Bragi - The Dash Truly Wireless Smart Earphones - White

First off, I’m so disappointed I have to write this review. I have owned my Bragi Dash (black) from the early days after I crowdfunded them on Kickstarter. I probably waited two years to get them, and although my first pair didn’t work, after a fairly frustrating customer service experience, I got a new pair and they have worked well for several years. I would say the best truly waterproof earbuds I’ve owned. Now, on to the problems...the company is small and it’s painfully obvious that they can’t keep up with their customer support. As mentioned, I had massive communication delays in getting my original pair replaced...maybe there was a big time difference between east coast US and where they’re located in Europe, I don’t know for sure, but when you get a new product and you have to get support via multiple day emails, it just feels very slow and unprofessional, not to mention massively frustrating. When my wife asked for wireless headphones for Xmas this year, I thought immediately of the white Bragi Dash. I purchased these on Amazon, and the first pair was DOA. The right earbud never worked and didn’t sync with the left earbud, so they just wouldn’t connect, despite another multi-day troubleshooting process with what is apparently still a very small customer service effort. So I returned that pair to Amazon and decided, foolishy I guess, to buy a replacement on Amazon. (I guess the saying “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me” is very applicable here.) The new pair syncs left and right, and even connects with my bluetooth music source. Great, right? Not so fast...neither is touch responsive in order to change the volume (right earbud), activate touch lock (requires tapping both left and right earbuds at the same time), or other activities where touch is needed. I reached out to their customer service this morning...probably about 10 hours ago...and still no response. I get that they can be swamped given demand for their product (or maybe because of poor quality control), but then invest in more customer service. In this day and age, it’s just not acceptable to be unresponsive to one’s customers. It will hurt them, and in my case, they lost a customer. I will return this pair to Amazon and buy, ugh, Apple’s wireless earbuds. At least I know Apple will stand by their product, and that the product’s QC is much better and will work when I want to use it.

The potential here is priceless and could lead Human beings to a closer relationship with machine kind. We interface with machines every day from the cup of coffee we like in the morning to the car we drive, the computers we use as well as our tablets and phones. However the key to this product is that this shows an evolutionary step into the future toward the pinnacle of this trajectory we are on! Touch screen optical interface combined with motion gestures make for a steep learning curve, this may be why it can be frustrating at times when working out the kinks in relation to everyday activities. I got my earbuds via USPS, they came in a decently protected bubble envelope, but the bix was so big compared to the actual earbuds' case that I wasn't concerned about the possibility of damage. The main package came in a solid space grey outer sliding case. The earbuds lay in a white pristine magnetically attactched to the buds. The touch screens are small and require patience as the responsiveness is particular to exactly how a touch motion is performed. Also, with the addition of motion commands that include the head, there is the commonality of confusing the software. I was impressed sith the overall clarity due to the brilliant jawbone microphone which appears to be monophonic. I was happy to note that there are many more stages of volume with which to adjust to providing lots of possibilities and good for various situations and environments. The addition of windshield (I updated my os immediately) I thought was effective for high wind environments. It could be amplified slightly. I would like to see the adjustment of microphone volume as well as multitouch gestures would be a nice addition the os, idk if the hardware supports it. Also, for next generation hardware, i'd like to see that the touch screens see an evolutionary leap in material science. The screens could be much harder and of larger usable responsiveness areas. If thought of as quadrants when looking at the touch screen. Multitouch swipes could be in addition to quadrant related commands via touch and press commands within each of the four quadrants. Also, I think stereo would be nice in terms of microphone, but I think you could go a step further Bragi. Put one stereo jawbone mic in each earbud, and you'll see a leap into quadraphonic sound. I'd like to see macros become a thing as well in addition to hardware accessories. Okay, i hope that covers most of it for now. I love them!!! update right away, but charge fully first! Don't worry about people that complain about the bluetooth. Its pretty good, its that bluetooth signals have to bounce off physical objects, so open environments are diffucult to produce strong enough signals. More to come! Thank you Bragi!!! You make my dreams possible and my childhood fantasies are now reality!!!!! I don't know how to thank you. I'm dreaming of a better future forever and ever! Here's to taking mankind to the edge of the universe! Peace, love, and prosperity to all mankind! James Alexander

I love the concept, but the execution is poor. I'm fairly tech savvy and I couldn't get them to work after two hours of trying all of the troubleshooting suggestions on their website. The left and right units seemed to charge and sync properly and were able to connect to a PC. When I put first put them in after charging, no sounds or response to anything at all. After updating the software, they would make an initial chirp when I put them in, but nothing after that. Neither the left or right would respond to any touch commands. Using just the right alone in "right only mode" I could get it to respond to some touch commands, but not successfully sync to my phone or activate the internal music player. I suppose it's possible I could have tried to work with customer support to try to find a solution, but for $248 I expect headphones to work without a lot of effort on my part. I sent mine back. Also, Bragi's attention to detail seems a little lacking. There are some conflicting instructions on their website, the app, and on the packaging. The url for support printed on the packaging is a broken page. Seems like that would be an easy fix to have it automatically re-direct to an active page if they decided to change it after having the packaging printed.

I will start this review by stating plainly that I did not factor the fact that these earbuds do not work outside into my 4 star rating. They do not work outside, they just don't. It is understandable that if you bought these as soon as they came out based on the developer's word that they are capable of maintaining a connection while outside, that you should be frustrated and certainly entitled to your 1,2 or 3 star rating + scathing review. However, at this point, with nearly 70% of the reviews on Amazon alone stating the fact that they do not work outside, if you have purchased them with the intention to use them for that purpose you are most certainly at fault. Advice to those folks, for future reference; Maybe take the time to read a couple reviews or do just like any research at all when you are making a $100+ purchase of new tech. My first toe-dip into true wireless earbuds were the Samsung IconX. I bought them to sync with my already established Samsung phone and gear wearable ecosystem. While I do love my Samsung buds, they are lacking 1 key feature that the Bragi Dash provides, the Dash buds are waterproof. I like to swim to work out, and even when I just lift weights at the gym, I like to stay in my own world (music, podcast, news, whatever) even while I'm showering after my workout. Because all of this activity takes place indoors, I was never worried about the Bluetooth drop-out issues that so many other people have had but was still hesitant to buy them based on other shortcomings that I'd read about in a lot of other reviews. Not too long ago, the gym to which I am currently committed due to a bulletproof membership contract decided to install a new speaker system in the locker-room/shower area so that they can play techno music at full volume at 6 AM (not judging if that is your thing... its just not mine) I knew at that point that I would have to take the chance with these earbuds. At this point I've had them for a little over 3 weeks and should be able to provide a more accurate and sober review than some others that you may see here. To begin with, there is one thing that any prospective buyer should know that will help to support much of everything else that I am about to say. If you have ever been described as "tech illiterate" DO NOT PURCHASE THESE EARBUDS. I don't mean for that to be taken as an elitist or facetious statement, but the fact is that if you do not have the required patience and prerequisite understanding of how to learn, understand and care for new designs and operating languages associated with new technology these earbuds are going to offer you nothing but frustration. Software: The first necessary step after unboxing these earbuds (after charging of course) is to update them to software version 3.0. This actually requires 2 consecutive updates (first to v. 2.2 and then again to get to 3.0.) I read numerous reviews from people who were at their whit's end after numerous failed attempts to download and install these updates. I connected the buds to my PC running Windows 10 and was able to successfully upgrade to v 3.0 within about 8 minutes without issue. If you are not caught up on technology, i.e. the latest version of windows (or MAC OS,) this update might not be possible for you which will leave you with a very frustrating Dash experience Charging: While the earbuds are secured within the charging case via magnetic force, it is still necessary to ensure that you have them stowed away properly to enable them to charge correctly. I noticed a catch-point in the cradle that very much feels like the bud is in place, but after 5 or so minutes of the (left) bud not charging I realized that it required slightly more refined positioning to get the bud connected to the charging points correctly. If you are expecting this process to be fool proof or you do not have the patience to understand what the buds need to be able to charge effectively, this will not only be a source of frustration for you, but may result in you sending them back and writing an unnecessarily angry review here (as I suspect has been the case with more than a few of the reviews I have read) Sound/Volume: If you are disappointed in the volume level it is very likely that you have not taken enough time to acquaint yourself with the Bragi app and system in order to understand that "safe volume" is merely an advisory and you are actually able to continue to swipe in order to bring the buds to their full output potential (this again I suspect is the cause for many ill-informed, poor reviews.) As a self-professed audiophile I have collected a few types and brands of Bluetooth headphones, earbuds etc. (JBL, Sony, AKG, Beats, Jaybird, Samsung...) It is true that these earbuds will not blow you away with their audio tuning or capabilities. That said, I've found them to sound equally as good as the Samsung IconXs and even the Beats wireless earbuds I used to work out in. While we are on this topic I also felt it was worth mentioning that the audio pass-through feature on these buds works better than it does on the IconXs (allows you to toggle to hear ambient sound for safety a purposes...or to hear the gym attendant who insists on carrying on a full conversation with you about whether or not you want a towel... If you are reading this Richie, I never want the towel man... never.) It is also nice that you can toggle a setting with this that automatically initiates the pass-through feature when you pause your music (the IconX does not do it automatically and requires a 4 to 5 second hold on the touch controls to do this which can annoyingly cause you to have to ask people to repeat themselves by the time you get it activated.) Prospective buyers should also keep in mind that a bad fit will also effect sound quality. Controls: The touch controls work well and it just looks cool that there are no buttons on the buds at all. Going back to my established narrative though, if you have a hard time navigating your smartphone or went through great pains learning how to do so when you first got it, this is probably not a good earbud set for you. This is an all new operating language and if you cannot use the touch controls to make the buds do what you want, you probably won't get much pleasure out of using them. - An update to this section of my initial review is my experience with the gesture functions. While I have had little to no luck with the head motion gestures, I have to say that I LOVE the touchless gestures! I am actually able to change songs by tapping my cheek without having to touch the buds at all. This comes in especially handy when your hands are wet or sweaty, but is also just convenient that you don't have to have the same accuracy necessary to tap the bottom of the bud when you want to change songs. I am very much looking forward to future updates and seeing how they continue to develop this feature. Additionally the 4D menu is pretty amazing. You are actually able to control the Dash without having to touch anything (just by making specific movements and gestures with your head. This is truly the future, and I LOVE IT! Integrations: As of the latest update Amazon Alexa integration and iTranslate integration are available. I set it up so that Alexa is on my 4D menu. I look down, I look up, then I look to the side that I predefined as my Alexa gesture and without touching a thing I am able to control my smart home stuff, ask for news and weather updates and blah blah blah... If that is not amazing enough for you, you can link your Bragi mobile app to an app called iTranslate. After setting up this integration you will be able to toggle your Dash into a mode that will - in real time - translate select languages to you. Yes, thats right! Taking a trip to Portugal? you can set these up so that as the waiter at the corner cafe is reciting the specials of the day, your buds hear him and translate his menu selections to you as he is speaking! r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s!!!!! Fit: I have already discussed how poor fit can effect audio quality, but something else to keep in mind is that it can take days of use and experimentation before you discover the right fit. Also, it is likely that you have never worn something quite like this in your ear, so even with a secure fit you will most likely experience some soreness or discomfort after long periods of use until you get used to the buds. Battery: 3 hours streaming time is accurate and the charging case CAN actually charge them a full 5 additional times. There is a very good chance that if you are complaining about battery life with these, you have either never had a pair of Bluetooth true wireless earbuds or are comparing these to a pair of Bluetooth earbuds that are not capable of nearly as much and therefore are able to use battery life more conservatively. For what they are and what they do, the battery life for these buds is actually pretty impressive (they last longer than the IconX and so does the charging case.) Connectivity: This is actually why I have rated them 4 stars. Even by BT earbud standards these are lackluster. These earbuds have always been plagued by connectivity issues and the software update to 3.0 is an absolute necessity in order to even be able to use them indoors. Even after this update though, I get about a 7 to 10 foot range. This works for my purposes so I don't complain too much, but this is one short-coming that I can say for certain Bragi is not even in the ballpark of matching their competition. Customer Service/Returns/Replacements: Register them! It only takes a few minutes and then you are not at the mercy of the return policy of any 3rd party seller or any of that BS. Again, the negative reviews in regards to repairs or returns are most like from people who didn't take the time to complete these few simple steps before something went wrong with their earbuds. Just register them when you get them, it really is that easy. Form Factor: I got the white ones because my IconXs are black. The Dash are sleek and futuristic, they look nice and the breathing LEDs aren't over the top. Take Away: These earbuds are waterproof and shock-resistant. They are not bulletproof or fool-proof. If you know about yourself that you are the kind of person who just cannot have nice things, or if you are not able or patient enough to learn about, understand and then care for new technology, just don't get them. I don't have an alternate choice to provide you because most products like this require their owner to possess the antithesis of these traits. If however, you were able to read this review without cussing at me aloud and felt that any, most or all of what I've said makes sense, by all means, I truly feel that you will enjoy this product.

The Dash is a great set of headphones, but you have to understand how they work to truly appreciate them. What I like about the Dash is that they sit fully inside the ear. They don't protrude out. This makes them very sleek looking and inconspicuous to others. However, many people complain about the bad connection with them. Because they do not stick out of the ears, the signal doesn't work "as well" as with other bluetooth headsets. To be able to carry your phone or device anywhere on your body, the Dash would have to have the bluetooth radio chip stick way out of your ear to provide the best connection. When I run with them, I use an armband, as I always have, and wear it with my phone. I don't have any issues with connections that way. If I use them at home (on a treadmill or simply sitting and watching movies or listening to music) I have no issues at all either. If I get too far away from the phone, they can begin to cut out, just like any other bluetooth headset. I love them for the size, as they are perfect to throw in my pocket when I want to go somewhere. I usually keep the earbuds on me, and throw the charging case in my bag. The earbuds go into a power saving mode after a few minutes of not being in your ears. This way I don't have the large charging case shoved in my pocket. The sound quality is quite good IMO for bluetooth, and the latest software update really helped with the volume. I also like the transparency mode. When I am outside, I can turn transparency on to be able to hear things around me, especially when running outside. Inside (on a treadmill) I turn transparency off so I don't have to hear the treadmill operating. Long story short - the Bragi Dash is a great set of wireless earbuds, There is a trade-off of the style vs substance in regards to the connection aspect, but if you understand that, and can adjust, they are definitely worth it.

Let's discuss this product. I'll have to start with some use information. I bought this to wear on the train during my commute. I was hoping I could do a couple things with it - primarily squelch the rail noise and secondarily enjoy music while walking from the train to my destination. Unfortunately, it's not adequate in the latter role. 1) Sound quality. Everyone cares about sound quality when they spend over $100 on a product. Unfortunately, while the sound is clear and well balanced, it drops off considerably below about 80Hz. The treble and mids are clear but there is no bass. 2) Signal reception. This is where this product REALLY fails. And miserably. If there's any radio noise around you when you move, you'll get audio skips. If, like me, you wear your phone in your left pocket, you can't walk while wearing it. It just doesn't receive the Bluetooth signal well enough even though it's no more than three feet from your pocket to your right ear (the right earbud is the 'master' and the left the 'slave' in their choice of configuration). Because of this, I can't imagine trying to jog while wearing it. This par of the review is the reason I can't give it more than two stars and why I'll be returning it. 3) Touch interface. Unless you really enjoy hurting yourself by hammering things into your ears, you'll find it difficult to start / stop / advance / rewind audio with this. You have to hit it hard and it has a small 'sweet spot' you have to hit. It isn't good at recognizing the swipes versus taps. And the audio feedback you get when interacting with it is too quiet to use anywhere you might need headphones instead of speakers. Sorry Bragi, your product just isn't there yet. 4) Battery life. They give you a charging cradle with it, which they say can charge the buds five times before you have to recharge it. I have been impressed enough with its battery life as it goes for the full two hours of my commute without needing to be recharged. This is why it got two stars instead of one from me. 5) Audio transparency. This is a pretty cool feature, or at least it's intended to be. You swipe the left earbud and they allow you to listen to your surroundings even while these things are in your head. It's nice for having a conversation while you're out and about, but believe it or not this stutters, too, when you're getting that signal problem! I would increase the number of stars in my review if it didn't do this. You can't balance the audio with the audio transparency with enough flexibility. I have to have my music turned way down to hear over it. It *could* have been a great feature, too. 6) Updates don't go easily. I had to follow their manual update procedure several times in order to make it work. The software failed update on both Mac and PC. 7) The weight is well balanced to stay in your ear throughout a lot of different activities. I haven't had them feel like they're slipping yet. Overall, I'll be returning this product and waiting another year to see if someone comes out with a more reasonably useful product. I can't tolerate paying over $100 for sound quality under $100 and connectivity problems.

Sound quality was decent. It took me a while to get the battery pack and earbuds charged the first time, which worried me at the time. The battery life is not so good- a lot of recharging, which isn't always convenient. The waterproof sleeves are big in your ear and not as comfortable as the XS tips. You have to touch the device(s) in the exact spot for it to recognize, and even then, it sometimes doesn't (no, I do not have touch lock on..). The price is a lot, but this does have a lot of good features. The Bluetooth range was less than ideal- most people say theirs won't work fully outside of 10 feet, and I found the same to be true; it still fades in and out even when it is my pocket, sometimes, and if any wall or object or hand come in between the device and earbuds, it won't work. Call answering with motions- cool concept; would've been better if the motions didn't have to be so exaggerated. Also, the microphone doesn't do a stellar job at picking up what you're saying while on the call, which happens a lot. Audio transparency- works swell. If it were up to me, I'd give it the option to turn down the transparency a bit, so I could hear my music over my surroundings, but still hear my surroundings. Not a big deal, though. The range on the audio transparency was not that far. For example: I had audio transparency on while listening to music and playing basketball; I wasn't in the game at the time, and was shooting on the other side of the court til there was a turnover, at which point I would grab my ball and run off. However, I overestimated the range of the ATransparency, and wasn't able to hear them coming down til they were on my half of the court.. awkward. The 4GB of storage space is nice (it isn't quite 4GB because the preloaded software take up a little less than 500MB, but whatever). The only disadvantages are: you can't shuffle the downloaded playlists, and if you put the earbuds in the charger, it won't save your spot in a song or a playlist, so you have to start over. Also, the app for Bragi Dash focuses on workouts, but hardly any on music quality. That can be a downside. And it can only track 3 workouts, compared to others, not so good, but for wireless earbuds, it is kind of impressive They have a lot of nifty features, not so great of a follow through, though. A nifty trinket, for the time being. Props to Bragi for coming out with so many features though, with wireless earbuds. It's a lot to focus on. If only they'd spent more time on the quality of the features vs quantity.. I want to rate this 2 stars. It's not QUITE 1 star. Definitely not 4 star. I am only bumping it up to a 3, because it has a good amount of features, and it's one of the first of its kind, and it did a good job combining it all. For $300, I definitely prefer quality over quantity. This has the quantity, but not so much quality. I knew what I was getting into when I bought it though, I just didn't want to wait much longer for a different product with as many features. Hope this helps (and shoutout to the people who took the time to read this)!

Unsatisfied with this product, especially for what they cost. Most of the time they won't even sync to my phone and I can barely hear them. However my fault for missing the deadline to return them. Don't buy them!

El peor producto que he comprado en muchísimo tiempo... Lo compré de segunda mano a través de Amazon, cuando me llegaron tardé una eternidad en vincularlo con mi Iphone 6 y cuando por fin lo consigo... no funciona el manos libres, con lo que ni puedo hablar con Siri, ni puedo recibir ni hacer llamadas... Después de casi 15 días consigo a través del servicio técnico de Bragi, que se hagan cargo de los auriculares para su reparación. En unos diez días más (tiempo transcurrido entre que envías los auriculares a Alemania y vuelta), recibí unos nuevos auriculares! no me los repararon sino que me los cambiaron por unos nuevos yuhuuuuu!! Hasta que volví a utilizarlos.... Al principio sí funcionaba el manos libres, pero a los 5 días de utilizar los cascos... otra vez dejó de funcionar!! y a esto hay que sumarle, - 3 días que los utilicé para natación, 1 dejaron de funcionar simplemente y otro el auricular derecho comenzó a emitir un pitido que casi me deja sordo, y que hasta que no terminé el largo de la piscina no pude quitarme! por supuesto los tuve que dejar de utilizar para el entrenamiento. - Las pulsaciones en natación no se acercan ni por asomo a la realidad, mientras que yo debería tener unas 140-160ppm, los auriculares me marcaban 60-70ppm. - Utilizándolos para correr se activaba continuamente Siri, no sé por qué motivo!! efectivamente tiene funciones que se activan con el movimiento, pero ni bloqueando el movimiento se dejaba de activar Siri!!! desesperante... - El auricular derecho dejó de cargar en el cargador, salvo que éste estuviese conectado a la luz o al ordenador. - Llevando el móvil en el pantalón continuamente perdían la conexión... continuamente!! - La función táctil del auricular derecho dejó de funcionar correctamente, no podía subir y bajar el volumen de la música... En resumen un auténtico desastre!! y más con el precio que cuestan... increible!! Por supuesto voy a devolverlos ya que Amazon no me pone ninguna pega al hacerlo y me compraré los Airpods... que decepción de auriculares!! no los compréis jamás!!

No fue una buena experiencia con el producto ni con el proveedor, al final se devolvió el producto por defectos. No lo recomiendo

Bu kadar olumsuz yorumu görmezden gelip ufak tefek hataları varsa sorun değil mp3 çalar olarak kullanırım deyip cihazı sipariş ettim kutusu ve görüntüsü çok güzeldi heyecanla açtım ama hiç çalışmadı artık almanlarada güvenilmiyor yazık değil mi o kadar zamana ve yol parasına 30 dolarlık Çin malı cihazlar bile ambalajından bozuk çıkmıyor

tengo 3 meses usando estos audifonos principalmente para el GYM y al viajar, cuentan con cancelacion de ruido, ademas de microfonos que te permiten escuchar el sonido exterior amplificandolo por si uno desea saber que hay alrededor sin tener que quitarselos, los gestos para sus funciones son muy intuitivos y facil de manejar, la calidad del sonido es excelente, en mi opinion tras haber usado los muchos modelos de audifonos Bose puedo decir que estos suenan igual de bien, vale mucho el precio.

Overall, a nice product with a lot of potential. I'd give it a score close to 5 out of 5 possible in all categories. Would I recommend? Definitely. I recently bought a second one for my girlfriend because I liked 'the dash' so much that I wanted her to also have the same wireless pleasure. That says more than many words about how I rate it.. Also I decided to do a proper review here on Amazon in order to share with others how I think and have experienced, as the rewievs seem a bit mixed. So first of all, please note that at time of writing this, my dash is using OS 2.2 Over the months I have had and used my dash, it got updated twice (starting from 2.0). This is important point to make, as during that time the connectivity issues with bluetooth got fixed. I have had quite a few bluetooth headsets and can honestly say that by far the dash in its current version has the most stable connection of any. At first I was hesitant about spending that much money on a single headset. One which was not a know brand, but an uknown entity. Original reviews of the Dash were mixed, so I waited with buying. It seemed like really cool idea with sleek design and many features (if they worked, that is), so in the end, I gave it a try. And am glad I did! It may cost a little more than other top-of-the-line wireless earbuds, but it also delivers value for that little extra. As far as I know, battery life alone makes a favorite 100mAmp compared to the 47mAmp in the Samsung Gear IconX for instance. It really does 6 hours playback on internal memory or about 3 hours if you stream music or use sensors for activity tracking. Quite impressive, not least when you see the size of the earbud. Likewise the quality of sound both of speaker and of microphone is great. It is watertight, has really easy touch controls as compared to buttons and so on.. More than each of these things on their own, it is the sum of them which makes the dash stand out. It may look futuristic and in this case, it really is apt, as it seems ahead of the competition even after more than half a year on the market.. It is a good wireless bluetooth headset for music and calls both and it is also a lot more. Internal portable player (handy since neither bluetooth or most phones work in water for instance) and also a fittness tracker with sensors for both heartrate and accelerometers for motion. Besides all of this hardware, I have the feeling you get something unique: The way in which updates to software keep coming is very impressive and sign of dedicating to the customers. You don't just buy a finished and static product, but one which keeps improving and evovlving. It is more akin to buying a smartphone or a laptop than just an over-the-counter piece of electronics.. It may have first been released with a variety of childrens-illnesses, but one by one they have been addessed and fixed. In order to give a better impression, let us go over the aspects of the dash in detail: Workmanship: 5 out of 5. This is the first you notice. From first look you know that this quality product. Even the bxing it comes is in sleek and well designed. What matters more is the look and feel of the earbuds and the combined charer/carrying case. Everything line up perfectly along assembly seams. Looks and feels sturdy. The case has a sheel out of thick brushed aluminum and fits exactly around the case with just the right bit of resistance. Enough to not fall off unintentionally, but not so much it becomes tricky to slide it out. And you know from the feel, that it will remain this way even after a lot of use.. Likewise with the way the earbuds does not just lie in a hollow of the case, but is actually held in place with magnets. You can shake it upside down and they stick. They snap in place with a satisfying 'snick'so you know that the buds are secure and properly seated for charching. Some times the marketing is filled with glossy pictures, but this is one of the cases where the actuall product seen up close is even better. Both in form and function attention has been paid to detail from first to last. Very satisfying. Fit/Design: 4-5 out of 5. What is one of the strengths of this device, is also why a few may find it dissapointing: The way it fits into the ear. Unlike most other closed 'in-ear' headsets where a seal is formed with a circular bud pressed into the ear canal, this headset fits into the outer ear and has just a thin flange in your earcanal. The intended fit is not just for keeping it in place at a few points, but for forming a seal also further out in the ear. A bold and unusual choice of design. That will both isolate outside noise to some degree and more importantly, transform an otherwise tinny sound into a decent one over the whole range of frequencies. Same principle as with any other closed headset. But with the added benefit that longterm wear will not cause you to feel irritation or tenderness from pressure as many in-ear headsets do after having been wedged in for a while. Also it remains firmly in place. Yes, even if you jump, swim or just chew you lunch..! With the dash is supplied four different sizes of fitsleeves, so that most will be able to find an acceptable fit. However as ears are rather individual in shape, for a few it may fail to achive both seal and comfortable fit. My initial impression of both comfort and sound was affected by this. As the dash was supplied with the smallest fitsleeve and I changed to a larger until it seemed to stay in the ear, I thought I had found my fit and stayed in the belief for a while. Though sound was not quite full enough, there seemed to be no significant reduction of outside sound and also, it did not seem to feel really snug and firm even if it stayed in place during activities. And it took some fidgeting to insert it. Probably that says as much about me as about the design)) One day however I tried changing sleeves again and found it had a profound effect once I rotated it backwards as the instructions said. A single push and slight twist and it just sat there as if made by direct mould! Feeling was great and sound was vastly improved. To me, that was the moment I came to like and appreciate this device. Thus my advice will be to take time to experiment not only with different sizes of sleves, but also with angles and way of putting it in. Fit is crucial. Not only for comfort and to avoid having the earpieces accidently fall out, but also for sound of music or phonecalls and even the 'white noise', which significantly drops once there is tight seal. I am thoroughly impressed - when fit is right, wearing it is without any discomfort or worries about losing either earpiece. To me the fit was good and certainly earns 5 out of 5 points, but because it may fail some, it deserves only 4. If it fits, it is very comfortable and good. Comfort wise it is the best headset I have tried so far. Sensational really!! However if it fails to achive the good fit, it will fall through and only be mediocre. So it was a choice made. Sound: 5 out of 5 As mentioned above, the main issue with sound is whether you are able to achive a decent fit and seal between the dash and your ear. If not, sound is somewhat weak and lacking in both depth and range. Because of my initial trouble with finding the seal, I was disapointed about the sound. At that pricerange, you expect nothing less than perfect sound. With a proper fit and seal though, sound improved dramatically. It is not the best headset I have tried - if you compared to audiophile, then in same price class you can get perfect rather than merely good sound with wired headsets, like for instance those in-ears from Shure. However over most frequiences I feel it gives a balanced sound and you will be able to appreciate both clear vocals, classical instumentals as well as rock music. Nothing is earthshattering experience to listen to, but all is good and wont dissapoint you. On a sidenote, then here you run into the limitation of bluetooth, as transmitters in the devices put a limit to the quality of anything you stream. On playback from internal memory though, you have very, very good sound. Calls: 5 out of 5. Sound on phonecalls is crystalclear. Better than through speaker on phone actually)) Also the microphone will pickup your voice without distortion and whoever you call have no idea that you are on a headset. So no matter whether you are in office, car or during workout, you can talk without limitations. With the dash, the part of bluetooth headset is not just a minor sidefunction to music. It really works. Setup/Pairing: 4 out of 5. This one of the few negative about the dash. It is not simply plug-and-play. You have to download app for phone and computer first. Then you have to go through multiple steps for activating (and updating/installing automatic updater) the dashs. Likewise the regular bluetooth connection for audio and the seperate one for sensor data has to be setup and will henceforth appear on your phone like two connected devices.. Not the most elegant and quick approach. Though to some it will matter that the connection is secured, so third parts will be unable to access your sensor readings. Anyway there are instructions to follow each step of the way and it is only a first setup and pairing. Just follow the voice-over instructions which guides you through and it does not take a lot of reading. Once that setup has been done, it is easy to subsequently use.. Likewise the app is rather useful and if for instance you just touch the icon of each dash on the screen, it will show you the possible commands/interaction. Quite the best and most intuitive approch I have seen so far. On a note with pairing, then I have had sound cutoff in secondary earpice or no sound if taking a call even if music had streamed fine the moment before. With a lot of use, this happened maybe once a month. So it is not really an issue, especially it took mere second to remedy. Placing both earbuds in the charger resets them and all was fine once popped into the ears and connecting again. Controls/Handling: 5 out of 5 Again, this was an aspect of the dash which took a little time getting used to. There are three ways of interacting with the dash. First one is controlling it by the app on your phone (or other bluettoth device). Nothing unusual there, but also that is not what you intend to do most when you spend extra money on this gadget. Second way is by touch control. Taps and swipes.. Because only part of each earpiece is sensitive and you have to apply any interaction with a certain speed or force, it takes a little getting used to. Or a lot in my case.) But once you get the hang of it, it is very easy and a lot more intuitive than the traditional buttons which most bluetooth headsets are equipped with. Just a slight touch with a finger and it responds. Because of the different gestures which are applied to each earpiece, you won't accidently pause you music, skip a track or terminate a call just because you adjust volume.. A nice touch and just one of the many examples that this is a well thought through design. Third way way of interaction with the dash is part of what makes it different and cool. Nodd your head to take a call or shake to reject it.. ..even if you are busy with you hands. With the latest function for activating the Siri/Google Now-function with just a tap on your own cheekbone, you can even dial or dictate messages without touching the headset or phone. Smart. So far there are only a few effects, but as it essentially is a matter of programming and software for already exiting technology, I hope more options will be available in future updates. Because of the inbuilt sensors, the dash will also know whether it is inserted in your ear or not. Which means that when you take out, it will automatically turn off (and thus pause any music or transfer ongoing or new calls to speaker of your phone). Likewise if you put it in again, it will reconnect and resume sound and function. Such little things makes you appreciate this over many other headsets. I have only found one drawback on the controls. When cold, the touch sensitive surface is less responsive. It still works, but you have to apply a little more force or sometimes tap twice. Connectivity: 5 out of 5 Since the OS 2.1, bluetooth connection is excellent and almost without problems. Almost, because as with any wireless technology, the presence of dense physical objects can block even the strongest signal. In my experience, then for ordinary use (phone carried in one of your pockets, even that of your jeans) it works without interruptions and dropouts - Even if you move around. I only noticed a temporary lost signal a couple of times after using the Dash for several months. It even stayed connected once I forgot phone on the seat of the car and walked about 5 meters away with the bulk of the car in between.. And that was with an Iphone, which is notorious for somewhat weak signalstregth compared to other telephones. So if you worry about the many dropouts mentioned in early reviews, don't let it scare you. I'd say the current product is as good as any on the market. Internally (between the earbuds) the connection is not bluetooth but instead near field induction as for instance know from hearing aids. Which is a more appropriate choice than bluetooth. Even if it has very short reach, it is not blocked by the water in human body. So there is no lack of synchronization or loss of signal between the earbuds, which as a trouble that may haunt a lot of other wireless headsets. To sum up the impressions, then I think I read someone say that the guys designing the dash wanted it to be able to do almost too much.. The amazing thing is however, that it seems to mostly have succeeded. It delivers almost as much as it promises and only gets a little complex in the process. And it does not compromise what to most will the main use - as a player of music. For that alone, I'd say the dash is worth its price. Because it nice sound and easy operation. On its own battery a good runtime and with the case/charger, you will have more than enough juice to see you through . Then with the additional features for fittnesstracking, hands-free operations all packed into the neat little earbuds it becomes an impressive device. If you are willing to spend the little bit extra and like the idea of completely wireless freedom, then this is definitely worth the buy. For further questions or tricks of use, feel free to ask.