Our Verdict
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.
- Comfortable and airy fit.
- Above-average and open sound.
- Minimal leakage.
- Poor noise isolation, by design.
- Bass-lacking audio reproduction.
- Sound quality can vary significantly depending on fit and seal.
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.
Below-average for noisy commutes. They're comfortable and compact but they barely block any ambient noise. They struggle in loud environments.
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.
Mediocre for office use. They don't leak much but won’t block the chatter of a busy office.
Changelog
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Oct 02, 2017: The microphone has been tested with our new methodology, as explained here
Check Price
We've upgraded our Headphones Test Bench to 2.0! This update brings several key changes to our tests and usages, making it easier than ever to interpret our sound results based on your personal preferences. You'll also find a brand-new interactive graph tool featuring multiple targets (including our own!) for you to explore and compare.
For a full breakdown, check out our changelog, which includes detailed commentary from our test designer explaining the rationale behind our update.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts: your feedback helps us keep improving, so join us in the comments!
Test Results
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
No compatible app.
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.
