Blueant has been an Aussie institution that both design and create some impressive Bluetooth based technology items and accessories since its inception in 2003.
I have used a couple of BlueAnt’s earlier speakers and earphones/earbuds and have been impressed with their range and style, so when the company announced it was bringing a follow up to the original Pump Air wireless earbuds – the Pump Air 2 wireless earbuds – my interest piqued. I wanted to see how these new wireless earbuds might go with the daily barrage I tend to give my wireless earphones/earbuds.
Given I travel a lot on public transport and tend to want to drown out the usual craziness that happens on my commute, I wanted to see how the Pump Air 2 Wireless Earbuds will go and how they can help drown out the screaming and well downright utter cluster craziness I tend to experience on my commute.
So, how did the Pump Air 2 Wireless Earbuds stack up?
What’s in the Box
Upon receiving and then opening the box, you’ll find quite a few things – which might seem like a lot – but makes sense.
There is a black plastic charging case which utilises a MicroUSB to help charge the case and earbuds which is also included – albeit its about 10-20cm in length and I would have liked to have seen possibly a longer cable but beggars can’t be choosers right?
BlueAnt have also included about 7 different sizes of ear tips/rubbers which is a surprising change, given you can normally only get 2-3 different sizes on similar products.
Finally, there is also a product manual / hand booklet which comes in English but also other languages as well.
The one interesting thing I do like is that the charging case comes with 4 small LED lights which light up blue to show the charge/power available. This is something I liked, given there was no other way to find out about charge or power left on the earbuds.
Connectivity
Connectivity wise, I did have a couple of issues, where the left earbud would occasionally disconnect or lose connection more than the right side. Whether that was because of my device I am not so sure, but it did require me to place their earbuds back into the case and then take them back out and try to reconnect to my phone every time this occurred.
Also, when reconnecting or placing back into my ears, I found the earbuds would always end up being on the higher side of my volume, requiring me to use my phone’s volume rockers to always adjust the volume which was a little bit of a hassle, especially when using either wheeling in my wheelchair or using my walking crutches.
Also, there is no volume control on the earbuds. I did find the lack of a volume control a bit of an issue, which is something I think BlueAnt need to look at given that there are some wireless earbuds, like the Beats PowerBeats Pro do offer volume controls on their earbuds minimising the need to always get your phone out to adjust the volume control.
Also, the lack of an app to best find or provide possible updates to the earbuds software would have been great – even if it was to find the best sound quality for your tastes.
What do they do?
Obviously, these earbuds are purely for audio and do provide quite good sound and are comfortable to use and wear.
The Pump Air 2 earbuds also enable you to take or make calls and also interact with the Google Assistant (or Siri if you have an iOS device) to help set tasks, send messages, create reminders and more.
Being totally wireless, the Pump Air 2 earbuds also allow you to listen to music, podcasts, take calls and more totally wire free, without the need for any cables plugged into your device and being totally tethered to it – unless you have to adjust the volume that is.
What doesn’t it do?
Sadly, the Pump Air 2 doesn’t come with any volume control, so you need to keep your smartphone or tablet nearby should you need to adjust the volume – which is a given really.
There is also no app, which in my opinion, could help get the most out of the earbuds and help adjust the sound quality to match. I believe this is something that BlueAnt Wireless should look at for any future updates/products of this nature.
Sounding out the sound
Sound wise, the BlueAnt Pump Air 2 Wireless Earbuds provide some good sound, having mainly a playlist that involves both a mix of general pop along with some soul, RnB, some dance music and remixes, I found the sound to be good, albeit a bit mixed.
I found the Pump Air 2 earbuds cut out a lot of the noise I experience both while on public transport and also in the outdoors. They were quite pleasant to just put in my ears and escape the noise and disconnect and allow me to just enjoy some tunes or listen to a couple of my favourite podcasts.
The one thing I will say however, is that BlueAnt claim that the Pump Air 2 Wireless Earbuds can handle deep bass. However, playing some songs in my playlist that do have some deep bass lines, I did find the earbuds did and can struggle here.
Don’t get me wrong: the quality for me was still great and clear, but when it came to anything with a deep bass elements, it did struggle and I think that this is something to be aware of should you want earphones that do offer more clarity for deep or techno bass.
That being said, the sound quality was still good and the experience overall quite satisfying.
Making & Taking Calls
So this is something that I have generally had issues with, when it comes to taking and making calls via Bluetooth wireless earbuds or headphones, as it doesn’t always go to plan or people have issues trying to hear me.
With the Pump Air 2 earbuds, I found that taking and making calls were okay but in places where there was a lot of noise, say on my train ride to and from the office sometimes, was a little bit difficult and I found that I would just end up using my smartphone to finish taking the calls.
Other than this, the Pump Air 2 delivered as I expected when it came to calls, with being able to easily hear the other person on the other end of the phone and vice versa.
Should I buy them?
I have wrangled with this question, simply because the fact remains: most, if not all high end and some mid range devices are removing their audio jack in favour of wireless earbuds/headphones. Consumers too – and as a result – are moving to these wireless accessories more and more.
Based on the price, I can see the attraction for these earbuds, but based on the experience, I would say it’s possibly worth considering spending some more money on more sound quality on say the Beats PowerBeats Pro wireless earphones. Granted they are an extra $180 – depending on where you buy them from.
That said, if you’re after some decent wireless earbuds given most devices now no longer come with an audio jack, then the BlueAnt Pump Air 2 wireless earbuds are probably worth a thought. Despite some of the flaws, they’re a good and affordable choice, and are available now through JB Hi-Fi, The Iconic and Officeworks for $149 in either Black, Rose Black or White colours.
