If you’re looking for a pair of the best wireless headphones, then the Status BT One seems to fit the bill. On paper they’re an attractive value proposition, but are they really as good a bargain as they seem?
Design: Too much plastic
From a distance and in ads, the Status BT One appear to be premium quality headphones. However, I was disappointed by how plasticky their design is. They are by no means poorly made, and the plastic seems relatively robust, but I’m not convinced that these headphones will hold up to the rigors of daily use for long. It should be noted that the back of each earpiece is made of metal, but my concern is for the plastic joints that connect them to the headband. In my time using them one joint became looser than the other, which doesn’t give me confidence in their durability. On the plus side, this plastic design means that the BT One is extremely lightweight at only 155 grams. This enables it to be carried around with little added weight to your pack or bag. They fold up to become quite compact, and the earpieces can be folded to lie flat, which is useful if you prefer to wear your headphones around your neck. The BT One comes with a very nice protective carrying case that holds the headphones snugly in place and includes a pocket in which to store the included USB cable and 3.5mm audio cable. Controls are simple and straightforward and are designed to be easily differentiated by touch. In some ways, I preferred the BT One’s use of a switch to power the headphones on and off as compared to a multifunction power button, the more common design in wireless headphones.
Setup Process: Easy to connect
Getting started with the BT One is as simple as turning them on and pairing them to your device. As there aren’t any companion apps or other steps to worry about you’ll be connected and ready to listen within a few minutes.
Comfort: Light as a feather
The somewhat flimsy design of the Status BT One has its positive side; these headphones are remarkably light and comfortable. They also expand to a respectable size that didn’t pinch my head. The earpieces are soft and well padded, with a faux leather exterior, and the padding on the headband is made of high-quality breathable fabric. I never felt uncomfortable while wearing them, even after long periods of time.
Sound Quality: Excellent for listening, terrible for talking
The main strong suit of the Status BT One is certainly the quality with which it’s capable of reproducing your favorite tunes. Its 40mm driver consistently performed comparably well to more expensive headphones, and provided a mostly excellent listening experience. I like to start my audio tests by listening to 2Cellos cover of Thunderstruck, which provides a wide range of tones. The Status BT One did a good job of rendering mid and high tones, but struggled to reproduce the song’s deepest lows. The throbbing fuzz tones of Godzilla by Fu Manchu were well reproduced by the BT One, with good clarity and distinction of instrumentals. The bright tones of the lead guitar in Walk Idiot Walk by The Hives were particularly enjoyable, and in general the headphones seem best suited to rock. This penchant for rougher rock sounds was made clear when I listened to Phil Garland’s Soon May the Wellerman Come, where the BT One struggled with the deeper acoustic tones. However, it did a respectable job of reproducing the vocals and higher-toned instrumentals. Overall, I found the sound quality of the Status BT One to be more than adequate, varying from good to excellent depending on genre. Unfortunately, there’s no active noise canceling, or even much in the way of passive noise canceling, though sound leakage was minimal. The excellence in audio quality does not extend to the BT One’s microphone. For holding phone conversations it’s at best poor, and at worst unusably bad. Sometimes the person on the other end of the line reported my voice as being muffled, and on other calls there was a pronounced echo that rendered conversation almost impossible.
Battery Life: Days of wireless listening
Thanks partly to the lack of active noise canceling, I never needed to recharge the Status BT One in the thirty hours of testing that I put the headphones through. They are rated for 30+ hours of wireless listening, which I found to be an accurate claim. Furthermore, if you do run out of juice you can still listen by plugging in a 3.5mm audio cable. It takes several hours to charge the battery from empty.
Wireless Capability and Range: Less than advertised
The Bluetooth connection in the BT One is perfectly fine, though not as robust as many wireless headphones I’ve used. It has a tendency to cut out when transmitting through even a single wall or thick bushes. Status claims it has a 25-meter range, but as I found, that would only be true under ideal conditions. In real-world use I found its range to be roughly half that distance.
Price: Reasonable if discounted
At its MSRP of $120 the Status BT One isn’t a very impressive bargain, but fortunately it can often be found for around $80, at which price it provides an attractive degree of value.
Status BT One vs. Marshall Mid ANC
The Status BT One is certainly a more affordable option for on-ear headphones than the Marshall Mid ANC. The BT One’s decent audio quality, competitive battery life, and more comfortable fit (particularly for larger heads) give it an edge in some regards. However, the Marshall features excellent active noise canceling, truly amazing audio quality, and top-notch build quality. The Marshall feels like it will last you years of happy listening, while the Status feels flimsy and doomed to break.
There’s a lot to like about the Status BT One. It’s light, portable, affordably priced, and offers good sound quality and battery life. However, it’s unfortunate that due to plastic hinges the BT One doesn’t seem built to last. Overall the headphones are something of a mixed bag.
