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Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC: An image of the neckband earbuds laying on a grey cloth surface with light leaking in from the left vertical frame.

Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC review: Perfectly unremarkable

Fine IPX4 earbuds that don’t stick out from the crowd.
By
April 9, 2019
7.3
Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC
The bottom line
The IPX4 sweat-resistant build of the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC can withstand unforeseen showers and demanding workouts alike. If you don’t need the best noise canceling earbuds but want something better than plain old passive isolation, this $79 option includes enough features to warrant its consideration.

Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC

The IPX4 sweat-resistant build of the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC can withstand unforeseen showers and demanding workouts alike. If you don’t need the best noise canceling earbuds but want something better than plain old passive isolation, this $79 option includes enough features to warrant its consideration.
Release date

December 13, 2018

Price

$79.00

Dimensions

445 x 368 x 43 mm

Weight

25g

Model Number

BT120NCBK

Waterproof

IPX4

What we like
Price<br>
Lightweight and comfortable<br>
IPX4 water-resistance<br>
Notification vibration alert<br>
Fast charge<br>
What we don't like
Weird control placement<br>
ANC effectiveness<br>
SBC only<br>
7.3
SoundGuys Rating
8.7
User Rating
Rating Metric
Our Rating
User Rating
Sound Quality
7.5
8.0
8.0
Bass
7.5
8.0
8.0
Midrange
7.5
8.9
9.0
Highs
7.3
10.0
10.0
Isolation / Attenuation
5.1
7.2
7.0
Durability / Build Quality
7.8
8.9
9.0
Value
8.2
7.9
8.0
Design
7.8
9.0
9.0
Microphone
7.4
10.0
10.0
Portability
8.6
7.9
8.0
Battery Life
5.1
10.0
10.0

Maybe you’ve given up on the search for awesome USB-C earbuds, or maybe you just want an affordable pair of wireless noise canceling ‘buds, no matter what’s brought you here, the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC is an affordable option likely to please a wide range of consumers.

Editor’s note: this review was updated on April 9, 2019, to reflect updated scoring methods and include isolation information.

Who is the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC for?

Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC: The profile of a woman wearing the earbuds.
The price and feature set make these a great set of affordable ANC earbuds.

These earbuds are best-suited for commuters and general consumers. Those who frequently take the train to work will benefit from the noise canceling capabilities of the earbuds. What’s more, the compact form fits into even the most overstuffed backpacks; worst case scenario, you can just wear them. The Curve includes other user-friendly features too like its IPX4 water-resistance and ergonomic RightFit+ ear wings that promote a comfortable all-day fit.

Related: How your in-ears fit matters

How is the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC built?

Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC: Top-down image of the the neckband earbuds with its accessories laid out including the extra ear and wing tips and micro-USB charging cable.
The Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC includes an array of ear and wing tips, a micro-USB cable, cable management piece, and the neckband earbuds.

Each plastic earbud housing is connected by a tenuous cable joining the earbuds to the Memory Flex, non-slip neckband, which vibrates to notify listeners of incoming calls or when walking out of the Bluetooth connection radius. Although plastic and silicone components won’t garner compliments about the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC, the benefit is the lightweight form.

Comfort extends beyond the neckband, though, because the proprietary RightFit+ wing tips properly distribute weight along the outer ear. In turn, this reduces hotspot irritation. Plus, the name is similar to Bose’s StayHear+ ear tips, but make no mistake: Bose’s provide greater stability for strenuous exercise. Additionally, the cable management solution is meager at best. Instead, Phiaton should have gone with shorter cables.

Listeners aren’t granted access to their virtual assistants from the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC.

Inset on the left end cap’s interior rests the playback and call controls. While the buttons may be evenly spaced out, they’re flush with one another, making it hard to differentiate between them. What’s more, it’s just awkward placement to have it inside. I much prefer the layout of the Plantronics BackBeat Go 410 in-line control module. The mic, however, does interrupt the left cable and it relays voices but clarity is sub-par.

Battery life

Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC: An image focused on the ANC toggle button and micro-USB input, which is protected by a silicone flap.
Active noise canceling drastically curtails playback time with the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC.

Battery life isn’t great relative to comparable products—the most recently reviewed being the Plantronics BackBeat Go 410, which supplies 7.88 hours of playback—the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC, however, grants just 4.3 hours of noise canceling playback as per our objective testing. Pair that with the fact that it takes two hours to complete a charge cycle, and you’re not looking at a great ratio.
In all fairness, with noise canceling inactive, the playback time is nearly doubled at 8.4 hours. Even so, it’s not great. To compensate, the Phiaton Curve supports fast charging: five minutes of charging via the included micro-USB cable affords one hour of playback, which is great for the forgetful.

Connectivity

Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC: An image of the on-board controls which are located on the interior of the neckband's left side.
The integrated control module is handy, but its placement isn’t very ergonomic.

The Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC earbuds operate via Bluetooth 4.2, which grants a 10-meter wireless range, and support just the SBC Bluetooth codec. Although this may be disappointing, the outdated firmware and lowest-common-denominator codec make sense since these are cheap noise canceling earbuds. Plus, don’t get too caught up in wireless audio quality as most of us are unable to discern a difference between streaming quality anyway. As a quick aside, they Curve ‘buds can connect to two devices simultaneously.

See: Time to put your hearing to the test

How does the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC sound?

The earbuds sound good considering how affordable they are. General consumers will enjoy the boosted bass and midrange frequencies are great for most all-purpose headphones. What’s more, the 6kHz spike adds perceived clarity, creating a more dynamic relative to neutral-leaning responses produced by studio headphones.

Lows and mids

The prominent bass emphasis is felt in Melt’s song Sour Candy. The kick drum is persistent throughout the yearnful song but happens to be outshined by the midrange frequency reproduction. It’s the electric and bass guitars and that take center stage. During the instrumental solo, which begins at 2:42, the brass section remains audible above the mids. That said, the bass guitar’s reproduction lacks clarity here and through the song’s entirety.

Highs

Sjowgren’s song Waiting Room closes out with an urgent drum-guitar duet. The synthesized guitar is designed to sound unclear, but the lack of detail and instrument in between the mids and highs becomes painfully apparent in this loud moment. The cymbal hits are recognizable but the resonance is cloaked by the guitar playing.

Noise canceling

The noise cancellation is fine, but nothing to write home about. When activated, I can still hear much of the grinding of my gym neighbor’s treadmill and the talking heads getting airtime on the communal TV. It attenuates sound better than passive isolation alone, though, so that’s a plus. As long as you keep your expectations realistic, the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC filters external noise just fine.

Should you buy the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC?

Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC: An image of the neckband earbuds laying on a grey cloth surface with light leaking in from the left vertical frame.
For just $79, the IPX4 water-resistant Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC is a comfortable set of affordable wireless ANC earbuds.

If you favor loudness over clarity and need cheap noise canceling earbuds, then the Phiaton Curve BT 120 NC may be worth it. Its lightweight body is easy to transport and wear all day long without physical fatigue. While the button placement and lack of virtual assistant access are both annoying, they’re small prices to pay for generally good earbuds. Additionally, while I’m not one to exercise with neckband earbuds, the IPX4 water-resistance comes in handy for gym-goers and those of us living in unpredictable climates.

Now, if you don’t mind shelling out a bit more, then the Plantronics BackBeat Go 410 is a much better option overall. Those earbuds operate via Bluetooth 5.0, have even better noise canceling qualities, and feature magnetic housings that automatically play/pause media playback.

Next: Plantronics BackBeat Go 810