GoBoult, formerly known as Boult, refreshed its headphone lineup last month with the addition of Mustang Thunder. As the name suggests, it is a licensed Ford product with classic Mustang aesthetics. This isn’t GoBoult’s first rodeo when it comes to Ford-licensed audio products. The Mustang Thunder, priced at Rs 2,999, joins the Mustang Q headphones (our review here) and the Mustang Derby, Dyno, Dash, and Torq TWS in the tech outfit’s audio catalogue. It features 40mm dynamic drivers and supports both wired and wireless connectivity, tactile controls, and four EQ modes. We tested it for a week with calls, music, and media streaming. Here is our review of the GoBoult Mustang Thunder headphones.
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In This Article
GoBoult Mustang Thunder Review: Design
Here’s what you get inside GoBoult Thunder’s retail box:
- Headphones
- 3.5mm aux cable
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- Soft fabric sleeve
- User manual QR code card
- Warranty QR code card
The Mustang Thunder follows the traditional over-ear headphone design language. It is made entirely of plastic, with soft foam padding on the earcups and headband. The iconic Mustang pony logo is positioned on the right earcup, while the left one houses the Mustang lettering. Both these pieces of branding are backlit. The headband has the ‘Boss 302’ branding on both ends. The right side of the frame flaunts the Le Mans Racing Stripes.
One of the strongest suits of the Mustang Thunder is its set of physical control buttons. This array is positioned on the right earcup. It consists of a volume rocker, a power button, and an EQ/lighting key. Long-pressing the volume controls changes the track, while the power button also doubles as a pause/play switch. Double-pressing the power button toggles the Game/Music modes. Pressing the EQ button once changes the light theme. Double-pressing it switches the EQ profile. Alongside these controls, the right earcup houses a USB-C port, a 3.5mm port, a microphone, and a small LED indicator.
The plastic used in the construction of Mustang Thunder isn’t particularly high-end. It has a decent in-hand feel, but easily attracts smudges and fingerprints. This is particularly annoying since these headphones are built around their aesthetic appeal. On the bright side, they are very comfortable to wear. The soft padding on the earcups and headphones limits the ear fatigue that comes with wearing a pair of headphones for hours on end. The swivelling motion of the earcups makes them adaptable to most head shapes and sizes. The adjustable headband also proves useful in this respect.
The headphones are rated IPX5 for protection against water. They can withstand exposure to sweat and light water splashes. If you want to remove them, you can collapse the earcups inwards to make them compact and easy to store. The soft fabric sleeve provided in the retail box comes in quite handy for storage purposes.
GoBoult Mustang Thunder Review: Performance
The Mustang Thunder comes equipped with 40mm bass-boosted dynamic drivers. There are 2 audio codecs on offer – SBC and AAC. The headphones support Bluetooth 5.4. The pairing process is seamless and easy, despite the lack of Google/Microsoft fast pairing protocols. If you don’t want a wireless connection, you can use the 3.5mm aux cable provided in the box.
The audio output produced by these headphones is warm and lively. The soundstage is wrapped in a warm envelope of bass. The mid and high frequencies get decent representation, but the low-end dominates the stage. While we would have preferred a more neutral sound, it is undeniable that the injection of bass makes the output quite fun. Some subtle details, like the faint hits of the clapper, often get lost in the soundstage, but this won’t bother you if you’re more interested in the thumping vibe of the bass.
There are 4 EQ profiles on offer – Rock, Bass, Pop, and Vocal. The Bass and Vocal profiles are super boxy and dull. We found the Pop profile to be the brightest of the bunch. It helps that this profile boosts the mid and high frequencies in a soundstage that is somewhat lacking in that part of the spectrum.
The calling experience on the Mustang Thunder is pretty decent. The ENC tech does a good job of isolating and curbing the background noise on voice calls and virtual meetings. The audio stream relayed to the listener is clear, if a little boxy. Double-pressing the power button enables the ‘Combat Mode’, which drops the latency down to 60ms for a smooth gaming experience.
GoBoult claims a battery life of 70 hours on these headphones. Of course, this requires turning off the lights and dialling down the volume. We got a solid 50-hour playtime on a single charge with the lights turned on at all times. A quick 10-minute charge powered the headphones for 100 minutes. It takes up to an hour to hit the 100% charge level.
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Verdict
The GoBoult Mustang Thunder do a splendid job of incorporating the Mustang-themed aesthetics without coming across as tacky. The design is ergonomic and super comfortable. The collapsible design makes these headphones ideal for travelling. The physical buttons are a big improvement over touch controls. The audio output is warm, lively, and fun. It can feel a bit boxy sometimes, but the soundstage carries the essential details for the most part. The calling experience on offer here is above average compared to the rest of the segment. The 70-hour battery life is one of the strongest assets of Mustang Thunder. Even if its battery runs out, you can use the 3.5mm aux cable provided in the box to continue listening to your music.
Pros
- Collapsible design
- Ergonomic
- Good audio output
- Option of a wired connection
Cons
- Ear cups attract fingerprints
- Lacks fair pairing protocols
