In the past, I’ve always found ‘collar’ headphones a little strange. They have a rigid neckband that goes around the back of your neck, with more conventional earbuds that are then connected to it by short cables.
The Samsung Level U Pro are just such a design, looking similar to Motorola’s Moto Surround or the LG HBS 900 Tone Infinim, and are another pair of headphones in Samsung's Level range. The last pair I reviewed was the large and cumbersome Samsung Level Over.
The issue I've had with collar headphones is that there are few reasons when they would be preferable to conventional wireless neckband headphones that have a flexible band. I encountered the same problem with the Samsung Level U Pro that I have with other collar headphones in that it can be difficult to wear them comfortably due to the rigid neckband. If you have a penchant for wearing shirts or suit jackets, or anything with a collar in fact, then finding a position for the neckband to sit can prove difficult. You might also find the hard plastic band rubs against your clothing or gets annoyingly caught.
While the plastic is reasonably rigid, its shape and design make me worry that it would be susceptible to breaking if you’re not careful with the headphone’s transportation. These aren’t the kind of headphones you throw nonchalantly into a bag.
For anyone looking for a pair of wireless headphones suitable for exercise or running, these probably aren’t for you, either. Runners, in particular, will find the plastic neckband distracting as it jumps around behind their neck.
The rigid neckband does house one moderately useful feature, in that there’s a vibration motor inside. You can pair the Level U Pro with its companion app for Android and configure them to vibrate when you get a notification or a phone call on your smartphone. How useful you’ll find this is debatable, however, as it’s all well and good knowing you’ve got a notification, you’ll still need to get your smartphone out to know what it is.
The vibration is only really useful for knowing you have a phone call when you don’t have the headphones in your ears, as otherwise you’ll still get to hear the ringing tone in the earbuds anyway.
The Samsung Level App can also be used to configure the clasp control, which is the magnets built into each of the earbuds. These allow them to be attached to one another when not in use and stop them from flailing around. You can have the Level U Pro automatically play or pause your music, or answer and reject your calls when it detects the two earbuds are paired or unpaired. The magnets need to be attached in a specific way, however, so some attention is required. There’s also a Sound Share feature that lets you share your music with a second Level U Pro for communal listening.
A puzzling design decision is the placement of the power and pairing switch. It’s located towards the centre of the neckband, placing it behind your neck when the Level U Pro is worn. This means if you regularly turn the headphones on and off through the day while keeping them around your neck, reaching the tiny and easily missed switch requires a stretch that resembles something from a PE class. Why the switch couldn’t be placed towards the front of the band so it’s on your collarbone is beyond me. The volume and play pause buttons are located on the right-hand side, so a the power switch could have been on the left. The media playback and volume controls can, at least, be used to skip tracks as well as accept and reject incoming phone calls. There are dual-microphones, too, with echo and noise cancellation for calls, which works very well for hands-free phone calls.
Provided you get a good fit, the sound quality is actually surprisingly respectable. You get a choice of three different-sized silicone tips. Inside the Level U Pro are 13mm dynamic and Piezo drivers that deliver respectable clarity in the mids and treble and nicely balanced bass. There was plenty of detail in the cymbals and a comfortable amount of energy from the bass in Warren G’s Regulate. The soundstage in Menahan Street Band’s Three Faces wasn’t overly narrow with good separation of the individual instruments. The trumpets did at times begin to sound harsh, but for the most part the Level U Pro allow for a comfortable listening experience.
That’s just part of the story where it comes to sound, however. The Level U Pro support ‘Ultra High Quality Audio’ (UHQA) and surprise, surprise, certain Samsung Galaxy smartphones are compatible. You can think of UHQA as an upscaler that improves the sound quality of lossy audio by estimating and restoring the lost detail. I tried the Level U Pro with a Samsung Galaxy S6 and it does sound marginally cleaner. Is the effect pronounced enough to pick the Level U Pro over any other headphones if you have a compatible device? Probably not.
Overall, the Level U Pro are a reasonably good pair of headphones with respectable sound quality for their cost. Battery life at around 9 hours is also good and fractionally longer than most neckband style Bluetooth wireless headphones.
By the end of my testing period, I surprisingly found myself getting more used to the collar design, but it was often dependent on what items of clothing I had on. Admittedly, it was nice to be able to have the headphone sat around my neck and not worry about them falling off but transportation is still going to be an issue. So provided you don’t have any aversions to collar-style headphones, the Level U Pro are a reasonable buy.
Headphones subtype: In-ear collar, Plug type: N/A, Weight: 45.7g, Cable length: N/A