Great sound without wires: 5 quality true wireless headphones

Huawei has been literally churning out successful products in recent years. Honor FlyPods Lite are no exception — thanks to the combination of affordable price, good sound and additional features like water protection, they will compete with Xiaomi Mi AirDots Price from 1 172 up to 1 383 ₴ for the title of folk true wireless headphones.

By design, FlyPods Lite are traditional plug-in headphones with silicone tabs and miniature speakers hidden behind a plastic mesh. If we compare with other true wireless models, then FlyPods Lite shows itself very well in terms of music. You can scold unless the bass is not deep enough, but this is more of a taste.

The most important thing for such headphones, which are not attached to the head in any way — they sit securely in the ears and do not strive to fall out during jogging or training. Plus, the in-channel design isolates well from external noise, and each of the microphones is equipped with a noise reduction function. This gives us a good voice detail when talking to the interlocutor.

In terms of battery life, they are somewhere between good and bad, giving out 2-3 hours of work in the mode of listening to music and short calls. Up to 10 hours of active work comes complete with a fully charged case. Considering that the case is small and will easily fit even in the tiniest bag, problems with battery life are unlikely to arise.

In an attempt to quickly catch up with Apple, Xiaomi has released interesting true wireless headphones Xiaomi Mi AirDots Price from 1 172 up to 1 383 ₴, which, as usual, seduce buyers with high quality at a low price. However, the headphones were not perfect, so after a very short time, the Pro version landed on the shelves with an updated design in the spirit of Apple AirPods and advanced functionality.

First of all, Pro differ in that they have received the function of active noise reduction. On the one hand, it reduces the noise level quite well, on the other hand, the noise does not disappear completely — the rumble of wheels in the subway or the alarm noise makes its way through the music. Further attention is drawn to the protection from moisture, which sports fans demanded, noise reduction of microphones and support for AAC codecs, which do not so much improve sound quality as simplify work with Apple smartphones. Naturally, I had to pay something for all the improvements. First of all, money (the Pro version costs one and a half times more expensive), and secondly, battery life (3 hours of work for the Pro versus 4 hours for regular AirDots).

But in terms of sound, everything has changed dramatically. The Pro version has a larger volume margin, they do not wheeze at maximum power and stably keep in touch with the phone. The nature of the sound has become more muffled, it lacks details. It seems that Mi AirDots Pro are more designed to be used as a headset, and music is secondary for them.

There is also a small problem with ergonomics. Although AirDots copy the design of AirPods, because of the in-channel shape, they turned out to be larger and do not sit so comfortably in the ear. They do not fall out, but the weight is felt. Plus, their charging case is much larger than the AirPods case and it is unlikely to be possible to put it in the pocket of jeans or a jacket.

Together with the flagship smartphones of the line Samsung Galaxy S10 128 GB Price from 9 946 up to 40 848 ₴ Samsung has introduced new fully wireless headphones Galaxy Buds. Unlike the old sports models Samsung Gear IconX 2018 the novelty does not promise stars from the sky (there is no heart rate monitor or physical activity tracker) and does not try to sit on several chairs at the same time. No, it's just a calculated high-quality and comfortable headset with good sound and good battery life (up to 6 hours on a single charge).

Galaxy Buds practically do not bulge out of the auricle and generally look neat in the ears. The weight of each earphone is only 6 grams, so they are practically not felt during use. Despite the compact size of the headphones and the small area of the touch panels for control, Samsung has excellent ergonomics. You get used to the system of single and double taps quickly and after a while you easily switch tracks, control the volume, take calls or turn off the player. If you don't want to get used to touch control, you can use a voice command system.

The Galaxy Buds uses Bluetooth 5.0 protocol for wireless connection, while the headphones support A2DP, AVRCP and HFP profiles, as well as AAC, SBC codecs, etc. As for the compact wireless model, the Galaxy Buds sound good, but not without comments. On the one hand, the sound is voluminous, with a well-developed middle and top. On the other hand, he lacks bass and, well, character. However, the neutrality of the sound and the lack of bass is rather a common problem of the current true wireless models.

If the previous true wireless models from Jabra were focused on athletes, then in the case of the Jabra Elite 65t, a completely different story awaits us. When opening the box with headphones, the user is greeted with the inscription "Welcome to the world of excellent sound", which indicates a clear bias towards music.

Usually you don't expect a lot of power from such small headphones, but the Jabra Elite 65t has a good volume reserve and even at the maximum there is no distortion, the sound is always clear.

The scene turned out to be quite wide and detailed, the sound is pleasant and does not bother, although there is a slight bias towards the upper frequencies. The latter can be corrected in the proprietary Sound+ application, which allows you to adjust the sound of headphones using an equalizer and activate the HearThrough function, a kind of "anti-noise" that allows you to hear everything around.

At the same time, the headphones have full order with functionality. There is Multipoint support, there are 4 built-in noise-canceling microphones for use as a headset, and the design of the headphones is protected from dust and water according to the IP55 standard (they are not afraid of splashes and dust, but it is better not to drop them into the water). In terms of battery life, we have 5 hours of work, and a complete case with built-in charging will help extend this period up to 15 hours. These are excellent figures even in comparison with the best of the best.

Against the background of all these advantages, almost the only drawback is a slightly confusing control system using touch keys. It is slightly different for each earphone, which is why it takes a long time to get used to it.

The specialists from Bang&Olufsen are keenly following the trends and as soon as there was a demand for true wireless headphones on the market, they immediately made a fuss and released an extremely interesting BeoPlay E8 model. Like any brainchild of a Danish company, these headphones are a product for connoisseurs of truly high-quality sound. They stand appropriately.

The first thing to start the review with is, of course, the sound quality. We say right away, it's audiophile, uncompromising, hi-fi here — insert any favorite word to describe a great sound. In general, the sound of the BeoPlay E8 is not particularly inferior to expensive full—format overhead headphones — it is a clean and engaging sound with a perfectly drawn transparent middle and slightly forward high frequencies. The bass is thick, dynamic and truly adult without discount on miniature sizes. An additional plus is some extremely cool ergonomics, the headphones sit in the ears so clearly and confidently, as if it were an individual tailoring suit. After all, the sound in vacuum headphones largely depends on the quality of the fit in the ear.

In addition to the basic SBH codec, the wireless channel uses a more advanced AAC, thanks to which the headphones are able to perform perfectly in conjunction with iOS mobile devices. But the aptX codec headphones, unfortunately, do not support. The built—in microphones work not only for calls, but also allow you to control the sound insulation level, allowing you to choose one of three levels — from the maximum, when you need to fully concentrate on music, to the minimum, when in addition to the sounds of music from headphones, you need to hear everything that is happening around you well. Bang&Olufsen called this technology Transparency Mode.

In terms of design, BeoPlay E8 looks nice, but not to say that they stand out much. But a miniature charging case with a natural corrugated leather trim looks great. It looks more like a jewelry case than a regular headphone case. With regard to battery life, we have a standard 4 hours of operation on a single charge. The battery in the carrying case has a capacity of 365 mAh. This is enough for a couple more recharges, so that the total battery life reaches 12 hours. If there is not enough, then you should pay attention to Bang&Olufsen BeoPlay E8 2.0 with a larger battery.

The model is interesting not only in design, but also in control using touch panels on each earphone. It is done wisely and is different for the right and left channels: for example, to start the next track, you need to touch the right earphone, and to return to the previous one — to the left. It's the same with the sound level: a prolonged touch on one makes it louder, on the other — quieter.