Review verdict: Those who are fans of the Monster Beats headphones from the 2000s now have an affordable option with the iFrogz AirTime Vibe. These budget over-ear headphones have a really comfortable fit and a familiar punchy bass that is reminiscent of the trademark soundstage of Beats. The use of MicroUSB baffles us, but the inclusion of ANC makes this pair of wireless headphones a good deal.

Pros

• Comfortable over-ear design
• Effective ANC
• Punchy bass

Cons

• Dated MicroUSB port and slow charging speeds
• Volume controls not compatible with all devices
• A bit lacking in mids

Zagg’s iFrogz brand is known for affordable audio accessories, and the AirTime Vibe aims to offer ANC at an affordable price point. Curious with them? Let’s dive into our iFrogz AirTime Vibe Review in the Philippines and see if they are worth your hard-earned money:

Design

The AirTime Vibe has a matte black finish throughout the whole headphones, with plastic being the most prominent material used on it. The only detail that is not black is the iFrogz logo on the outer earcups–that one is decked in shiny silver.

You get a generous amount of padding on both earcups and on the bottom part of the headband, and an inner metal headband keeps the headphones rigid. Both earcups can be rotated for a better fit and can be folded for storage—you get a nice bag for the headphones in case you are bringing them out for field work.

All of the controls and ports are found on the right earcup. You have the ANC toggle switch on one side, power and volume controls on the opposite side, and MicroUSB port and 3.5mm jack at the bottom—the latter being important in case you prefer listening in wired mode. I’m dismayed to see a MicroUSB port on the AirTime Vibe at a time where most wireless audio products are switching to USB-C, but I’d give iFrogz some slack given the pricing on these headphones.

Interface and fit

Pairing the AirTime Vibe is simple: you simply power it up and hear a prompt on both earcups to tell you that it is ready for pairing. You will get another audible prompt once pairing is successful. If you prefer things old school, you can just hook up the included 3.5mm cable from the headphone itself to your device’s headphone jack.

For controls, the power button doubles as a play/pause switch, while a long press on the volume controls lets you change tracks. Changing the volume can depend on the device you’re using: while it works fine with my P20 Pro, it works intermittently when I’m using the AirTime Vibe with my MacBook Pro. Toggling the ANC is as simple as pressing the ANC button until you hear an audible prompt.

With the Beats as its obvious source of inspiration, the AirTime Vibe as a large headband with a streamlined design to make it aesthetically pleasing even if it is dominantly black. The generous padding and over-ear design makes them very comfortable to use even for long hours.

Audio Quality and Battery Life

Given that it draws inspiration from Beats, the AirTime Vibe’s drivers are tuned to give emphasis on lows especially bass. Using them as our daily driver, the AirTime Vibe performs well with bass-heavy KPop and hip-hop tracks, where the lows are emphasized really well.

The highs are fairly decent for a pair of bass-focused headphones, though don’t expect much on the mids—the intricate details of different musical instruments are not as clear as compared headphones with a more balanced soundstage like the Marshall Major III. Despite the large 40mm drivers, the AirTime Vibe’s volume range is typical of what you expect with budget headphones: while they can’t go deafening loud levels, its maximum volume is just fine for focused listening—aka forgetting things around you and only mind the music you are listening to.

Speaking of noise isolation, iFrogz claims that the AirTime Vibe’s ANC can filter up to 20db of noise. Enabling ANC was good enough to filter the noise coming from the electric fan and aircon in my room, which is fairly good but not as great as ANC solutions from TWS earbuds like the realme Buds Air Pro or Huawei FreeBuds Pro. Aside from ANC, the AirTime Vibe’s over-ear design also provides good passive noise cancellation in case you prioritize battery life more.

Battery life is a strong point for wireless headphones, with the AirTime Vibe having an advertised 30 hours of usage. I have been using them for around two weeks with an average listening time of around 1 and a half hours per day, and I still have around 20% juice left based on my device’s battery status indicator. Since it uses an ancient MicroUSB port, charging speeds are not the fastest with the AirTime Vibe. A top-up from a flat battery to 100% will take you a little over two hours, and that’s the slight tradeoff to compensate for its long battery life.

Wrap up and conclusions

With a sub-Php 5k price tag, our review of AirTime Vibe shows that they are a great affordable alternative to Monster’s Beats headphones with its bass-focused soundstage. They may be outdated with the MicroUSB port and slow charging speeds, but the AirTime Vibe makes up for it with a usable ANC feature that filters out a good amount of noise while maintaining its overall soundstage.

iFrogz AirTime Vibe Review Philippines: Price and Availability

The AirTime Vibe is priced at Php 4,990 and is available via Digital Walker’s HomeOffice eCommerce shop and through their official Lazada store.