iClever BTH18 Review

iClever BTH18 are over-ear Bluetooth headphones for kids with cool RGB lighting effects, audio sharing, and super long battery life. However, their 3 volume limiters surpass the advertised loudness.

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• List price (MSRP): $29.99
• Manufacturer: iClever

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Related: Best kids headphones – Best headphones for toddlers – Best headphones under $30

Our Conclusion

iClever BTH18 are affordable headphones for kids with a cool design and over-ear ear cups, comfortably fitting all kids’ head sizes.

While made from cheaper-feeling materials, they comply with multiple safety standards for kids and are flexible enough to endure frequent tossing and stretching.

Furthermore, children will love their bassy sound, free of high-frequency harshness. The headphones also have a huge battery life of more than 53 hours, so you can charge and forget them for at least a full week.

However, BTH18’s most important feature, the 3 volume limiters (74dB, 85dB, and 94dB mode), consistently surpasses their expected values, even during our music tests.

Learn the safest way to use iClever BTH18 and avoid hearing damage.

Pros & Cons:

Compare to similar headphones

Our Analysis and Test Results

Our tests with the loudness-calibrated measuring rig showed that the headphones’ volume limiters are overall louder by 5.6 dBA (when listening to music) than advertised. To retain a safe volume, use the 74dB and wired modes, as they output audio at acceptable loudness levels.

Sound

iClever BTH18 produce a predominantly bassy sound with smooth vocals and instruments. Their punchy sound might be enjoyable to kids, but it gets bloated quickly. Listening via cable results in a mellower bass response.

Key points:

• Bass-boosted sound with recessed, smooth frequency response.
• Sound quality gets slightly more balanced (less bass) when listening via 3.5mm cable.
• Loudness limiters aren’t accurate; for the safest listening, use 74dB or wired mode.

Bass: Strong, but some like it that way

Over-ear design means ear pads create a tighter seal around your kids’ ears, resulting in better, deeper bass response. The latter is also a dominant frequency when listening to the BTH18.

Consequently, some songs, especially those with distinct beats, will sound bloated and muddy.

That said, many enjoy loud bass, especially at younger ages, so most kids probably won’t mind the punchy sound signature.

Midrange: Warm but pleasant

Vocals and instruments are quieter than other things in the music and quite warm due to the excessive bass response.

Nonetheless, the midrange is still pleasant to listen to, with vocals completely absent of sibilance. The sound could be more detailed, but kids probably won’t mind that.

Treble: Decently shimmery and smooth

Higher frequencies have a nice presence and smoothness. During my testing, I never encountered piercing treble frequencies or anything that could possibly bother sensitive kids’ ears.

Listening iClever BTH18 in wired mode

Officially, the included 3.5mm cable is meant to share audio between 2 headphones, so your kid and his friend can enjoy “Baby Shark” simultaneously.

Furthermore, listening via cable mellows down the bass response and makes the sound more balanced. However, cables are somewhat inconvenient as they tangle and frequently get stuck on things, which could damage the headphones.

Sound comparison

My conclusion

iClever BTH18 produce a sound that’s on point with the $30 price tag. It’s punchy and smooth enough for kids to enjoy it.

Competitors, like BuddyPhones POP Fun, offer cleaner sound, but you’ll also need to pay a bit more.

Volume limiter performance

Loudness is always higher than advertised, with only a few instances when the surpassed loudness is within acceptable range.

iClever BTH18 offer 3 loudness limiter modes at:

• 74dB
• 85dB
• 94dB

We tested their actual loudness using our loudness-calibrated MiniDSP E.A.R.S. measuring rig.

For our tests, we used white noise (all audible frequencies playing at once) and music (“Baby Shark” by Pinkfong, measuring at the loudest point in the song).

White noise test (with Bluetooth at 74dB, 85dB, and 94dB)

As mentioned, these headphones are always louder than they should be while playing white noise. While kids won’t listen to white noise, the latter is good for revealing actual loudness.

Based on our test results, headphones are, on average, 9.9 dBA louder than their advertised target.

Music noise test (with Bluetooth at 74dB, 85dB, and 94dB)

Music test represents a better real-world scenario listening experience, giving more accurate loudness results.

As mentioned above, we used the loudest part of the song to make our measurement, but overall, the consistent loudness was about 2dBA lower, which is still over the advertised target.

On average, headphones are around 5.6 dBA louder than advertised when listening to music. That puts them into the acceptable zone, but they should’ve been more accurate.

Wired loudness test (using Samsung Audio dongle)

If you end up with an empty battery and need to plug in the 3.5mm cable, you’ll be glad to hear that in wired mode, headphones output in advertised loudness.

In wired mode, headphones default to 85dB limiter mode. We used them with a Samsung audio dongle, as most portable devices lack an AUX port.

In our music test, loudness was “only” 1dBA above the target, which is great. However, it was 6.2 dBA higher during the white noise test.

The included cable has no built-in limiter, so you can use any cable you want.

In conclusion, the safest way to listen to iClever BTH18 is to use them in 74dB mode or wired mode. 

They’re not as accurate as some of their competitors, such as BuddyPhones POP Fun, BuddyPhones Play+, and especially Puro Sound Labs BT2200 (although these are more expensive).

Compare loudness test results from other kids headphones we’ve reviewed in our best kids headphones guide.

Comfort & Fit

iClever BTH18 have over-ear earpads, which are nicely spacious and decently plush to provide a comfortable fit on small heads. Their stability is also sufficient for most situations, except jumping.

Unlike many budget headphones for kids, the BTH18 have an over-ear design (most competitors have an on-ear fit). 

Furthermore, bigger earpads mean they should fully hug your child’s ears, ensuring comfort during long listening sessions. They’re also decently plushy, another bonus compared to stiffer competitors.

That said, the pads are made of soft faux leather that restricts air circulation, resulting in heat and sweaty ears. That makes them less suitable for outdoor play, especially during summer months.

In my opinion, having the best comfort isn’t always optimal, as your kids might use headphones for a longer time because of it. Consequently, that could result in longer screen times.

As for stability, it’s suitable for regular use and a little bit of outdoor play. As long as children don’t jump around, the BTH18 should stay securely on their heads.

Compared to other similar models

iClever BTH18 are comfier than most competitors in their price range, as they’re one of the rare ones to offer over-ear ear pads.

Durability

iClever BTH18 can withstand rougher handling if that doesn’t involve liquids or falls from greater heights. Sadly, you can’t wash or change the ear pads, as they’re attached to the ear cup.

For starters, iClever BTH18 are FCC certified and ensure that their BPA-free materials follow industry standards regarding kids’ safety. They comply with CPC (Children’s Product Certificate) and RoHS 2.0.

Headphones are also very flexible. You can stretch them in all directions without hearing any crackling noise.

One user on Amazon said their child snapped them in half, but from my experience, you have to really push it to reach the breaking point. Note that breaking them will void their warranty.

However, apart from flexibility, these headphones lack many critical features.

• First, they lack an IP rating, which could be the end of them if a kid spills water over them.
• Secondly, cheaper, thin plastic could easily crack if your child tosses them around too much.
• Lastly, they fold but don’t come with a pouch to store them during trips.

Of course, at $30, you can’t be too critical about build quality. Especially since kids aren’t gentle when it comes to toys and gadgets, so at this price, it won’t break your heart if they end up breaking the headphones.

How do they feel in my hand?

Headphones are incredibly lightweight (5.57 ounces or 158 grams) and entirely plastic. When you knock upon them, they feel hollow and cheap. However, at $30, that’s what you should expect.

Durability comparison

iClever Kids Bluetooth headphones are no more durable than competitors, as they’re all made from flexible plastic and lack IP ratings.

If anything, competitors like BuddyPhones Explore+ and School+ can remove and wash ear pads, whereas the BTH18 can’t.

Battery

iClever BTH18 have a widely different battery life whether you use the LED effects or not, but in our test, they lasted 53 hours and 10 minutes (LED off). They’re also quick to charge, adding 6 hours of playtime after 10 minutes of charging.

iClever BTH18 battery comparison

In our battery life test, headphones easily surpassed the manufacturer’s claims about 43 hours on a single charge without LED effects. Having them in 85 dB mode at 50% volume, they managed to play music for:

• 53 hours and 10 minutes without RGB LED lights.

That said, if your kid wants to look cool and enable the RGB effects, playtime will be reduced to “only” 10 hours and 16 minutes. That’s 42 hours and 54 minutes (or 80.7%) less than without effects.

Fortunately, headphones support a fast-charging, which adds:

• 6 hours of music playtime after a 10-minute charge.

Battery rating comparison

Features

iClever BTH18 have a lot of features for the price, with the coolest being LED effects. Even the microphone quality is good this time around.

Kids only want their headphones to function and to look cool or pretty. With a selection of available features, iClever BTH18 will probably cater to all kids:

• RGB LED effects
• Physical controls
• 3 volume limiters
• Audio sharing via 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable
• Good call quality for calls and homeschooling

RGB effects

Headphones have transparent lines on their ear cups, with RGB LEDs hidden beneath. You can pick between 2 effects:

• RGB effect, with constantly changing colors.
• White LED, with the ear cup design illuminated in white color.

Physical controls

Controls consist of 3 physical buttons (Light Mode button, Multifunctional Button (MFB), and Power Button). With them, using different gestures, you can control most actions except volume controls.

• Play/pause or answer/end calls – Single press the MFB
• Reject call or activate/deactivate voice assistant – Long press the MFB
• Next song – Double press the MFB
• Previous/repeat song – Triple press the MFB
• Change volume limiter mode – Press MFB and Light Mode buttons simultaneously

Audio sharing

Audio sharing works by connecting iClever BTH18 to other headphones via a 3.5mm audio jack. Audio is then received via iClever headphones and sent to the second headphones.

Microphone quality

iClever BTH18 have a surprisingly good call quality despite using (what seems like) only one built-in microphone. They perform best when speaking somewhere quiet.

iClever BTH18 microphone test: (no noise test from 0:00-0:32, with background noise test from O:32-0:52)

In a noise-free area, the microphone picks your voice quite well, with decent clarity. You may sound a bit too full and occasionally muffled, but that’s still better than most competitors can achieve.

Moving into a noisier area noticeably hurts the voice clarity, which is to be expected. Voice gets severely distorted and muffled, so you might have issues understanding your child.

In general, iClever BTH18 are a great budget solution for making video calls and homeschooling.

Features rating comparison

Noise Isolation

iClever BTH18 have a tight seal around your kids’ earlobes, which increases the passive noise isolation. However, that also means your kid is less aware of his surroundings.

Being over-ear headphones, earpads fully encapsulate kids’ earlobes. Using faux leather makes the seal even tighter by preventing air circulation.

The result is good passive noise isolation, which should protect your kids’ hearing from loud outside noises. However, good isolation also comes with some risks.

For example, your child might not hear you when you call them or hear potential dangers when walking near busy traffic. Therefore, if possible, ensure your kid only wears these headphones at home and not outside.

Here’s a table of how effective is iClever BTH18’s passive noise isolation at blocking specific frequencies:

How severe is sound leakage?

Sound leakage is minimal when listening to music at around 80 dB, so you shouldn’t hear much, even if you’re sitting next to your kid. If you can distinctly hear the audio from headphones, the loudness is probably too high.

Noise isolation rating comparison with other models

Bluetooth

iClever BTH18 have robust Bluetooth connectivity with up to 50 feet of indoor range, so kids can freely run around without breaking the connection. However, they’re slightly off-sync when watching videos.

Using the latest Bluetooth 5.4, these headphones offer robust connection regardless of how many other wireless connections you have at home.

While the outdoor range is already excellent, the indoor range is also not shabby. In our test, we got:

• 50 feet (or 15.2 meters) of indoor Bluetooth range after the audio started to stutter.

That puts them on par with other kids’ headphones, like BuddyPhones Pop Fun and Puro Sound Labs PuroPro, but still much less than Puro Sound Labs BT2200 Plus with their 65 feet (or 20 meters) or indoor range.

Regardless, 50 feet is enough for your kid to run freely around the house and avoid audio interruptions.

How to pair iClever BTH18?

1. All you need to do to pair the BTH18 is to turn them ON, and they will automatically go into pairing mode.
2. If you want to pair them to another device, simply ensure they don’t connect to the first one.

What Bluetooth codecs do they use?

Headphones use SBC, AAC, and LC3 audio Bluetooth codecs, which is more than enough for the price. They might’ve benefited from using lower-latency codecs, but that would also increase the cost.

Is there an audio lag?

There’s a miniscule sync delay when watching videos on YouTube. However, it’s practically invisible if the person in the video talks slowly. On the other hand, the delay is much more noticeable in mobile gaming. There’s no Game Mode, so you’re stuck with a noticeable 240ms latency.

Bluetooth rating comparison

Should You Get iClever BTH18?

If you need cheap yet cool-looking headphones for your kids, iClever BTH18 are a pretty safe buy that won’t empty your wallet. Just ensure that your kids use volume modes with the most acceptable loudness levels.

Pros & Cons

Who are these best for…

• Kids who plan to use headphones at home.
• Kids who don’t plan to use headphones outdoors or during play with other kids.
• Kids who need reliable call quality for online chatting and homeschooling.

Who should avoid them?

• Kids that want to use headphones outdoors, during play or when walking near a busy road.
• Kids who often spill liquids on stuff.
• Kids who always put the volume on the computer/tablet to the max.

How do iClever BTH18 compare to the competition?

Here’s their value rating compared to similar alternatives:

Are they worth the price?

For the features that iClever BTH18 offer, they’re well worth $30. However, competitors also offer a lot of value, especially when it comes to safe listening.

iClever BTH18 alternatives

BuddyPhones POP Fun

What’s in the Box?

• iClever BTH18 wireless headphones
• USB charging cable (type C)
• AUX cable with 3.5mm connection
• User manual

Specifications