
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Price : 229.95 Euro
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