Test
RPT-02 SOL Sunlight instead of a socket: Self-charging sports headphones from Adidas put to the test
The Adidas RPT-02 SOL sports headphones charge themselves using natural (or artificial) light
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Adidas has now also taken advantage of the fact that the sun is an inexhaustible supplier of energy: the sporting goods manufacturer’s new wireless on-ear headphones use both natural and artificial light to charge themselves independently. Does that really work? The stern figured it out.
Thanks to the IPX4 certification, the new sports headphones from Adidas are sweat-resistant and splash-proof, but not waterproof. Half of it is made of plastic, which in turn is made up of 87 percent recycled PC-ABS and recycled nylon – excluding the electronic components. Since the headphones were developed for sports activities, the ear cushion and headband can be removed and washed. As far as playback time is concerned, the manufacturer promises a playing time of up to 80 hours without additional exposure to light. Sounds almost too good to be true. In short: We put the RPT-02 SOL sports headphones through their paces.
Technical details
First of all, let’s take a look at the technical data of the sports headphones:
model name
RPT-02 SUN
Weight
256 Gramm
water resistance
IPX4
Bluetooth range
10 Meter
Wireless connection
Bluetooth 5.2
battery charging time
2 hours (via USB-C)
playing time
80 hours (without exposure to light)
frequency range
20 Hz–20 kHz
driver size
40 mm
driver sensitivity
105±3 dB @1 KHz 179 mV 10 mm
Price (RRP)
230 Euro
Another note: In order to use or adjust the different functions of the headphones, you need to download the (free) Headphones App from Adidas: either in the Apple App Store or on Google Play. You can also view the real-time charging status and battery level in the app.
New: light as an energy source
In terms of design alone, the new Adidas sports headphones are similar to their predecessor, the RPT-01 Sport. The important difference lies in the detail: The RPT-02 SOL has been equipped with Exeger’s Powerfoyle™ technology – a type of solar cell material. As a result, the model is able to convert natural and artificial light into energy (i.e. battery power). The playing time of the headphones should therefore be 80 hours, even without exposure to light. To check how the battery is doing, however, you have to open the associated Headphones app from Adidas. There is also a light indicator on the left inside of the headphones. To activate this, a small button on the outside of the left headphone must be pressed. The more rings that light up, the better the local lighting conditions. That means: if all the rings light up, ideal conditions prevail. With fewer rings, the loading process takes correspondingly longer.
But beware: According to Adidas, the headphones should not be left unattended in the sun for several hours, as high temperatures (from 45 degrees Celsius) can have a negative effect on the service life and charging capacity.
For “emergency charging”, the sports headphones have an integrated USB-C port on the underside
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Although the sports headphones charge themselves with light, the RPT-02 SOL has a USB-C connection. This raises the question of what the manufacturer was thinking? The answer is very simple: “For emergencies,” says the Adidas website. This certainly means that if the battery is at zero percent and it’s the middle of the night, you can charge the headphones with a USB-C cable – which is unfortunately not included in the scope of delivery.
Adidas RPT-02 SOL in practice
To find out whether and how well the headphones perform during sports activities, our stern-tester went jogging with the RPT-02 SOL. For an even better judgement, the model was also tested when going for a walk and at home – in case there were any noticeable differences. Which was actually the case: In fact, the surrounding background noise played a major role in the sports headphones, since they do not have active noise cancellation. When asked why the sporting goods manufacturer did not do this, Adidas replies on its website: “We know that many of our customers play sports outdoors and therefore want to be aware of the noise in their environment to be safe”. On the one hand that makes sense, on the other hand there are certainly people who – especially in the cold autumn and winter months – prefer to do sports indoors, for example in the gym. Therefore, in our opinion, it would have been important to let customers decide for themselves whether they wanted to hear the ambient noise or not. We definitely missed this feature when running outdoors, especially near busy roads. At home, on the other hand, it was less of a problem.
The sports headphones from Adidas are individually adjustable in height and thus adapt to the size of the head
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As far as looks are concerned, the sporty design of the RPT-02 SOL immediately convinced us. And the wearing comfort also left nothing to be desired: when jogging, our tester always had the feeling that the headphones were secure and secure – without slipping. A positive aspect was that the operation of the different functions (such as volume control or clicking on individual songs) was very easy: the music could be played or paused using the so-called jog wheel, a small button on the right bracket . The same applied to calls made and received using the integrated microphone on the go. As far as the sound of the sports headphones is concerned, the RPT-02 SOL was also convincing. Both when playing the songs and during different phone calls: the music and voices were clear and easy to understand, even with the other people who were called for our test on the landline and smartphone.
Conclusion: This is how the sports headphones perform
Except for the lack of noise cancellation, which we think every headphone should have, the sports headphones from Adidas make a very good impression. From the sound quality and operation to the feel and look. The RPT-02 SOL is easy to use thanks to the intuitive controls – even without an operating manual. In terms of playtime, the headphones are almost unbeatable thanks to Powerfoyle technology, as they can recharge themselves with light at any time. That is clever and sustainable at the same time. And that was also noticeable in our test: After 48 hours, the battery showed just two percent less. This also explains why the playing time was given as 80 hours. The fact that the ear pads and headband can be removed and washed is also positive. Which is certainly necessary after numerous sports units. And if the ear pads are no longer ready for use, replacements can be ordered.
From our tester’s point of view, the only downside is the price (and the missing USB-C charging cable included in the scope of delivery): The RPT-02 SOL costs over 200 euros, which is apparently due to the fact that the headphones do not depend on a socket and their battery charge by itself. Nevertheless, the RRP certainly exceeds the realm of possibility for many interested parties. In this case, there are also (partly waterproof) alternatives that still have to be charged with a cable, but are much cheaper: such as the HE08 in-ear sports headphones from Lenovo, the bone conduction headphones from Topmelon or SoundCore Sport X10 headphones.
What: Adidas
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