Back Bay Runner 40

Verdict

An inexpensive pair of workout earphones with a good fit and enjoyable sound. They’re not the most feature-packed pair of headphones you’ll ever buy but they offer good value for the price.

Introduction

We’ve enjoyed plenty of Boston-based audio brand Back Bay’s headphones in the past – the products are simple but they’re effective.

The Runner 40 follows in that lineage with their approach. There’s nothing complex about what they offer but they do so at an affordable price. If you want to get on with your workouts, the Runner 40 is a very inexpensive way of doing so.

Design

• Over-ear hook design
• IPX7 rated

The Runner 40 features an over-ear hook design and I find that comfort levels are very good. The plastic material of the main chassis is smooth while the stabiliser has a rubbery quality to it, so there’s been no ache either on the arch of my ear or in the ear itself.

The type of design means that the Runner 40 stays affixed and doesn’t fall off, but that doesn’t mean that the fit doesn’t get loose. I’ve used these headphones for months now, and I tend to push them back inward to help maintain the fit and seal. It’s normal for headphones to get loose during exercise, but the Runner 40 do seem to move about a bit more than most. There’s a choice of small to large ear-tips to find the best fit you can.

Noise isolation is very good when the fit and seal are right, and in a gym they could easily block out most sounds around me. They’re rated to IPX7, which ensures that they are waterproof.

The Runner 40 make use of touch controls and I can’t say I’m a big fan of them – at least not while moving. I can never quite locate where to press and when I do I’m not using enough force. It would be easier and more accurate if physical controls were employed a la Jabra.

Colours are a choice of black, rose gold or a lilac colour. The charging case the headphones come in is rather large but considering the over-ear hook design that’s not a surprise (I’ve seen bigger cases), and inside is a little screen that shows the battery life of the case.

Features

• Bluetooth 5.2
• 30 hours of battery
• Bass Mode

Speaking of battery life, the Back Bay Runner 40 claim to offer 30 hours in total, with the earphones able to do six hours per charge. A one-hour drain at 50% volume led to a 10% drop in battery life, so I reckon you could easily get more than six hours per charge from these earphones.

Charging is through the USB-C connection – there’s no wireless charging support for this model. No fast-charging is mentioned either.

Wireless connectivity is Bluetooth 5.2 with SBC and AAC codec support, and I’ve had no problems with the connection over testing. There’s no mention of Bluetooth multi-point, so don’t expect that feature to be available with the Runner 40.

There’s no app but you can adjust the EQ with Back Bay’s bass mode. It works like it has done on its other headphones in enhancing the low frequencies to give them more impact. That’s it for the features, the Runner 40 are a simple pair of workout earphones.

Sound Quality

• Warm, bassy sound
• Solid width to its sound
• Good midrange clarity

In terms of their sound quality the Runner 40 are a smooth and clear performer. I’d say there’s some warmth to how it sounds, so while the midrange is clear, it’s not the most detailed or defined.

However, voices are handled well with a smooth sense of clarity in Jose Gonzalez’s Heartbeats, and with the playing of his guitar there’s a welcome sense of dynamism as you can hear the different notes being played.

The bass is rich with solidity and good depth in Eminem’s The Real Slim Shady, Bodyrock’s Yeah Yeah, and Warren G’s Regulate. Highs aren’t the brightest but they are clearly relayed in GoGo Penguin’s Erased by Sunlight.

There is more of an emphasis on bass with these earphones, but I feel they strik a solid enough balance across the frequency range. Switching to the Bass mode does increase the size and depth of the bass but not to the point where it begins to smother other aspects of the track too much, but certainly without the mode on there is more space for other instruments to exist in a track.

Again, the Runner 40 are not the most defined in performance but the levels of detail and definition they offer are fine for the money. The soundstage is wide and solidly spacious, and when music requires a step up, the Runner 40 can summon it.

The sound of the Runner 40 is enjoyable, especially if you like a bit of a bassy backing to your music. It’s a likeable performance and while you could pick some faults with it, for the money they come across more as nitpicks.

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