Mpow's Seashell Bluetooth sport headphones offer noise cancellation on a budget

Mpow offers a wide range of Windows Phone accessories ranging from back-up batteries to Bluetooth speakers to wireless headphones. Mpow's Seashell Bluetooth Headphones is one of the company's sportier models and offers noise cancellation, seven hours of playback time and waterproofing.

After using the headphones over the past few days, the Mpow Seashell Bluetooth Headphones offers a quality listening experience for your Windows Phone music library or streaming videos. You will also have the convenience of basic, hands-free calling features.

The Mpow Seashell Bluetooth headphones are packaged with what has become a standard set of assorted sized earbuds and loops to help them fit more securely in your ear. You will also find a micro-USB charging cable and a brief user guide.

Mpow Seashell Headphones

The layout of the headphones has a charging port located on the right earpiece and a button bar located on the cord connecting the two headphone earbuds. When worn, the button bars is positioned around your collar bone and easily accessible. Key features of the Seashell Bluetooth Headphones include:

  • Noise Cancellation: The 6th generation CVC technology reduces outside noises and allows for clearer sound from the headphone's microphone.
  • Bluetooth 4.1 and APT-X technology
  • Waterproofing: The Seashell Headphones are certified with IPX4 waterproofing. This means the headphones can survive being splashed by water, but should not be submerged.

The Seashell Headphones can be paired with two devices at the same time and the battery is rated at seven hours of playback time and 185 hours of stand-by time. Our experience with the headphone's battery life does not stray very far from the rated life expectancy.

Mpow Seashell

The controls for the Seashell Headphones rest entirely on the button bar. Here you will find volume/playback controls and a multi-function button. You will also find a small LED light to confirm several of the Seashell's functions. The multi-function button handles the headphone's power, pairing, pause/start and hands-free calling functions. Speaking of hands-free calling, the Seashell Headphones has the ability to answer/end calls, reject calls, muting calls, redial numbers and has support for voice dialing.

Performance

Pressing and holding the multi-function button for three seconds will power-up the Seashell Headphones. If you continue to hold down the multi-function button for a few seconds longer will send the headphones into pairing mode. The LED indicator on the button bar that will flash red and blue when the headphones enter pairing mode. Once in pairing mode, all you will need to do is head to your Windows Phone Bluetooth settings and complete the connection.

Mpow Seashell Headphones

The headphones fit and feel is very comfortable and while the earpieces are a little on the large side, they are also lightweight. The earpieces also rode securely in the ear while sitting in the chair, walking down the street or running on the treadmill. The control buttons on the button bar are large enough to distinguish without the need to look at what you are doing and audio quality was good.

The microphone is located on the backside of the button bar and picked up my voice clearly, with the noise reduction effectively filtering out the background sounds.The audio quality of the Mpow Seashell headphones is good and nicely suitable for listening to music, enjoying audible books or watching a video.

Overall Impressions

Mpow offers a solid line-up of wireless headphones and the Seashell model is no exception. Hands-free calling features are respectable, audio playback is good and the headphones are comfortable to wear. On top of all that, the headphones are budget friendly coming in below $40 (in some cases lower than $25).

I can see the Seashell Bluetooth Sports Headphones being a popular choice for the gym or just listening to videos from your Surface tablet. If you have tried the Mpow Seashell Headphones, let us know what you think of things in the comments below.

George Ponder

George is the Reviews Editor at Windows Central, concentrating on Windows 10 PC and Mobile apps. He's been a supporter of the platform since the days of Windows CE and uses his current Windows 10 Mobile phone daily to keep up with life and enjoy a game during down time.