Happy Plugs Play is for kids – 5-15 – because of their shape/size, and it is volume-limited to the World Health Organisation 85dB. Oh, and they are Biomaster anti-microbial protected for grubby kids.
First, congratulations to Happy Plugs for addressing the younger market with a no-compromise product that includes: cabled and Bluetooth connections; vegan leather earpads and headband; and looking suspiciously like your parents Bose 700s – very stylish. It even comes in a zippered, hard carry case.
Second, Happy Plugs have avoided copious use of fragile and garish cheap plastic typical of kid’s headphones. These will last with an alloy head strap (wrapped in vegan leather), replaceable vegan leather ear pads, and metal fittings. They come in black, pink, gold and white – elegant.
Happy Plugs Play on-ear cabled and BT headphones
Website | Global |
Price | US$79.99 |
From | Happy Plugs online shipped from Hong Kong |
Warranty | 1-year and 30-day return policy |
Company | Happy Plugs (Est 2011 Stockholm) by Andreas Vural was looking for a pair of colourful headphones for his girlfriend. He took the matter into his own hands – he painted a pair of headphones himself. Happy Plug is a merger of fashion and tech. |
More | You can read more GadgetGuy news and reviews here |
Brief specs – kids don’t care, but parents do (Happy plug claims)
Age group | Suits 5- to 15-year-old average-sized kids heads |
Colours | Pink Gold, White and Black |
Connection | BT 5.0 or 3.5mm 3-pole (Left/right stereo and mic) |
Sharing | Audio sharing via cable with another Happy Plugs Play |
Mic | Yes, for hands-free calls and Google Assistant or Siri |
Controls | On/off slide, volume up/down and fast forward/pause |
Codecs | SBC or Qualcomm aptX |
Sound isolation | Passive isolation blocks up to 82% of ambient noise |
Speakers | 40mmm, 32Ω, 20Hz-20kHz |
Maximum volume | 85dB on-ear (and that is plenty loud enough) |
Battery | 400mAh up to 25 hours (tested 22 hours at 60%) |
Recharge time | Depends on USB charger wattage but under 2 hours Fast charge 10 minutes for 5 hours |
Size | 175x175x65mm |
Anti-microbial | Biomaster can stop the growth of harmful bacteria up to 99.99%. |
In the box | Hard-sided zipper case, USB-A to USB-C, USB-C to USB-C and 3.5mm cable |
Our test kid loves them
They look very sophisticated (like the Bose 700) and are well made. Our subject found them easy to adjusts (all metal) and comfortable. Being on-ear, she could easily slip them off or up.
We had to explain that vegan leather does not come from vegetarian cows. The tech explanation is that it mimics leather created from plant products instead of animal skins. It is soft and pliable like leather, and as it does not absorb body ‘grease’, it can last longer.
These are headphones that discerning kids may want to wear,
How does it sound?
Let’s not pretend kids are audiophiles. It is pleasant for kids music focusing on reasonably flat mid and low treble. As it does not have an app or equaliser, it is what it is. It is fine for vocal, singing and the types of music kids prefer.
The sound stage is good, left/right separation is well defined, and the maximum volume is 85dB with no perceptible distortion. BTW – the WHO limit is important. Smartphones automatically limit volume to 80dB, but other sound devices do not.
Sharing
The headphones can pass through their audio to another Play headphones via the USB-C to USB-C cable.
Battery
While we achieved 22 hours of Bluetooth use at 60% volume. A nice feature is that the 3.5mm cable connection dose does not require power.
GadgetGuy’s take
Happy Plugs have nailed the perfect kids’ headphones and done it at a very reasonable US$79.99 (A$110). Given that these should last years, that is not bad value.
My only suggestion would be to include a spare set of earpads as these are the only thing likely to wear out.
Rating
Kids headphones, even WHO volume-limiting, are not unique, but on the whole, they are garish coloured plastic things that any self-respecting kid would not want to wear. Cheeky as it is, the similarity to Bose 700 adult headsets is uncanny.
I bought one for my niece’s online class and she loves it. It gives us adults such a peace of mind that it does not damage her ears.