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We've recently released our Test Bench 1.6 update for Headphones! Read the Latency R&D Article to learn more.

Bose SoundSport In-Ear Headphones Review

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1
Review updated Jul 01, 2016 at 08:33 am
Latest change: Test bench update Nov 21, 2019 at 11:21 am
Bose SoundSport In-Ear Picture
6.0
Mixed Usage
6.2
Neutral Sound
5.4
Commute/Travel
7.1
Sports/Fitness
5.7
Office
5.2
Wireless Gaming
7.0
Wired Gaming
6.2
Phone Call

The Bose SoundSport are decent sounding in-ear earbuds. They have a comfortable and open fit that some may prefer over typical in-ear models. The tips' design, lets you hear traffic while jogging but also, doesn't block any ambient noise. They won't be ideal for loud and noisy commutes.

Our Verdict

6.0 Mixed Usage

The primary usage for these headphones is for sports. The lack of isolation means they won't be versatile enough for loud environments and commuting. On the upside, they deliver a decent enough sound for most listeners, and they're stable, portable and breathable enough, to comfortably run and workout with.

Pros
  • Comfortable and airy fit.
  • Above-average and open sound.
  • Minimal leakage.
Cons
  • Poor noise isolation, by design.
  • Bass-lacking audio reproduction.
  • Sound quality can vary significantly depending on fit and seal.
6.2 Neutral Sound

Average for neutral listening. They have a surprisingly open sound for in-ear headphones. However, they lack a bit bass for a balanced neutral listening experience.

5.4 Commute/Travel

Below-average for noisy commutes. They're comfortable and compact but they barely block any ambient noise. They struggle in loud environments.

7.1 Sports/Fitness

The SoundSport In-Ear are good headphones for sports use. They have a stable and open in-ear fit that allows runners to monitor their surroundings. Also, They're small enough to carry around on your person wherever you go.

5.7 Office

Mediocre for office use. They don't leak much but won’t block the chatter of a busy office.

7.0 Wired Gaming
  • 6.0 Mixed Usage
  • 6.2 Neutral Sound
  • 5.4 Commute/Travel
  • 7.1 Sports/Fitness
  • 5.7 Office
  • 5.2 Wireless Gaming
  • 7.0 Wired Gaming
  • 6.2 Phone Call
  1. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
  2. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
  3. Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
  4. Updated Oct 02, 2017: The microphone has been tested with our new methodology, as explained here
  5. Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
  6. Updated Mar 01, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
  7. Updated Jul 01, 2016: Review published.
  8. Updated Jun 29, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
  9. Updated May 20, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Test Results

Design
Design
Style
Type Earbuds
Enclosure Open-Back
Wireless No
Transducer Dynamic

The Bose SoundSport In-Ear have a bright and sporty red and black color scheme that stands out and looks good. The earbuds are a little bigger than the similarly designed SoundTrue In-Ear and are available in a variety of colors to suit your tastes. They have a unique ear bud tip design that's smaller and more open than the StayHear tips of the Soundtrue IE and QuietComfort 20.

8.0
Design
Comfort
Weight 0.04 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs

The Bose SoundSport are incredibly comfortable. They are extremely lightweight, and the fit does not apply any pressure to the ear canal. They feel like you don't have headphones on once they're in your ears. However, this can get slightly frustrating as you're frequently tempted to adjust the fit, assuming the earbuds are not correctly placed in your ears. You get used to it eventually, but the open and airy effect is a little unsettling at first.

7.0
Design
Controls
OS Compatibility
iOS
Ease Of Use Decent
Feedback Mediocre
Call/Music Control Yes
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control No
Channel Mixing
N/A
Noise Cancelling Control N/A
Talk-Through
N/A
Additional Buttons No

The SoundSport have an above-average control scheme. They provide call/music, track-skipping, and volume controls. Sadly, like the SoundTrue In-Ear the buttons are a little cramped on the small inline control module and also don't deliver good tactile feedback.

9.6
Design
Breathability
Avg.Temp.Difference 0.4 °C
8.8
Design
Portability
L 3.35"
W 1.97"
H 0.79"
Volume 5.12 in³
Transmitter Required N/A

The SoundSport In-Ear are one of the most portable headphones we have reviewed so far. They will easily fit into your pockets or purse. Although there's no specific way to fold them into a smaller footprint, the cable is not too long or thick to take up much space.

7.0
Design
Case
Type Soft case
L 3.54"
W 3.54"
H 0.79"
Volume 9.92 in³

These headphones come with a small circular soft pouch that will protect your headphones from damage. The case fabric is tough, and it will easily fit into a pocket or purse. However, a soft case may not be able to protect these headphones from water damage as a hard case would.

7.0
Design
Build Quality

Decent build quality. These headphones are lightweight and the earbuds are made of a relatively dense plastic that won't break from a couple of falls. The audio cable is decent and moderately durable. Unfortunately, like the SoundTrue In-Ear, the audio cable could be a little thicker, to prevent it from getting damaged by everyday wear and tear.

7.0
Design
Stability

The SoundSport are above-average stable headphones. They offer special stability tips that prevent the headphones from falling out of your ears while jogging. Their hybrid in-ear tip design is very open and airy, allowing runners to monitor their environment. However, the lack of a seal in the ear canal makes them fall out of your ears easier than the StayHear+ tips of the SoundTrue In-Ear or the QuietComfort 25. They're ideal for jogging outside but may not be stable enough for high-intensity exercises at the gym.

Design
Headshots 1
Design
Headshots 2
Design
Top
Design
In The Box

  • Bose SoundSport Headphones
  • Earbud tips (x3)
  • Carrying case
  • Manual

Sound
Sound
Sound Profile
Bass Amount
-7.34 dB
Treble Amount
-2.32 dB
5.3
Sound
Frequency Response Consistency
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.5 dB

The frequency response consistency of the SoundSport In-Ear is sub-par. Due to the earbud design, the bass and treble delivery of these headphones can vary dramatically depending on the quality of the seal and fit achieved. We measured more than 3dB of variance in the bass range and more than 6dB of variance in the treble range across multiple re-seats.

Sound
Raw Frequency Response
6.1
Sound
Bass Accuracy
Std. Err.
5.16 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
62.59 Hz
Low-Bass
-10.05 dB
Mid-Bass
0.08 dB
High-Bass
3.52 dB
7.2
Sound
Mid Accuracy
Std. Err.
3.74 dB
Low-Mid
4.26 dB
Mid-Mid
2.83 dB
High-Mid
3.63 dB
8.8
Sound
Treble Accuracy
Std. Err.
2.48 dB
Low-Treble
1.41 dB
Mid-Treble
1.19 dB
High-Treble
-1.41 dB
7.7
Sound
Peaks/Dips
Peaks
1.54 dB
Dips
1.01 dB
7.4
Sound
Imaging
Weighted Group Delay
0.25
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
2.8
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.75
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.42
2.5
Sound
Soundstage
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
Openness
9.7
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.0
7.7
Sound
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.143
WHD @ 100
0.201
Isolation
1.2
Isolation
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-2.68 dB
Noise Cancelling No
Bass
-0.09 dB
Mid
0.85 dB
Treble
-8.53 dB

Poor isolation. As opposed to most in-ears that provide extreme amounts of passive isolation like the Fitbit Flyer, these earbuds - due to their open design and minimal seal - have very poor isolation (see our recommendations for the best noise cancelling earbuds). They offer no isolation below 1KHz, and above that, barely achieve more than 9dB of isolation.

7.6
Isolation
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
36.06 dB

Very good leakage. Although these earbuds have an open design, they don't leak as much as open-back over-ear headphones. However, they leak considerably more than closed, tightly-sealed in-ears. These headphones barely leak below 2KHz. The profile of the leakage that happens above that frequency is quite narrow, so despite its relatively high volume, won't be bothersome to people around you in most situations.

Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
In-line
Yes
Boom
No
Detachable Boom
N/A
Mic Yes
7.9
Microphone
Recording Quality
Recorded Speech
LFE
348.96 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.12 dB
HFE
19,611.72 Hz
Weighted THD
1.078
Gain
22.3 dB
6.0
Microphone
Noise Handling
Speech + Pink Noise
Speech + Subway Noise
SpNR
12.21 dB
Active Features
not tested
Active Features
Battery
Battery Type
N/A
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
Additional Charges
N/A
Total Battery Life
N/A
Charge Time
N/A
Power Saving Feature
N/A
Audio While Charging
N/A
Passive Playback
N/A
Charging Port N/A
0
Active Features
App Support
App Name N/A
iOS N/A
Android N/A
macOS N/A
Windows N/A
Equalizer
N/A
ANC Control
N/A
Mic Control N/A
Room effects
N/A
Playback Control
N/A
Button Mapping N/A
Surround Sound N/A

No compatible app.

Connectivity
0
Connectivity
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version
N/A
Multi-Device Pairing
N/A
NFC Pairing
N/A
Line of Sight Range
N/A
Default Latency
N/A
aptX Latency
N/A
aptX(LL) Latency
N/A

The SoundSport In-ear are not Bluetooth compatible. If you like the earbud design and want a wireless variant then check out the Bose SoundSport Wireless or SoundSport Free.

Since these are wired they do not have any latency when watching videos or gaming but will be a little limited on range.

0
Connectivity
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
Non-BT Line of Sight Range
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
9.0
Connectivity
Wired
Analog Audio
Yes
USB Audio
No
Detachable No
Length 3.67 ft
Connection 1/8" TRRS
Wired Latency
0 ms

The Soundsport in-ear have a typical 1/8TRRS connector that will work with iOS or Android devices depending on the variant you choose.

Connectivity
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC / PS4 Analog
Audio Only
PC / PS4 Wired USB
No
PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
Connectivity
Xbox One Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
Xbox One Wireless
No
0
Connectivity
Base/Dock
Type
N/A
USB Input
N/A
Line In
N/A
Line Out
N/A
Optical Input
N/A
RCA Input
N/A
Dock Charging
N/A
Power Supply
N/A

These headphones do not come with a Dock or dongle.