PURO SOUND LABS BT5200 Headphones

Puro Sound Labs blew me away with their excellent BT2200 headphones for children. Now they are back with the adult-sized BT5200 wireless headphones. Can they possibly be as good?

Sound Quality – Puro Sound Labs BT5200 Headphones

Let’s cut straight to the chase. Sound quality is the most important factor in a set of headphones. Bells and whistles are nice to have , but they all count for naught if the cans aren’t up to the task.

The Puro Sound Labs BT5200 deliver an exceptional listening experience. I spent a wonderful few hours when they first arrived, listening through some of my favourite songs on Spotify Premium. It is amazing how different some songs can sound with the right equipment, how much more… musical they can be.

The Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones took Paul Kelly’s Life is Fine to a whole new level. Every little detail was audible. In some ways this level of sound detail creates a warts-and-all experience – it is less smoothed over than you may be accustomed to. I really like that about the BT5200 headphones, after a few minutes I was fully immersed in the music and it felt like Kelly and his band were right there with me.

Because the 40 mm custom dynamic drivers of the Puro Sound Labs BT5200 are so good, the headphones don’t need to deploy the tricks that you might find in less balanced offerings. The bass, for example, is not the brain-shaking thump that you may have come to expect. The bass is still there, but it is controlled and balanced with the rest of the sound in the track. That balance enables all of the other instruments to shine through. I cannot overstate how pleasurable it is to listen to music in this way.

The Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones don’t come with active noise cancelling, like some of their competitors. They do, however, offer an ” 82% ambient noise attenuation”. Simply, this means that the insulation in the padding stops a lot of outside noise, without the need for electronic noise-cancelling.

I thought that the passive solutions worked quite well, although I am yet to try the headphones in extremely noisy situations. There was definitely a substantial reduction in the amount of external noise that I could hear while wearing the headphones.

Healthy Ears – Puro Sound Labs BT5200 Headphones

One of the key selling points of the BT2200 children’s headphones was the 85 dB volume-limiting. That kind of protection for my daughter’s delicate ears was vital.

But what about my ears? My hearing is no less precious (if no longer quite so sensitive). The Puro Sound Labs BT5200 offer some guidance for healthy listening, without limiting my choice should I wish to go louder. I think that is a sensible approach, it enables grown adults to make an informed choice about their listening.

The Puro Sound Labs BT5200 use a colour-coded light on the side of the headphones to indicate the safety of the current settings. A green light indicates 85 dB or less – the suitable volume for up to 8 hours of listening. A yellow light indicates between 85-95 dB. This setting shouldn’t be used for longer than two hours. Finally, a red light indicates a volume of above 95 dB.

In my younger days I probably would have been a little flippant about such things, but now that I’m a little older and a little wiser, I view such safety features as extremely valuable. In all my time with the Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones so far I have ensured that the volume stays in the green-zone (except for a few seconds to test whether they can perform at a loud volume -they can). I have found 85 dB to be a perfectly comfortable listening volume. This has been true even in situations where there has been a little background noise, although I haven’t put them to the test in extremely noisy environments yet. There may be an argument for pushing the volume into the orange-zone in such circumstances. Just remember, if you do that, limit the amount of time you spend using them to under two hours.

Comfort – Puro Sound Labs BT5200 Headphones

The Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones sat comfortably on my head. The ear pieces stayed firmly in place, without feeling too tight. The headphone cushions and padded headband are soft and comfortable, even after extended periods of listening.

After a period of extended use, my ears felt a little warm, but not uncomfortably hot. This was helped by the on-ear rather than over-ear design of the Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones.

With the volume set to the maximum recommended 85 dB, listening was a comfortable experience too. I felt that I could listen to my favourite music for a long time without needing any kind of break. The same can be said for audiobooks and podcasts – listening on the Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones is a comfortable experience.

Connectivity – Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones

The Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones connect in two ways – via Bluetooth and auxiliary cable.

I tried the Bluetooth connection with a few different devices. The headphones paired quickly with my phone and the audio was consistently clear and continuous. The Bluetooth on my computer was a little more problematic. The headphones paired easily enough, but I did suffer from the sound dropping out a couple of times. That may say more about the quality (or lack thereof) of my computer’s Bluetooth adaptor, although I didn’t have that problem with the BT2200 kids headphones.

Sound quality was fantastic through both auxiliary and Bluetooth connections, so you don’t miss out on anything by choosing one method over the other. Of course, if you prefer Bluetooth but happen to lose power mid-way through a commute, you can easily just plug in the auxiliary cable, so you should never find yourself stuck without music.

The Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones packaging states that you can expect up to 24 hours of battery life from each charge. That appeared to be a fairly realistic estimation. The headphones certainly seem capable of going for long periods of time without charging.

Value – Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones

The Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones retail for $214 AUD (correct at time of writing). This well-and-truly places them at the budget end of the premium wireless headphone range. While they may be priced attractively, Puro Sound Labs don’t appear to have cut many corners – the quality of these headphones is high. I am equally impressed by their quality as I was by the awesome BT2200 kids headphones. Puro Sound Labs obviously take pride in the equipment they produce.

The Puro Sound Labs BT5200 headphones come in a sturdy hard case, which does an excellent job of protecting them from the bumps and bruises of day-to-day life. It means you can throw the headphones into a bag and not worry whether they will be in one piece when you next pull them out.

Final Thoughts

The Puro Sound Labs BT5200 are a very tempting choice for anyone seeking great sound quality from a premium set of wireless headphones at a low price. They have the added bonus of actively encouraging healthy listening habits, which can only be a good thing for your ears.