We are a collective bunch of geeks who love to share our passion with the rest of the world. Just like the Beholder we have adopted as our mascot, we have both depth and width of geeky topics we cover. The only downside is that their chunky design can make them a little clunky to wear during specific workouts, such as boxing or climbing. When it comes to the audio performance, I feel Adidas and Zound have made some decent-sounding headphones. While I can’t speak for the Z.N.E. 01 model, I was a fan of the ANC version, and the performance of the FWD-02 Sport displays similar characteristics: big bass, lots of energy and smooth delivery. Strike the perfect balance between charging up and winding down in adidas RPT-02 SOL headphones. As a fitness enthusiast and artist, rest is essential to Marcia Kim's active lifestyle. Amplify your workout motivation or ease into your creative flow using the powerful combination of music and light.

The fit feels plush and comfortable, more so than the Z.N.E. 01 ANC, and the FWD-02 Sport maintain those cushy comfort levels over extended periods of time. Lewis Painter is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor. Our resident Apple expert, Lewis covers everything from iPhone to AirPods, plus a range of smartphones, tablets, laptops and gaming hardware. You'll also find him on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel. The fabric also covers the button housing found in both the left- and right-hand lines. And there are textures on the earbuds themselves too, though that only makes them more comfortable to grip for placing in or taking out. There are no buttons at all on the earbuds. The only interactive element there is the embedded USB-C port. We test every headphones we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.Bass is banging, punchily described in Jamiroquai’s Canned Heat. It gets my head bopping and feet tapping, the funkadelic rhythms delivered with aplomb. There’s pleasing weight, drive and power to the low frequencies in Tom Morello’s cover of Voodoo Child, but it isn’t overdone (like the Z.N.E. 01 ANC, the equalizer here is set to the flat “Adidas”). The way in which the bass is integrated here is certain to get people pumped up during workouts. Audio quality isn’t industry leading, but by running headphone standards the Adidas FWD-01 offer decent sound quality. Water- and sweat-resistance come in at IPX5, matching the Z.N.E. 01 ANC, which makes them resistant to low pressure and sustained jets of water, while the case is splash-proof at IPX4. The case is an interesting piece of design, with a “breathable” mesh top; if the earphones become wet, it allows the water to evaporate through it (and it works). Conclusions: The FWD-01 is a new favorite for me, as I appreciate the great sound, quality, ease of use, long battery life and that they are less isolating from my surroundings on the run than other wireless Bluetooth headsets that I have used. I use them daily for running, walking, phone calls, working in the yard and around the house and even for watching TV at night when the kids are in bed. I highly recommend them! Of course, that means they aren’t necessarily going to be the most audiophile-friendly headphones on the market. But they certainly aren’t the worst either. Especially if you keep the volume below 70-percent of the maximum. Above around 80-percent, the bass does tend to overpower. But under that, the frequency separation and distinction are actually very good. If not the best.

The lightweight 25g design, combined with the secure fit of the earbuds, mean you’ll likely never have to readjust the earbuds once you’ve put them in – and that’s not something I can say of many wireless earbuds at any price point. Being Adidas’ first-ever range of audio equipment, the FWD-01 does a decent enough job in the audio department, though it doesn’t yet match up to the likes of Jaybird or Bose, both of which have been in the industry for much, much longer. The base preset EQ is pretty solid, which is by default bass-forward, which certainly pumps some adrenaline in your workout. As such, bass-heavy genres such as EDM and hip hop will no doubt benefit from it. But if that’s not for you, there are other EQ presets available in the app, or it can be manually edited, giving you a bevvy of audio options. Setting that caveat aside, under that range, these earbuds had no trouble connecting. And since I did my cycling — I’m not much for running — with my phone in a bike mount, these earbuds stayed connected with near-lossless audio throughout.Adidas claims that these earbuds should last over 16-hours. My usage saw around 16-hours and 20-minutes. The earbuds themselves are the same way. There was just enough flex in the ear tip wing to keep the earbuds in place without putting too much pressure on the outer ear. Meanwhile, the earbud tips are squishy and comfortable too. So wearing this in-ear all day didn’t present any trouble either. Finally, Adidas includes a fold-to-close carry case. Adidas made that from a mesh material and even added a slot specifically for the charging cable. But it’s also small enough that the accessories just barely fit without being difficult to place inside. So, unlike many other companies’ included carry cases, this one from Adidas doesn’t take up much more extra room than the earbuds themselves would.

Learn how music helps marathon runner and inclusivity activist Cal Calamia connect to their surroundings and the importance of their running community.The sound quality of the FWD-01 is excellent, with a deep range of sound, full, clean rich bass and can easily be customized within the app. adidas sport headphones blend intelligent, ergonomic design with incredible sound to support you every step of the way from warm-up, to workout, right through recovery. The Adidas Headphones app (for Android and iOS) immediately recognizes the paired earphones and leads you through a tour of their features and customizable options. The aforementioned Action button can be set up through the app, and different actions can be assigned to single, double, and triple presses, but customization is limited to voice assistants and Spotify controls. Perhaps the app's most useful feature is the built-in five-band EQ, with several adjustable presets, as well as a user preset labeled Custom. Since there’s no ANC, battery life matches the Z.N.E. 01 ANC with 6 and 25 hours. This is an area where the Adidas give up a little time to the likes of the Jabra Elite 7 Pro and JBL Reflect Flow Pro. Like the Z.N.E, the figures bandied about are fine for gym use, but they’re just about okay if we’re talking about using them more often. That’s not necessarily a deal-breaker. But, since I really don’t want to rely on a battery bank — which itself will need to continuously be recharged — or a laptop port, it very nearly felt like one. Although I could just as easily buy or use one of my other USB-C charging cables, the inclusion of such a short cable is a real letdown.

Now, Adidas FWD-01 is part of the company’s “Running” line of wireless earbuds. And, as such, it isn’t necessarily the best option if you happen to need to put a lot of distance between yourself and your smartphone. In fact, compared to other earbuds I’ve had the opportunity to review, Adidas FWD-01 performed among the worst I’ve tested on range. Of course you can return your adidas Headphones product if you are unhappy. We offer a 30 day return policy to all our customers. adidas lists 16 hours of battery life, and while difficult to actually quantify, I believe battery life to be very close to this estimate. I wear them for hours per day (running, walking, using them for phone calls, house/yard chores) and seem to go for days before I remember to recharge them. You can also see a battery percentage within the app, but I rarely remember to look there for status updates (I just never need to really given the battery life, but it is a nice feature regardless). Charging is easy, simply plug in the USB-C cable provided (though very short).The FWD-02 Sport are the third in a trio of true wireless buds from the Adidas and Zound Industries collaboration, with this model specifically aimed at runners.