The Bluedio T4 have a better design and sound quality than the previous models but a drastically worse latency performance. They're sturdy and durable headphones with an awkward fit that may be better for some listeners if worn backwards. However, the biggest issue is with the incredibly high latency that makes the headphones practically unusable for watching videos except when wired.
Our Verdict
The T4 are decent headphones for most use cases except for gaming or watching videos. They have the worst latency we've measured so far so if you only listen to music with your headphones while commuting or at the office then they should be okay, but they will not be practical for anything latency sensitive. They also have an awkward fit that will feel uncomfortable for some listeners.
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Good build quality.
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Above-average control scheme.
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Bass-rich sound quality.
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Extremely high latency.
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Awkward fit causes seal issues.
Okay for neutral listening. They have a decent audio reproduction but they're a bit bass-heavy and have slightly mismatched drivers. They also do not have the best Soundstage, due to their closed-back design but their overall sound should be good enough for casual listeners especially if you like a little bass.
Decent for commuting. If you can get the right fit then they should block enough noise for moderately loud environments. They also have an above-average if slightly confusing controls scheme.
Average for sports. They have a good battery life a decent control scheme. They also don't get too hot during sports but they're not the most stable for running or working out.
Average for office use. They provide enough isolation for a moderately busy office and do not leak much even at higher volumes. However, they will only be good enough if you used them wired or only listen to music as the latency will be a deal breaker if you have to watch a lot of videos.
- 6.5 Mixed Usage
- 6.8 Neutral Sound
- 6.8 Commute/Travel
- 6.7 Sports/Fitness
- 6.4 Office
- 5.1 Wireless Gaming
- 6.7 Wired Gaming
- 6.2 Phone Call
- 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 Sep 28, 2017: The microphone has been tested with our new methodology, as explained here
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Jul 11, 2017: Review published.
- Updated Jul 11, 2017: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
- Updated Jul 09, 2017: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Jul 07, 2017: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
Compared To Other Headphones
See our recommendations for the best budget noise cancelling headphones, the best closed-back headphones, and the best noise cancelling headphones under $100.
The Mpow H5 Wireless are a better headset overall compared to the Bluedio T4 Turbine Wireless. The Bluedio have a better build quality that's surprising for their price range. They also have a deeper, more powerful bass range that some may prefer, and a stronger isolation performance for commuting. On the other hand, the Mpow have a more compact design that fits better on most people even if they are a little tight. They also have a better-balanced sound and easier-to-use controls. Their latency is also much better than the Bluedio, although they will still not be the best option for watching movies and gaming.
Test Results
The Bluedio T4 have a premium look and feel but an odd form factor that might not be for everyone. They feel high-end thanks to the ample use of metal in their design and the thick well-padded headband. That and the brushed metal ear cup enclosures will stand out in a crowd, especially, if you get the white or red color variants. However, the ear cup hinges protrude outwards, which won't look as good to all listeners.
The T4s are well-padded but have an uncomfortably awkward design. The ear cups rotate in only one direction and have a small opening that doesn't fit well on all ears. For some listeners, the T4s are actually more comfortable when worn backwards, due to the limited range of motion of the swivel hinges. This leaves a big gap behind the ears that feels a bit annoying and results in seal issues, which affects the noise cancellation and sound quality of the headphones.
These headphones have a better control scheme than past iterations but feel a bit confusing. They deliver all the essential functions; call/music, track skipping, and volume controls. They even have dedicated buttons for noise canceling and a talk-through mode. The buttons provide good tactile feedback but the volume toggle, the multi-purpose and the talk-through buttons feel like they should have been switched around to be more efficient and easier to use. Also the ANC switch feels quite stiff in actual use.
The T4 are barely portable headphones. They're pretty large do not fold like the T3 to save space. The ear cups do lay flat, however, but they still won't be the ideal headphones to carry on your person unless you have a bag.
Comes with a basic pouch that will protect the headphones from scratches but not from impacts, drops or water damage.
The Bluedio T4 are solid and durable headphones. They have a good build quality that's mostly metal and thick faux-leather padding for the ear cups that feel somewhat high-end. The ear cups are dense and the headband is reinforced with a decently flexible metal frame. The hinges are their most susceptible weak point but overall they feel like sturdy headphones that could fall a couple of times without getting damaged. Their build quality is even better than some headphones a lot more expensive like the Turtle Beach Elite 800.
The T4 are not particularly stable but have a wireless design that reduces the possibility of the audio cable getting tangled and yanking the headphones of your head. They won't fall during casual listening sessions but they're not stable enough for running or working out. They won't be the ideal headphones for sports.
Excellent frequency response consistency. Despite the poor ergonomics, these headphones performed relatively consistently across our human subject. Even having glasses on didn't have a dramatic effect on Bass compared to some other closed-back headphones we have measured so far. The T4 also performed quite consistently in the Treble Range, most likely due to their small ear cups.
Good bass range performance. Low-bass is extended down to 10Hz which is great, but it's over our target by about 4dB. This will add a bit of excess thump and rumble to the sound, which some people may like. Bass is relatively flat, but slightly underemphasized. High-bass is also flat, but under our target by 4dB which makes the overall sound to lack a bit of warmth. If you like the extra bass of the Bluedio T4 then check out the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless which have a haptic bass slider to add more rumble to you music although the effect might be a bit overdone for some.
Average Mid Range performance. Low-mid is relatively flat, but underemphasized by about 3dB. This is the continuation of the high-bass underemphasis, making vocals/leads slightly thin. The bump from 800Hz-2KHz pushes lead instruments to the front of the mix and could also make the overall sound a bit honky.
Decent treble range performance. Low-treble is over our target by 4dB, which is the continuation of the high-mid overemphasis. This adds a bit of excess presence to the mix. Treble is pretty consistent and balanced, but high-treble shows a bit of underemphasis which means these headphones could lack a bit of airiness.
Mediocre Isolation performance. These active noise-cancelling headphones add some ANC artifacts below 40Hz which may be audible in certain situations. The T4s ANC kick-in at around 40Hz and achieve about 3dB of isolation in the Bass Range which is sub-par. In the Mid Range, they achieve a decent reduction of about 13dB and in the Treble Range, they isolate by more than 30dB, which is good. If you care about isolation then consider the Anker SoundCore Space NC. They isolate better than the T4 but are not as pricey as the more premium tier Bose QC35 or Sony WH-1000XM3.
Above-average Leakage performance. The significant portion of the leakage is spread between 600Hz and 3KHz, which is not too broad. The overall level of leakage is also with decent limit. However, the leakage performance of these headphones headphones may be negatively affected by their poor fit, since not everyone will be able to achieve a proper seal with them.
These headphones have a decent battery life that should last all day even with heavy usage. They also charge relatively fast for their battery life, but unfortunately, they don't have many power saving features. They have a good standby time but do not automatically switch off to save power.
No compatible app.
The Bluedio T4 have the worst wireless latency that we have measured so far. They are unusable for watching movies or gaming and are only somewhat practical if you're just listening to music. We tested these headphones with 3 different Bluetooth dongles and a couple Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices and the results were the same. The latency will be a deal breaker for most listeners except if you used them wired or don't care about latency at all.
