Affordable, but are these wireless in-ears essential?
The range of wireless earphones is growing fast, making it harder to choose your latest ear-wear. Here are some of the latest affordable pairs
The Beyerdynamic Byrons
recently made a solid play to become the best budget earphone around. The Beyerdynamic Byron BTS are the wireless version, and they too make a great impact in their own wireless niche, particularly given their reasonable price.
Sound quality is a little different to the standard Byron pair, with significantly greater presence in the treble and upper midrange. As such, they’re the more insightful, if also slightly less forgiving, set.
Standing out
And don’t assume that just because their names are almost identical the Byron and Byron BT are twins. The Beyerdynamic Byron BT earpieces are aluminium and feel able to take some rough treatment. There are also magnets on the back of each, making them stick together around your neck rather than just hang there.
There’s no NFC and the Bluetooth chipset is a 4.1 model rather than 4.2, but there is aptx, the higher-quality codec. And, given these are fairly slight, battery life of 7.5 hours is impressive.
The treble is not flat-out harsh or sibilant, but there’s a granularity missing that won’t please everyone. A focus on the higher midrange registers also makes vocals appear to be leaning towards the higher frequencies, leading to a slightly cooler, leaner tone.
However, these are still among the bestsounding earphones under £100. A good pair for those after somewhat-affordable wireless earphones with elements of high-end sound. One of the
problems of wireless headphones is how to make sure they don’t fall out of your ears. The Jaybird X3s go further than most, with one of the most secure sets of ear hooks going. Sound-wise, though, we think you can get more for less money.
Staying power
At first glance, these look just like your average pair of wireless earphones – however, they have a few special features. The ear hooks they use to stay lodged in your ears are very effective. A pull upwards makes them pop out of your ears easily; an accidental yank down won’t. The Jaybird X3s are also rare in rejecting the usual rubber-bung covered microsd charge point. These come with a dock that clips onto four metal charge points on the back of the remote. Lose the dock and you’re stuffed, but it takes away a potential entry point for water to get in and ruin them. Other than solid Bluetooth reliability and an eight-hour battery life, tech isn’t at the forefront. There’s no aptx or NFC support, for example. The sound is slightly treble-led, favouring clarity over booming bass. The low-end has a good degree of punch, but those who prefer their bass to slap them round the face may nd it reserved. Instead, the X3s are clean and clear, with good treble detail. Those sensitive to sharp treble may nd it a bit much, though. At this price, the Jaybird X3s need a little more renement and texture in the midrange. Rhythm and dynamics are fair, though. In a break
from making headphones that try to disintegrate your eardrums with bass, Skullcandy has made a wireless version of its all-embracing Smokin’ Buds 2 earphones.
They’re similar to the Method Wireless. Both are wireless neckband headphones, but their designs are a little different. This pair’s band is much chunkier, but the cabling can be removed from it. The earphones are light and comfortable, and don’t jog about much if you move.
Commensurate with the price, the tech side is a little light. Battery life is just fair (6-7 hours) and Bluetooth performance isn’t awless. Motion can cause occasional blips. There’s no aptx, fast charging or NFC either. They just have the tech a wireless headset needs, without extras.
Slow bass
There is, however, a three-button remote just below the left earpiece and a plastic fastener that lets you tie up the two sides of cable for when they’re worn, but not used. It’s the low-tech alternative to magnetic earpieces.
Soundwise, the bass is a little slow, making them less controlled and disciplined than a higher-end pair. These concerns don’t drown out their sheer value, though, as they are otherwise enjoyable. They sound full and rich, with a relatively wide and reasonably wellseparated sound stage for a lower-cost in-ear set. Dynamics are solid too, making these earphones a fun and surprisingly involving listen.
While there are shortcomings in all areas, they are slight ones that don’t ruin or skew the sound. These are some of the most affordable wireless earphones we could recommend.
These are some of the cheaper good-quality wireless headphones around. However, the price should make you think a little more carefully about the sound quality limitations of what is essentially an entry-level earphone.
Look at the earpieces alone and the Soundmagic E10BTS seem twins of the wired E10C. They’re all-aluminium earphones with a sober look, mainly because unlike some other versions of the E10, the E10BTS don’t come in a whole rainbow of colours.
Bulky battery
Along the cable sit two boxes. Most wireless earphones that don’t have a rigid neckband build their battery into the remote housing; here the two are separate. This is either a pro or con: earphones like this might last six hours between charges, but a larger battery lets the Soundmagic E10BTS last for up to 12 hours – and this leaves you with a somewhat unwieldy battery pack.
Bluetooth quality is excellent, with rock-solid signal reliability. The Soundmagic E10BTS use a Bluetooth 4.2 chipset, telling you it’s recent hardware. The earphones have a slight bass emphasis and lean towards a warmer tone. The treble is conservative but has reasonable detail, while the bass adds fun and power.
The mids are where the limits of the Soundmagic E10BTS become apparent. They are bolstered by relatively low-texture mid-bass that can make vocals sound as though they’ve had extra studio compression applied to them.
The E10 sound loses a little of its shine when you’re paying £70 for it, but these are still fun-sounding, engaging earphones. Taotronics makes some
of the most popular earphones on Amazon, and the TT-BH07S are highly affordable Bluetooth wireless earphones with amazing tech specs for the price. There’s just one problem: they won’t necessarily be a sonic upgrade over the earphones bundled with your phone.
Deceptive looks
These are £20 earphones that look like they might cost £80 or more. You can stick them together around your neck when you’re not listening so they don’t fall off as you walk around. The earpieces are large but light, and the use of both silicone tips and separate ear hooks keeps the fit secure. These aren’t the kind of heavy duty hooks that make knocking them out of your ears impossible, but they do help.
Noise cancellation and aptx support both elevate the Taotronics TT-BH07S’ value into downright improbable territory. Battery life is pedestrian at five hours, but it’s not hard to see why these earphones have massive appeal online.
The downside is their sound. A few seconds of listening don’t highlight any major sins. The treble isn’t eardrum-piercing, the bass doesn’t hang around too long, but these are an unengaging listen because their dynamics are extremely flat. Upper mids and treble sound synthetic and lifeless, and limited bass punch contributes to very limited rhythmic drive.
The price may seem to excuse these issues, but for just a little more money the Skullcandy Smokin’ Buds 2 Wirelesses offer a much more fun, involving listen.