T3 India

Wearables

Review: Yamaha TW-E5B

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Price: ₹14,200

Yamaha has experienced, replicated, and engineered probably every sound that can be produced by wind, string, membrane, or any other vibrating surface. A leading manufacturer of audio equipment and easily one of the most recognisable brands in musical instruments, Yamaha traces its origins to a legend surrounding reed organs. And this is the legacy and expectation that their debut line-up of true wireless earbuds tries to live up to. The TW-E5B is the mid-range model in Yamaha’s TWS line-up and joins a crowded and competitive space. 

The Yamaha TW-E5B comes in the largest charging case we have ever seen, and it is certainly not comfortable to be carried in your jeans pocket. The earbuds too are uncomfortably big. To give credits where due, both the case and the buds offer premium build quality. The device carries IPX5 ingress protection rating, making it resistant to water splashes. There is no touch interface, but the physical buttons are quite responsive and offer much better control than most touch sensitive buds. The earbuds have a twist-to-fit design. The fit depends much on the shape of your ear and the size of your ear canal. Yamaha has included four sizes of eartips. Even though I managed to get a good fit, the top-heavy design and the large protruding body made it extremely uncomfortable to wear during my walking and workout, checking the fit often. I also felt the tips were sensitive to temperature changes since the buds were coming loose often while flying onboard chilled aircraft cabins.


The E5B doe not feature active noise cancellation, and hence noise cancelling depends on the fit of the buds. The buds connect with smartphone via the Headphone Control app. Like the earbuds, the app is quite basic. It lets you activate ambient sound mode, gaming mode and Listening care mode. It also provides an equaliser with six presets along with a customisable user setting. Apart from the ambient mode, we did not find much difference in sound by toggling the other settings. The equaliser certainly helps in fine-tuning the sound profile, but with a limited range. The app shows battery status only for the buds and not the case.

Coming to sound, the earbuds offer a more or less balanced sound with emphasis on strong bass, like we Indians prefer, which is enjoyable to most people. However, we felt some overlap in certain instruments like cymbals and high-hats in addition to amplifying the uncomfortable background hum in husky male vocals. The percussion and jazz notes sounded particularly pleasing. The earbuds use 7mm drivers. The E5B does not offer a lot of volume range and hence you could find it restrictive while playing old tracks with low reproduction volume. I found myself playing music at full volume, which Apple Health app found to be around 65 dB. Overall, the experience was quite enjoyable, particularly when the earbuds could afford a proper fit.

The TW-E5B offers Qualcomm cVc (Clear Voice Capture) technology for better voice clarity during calls. The buds support SBC, AAC, and aptX codecs, making it compatible with high-res audio from a wide range of devices. It also supports Siri and Google Assistant. The earbuds provide up to 6 hours of playback time on a single charge and the case holds enough juice for three additional recharges.

<strong>Rating</strong>

WE’RE IMPRESSED Excellent sound quality, IPX5 rating, supports a wide range of codecs, battery life

WE’D IMPROVE Hefty design, the fit is more like a hit-or-miss, software needs much improvement  

THE LAST WORD As a first attempt from Yamaha, the TW-E5B is a decent release. However, it’s a highly competitive space, and others are doing much better.

Review: Sony WH-1000XM5

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Price: ₹ 34,990

While the whole world was locked up in their homes, Sony audio labs seem to have been quite busy. This is the fourth headphone from Sony in 2022, and the fifth of their audio devices we are testing this year. Looking at the lineage and the quality of the previous 1000-series headbands, the WH-1000XM5 certainly carries much expectation.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 has a clean, plain, and somewhat ‘suppressed’ design. Each earcup pivots on a single hinge, and Sony has done away with the fully foldable, lay-flat design of the XM4. For the same reason, the case is larger and less compact than the old case, though it now has a collapsible design. The headband is thinner, and the adjustable part of the stem seamlessly hides into the headband. The headphone shell is made of carbon composites.

The headphone uses Bluetooth 5.2 and offers support for SBC, AAC, and LDAC codecs. The device offers wired connectivity with a 3.5mm stereo mini jack. The earcups have a flat back design and the back surface of the right earcup offers touch control. The left earcups house the ANC/Transparency and Power/Bluetooth buttons. The earpads have ‘soft fit leather’ cushioning. The pads are extremely comfortable to wear over a long period.

The headphones use newly developed 30mm drivers in place of the 40mm drivers of the XM4. However, the device offers a deep and wide sound stage with lots of details. The XM5 may not be the best headphones for bass or volume, but it offers a wide range of audio that can cover most genres of music. What has differentiated the latest line-up of Sony headphones is the Headphones Connect app, which is quite feature-rich. The app allows you to customise the settings and play around with the equaliser. The equaliser allows you to fine-tune the audio to suit your tastes since the device offers enough bandwidth to bring out finer details. The device offers 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos.

The main feature of the XM5 is the improvement in Active Noise Cancellation. It uses eight microphones and two high-performance processors, Integrated Processor V1 and HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1, to achieve superior, real-time noise cancellation and two beamforming mics each on either side help in picking up your speech with precision and improve call quality. The device offers Speak to Chat feature that pauses playback when you start to talk. You can set the sensitivity and waiting time in the app. To effect temporary transparency, you only need to cup your hand over the right ear cup. The Auto NC Optimiser helps in optimising atmospheric pressure. The result is efficient noise cancellation without causing any discomfort due to pressure differences. The XM5 also offers advanced features like DSEE Extreme and Adaptive Sound Control. The headphones also offer Alexa and Google Assistant support. It can be paired with two devices at a time. The Quick Access feature lets you resume Spotify playback with two or three taps. The Sony WH-1000XM5 offers up to 30 hours of battery life with ANC, and we have no reason not to believe it. Though we never used the device continuously for 30 hours, it went on for a really long time without charging. It takes 3.5 hours to charge the battery fully, but a 3-minute charge will provide 30 minutes of listening.

Rating

WE’RE IMPRESSED Excellent sound quality, superior noise cancellation, Speak to Chat, equaliser

WE’D IMPROVE Expensive, No water resistance

THE LAST WORD The Sony WH-1000XM5 is so far the best headphones we have tested, offering superior ANC sans any discomfort. These are surely expensive, but we wouldn’t consider that a deal-breaker for such premium headphones.

Boat Launches Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation Earbuds

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Boat has announced the latest addition to its portfolio with TWS Hybrid ANC- Boat Airdopes 500ANC.

Celebrating the latest addition to its portfolio, Sameer Mehta,  Co-Founder, and Chief Product Officer, Imagine Marketing Limited, said, “In today’s fast-moving-digitally-entwined world where everybody is on the go, these TWS Airdopes 500 ANC bridge the gap between comfort and hustle by allowing users to easily access these airdopes on the go. Developed with superior technology and a classy finish, these earbuds highlight our commitment to serving all our Boatheads with the latest technology.”

According to reports, the Airdopes 500 ANC is built using high-end materials that offer a ‘premium feel’, crafted using ABS and is equipped with sweat-resistant and skin-friendly silicone. The earbuds feature up to 35dB Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation and a swipe gesture enables you to switch to Ambient Mode.

Adding to the Hybrid ANC tech, the earbuds have 8 mm drivers and also sport quad mics with ENx Technology that, reportedly, enhances the call quality by blocking out wind noise and other background distractions. It features Quick Response Touch Controls and is equipped with Insta Wake-N-Pair (IWP) Technology. It comes with Bluetooth v5.2 chip for connectivity, BEAST (Bionic Engine And Sonic Technology) decoder for ‘lag-free gaming’ and offers IPX4-Rated water and sweat-resistant casing.

The earbuds are reported to last up to 5.5 hours on a single charge (4.5 hours with ANC enabled) with an added 22.5 hours from the case. The Boat ASAP Charge boasts 60 minute running time with 5-minutes of charging in the case.

The Boat Airdopes 500 ANC is available for purchase in three assorted colour options viz. Elite Blue, Tranquil White and Rich Black at a price of INR 3999 on the brand’s official website.

Review: Sony WH-XB910N

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Price: ₹14,990

Recently, we reviewed Sony’s latest TWS earbuds, and here we are, with the latest of their over-the-ear headphones. If the WF-1000XM4 features a balanced sound profile, the WH-XB910N is specially made for bass lovers as Sony brands the XB series as Extra Bass.

The headphones are available in black and blue colours, and we received the blue version. The device has a nice matte finish on the exterior with a rougher pattern on the headband. The top of the band has a faux leather wrapping on the exterior along with a soft cushioning pad at the inner surface. The earpieces rotate about 120 degrees, flex about 30 degrees to adjust to the contours of your head and can be folded inward for storage. The headphones come in a sleek oval-shaped hard fabric case, which also includes a USB-C to USB-A cable and an aux cable. The overall finish feels premium, and the top of the pivot area has a glossy finish that enhances this feel. The Sony branding on both ends of the headband completes the styling. The left earpiece houses the physical controls and ports, which include the power button, noise cancellation/ambience button, 3.5mm aux jack and USB-C charging port. The right earpiece looks plain, but the broad flat surface hides a touch panel that can be used to pause or play music, control volume and switch the tracks. You can also make use of the Quick Attention mode by placing your hand over the right earcup, which pauses noise cancelling mode momentarily, allowing you to listen to ambient sound. At 252 g, the headphones are quite light. The soft earpads are comfortable and do not cause any discomfort or pain even with extended use.

The WH-X910N uses a 40 mm driver unit and features dual noise-cancelling with feedforward and feedback mics on each side. The noise cancellation is effective but not quite the best we have experienced in premium headphones. The device supports 360 Reality Audio for an immersive experience with a suitable audio input. The headphones offer 48 ohms impedance in wired connection with the unit turned on, and 16 ohms while it is turned off. This makes it compatible with most smartphones and other low-power devices, irrespective of the type of connection. The headphones are compatible with LDAC codec for high-res audio playback in Bluetooth mode. As mentioned earlier, this device is made for thumping bass, and it remains true to this assigned role. In fact, the device is a bass lover’s haven, bringing out those fine reverberations in percussion. The Headphones companion app offers adaptive sound control, switching the sound profile according to your location and status. It offers a number of equaliser presets such as Bright, Excited, Mellow, Relaxed, Vocal, Treble Boost, Bass Boost, and Speech, along with Manual and two Custom modes so that the sound is always within your control when you are on a call or listening to music. Though you can tweak the sound via custom modes to bring up the mids and highs for some balance, it still remains faithful to bass. If you are using an iPhone, you can tweak the sound even better from the EQ mode.

The XB910N can be paired with two devices over Bluetooth, and the headphone intelligently switches between the two inputs. However, when paired to a laptop and a smartphone, the 910N would pause music played on the laptop when there is an audio notification on the phone and would not resume playback automatically. The headphones are stated to provide up to 30 hours of battery life, and we found this to be quite close. Of course, this depends on the volume of playback and ANC. You can top up the battery quickly for 10 minutes for up to 4.5 hours of extra playback with an optional AC adapter.

The device offers voice control with Google Assistant and Alexa.

RATING

WE’RE IMPRESSED Multi-device connection, high-res audio support, comfortable fit, good battery life, companion app

WE’D IMPROVE Some sound leakage observed, playback doesn’t restart after phone notification

THE LAST WORD These headphones offer good comfort and convenience. True bass enthusiasts will appreciate its sound profile.

Review: Ambrane FitShot Zest

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Price: ₹2,999

Smart wearables are flooding the market, especially entry-level models at the lower end of the price band. Ambrane’s FitShot Zest smartwatch joins the melee with a few advanced features.

The FitShot Zest is available in black, blue and pink colours and has a rectangular design similar to Apple watch. The watch has a predictable Chinese origin but is well made, unlike many products in this price band. A metal frame and a neat-looking sensor unit underside instil confidence. The device uses a 22 mm silicon strap, which also feels of good quality. The FitShot Zest carries an IP67 ingress protection rating and hence it is water and dust resistant. The watch uses a 1.7-inch display, which appeared sharp and bright with legible font and design elements. The watch can be paired with an Android phone using the FitShot Wear companion app. You get some neat watch faces to choose from. The control wheel has the single function of switching between the installed watch faces. On the flip side, the slightest brush of your hands can change your chosen watch face.

The watch includes advanced features Bluetooth calling, health monitoring and voice assistant compatible with Google Assistant and Siri. Apart from the regular health tracking features like SpO2, blood pressure, stress, sleep and heart rate, it also includes menstrual cycle tracking. It also tracks sports such as Running, Walking, Climbing, Treadmill, Cycling, Spinning, Yoga, Basketball, Football, and Basketball. Activity tracking records include steps, kilometres and calories burnt. Many of these may not be accurate but are close enough for all practical purposes. There are of course the regular features like stopwatch, alarm and others. You can also play and pause music or operate the camera on the smartphone with the watch. The watch provides up to seven days of battery life.

RATING

WE’RE IMPRESSED Good value for money, neat design, good features for the price

WE’D IMPROVE Accuracy of sensor

THE LAST WORD An entry-level smartwatch that exceeds expectations