Somehow the release of the Arriva Leo headphones slipped right by us. It wasn’t until just a couple weeks ago that we received an email from one of our readers asking us to review these headphones that we actually saw them. Make sure you read our full review to see what we thought of these funky Bluetooth headphones.
Pros
Unique Control Location. This is the first pair of workout headphones we’ve seen where the controls are nowhere near the ears. Some will like it, some will hate it. We thought it was innovative.
Secure Fit. You can instantly tell these headphones were built to fit securely. The question becomes, are they a little too snug?
Cons
Short Battery Life. We hate to be picky because we don’t foresee any 5+ hour workouts in the near future, but these headphones will only last that long on one charge, 2-3 hours short of the usual average for Bluetooth sports headphones.
Awkard Earbud Fit. These earpieces are very similar to the iLuv FitActive, only they seem to be made with a material that doesn’t flex very well and is a bit uncomfortable.
Note: Arriva has addressed this issue by including Acoustibuds (which work great)
Full Review
The Arriva Leo is straight up funky…in a good way.
This is a very unique pair of workout headphones, visually, but how do they stack up?
It’s pretty clear from the get go that Arriva is marketing these headphones for extreme sports, but we found it a bit odd that their web page clearly goes out of the way to state these are not waterproof and then accompanies that with a photo of a guy skiing. No big deal, there’s very few headphones outside of H2O that are 100% waterproof anyways. They are however water-resistant, which should be enough for most (good) skiers or snowboarders.
The sound quality was average, nothing great, nothing horrible, so not a lot of comments there.
Out biggest hang up was on the most obvious feature, the noodle like arms. Arriva did a great job in creating a frame that stays put, but at the same time we found 2 problems with that frame:
- It’s not all that comfortable, until you break them in for a bit
- It doesn’t hold it’s shape
Attached to those arms, on the very back of the headset, are the controls which we actually did like. We tested these with a few different style helmets and didn’t have a problem getting them to fit, so that was definitely a plus for bikers or snowboarders.
Overall we like the idea behind the Leo and could see a use for them if were were having difficulty with other style headphones staying fit. But we feel as though they definitely have some room for improvement, so hopefully we’ll see some LEO 2.0s in the future.
Specifications
- Bluetooth 2.1
- Charge time: 1.5 hours
- Music time: 5.2 hours
What’s in the Box
- Arriva Leo Bluetooth headphones
- (1) pair Acoustibuds
- (4) different size earpieces
- Micro USB wall charger
- Carrying case
