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Updated: 2026-09-20 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want one flexible kit that turns any airplane seat or AUX jack into a wireless setup and gives you noise-cancelling earbuds in the same box, choose Avantree Relay; if you need long-play over-ear headphones with a huge battery and app-based tuning for desk work, travel and commuting, choose Echoes Rainbow Active Noise Cancelling.
• Avantree Relay's biggest strength: it's a two-part system — a Bluetooth 5.3 transmitter that plugs into any AUX output (planes, TVs, gym gear) plus a pair of hybrid ANC in-ear buds with aptX-Adaptive support and a battery display on the case.
• Avantree Relay's biggest trade-off: it's an in-ear design with no wired jack, so everything runs through Bluetooth, and it's built around the AUX-plus-headphones workflow rather than being a standalone over-ear pair.
• Echoes Rainbow's biggest strength: enormous claimed playtime, a 40 mm dynamic driver for big bass, Hi-Res audio, app customization and a foldable over-ear build with a 3.5 mm jack for wired listening.
• Echoes Rainbow's biggest trade-off: it's over-ear and bulkier, charges slowly at 10 hours for a full charge, and the ANC is the only "smart" feature — no transmitter, no AUX-in trick for plane screens.
• Who each is for: Avantree Relay for flyers, gym users and anyone with older AUX-only equipment; Echoes Rainbow for home office, long listening sessions and people who want app control plus a wired option.
The Relay is really two products working as one. You get a compact Bluetooth 5.3 transmitter that takes audio from anything with an AUX output — airplane entertainment systems, TVs, gym machines — and sends it wirelessly to your headphones. The included dual 3.5 mm adapter means connector type on a flight doesn't matter, which is the kind of small detail that saves you on a long-haul seat. Then, in the same package, you get the Clan N1 earbuds: in-ear, rounded tips, hybrid ANC rated to cut up to 24 dB of environmental noise, plus an Ambient Mode that pipes outside sound in through the mics so you can hear announcements or traffic.
For audio quality, aptX-Adaptive support means the Relay can transmit at higher quality with low latency when your listening device supports it — useful if you're watching a screen and don't want lip-sync drift. The frequency range covers 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, which is the standard full-range span. Controls are touch-based, and the charging case has a battery display so you can see charge status at a glance instead of guessing.
One honest note on the design: the color is listed as Orange, and the earpiece shape is rounded tips. If you want something visually understated or you dislike in-ear pressure, that's a real consideration. Also, the ANC figure here is about blocking environmental noise — it's a hybrid system, not a claim of total silence, and 24 dB of reduction is meaningful on a plane but won't erase everything.
Echoes Rainbow Active Noise Cancelling: Who It's For
This is a classic over-ear travel headphone built around endurance. The headline numbers: 160 hours of ANC playtime claimed, a 200-hour average battery life figure, and a 10-hour charge time to fill it. That combination tells you the priority — you charge it occasionally and use it constantly. If you've ever had a pair die mid-flight, that math is the whole pitch.
The hardware is more conventional but well specified. A 40 mm dynamic driver with 32 ohm impedance and 115 dB sensitivity means it's easy to drive and tuned toward big bass, which lines up with the "Big Bass" positioning. Frequency response spans 20 Hz to 20 kHz, latency is listed at 90 ms, and you get Hi-Res audio support along with app-based customization for EQ and controls. Noise control is hybrid active noise cancellation, and there's a Transparency Mode for hearing your surroundings without taking the headphones off.
Comfort and portability are handled by soft protein leather ear pads, an adjustable stainless steel headband, and a foldable design that ships with a carrying case. It's over-ear with oval earpieces, weighs 225 g, and — importantly — it has a 3.5 mm jack, so you can go wired when you want. Bluetooth 5.3 with a 10-meter range covers normal room-to-room movement. There's also a 1.5-year manufacturer warranty listed.
Buy it if: you work from home or in an office, take long trips, want a wired option, like tuning your sound in an app, and value a set-and-forget battery. Skip it if: you need to wirelessly transmit audio from a plane seat or TV — the Echoes Rainbow receives Bluetooth, it doesn't transmit it — or if you want something pocketable. At 225 g with a case, this lives in a bag, not a jeans pocket. The 10-hour charge time is also worth knowing: this isn't a headphone you top up in twenty minutes.
• Best for airplane seat audio → Avantree Relay. It transmits from AUX outputs and includes the dual 3.5 mm adapter for different connectors.
• Best for long battery life → Echoes Rainbow Active Noise Cancelling. The 160-hour ANC playtime and 200-hour average battery life figures are in a different league from a small earbud case.
• Best for in-ear portability → Avantree Relay. Earbuds plus a compact transmitter pack far smaller than a foldable over-ear set with a case.
• Best for over-ear comfort and big bass → Echoes Rainbow. 40 mm dynamic drivers, soft protein leather pads and an adjustable stainless steel headband.
• Best for wired listening → Echoes Rainbow. It has a 3.5 mm jack; the Avantree earbuds are wireless only with no jack.
• Best for app-based tuning → Echoes Rainbow. EQ and controls are handled through an app, with button controls on the headset itself.
• Best for gym and shared equipment → Avantree Relay. Any machine with an audio-out jack becomes a wireless source.
• Best for low-latency video → Avantree Relay. aptX-Adaptive support with reduced latency versus a standard Bluetooth link.
If I had to pick one, I'd buy the Echoes Rainbow Active Noise Cancelling for most people. In my opinion, the over-ear comfort, the enormous battery figures, the 3.5 mm jack and the app customization make it the better all-rounder for home office, commuting and travel — the three places most of us actually use headphones. I'd choose the Avantree Relay instead if flying with an old seat-back screen or using AUX-equipped gym gear is a regular part of your week, because no amount of over-ear comfort replaces a transmitter that can actually pull audio out of those jacks. Put differently: Echoes Rainbow is the better headphone; Avantree Relay is the better travel toolkit.
Both use hybrid active noise cancellation. Avantree specifies up to 24 dB of noise reduction for its earbuds; Echoes Rainbow doesn't publish a dB figure, so I can't compare them numerically. Over-ear designs typically seal better on the ear, but in-ear buds block more passively — I'd weigh fit and comfort as much as the spec.
Not wirelessly. It receives Bluetooth, so it can't transmit audio from an AUX output. However, it does have a 3.5 mm jack, so you can plug it in directly with a cable — just note the cable isn't listed among the included items, so check what's in the box.
Echoes Rainbow, by a wide margin on paper. Its listed figures are 160 hours of ANC playtime and a 200-hour average battery life, with a 10-hour charge time. Avantree's earbuds rely on a charging case with a battery display, but no playtime figure is published, so I can't give you a direct comparison — only that the over-ear set's numbers are dramatically higher.
Both use Bluetooth 5.3, so neither is behind on the connection standard. Echoes Rainbow lists a 10-meter range; Avantree emphasizes stable, reliable connections plus aptX-Adaptive support, which matters more for low-latency video and higher-quality transmission than the version number itself.
Whichever way you lean, check the current price on Amazon before deciding — the page has a button for that, and it's the one number that should settle a close call.
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