mucroMucro Sport Headphones Wired Over Ear Running Earphones with Microphone, Foldable Wrap Around Neckband Sports Earbuds for Night Jogging Gym Workout - with Case, 3.5mm Plug

They fit perfectly around my neck and the sound quality is amazing! At least in my opinion. These are some of the best headphones I've had in a long while the battery is amazing. Overall, no complaints! I will be purchasing more in the future.

============================================================================================================IntroductionRegrettably, my user experience of these lightweight, banded and wired earphones has been *wholly negative*.In short, these fitness earphones are a *very poor-quality* product.For fitness enthusiasts searching for good quality *lightweight*, *banded* (via a “behind the neck-band”), plus *wired* fitness earphones, I suggest you look elsewhere.============================================================================================================Problems With These EarphonesThe two main problems with these earphones are as follows.---------------------------------------------(1) The “Behind The Neck” Band Is *Very* Poorly Made, And Resultantly, The Adjoining Earbuds Don’t “Contact” or “Insert” Properly Into the EarsThe “behind the neck band” is very poorly made, and comes “bent out of shape” inside the provided “carry case”. It also features pointless “folding hinges”, which merely add a potential “point of failure” to the product.In particular, the “bent out of shape” nature of the band means that, as a result, the adjoining earbuds do *not* make contact with the ears at the right positions, nor do they sit properly in the ears.The “behind the neck band” also has a very poor “clamping force”, meaning the adjoining earbuds easily come out of the ears.I bought two examples of this product, and the same problem exists on both products.See my uploaded images for verification of this problem. Note the odd, non-uniform, and generally “out of shape” headband, and the mismatching positioning of the earbuds in the images. That is due to the weak “behind the neck band”. This, in my view, is a critical design and manufacturing failure with these fitness earphones.Bottom line: the poor band design means the earbuds will *not* stay in your ears securely during fitness activity.---------------------------------------------(2) The Earbud “Drivers” are Extremely Poor Quality, And Resultantly, Deliver Extremely Poor Quality SoundThe “drivers” in the earbuds deliver what I can only describe as amongst the *worst* quality sound that I have ever heard from an earphone product. They are incredibly cheap -- and sound incredibly cheap and poor quality. The sound is incredibly weak, lacking in detail, and is “thin” and “tinny”.After one test session, I quickly decided that these earphones were going straight in the bin.============================================================================================================Ancillary Comments: Why Seek “Behind the Neck” *Banded* and *Wired* Fitness Earphones In The First Place?Some may wonder why a fitness enthusiast would seek a *lightweight*, *banded* (via a “behind-the-neck-band”), plus *wired* fitness earphones, when there are more “modern” solutions (all based around Bluetooth) in the marketplace.Here is why:(1) A “behind the neck” headband, of rugged design, and which adjoins properly to the buds, and which has reasonable “clamping force”, prevents the earbuds from “falling out” of many user’s ears. This is especially useful during many “kinetic” forms of exercise (e.g., running, burpees, or many other forms of challenging exercise).(2) A “traditional” wired connection means that the earphones can be used with lightweight gym orientated digital music players, such as the SanDisk Clip variants (or competing units). For the gym, or running, many users still like a “traditional” small-sized and lightweight digital music player that “clips” to their clothing (for instance, on the collar of their t-shirt). They do *not* want to use a phone or smart-watch.Sadly, many previous manufacturers of good quality lightweight, *banded* (via a “behind the neck headband”), and wired earphones, *no longer make them*. A stand-out manufacturer in this space was Sennheiser. Some of my favourite lightweight, banded and wired fitness earphones from them (all no longer in production), were:* Sennheiser PMX 80.* Sennheiser PMX 680. These were Sennheiser’s best ever fitness earphones, in my opinion. They were a high-point in lightweight, banded and wired fitness earphones design.* Sennheiser PMX 684i.* Sennheiser PMX 685i.* Sennheiser PMX 686i.Regrettably, at time of writing, they no longer manufacture any earphones of this type. Instead, across the industry, the trend seems to be towards the following, all of which, I feel, are *not* good solutions for “very kinetic” running, fitness sessions or movements:* Bluetooth earbuds. (Paired with a phone or Smart Watch.)* Bluetooth headphones. (Paired with a phone or Smart Watch.)* Bluetooth “bone conduction” earphones/headphones. (Paired with a phone or Smart Watch.)Conversely, in my view, lightweight, banded and wired earphones, I feel, *still* have a very valid place in the market. They offer a solution to users who do *not* want separate “IEMs” and/or in-ear buds (which, for many users, simply *fall-out*, or are ill-fitting), and do *not* want a Bluetooth based solution.Sadly though, these Mucro “Sports Headphones” do *not* “step in” to offer the right level of quality, in order to be considered as a viable lightweight, banded and wired solution.============================================================================================================Alternative Suggestions: Amazon-Sourced Options for “Better” Lightweight, *Banded* and *Wired* Fitness EarphonesYou may want to search for *much higher quality* lightweight, banded and wired fitness earphones than these Mucro “Sports Headphones” (which I do not recommend at all).On this point, you can scour around the internet for various Sennheiser “fitness earphone” options that are still available, typically second-hand, on various online marketplaces. I will let you do your own research here.Sticking purely to Amazon UK, there are a *small* number (in my view) of *alternative* viable lightweight, banded and wired fitness earphones to consider. That said, I have not been able to find any with a band that goes *behind* the head. Rather, all my finds have a band goes *over* the head.At time of writing, here are the four Amazon-sourced *viable* lightweight, banded (via an “over-the-head band”) and wired fitness earphone options I am aware of:----------------------------(1) Sony MDR-W08L.* Availability on Amazon: At time of writing, when running a search for these on Amazon UK, no results are found. Rather, you will need to join Amazon USA (Amazon.com), and make an order from that site. I was able to acquire a set this way, albeit for a very high cost.* Upsides: They are very light weight and offer “reasonable” sound quality, as far as “fitness earphones” go.* Downsides: They have a cable that needs “cable managed” (on this point, I recommend a “coil method”, whereby you coil-up the cable, then secure the coiled cable via a few cable ties). In addition, they are very fragile. Indeed, according to many Amazon reviewers, they have questionable long-term reliability, and break often.----------------------------(2) Koss KPH14W Side Firing Headphone, in White, or another colour.* Availability on Amazon: At time of writing, these are findable on Amazon UK, albeit under an import option from Amazon USA.* Upsides: In my hands, these felt quite robust, and they had reasonable “clamping force” when worn. These will definitely not fall out of the ears.* Downsides: Sound quality is very questionable in my view, and is not a patch on any of the Sennheiser PMX fitness earphone variants. At times, due to the earbud design and the very reasonable “clamping force”, I felt that the earbuds were almost “burrowing in” to my ears, which I did not like. Lastly, like all other “alternative options”, they have a cable that needs “cable managed”.----------------------------(3) Sonxtronic XDR-8000, Black.* Availability on Amazon: At time of writing, these are findable on Amazon UK, albeit under an import option from Amazon USA.* Upsides: Low-cost alternative to (and purportedly inspired by) Sony MDR-W08L (see above), which are increasingly hard to obtain at a reasonable price. In my view, sound quality was quite similar to the Sony MDR-W08Ls.* Downsides: Very fragile, with extremely imperfect manufacturing standards. The set I received were very poorly manufactured indeed, and were practically unusable. Also, like all other “alternative options”, they have a cable that needs “cable managed”.* My conclusions: Overall, I don’t recommend these, due to poor manufacturing and build quality.----------------------------(4) Sonxtronic XDR-8001, “Ice White”.* Availability on Amazon: At time of writing, these are findable on Amazon UK, albeit under an import option from Amazon USA.* Upsides: Low-cost alternative to (and purportedly inspired by) Sony MDR-W08L (see above), which are increasingly hard to obtain at a reasonable price. In my view, sound quality was quite similar to the Sony MDR-W08Ls.* Downsides: Very fragile, with very imperfect manufacturing standards. The set I received were a little bit better in terms of manufacturing quality than the Sonxtronic XDR-8000s (see above), but not by much. Also, like all other “alternative options”, they have a cable that needs “cable managed”.* My conclusions: Overall, I don’t recommend these, due to poor manufacturing and build quality.Having owned and tested all of the above units, I can say that, in my opinion, they are *all* imperfect options, and are *not* as good as the similar (but discontinued) Sennheiser PMX options. If forced to pick one of the above “alternative” options, the Sony MDR-W08L would be my choice, on both “fit” and sound quality grounds.============================================================================================================ConclusionAt first glance, before I purchased these Mucro earphones, I thought they would be the answer to my search for “reasonable quality” set of lightweight, *banded*, and wired fitness earphones, at a reasonable price. However, they are *definitely not* a viable solution. Upon testing out the product, I don’t recommend these very low-quality earphones at all. They are a very low-quality product, and I binned mine immediately after testing them. Rather, I recommend you look to one of the Amazon UK options above, or extend your search further outside Amazon.Thank you for reading this review.

I bought these for the gym, they are reasonably comfortable, sound is quite good.

Bought these to use with the WM09 + Manticore , very comfortable lightweight does the job .

Poor quality. When i received these one the cheap plastic had bent out of shape, meaning the left ear bud didn't fit into place well. But hey, they are some cheapo things for in the gym. Fast forward 14 months and they have stopped working completely. First the sound went in one side, then quickly the second side followed.This product is now fit only foir the rubbish bin! don't bother, find something that is better made, pay more if you have too.ps. This product only had light usage....i used it maybe 25-30 times from when i purchased it in Dec '23.

They are nice with the cable only on one side, light , but a bit uncomfortable in your ear.

Good sound and comfy to wear

Sound was ok, but had to hold them in place. The left ear piece was inches away from my ear. Cheap plastic so no good to use even when not moving, so goodness knows what they would be like for a runner