Rolfstone Nova Sport – Hardware Review
Over the course of the last few months, we have taken a closer look at a lot of wireless earbuds from different brands. Sennheiser shipped us some of their premium wireless Bluetooth earbuds, as did LG. We found that both brands are at the top of their game when it comes to designing these products. One was slightly more sleek and elegant, while the other packed a heavier bass, which proved to be great when watching an action-packed movie or series. Now, we have something slightly different on offer today, namely Rolfstone’s Nova Sport. This elegant wireless pair of earbuds promises premium quality, maximum comfort, and great audio quality, at a very affordable price. Even though we were a bit skeptical at first, we soon found ourselves impressed by these quality earbuds.
Design
In essence, Rolfstone’s Nova Sport is a fairly classy set of earbuds. The device sports a somewhat sleek look with a slightly matte finish, without too many bells and whistles. The thing that will immediately stand out here is the wingtip (which we’ll discuss below), which serves as a small silicon add-on for each earbud to make sure the earbuds rest comfortably in your auricles. Other than that, you’ll get treated to a similarly sober charging case. The earbuds have a nice depiction of the logo on each earbud, and the charging case displays the brand name. These subtle touches do not stand out, as the company subtly visualizes them with a different shade of black.
Comfort
Rolfstone tries to diversify itself from the competition by adding something fairly original and unique to the equation: the wingtip. These wingtips are small silicone bands with a ‘wing’ that go around the earbuds individually. These ‘wings’ are in fact small protrusions that, when you properly put the earbuds in, they remain firmly in your auricle, even when making sudden movements or when working out. The company has added ‘Sport’ to the model’s name, and we firmly believe that the Nova Sport truly shines when working out. The only remark we might have is that the earbuds do not always snap into their case as neatly as some other brands, and this is due to the wingtip. You might need to adjust them very slightly to make sure they fit snugly in their case, before you close the lid, making sure they are charging properly when not in use.
Other than the swappable sizes of wings included with the earbuds, there are also several different sizes of ear-tips, ensuring a high comfort factor for those who might need a smaller or bigger size to have the earbuds fit more snugly. The latter is a common practice nowadays for most brands, but it’s still nice to see it included with the Nova Sport as well, especially given the lower price tag of Rolfstone’s products.
Specs
- IP64 certified
- Up to 25 hours of playback time
- Extra bass
- Hands-free calling
- USB-C
- Original ‘wingtip’ design
Overview
As is common these days for earbuds such as this, the earbuds will immediately turn on when you take them out of their case. This will allow you to pair them with your desired device, such as your smartphone, to then enjoy your favorite music, movies, podcasts, and so on. We had no trouble connecting the Nova Sport to our device(s) and we were up and running within mere seconds. Controlling the Nova Sport is done by tapping the exterior to skip tracks, pick up calls, or even adjust volume settings (by holding down your finger on either the left or right earbud). This is all fairly standard for devices such as this, but we found the responsiveness of Rolfstone’s product very on-point. We do have to say that skipping a track on Spotify didn’t always register immediately.
The audio quality of the Nova Sport is absolutely superb, especially for a budget-friendly device. The sound is crystal clear when listening to your favorite tunes, and the bass kicked in a lot harder than we expected. As is typical for a lot of other more affordable earbuds, the bass is often quite flat and doesn’t really pack a punch. Our expectations were proven quite wrong here, and we were able to enjoy slightly more explosive music-listening sessions than we initially expected. Our audio sessions were also not cut short with the promised 25 hours of playback time. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can listen to music or other audio for 25 hours in a row, but the case holds several charges (when fully charged itself), making sure your earbuds charge again when tucked away neatly in the case when not in use.
We do have to mention one word of caution, as these wonderful earbuds are clearly designed for outdoor usage: always be aware of your surroundings. We very much support outdoor activities, especially exercising during this pandemic, but people do tend to forget they are ‘part of this world’ when they have audio devices in when jogging or doing other outdoors exercising. Be sure to mind those around you, especially when crossing the street during your late-night runs, or other sudden actions. While this may sound like we are belittling you; the reader; a lot of people do forget certain basic rules when they are in their ‘zone’.
Conclusion
Rolfstone’s Nova Sport is a very budget-friendly, yet premium quality, audio solution for those looking to get into some outdoor sporting activities. We found the overall design superb, while also making sure the earbuds remain in place during more intense workouts, thanks to the aforementioned ‘wing’ design. That being said, these earbuds are also very much suited for home entertainment purposes, such as just zoning out while listening to music, watching your favorite shows or movies, or even enjoying a good morning podcast when you get ready for work.
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