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Tech test: Running with DJ Fresh's Brilliant Budds

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Budds by DJ Fresh

R699 at takealot.com

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Bluetooth headphones for under R700? By a local brand? Doth mine ears deceive me? No, it’s true – Budds by DJ Fresh are fresh (I couldn’t resist). They’re here for Xmas and they work an absolute charm.

I have been looking for wireless earphones, as the plug-and-play “wired” ones I’ve been using are becoming cumbersome, and, oddly – this is across three different (well-known) brands I have tried – shock me when running on a treadmill.

After some very alarmed googling, I discovered that this is a not-uncommon occurrence among treadmill users, whose rubber-soled shoes create friction with the rubber mats of the treadmill and, when their earphones are plugged into a phone or iPod, generate enough static power to transmit small, uncomfortable shocks to your eardrums. Scary stuff, believe me, but the available Bluetooth options out there that get around this used to be impossible to find for under R1 000.

With these little Budds, though, you can connect through Bluetooth with a quick press of a button and enjoy relatively perfect sound up to more than 10m away. You obviously give up a bit of quality for the wireless functionality, so don’t expect Sennheiser sound. They remain connected to Bluetooth for quite a while after going out of reception, which makes reconnecting simpler. They say the battery lasts between five to seven hours, but I didn’t try it for the full period.

The bass is rich and heavy, so you could quite happily play Dr Dre and thank yourself for not spending your money on his Beats – these are just as good, if not better.

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