I can speak from personal experience when I say that lack of sleep is an extremely frustrating problem. It is very difficult to deal with excess noise, especially for light sleepers like me. This is exactly why I bought a Hoomband, and in this review I'll talk about what it does well, what it doesn't do so well, and what you can expect if you pick one up. I'll try to give an idea of all of its uses (meditation, travel, exercise), but honestly, I only use it for sleeping, so I'll mainly focus on that.
What is the Hoomband and how is it used?
Hoomband is a headband with two built-in speakers that fit comfortably in your ears when you wear the band. The headphones are surrounded by soft foam pads for added comfort. You can connect your phone via bluetooth and a USB Type A charger is included. The Hoomband has several uses, including:
Sleeping
If you sleep on your side and have ever tried to go to bed and fall asleep with headphones in your ears, you know it's pretty uncomfortable. The Hoomband is designed to remedy this, as the speakers are basically soft pads that don't hurt when lying on their side. Then you connect your phone to the Hoomband via Bluetooth and voila, you have comfortable headphones for sleeping. This, of course, only matters if you sleep on your side. If you sleep on your back, you can use regular headphones. You can also use the Hoomband as a mask over your eyes (I'm not sure it was designed for this, but it works great).
Exercise
While I admit I've never tried this, I could see the Hoomband being great for running. It fits quite well so it doesn't move when you run and will keep your ears warm if it's cold. It's also made from a very breathable fabric, so I imagine it's relatively sweat-resistant and won't make your head too hot.
Meditation
Meditation is listed as one of the uses for the Hoomband on Amazon, but I honestly don't see how its design gives it any advantage over regular headphones when it comes to meditation. The only thing I can think of is that you can use it as a mask as well as headphones. The Hoomband app has guided meditation, so at least that will help.
Travel
Another use case that I have no idea why it is listed. Sure you can travel with it and sure it will work as bluetooth headphones, but so do regular headphones.
What the Hoomband does well
Comfort
The Hoomband is quite comfortable to wear. The outer layer of the headband is a thin, soft and breathable mesh material with enough elasticity to comfortably fit all head sizes. Inside the band is a thermoformed foam pad that houses extremely thin speakers. On the back of the band is the power button and charging port.
The speakers feel soft and comfortable when sleeping, and overall the headband fits very well (I have a slightly smaller than average head). The material is thin and breathable enough to keep your head cool while sleeping or exercising. In terms of comfort, I think the Hoomband does a really good job.
Convenience
It's very easy to connect your phone via Bluetooth and access all your music or other sounds. Hoomband also comes with an app that has over 1,200 minutes of pre-programmed white noise, sleep stories, and guided meditations created by sleep experts. It is an all-in-one solution when it comes to a comfortable, portable and convenient sleeping solution.
The outer layer of the headband slides off easily for washing. The speakers themselves can be adjusted to ensure they align with your ears. The application is easy to use and easy to handle quickly; Overall, the product is extremely usable right out of the box.
Light noise cancellation
Think about how much noise you can drown out by playing music or white noise at a low or moderate volume in your headphones. This is exactly what the Hoomband is designed for, and it works well if you're dealing with things like a lightly snoring partner or someone watching TV in another room. Hoomband users will be able to eliminate most high frequency noises that are not very loud. Deeper frequencies or louder noises will be harder to drown out.
What Hoomband doesn't do so well
Heavy Noise Cancellation
Hoomband does not use any real noise cancellation technology and will not work with loud or very low frequency noises. For example, I have noisy upstairs neighbors who tend to stomp their feet late at night. Even at full volume, I can still hear the deep thumps through anything I play on the Hoomband. Don't expect the Hoomband to completely drown out all noise. Also, the sound quality is average, but this is to be expected since you're not buying these to be a pair of high-end luxury headphones.
Charger quality
The charger is a simple USB A mini, so it is very easily replaceable. The one I bought with Hoomband stopped working after a few months. I had an extra lying around that has worked for a while now, so it seems the problem is with the cable and not the Hoomband charging port itself.
Conclusion
Definitely choose this if you are a light sleeper and suffer from mild issues with unwanted noise when trying to sleep. I think once you get used to using the Hoomband, it helps you fall asleep faster and is the best pair of wireless sleep headphones I've found.
Mark James is the editor-in-chief and senior writer of Headphone reviews. With over 10 years of experience reviewing headphones and music-related accessories, he knows all the details any music lover wants. Not only that, she is responsible for guiding and advising the Headphones Reviews editorial team. The best thing is that you make sure that all the information on this site is valuable before publishing it.
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