Believe it or not, there aren’t too many options in the sub-$100 market when it comes to kids’ headphones with active noise cancelling (known as ANC), so when we learnt of iClever‘s award-winning BTH20 headphones, we were somewhat perplexed.
Currently on sale and priced from $40 AUD, how good could these kids’ headphones be? Would they be destined to disappear into the other mediocre offerings with generic branding in this price range?
Launching their kids’ range in 2015 (they have been around since 2010), iClever set out to create a specialised range of headphones that prioritised safeguarding little ears.
As the father of a boy (Hurricane Harry is back!) with very sensitive hearing, who has been somewhat traumatised by smoke detectors going off, this is a welcome sentiment.
First Impressions – Design and Feel
Brightly coloured to suit their target audience, the BTH20 is available in the colour combinations of Blue/Green or Pink/Hot Pink.
From a durability/feel standpoint, the BTH20s are made from BPA/PVC-free hard plastics and pleather that are designed to take a bit of a battering from the rough-and-tumble lifestyles of three-year-olds, but they’re also very comfortable (and that’s coming from an adult who managed to fit them on their very large head). Speaking of head sizes, the 10-level adjustable headband features little symbols so you can easily remember which setting they were at when they’re packed away.
iClever says that the headphones offer twice the wear and impact resistance over traditional materials and take bumps and bends in their stride. Additionally, the pads on the BTH20 reduce pressure on little ears and are also wrapped in a pleather skin-like material, ideal for long commutes. In a real-world application of durability testing, I witnessed Harry place the headphone cups face down on the carpet in our living room and proceed to maneuver them like they were a walking robot, with lots of bending and flexing involved… I winced, half-expecting to hear a plastic crack… but no. They bent and flexed but didn’t snap. Impressive.
It’s also worth mentioning that the BTH20 has received the internationally recognised French design award, not an easy feat.
Usability
The BTH20 has four buttons on one side: Volume up/down, power on/off and another which allows you to cycle through different ANC modes: low, high, and off. With ANC on, expect 35 hours of use and up to 60 hours with it off. Taking off on a flight and forgotten to charge them up? A quick 10-minute charge will give you 5 hours of use.
Pairing the BTH20 with my phone and TV was a piece of cake, and the audible voice prompts helped a lot. Upon turning them on the first time, they entered into a pairing state. You can either delete the BTH20 from your device of choice, or hold down a button combination on the headphones to clear the current connection and enter into pairing mode again. I found this useful when setting up to pair with our TV, which was great to use for Hurricane Harry while our youngest was having his midday nap.
Audio and Technology
The BTH20 is equipped with 40mm drivers that provide a nicely balanced sound. Don’t expect an audiophile-grade experience, but your kids won’t either. In saying that, iClever has still done a very good job with the quality of the audio on these headphones. Listening to “Seven Days in Sunny June,” the guitar strumming and bass guitar in the intro is lovely and warm with a nice amount of detail, and the plectrum clicking on the strings is nice and clear, for example. The sound stage was also surprisingly good, with a good amount of depth and separation between the instruments. On the whole, I would say the high and low frequencies are slightly more forward than the mids, but this still makes for an overall good listening experience.
As mentioned earlier, iClever has engineered these headphones especially for little ears, and that means a hard limit of 80 decibels for the volume. If you’re wondering what 80 decibels sounds like, it’s about the same level as a passing diesel truck or a noisy office, which will reduce the chances of hearing damage in little ears. In saying that, long-term exposure at that level could still do damage, and the WHO recommends no more than 70 dB for children over long periods of listening, so I’d still avoid max volume if possible.
The active noise cancelling also performs admirably, especially when you consider the price point. iClever says that it’s good for up to 40 dB of reduction through what appears to be a combination of passive isolation (i.e a physical barrier) and active noise cancellation and it’s a good thing. Hurricane Harry, who is quite sensitive to sound, loved the active noise cancelling. Whether it was watching TV, listening to music, or even doing homework, the BTH20s did a solid job of reducing ambient noise distractions (including his boisterous two-year-old brother).
The only oddity is that for some reason, the BTH20 can’t run ANC when using the 3.5mm audio jack connector; it’s only available in conjunction with Bluetooth. In this day and age, with more and more devices no longer featuring 3.5mm audio sockets, this probably isn’t a deal breaker, but it is a mark down on versatility. On the upside, the BTH20 features the latest standard in Bluetooth connectivity, version 5.4, which uses less power and has greater range.
Final Thoughts
All in all, iClever has done a great job with the BTH20, delivering a pair of kid-friendly headphones that offer more than just a splash of colour and a good fit. With impressive noise cancellation for the price, solid durability, and thoughtful design touches like the adjustable headband and long battery life, they’ve created a product that actually feels tailored to kids (and their parents’ peace of mind). Sure, the ANC-only-over-Bluetooth quirk might not be ideal, but for the price, these headphones punch above their weight. If you’re after affordable ANC headphones for your little one without sacrificing quality, the BTH20s are well worth a look.
DRN and Hurricane Harry would like to thank iClever for sending us some BTH20 headphones to review!
