Lenovo HD 116 review: Get value for money with these compact over-the-ear headphones

Lenovo HD 116 review: Even as earbuds have become a rage, companies continue to bet big on wireless over-the-ear headphones. And why shouldn’t they! This category has its own charm. A good pair of wireless headphones serve as a perfect travel companion. Chinese multinational technology company Lenovo recently launched its new wireless headphones -- Lenovo HD 116, positioned in the relatively affordable segment. Priced at Rs 2,499, the headphones come with sturdy look and claim to offer better sound output and strong Bluetooth connectivity. 

Well, we have been using the pair for over a week now and here is our Lenovo HD 116 review.

One of my biggest complaints with over-the-year headphones has been that most of them are too big. And, when I say big, I mean the earcups are huge and at times lead to sweating around your ears - in India, which is hot for most part of the year, that spells extreme discomfort. And that is exactly what it is not - large. The Lenovo HD 116 has a compact design and it has impressed me a lot. The headphones are genuinely small in size, fit in your carry bag easily and don't add too much weight around your neck either.

Not just this, the ear-cups are soft as well and give you comfort. They also come with an IPX5 rating which makes the Lenovo HD 116 sweat-proof.

The headphones come in a classic black colour and sport a folding design which further helps the portability of the device. You get the general control buttons on the left. These are - volume buttons, power button and an extra bass mode button. The buttons are positioned well and are reachable.

One issue you could face is that the headphones don't use the smoothest connectors for folding. There are times when you need to apply extra pressure to fold the headphones. On the flip side, it does lock the device, blocking unwanted folds during usage.

The Lenovo HD 116 is compatible with both Android and iOS. It uses Bluetooth 5 and supports HSP/HFP/AVRCP/A2DP. The headphone supports dual EQ Modem alongside the standard mode. You can switch between two modes by pressing the button. It also has Aux port to use it as a wired headphone if you want.

I connected the headphones with my tablet to play 'Lonely' by Diplo and Jonas Brothers, 'Afterhours' by The Weekend and 'Wake Up' by the Vamps. The audio was clear and you can clearly feel the difference between the normal mode and the extra bass mode.

As expected, the vocals were more clear on the standard mode so that remained my preferred mode during the usage. I also watched a couple of episodes of 'Narcos: Mexico Season 2' and streamed a few episodes of '22 Yarns' on Spotify. The audio output was decent for headphones in this price range.

Lenovo HD 116 review: Final Verdict

The Lenovo HD 116 is a highly impressive pair of headphones at this price point. It offers Hi-Res audio, a compact design and promises a battery life of 24 hours. The built-in microphone allows you to make hands-free calls and do voice recordings too.

A buy? Well, it is not exactly a style statement - head-phones will never look as good as earbuds - but yes, keeping all needs of music lover in mind, you could eye them positively.