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Rovking V1  Headphones Review

Reviewed Aug 01, 2016 at 11:54am
Tested using methodology v0.9 
Rovking V1
6.2
Mixed Usage 
5.2
Critical Listening 
6.4
Commute/Travel 
6.7
Sports/Fitness 
6.3
Office 
6.4
Home Theater 
 0

The Rovking V1 are basic in-ear headphones. They're lightweight, compact, and stable enough for sports use. However, they feel cheaply made and not durable. They have subpar sound and poorly block the ambient noise of loud environments.

Our Verdict

6.2
Mixed Usage 

Decent for mixed usage. Although they have a poor sound reproduction, they're lightweight, compact, and stable enough for sports use and regular everyday activities.

Pros
  • Minimal leakage.
  • Lightweight and stable design.
Cons
  • Cheap build quality.
  • Poor audio reproduction.
  • In-ear fit not comfortable for everyone.
5.2
Critical Listening 

Not designed for the critical listener. They have a poor sound quality, a closed in-ear design that limits soundstage, and they're way too bass-heavy.

Pros
None
Cons
None
6.4
Commute/Travel 

Average for commuting. They don't block as much noise as some other in-ear headphones but, depending on the volume at which you play your audio, the passive isolation could be sufficient.

Pros
None
Cons
None
6.7
Sports/Fitness 

Above-average budget sports headphones. They lack a decent control scheme, but they're small and easy to carry around on your person, wherever you go. They also have a stable ear hook design that prevents them from easily falling out of your ears during exercise.

Pros
None
Cons
None
6.3
Office 

Decent for office use. They have weak noise isolation and will only block some of the office chatter. However, they won't be audible to the people around you even at higher volumes.

Pros
None
Cons
None
6.4
Home Theater 

Decent for home theater use. They have no latency but a short audio cable. This means the lack of range won't be ideal for watching TVs on your couch unless you have an audio cable extension cord. They also have a below-average sound that's a bit too bass-heavy and drowns out voices when watching videos.

Pros
None
Cons
None
  • 6.2
    Mixed Usage
  • 5.2
    Critical Listening
  • 6.4
    Commute/Travel
  • 6.7
    Sports/Fitness
  • 6.3
    Office
  • 6.4
    Home Theater
  • Changelog

    1.  Updated Aug 01, 2016: Review published.
    2.  Updated Jul 30, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
    3.  Updated Jun 27, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

    Test Results

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    RATINGS
    Category:
    All
    Design
    Style
    TypeIn-ear
    EnclosureClosed-Back
    WirelessNo
    TransducerDynamic
    MicYes

    The Rovking V1 are simple and straightforward in-ear headphones. They come in an understated all-black color scheme and have a hook design that gives them a more sporty appeal. However, the hooks, like the build quality of these headphones, look thin and a little cheap.

    6.5
    Comfort
    Weight0.04 lbs
    Clamping Force
    0 lbs

    The Rovking V1 have a regular in-ear fit that may not be comfortable for everyone. Their ear-hook-like design means the audio cable will go behind your ears, but it's very thin and does not affect their comfort level. However, the tips will put a little pressure on the ear canal, which can get bothersome during long listening sessions.

    5.0
    Controls
    Ease of useN/A
    FeedbackN/A
    Call/Music ControlYes
    Volume ControlNo
    Noise Canceling ControlN/A
    Talk-ThroughN/A
    Additional ButtonsN/A

    The Rovking V1 have a decent control scheme that provides a call/music button and a volume switch. It's not optimized for all phones, but the switch remembers your previous volume level on iOS devices. Unfortunately, this doesn't give you full control over the volume, which can be a little frustrating. Also, the buttons are a little small.

    7.0
    Stability

    The Rovking V1 are above-average stable headphones. They have an ear-hook design that provides a bit more stability than standard in-ear models. Sadly, the hook design is as thin as the cable, which may not be sturdy enough to keep the headphones attached to your ears during high-intensity exercises at the gym.

    8.5
    Portability
    L3.74"
    W1.57"
    H1.18"
    Volume6.98 in³
    Stand requiredN/A

    The Rovking V1 are very portable headphones. They easily fit in most pockets, bags, or purses, and they're small enough to carry on your person without hassle. Their hook design doesn't add much bulk to headphones when folded. They don't come with a case or pouch, which is slightly disappointing.

    0.0
    Case
    TypeNo case
    6.0
    Build Quality

    Build quality is average. These headphones are sufficiently lightweight, and the earbuds are dense enough to handle a couple of drops without getting damaged. However, the audio cable is ordinary and of average thickness, which may not be as durable as some of the rubberized or flat cables that other in-ear models have. Their ear-hook design is also very thin and cheap.

    8.9
    Breathability
    Avg.Temp.Difference1.1 °C
    Cable
    DetachableNo
    Length4.13 ft
    Connection1/8" TRS
    Front
    Angled
    Side
    Rear
    Top
    In The Box

    • Rovking V1 headphones
    • 4x earbud tips
    • Manual

    Sound
    4.8
    Bass
    See details on graph tool
    Std. Err.
    7.74 dB
    Low-Frequency Extension
    10 Hz
    Low-Bass
    10.24 dB
    Bass
    8.31 dB
    High-Bass
    6.09 dB
    5.4
    Mid
    See details on graph tool
    Std. Err.
    6.14 dB
    Low-Mid
    1.12 dB
    Mid
    -5.57 dB
    High-Mid
    -8.7 dB
    4.6
    Treble
    See details on graph tool
    Std. Err.
    6.37 dB
    Low-Treble
    -5.6 dB
    Treble
    -3.76 dB
    High-Treble
    -6.79 dB
    2.2
    Soundstage
    PRTF Error
    12 dB
    Openness
    4.2
    Acoustic Space Excitation
    1.8
    Correlated Crosstalk
    -0.36 dB
    7.9
    Imaging
    See details on graph tool
    Phase Error
    28.49°
    Driver Mismatch (Amplitude)
    1.37 dB
    Driver Mismatch (Frequency)
    1.82 dB
    Driver Mismatch (Phase)
    9.9°
    9.9
    Total Harmonic Distortion
    See details on graph tool
    Weighted THD @ 90
    0.018
    Weighted THD @ 100
    0.006
    Isolation
    7.3
    Noise Isolation
    See details on graph tool
    Overall Attenuation
    -17.94 dB
    Noise-CancellingNo
    Bass
    -4.14 dB
    Mid
    -17.77 dB
    Treble
    -34.9 dB
    Self-Noise
    0 dB

    Average isolation. Since these in-ears don't have active noise cancellation, the provided passive isolation is quite impressive. They achieve good isolation in the treble range and above-average isolation in the mid range. In the bass range, they achieve about 4dB of isolation, which, although quite impressive for a passive design, is noticeably inferior to what high-end active noise cancelling headphones can achieve.

    8.2
    Leakage
    See details on graph tool
    Overall Leakage @ 1ft
    32.17 dB

    Excellent leakage performance. The majority of the leakage is happening between 2KHz and 7KHz, which is on the wide side compared to most in-ears. However, the overall level of leakage is so low that it wouldn't be an issue in almost all situations.

    Active Features
    0.0
    Wireless
    Type
    N/A
    Obstructed Range
    N/A
    Line of Sight Range
    N/A
    NFC
    No
    10
    Latency
    Base Latency
    0 ms
    aptX Latency
    N/A
    aptX(LL) Latency
    N/A
    0.0
    Battery
    Battery Type
    N/A
    Battery Life
    N/A
    Charge Time
    N/A
    Auto-off
    N/A
    Audio while charging
    N/A
    Passive Playback
    N/A
    0.0
    App Support

    No compatible app.

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