Boat is an Indian company that is into audio space and wearables, mainly concentrated on headphones and earphones that are comparatively cheaper and offer value for money. They have released Nirvana 717 ANC which has Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature which we are going to test.
Design & build quality
Boat Nirvana 717 ANC is not too heavy (250 grams) or bulky in comparison. The middle portion of the headphone is sturdy with some leather-like material on the inside, which gives the headphone a good grip over your head. You have a little bit of the wires near the earcups. The headphone has a good amount of tension which results in a bit of good clamping force which in turn helps keep the headphone in place. It would be pretty hard to knock these headphones off your head just by swinging your head.
Comfort & controls
The cushions on the earcups are soft and are fairly comfortable on the ears. On the right ear cup, you have the power button, a mic, a 3.5 mm port (for wired listening) followed by next and back buttons with LED indicators between them. On the left ear cup, you have a micro-USB port for charging and a switch for turning ANC on or off. It gets harder to keep these headphones on your ears for extended periods of time due to the clamping force. Definitely not if you wear spectacles/glasses.
Pairing via Bluetooth is fairly easy. Hold the power button for few seconds and it goes into pairing mode and then you can connect your device to the headphones. There is no multi-point connectivity though. So, you can connect to only one device at a time. To switch you would have to disconnect one device and connect the other device manually.
Sound quality
Boat products are normally known for more emphasis on bass, and usually, other aspects of sound are left far behind. Thankfully, that does not seem to be the case with Nirvana 717 ANC though. The music reproduction through the 40 mm drivers is quite good and vocals are above average. The audio quality seems much better when listening through the wire instead of Bluetooth.
Bass is a bit overwhelming in Bluetooth mode. As you increase the volume to the maximum extent, the audio gets a bit distorted, especially the vocals. Audio quality is a bit better with ANC enabled. ANC is not great and just about average. Doesn’t add much value to the entire package as such apart from bragging rights.
Battery
Boat Nirvana 717 ANC has a 300 mAh capacity battery, which lasts easily around a day on continuous usage, which is good. Officially rated run time for the headphones is 15 hours with ANC off and 10 hours with ANC on. Either way, a full charge will ensure that the headphone can carry through the day from morning till evening.
Price & verdict
Boat Nirvana 717 ANC is available at around ₹ 5,000. At this price point, it offers a lot. If you can look past some of the minor issues here and there, it is a great value for money product.
Pros
- IPX4 Sweat and water resistance.
- Good battery life
- Above average audio reproduction
- Option for wired listening, 3.5 mm port
- Bluetooth 5
Cons
- Irritating sound prompts
- Mediocre ANC
- More emphasis on bass
- Not comfortable for long time wearing