AD – Cosmos+ BuddyPhones gifted for review
In this house, we’ve been through more than our fair share of headphones. The girls both have iPads for school and play, and as such, we often use headphones to give the rest of the household some peace and quiet from YouTube, live lessons and (let’s be straight here – playing endless games of Roblox). We also use them when we travel too, providing some much-needed entertainment on their devices when we go on road trips or family holidays in the car.
The only slight problem with headphones is that we ALWAYS seem to break them. Here are some of the challenges we’ve had to date:
- The headband cracks, becomes misshapen or gets too big, slipping off their head or becoming uncomfortable.
- The cable disconnects from the port or the sound simply stops coming through, with the girls complaining that they can no longer hear.
- The sound limits are too loud; meaning the girls not only risk damaging their hearing, but that as parents we can still hear every single word – which kind of defeats the object!
We certainly seem to be able to put headphones through their paces, so we needed a pair that was made specifically to be safe for children whilst still offering a robust and high-quality headset.
In came COSMOS+.
We were recently approached asking if we’d like to try out the new BuddyPhones – noise cancellation headphones for children that come in a range of bright and fun child friendly designs. Even better – these children’s headphones are wireless – meaning the girls aren’t restricted to sit fixed in one place when listening to their favourite songs. We literally JUMPED at the chance.
Our Experience of Cosmos+ BuddyPhones
The Cosmos+ BuddyPhones are wireless active noise cancelling headphones made specifically tailor made for children, which quite uniquely, have a restricted maximum volume. With set restrictions on how loud the headphones can go (and an even lower option for toddlers) parents can be confident they are protecting children’s hearing by capping it at the volume levels recommended by the World Health Organization.
Made from durable and robust materials, BuddyPhones and designed to withstand everything children can throw at them; even folding up into a hard zipped case so they can be safely stashed away during travel or when not in use.
Our First Impressions of the BuddyPhones
Our first impression of the BuddyPhones were really positive – the girls loved the white hard case with the headphones stashed away safely inside. They couldn’t believe that there were headphones inside, as due to the folding design, which allows the headphones to almost curl up into a relatively small and compact case.
What’s inside the box?
Inside the BuddyPhones box is the following:
- Folded up headphones – in this case white with a bright and colourful unicorn design.
- USB-C Cable
- Buddylink Cable
- Boom mic
- Instructions leaflet
The BuddyPhones come in a range of fun designs and colours including Cool Blue, Rose Pink, Sun Yellow, Grey Matter, Deep Blue and Snow White. Unlike some headphones, they are clearly marked for Left and Right, and have large comfortable ear supports and a cushioned headband, so that no matter how long they play, the headphones won’t dig in or cause any discomfort.
I have both a 9 year old and a 5 year old, and the BuddyPhones fit both of them well. They enjoyed the larger sized cushioned ear protectors and the noise cancellation was strong; meaning they weren’t disturbed by me on the phone in the background (and I wasn’t disturbed by the voice of an American YouTuber)
The BuddyPhones from Cosmos+ can be used in a variety of different ways, with a high quality detachable boom mic and 3 different SafeAudio® settings to choose from.
With a 94dB TravelMode, 85dB KidsMode and 75dB ToddlerMode, the headphones can be tailored to your child’s environment. There is even a patented StudyMode that can helps isolate voices from other sounds, producing crisper, clearer vocals that will help children when studying or watching lessons online.
Also in the case is a ‘BuddyLink’ – a cable that allows siblings and friends to share the sound of one device – ideal for my two who enjoy watching and playing games together.
Our Experience
We found the BuddyPhones really easy and simply to use. Pairing with devices via Bluetooth is very quick and easy to do, meaning we were able to get started almost immediately. The instructions are detailed but the headphones are very intuitive to use, with large easy accessible buttons to change between the different audio settings.
I love that the boom mic can be removed – as my children are a little younger; we haven’t used this a great deal, but my nephew at 10 is really into gaming, and I know that he would love this added extra. Where as some headphones with mics normally just curl up out of the way, the fact you can take this away and add it back on as required is really handy.
The battery life is good – saying up to 24 hours and I would say that matches our experience so far; we havent had to charge them much at all; despite significant use. We did make sure we charged them fully before the first use though; so not sure if this makes a difference.
The kids (and I) love the carry case for portability – as too often we’ve had headsets damaged by being shoved back into a draw without care- the hard shell case makes it easy to ensure the headphones are packed away and ready to go for the next use.
Easy to adjust and comfortable, normally I can hear the reverberations of you tube from my children’s headphones, but both the noise limitation and the noise cancelling options meant I wasn’t disturbed at all – a real positive on the days when I am working from home and my children get home from school in the afternoons.
Whilst it’s fair to say you can obviously get cheaper headphones elsewhere, I do think these are worth the investment, particuarly if your child is into gaming or uses devices a lot. They’re strong and sturdy and can certainly handle everything my two throw at them. Whilst some of the designs may be a bit babyish for older users, I think if you have a child aged 5 -12 these would make a really useful gift.
You can pick up a pair of Cosmos+ BuddyPhones at Amazon for an RRP of £99, but there is currently £20 off with an online voucher until the 22nd August 2022.
