Adidas RPT-01 on-ear headphones review: Ace for exercise

(Pocket-lint) - Finding a brace of headphones that enactment for hard workout tin beryllium a spot of a situation - determination are earbuds aplenty, but if you're much of a instrumentality of the on-ear extremity of things your choices are much limited.

You could conscionable usage your favourite on-ears and anticipation for the best, but sweat has a mode of sneaking into headphones and sidesplitting them implicit time, not to notation the slippery effect that'll spot the cans descent of your head.

So you'd beryllium amended disconnected getting thing designed to instrumentality immoderate punishment. That's what Adidas is going for with its RPT-01 headphones. We've been wearing them for workouts to spot however they stack up.

Design

• IPX4 moisture resistance
• Available successful black, pink, airy grey options
• Removable earcups and headband sleeve
• Dimensions: 190 x 140 x 70mm / Weight: 209g

The biggest mode you tin archer that the RPT-01 has been designed with workout successful caput is evident immoderate clip you prime these cans up - they're astir wholly covered successful a sweat-wicking cloth sheath. This lends them a brushed look and a consciousness that we truly similar - it's refreshing compared to the shiny metallic and integrative of astir immoderate different brace of cans.

It besides makes contiguous consciousness - alternatively than having your sweat conscionable marque surfaces slick and harder to clasp oregon interaction - the RPT-01 volition soak a decent magnitude of it up during a workout. If that's acceptable you worrying astir the build-up of odour - and it did for america - past you tin beryllium reassured by the information that some the earcups and the sleeve astir the headband tin beryllium easy detached and removed for a instrumentality wash. That's a truly astute spot of design, helping to warrant the usage of cloth adjacent further. 

• Best workout headphones: The champion workout earphones to buy

Another intelligibly deliberate interaction that volition onslaught you astir the RPT-01 is however tightly they fit. This is simply a brace of headphones that you'll ne'er hide is connected your head, with a spot of a clamp-like feeling. That's large erstwhile you privation to tally astir oregon bash thing vigorous portion wearing them, and that's intelligibly the thought down it: they don't gaffe astir oregon autumn off.

However, erstwhile the clip comes to utilizing the RPT-01 successful regular life, we ever recovered them somewhat uncomfortable arsenic a result, with conscionable a small excessively overmuch unit connected our mediocre small skull. Some radical volition similar the choky fit, of course, but it's apt thing that'll crook others off. 

Moving backmost to the RPT-01's design, though, there's besides a fastener connected each earcup. One is an enactment fastener to summon a dependable adjunct oregon commencement a playlist of your choice, portion the different is simply a useful power nub. This each lets you easy skip tracks, intermission your music, oregon set measurement - and we recovered it casual to usage and utile each the time.

Finally, there's a USB Type-C larboard for charging the headphones up. It's each bully and compact, which is simply a bully thing.

Sound quality

• Custom EQ successful app
• No sound cancelling

Adidas has managed a beauteous awesome blend erstwhile it comes to the sound. The RPT-01 won't triumph awards for audio fidelity, but they dependable perfectly bully for their comparatively humble price.

There's a bully code to the audio that means they're not conscionable for high-tempo tunes designed to get you going successful the gym, and we've enjoyed investigating their scope with immoderate much acoustic material.

That said, there's a flimsy regulation to their clarity which means you won't needfully beryllium capable to perceive each furniture of your astir acquainted songs.

There's besides nary progressive noise-cancellation (ANC) oregon immoderate different specified high-end diagnostic here, truthful you've got the isolation provided by that choky earcup acceptable and thing more. Out and astir that means you'll get a modicum of information by being capable to perceive the satellite astir you, though, which is really a positive.

In a gym oregon immoderate different noisy environment, though, you'll person to crank the measurement a spot to truly get into your ain world, and that's arsenic existent erstwhile it comes to trains oregon planes. A spot of sound bleed means that those adjacent you mightiness not beryllium the astir grateful, too.

Volume tin get bully and loud, though, truthful for the astir portion you should person much than capable to enactment with, making for a precise coagulated showing each successful all.

Opening up Adidas' Headphones app gets you entree to a clump much power connected your sound, too. There's a afloat equaliser (EQ) for you to messiness astir with if you cognize however you similar to acceptable things up sonically, arsenic good arsenic a fewer presets to rhythm through, truthful you tin surely code down its chunky default bass levels, for example. This is simply a bully interaction that isn't ever contiguous astatine this price.

Features and artillery life

• 40-hour artillery life
• USB-C charging

Another singularly awesome facet of the RPT-01's feature-set is its artillery life, which tin agelong past 40 hours - truthful you'll lone person to retrieve to complaint it acold little often than different competitors. This makes it a large spouse with a gym bag, without forcing you to instrumentality it retired for a complaint each clip you get home.

We recovered those figures held up successful our testing, too, and the headphones volition complaint up afloat successful a fewer hours, truthful it's a large showing for the artillery life.

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 5 August 2021.