Speakers Reviews

JBL has a variety of true wireless (TWS) earphones in India that cater to different needs and budgets. The Endurance Race TWS buds are specifically meant for people with an active lifestyle who wouldn't want to use bad weather as an excuse to skip their daily run or workout. Such users demand products that can endure the elements and serve as a durable workout companion.

Not too long ago, we reviewed Sony's SRS-NB10 wireless neckband speaker, a first of its kind. The broad idea there was to stay connected with your work, entertainment and the world around you. The company has now brought a similar concept to TWS earbuds. Right from the design to engineering, the Sony LinkBuds WF-L900 strive to stand out from the crowd and deliver a different experience to the user.

It has been well over a year and a half since OPPO launched its Enco X TWS earbuds in India. It was a category defining product that raised the performance bar in the sub-Rs. 10,000 segment. While a couple of rival products managed to compete hard, neither could truly surpass it till date. Understandably, when the company announced its successor recently, there was a wave of excitement. What would OPPO's new flagship bring to the table this time?

Sony needs no introduction. It is synonymous with premium electronics products in India and generally operates in the upper mid-range to high-end segment. The budget wireless earphones category in India has been booming with bulk of the sales numbers coming from products priced under Rs. 2,000. If you divide the segment further, brands like Boat and Realme have a stranglehold in the sub-Rs. 1,500 range, while the likes of OnePlus have been doing well in the upper half.

We have reviewed a wide variety of wireless audio products from their inception. From wireless headphones, we moved to smaller, lighter neckbands and then to true wireless (TWS) earbuds. We have witnessed the sound quality of TWS buds improve drastically year after year, and the same is true for their battery life. Then came configurable touch controls and active noise cancellation (ANC) on those tiny buds, and the evolution continued.

Realme has spoilt us by offering features like active noise cancellation (ANC) within a budget of Rs. 2,500. Their true wireless (TWS) earphones like the Buds Q2 and Buds Air 2 have changed the game in the segment by not just offering high-end features but also very good sound quality. They have raised the bar and our expectations so high that a standard pair of TWS buds seems inadequate unless priced much lower.

A few years ago, I reviewed the PTron Zap wireless neckband from a brand I hadn't heard about till then. It turned out to be quite an impressive product for its asking price close to Rs. 1,500 with lively sound quality, punchy bass and nearly 24 hours of battery backup, which was a big deal back then. Cut to the present, and the company has launched a new wireless neckband that's probably the most inexpensive among those I have got my hands on.

Brands like Realme and Boat have been extremely popular in the budget wireless earphones segment over the past couple of years. Then you have brands like OnePlus, Soundcore and OPPO occasionally challenging their dominance with the odd product here and there. Interestingly, we also came across a recently launched pair of TWS earphones from Philips selling under Rs. 2,500.

When OnePlus launched the first Nord phone, it seemed like the company wanted to have a player in the more affordable segment of smartphones. In less than two years since, we have almost half a dozen Nord devices in India, and now the company is looking to include an audio device too under the Nord umbrella. When it was announced, we believed the company was looking to bring in a feature packed device at a more attractive price point. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

OnePlus Buds Z seemed like a pair of true wireless (TWS) earphones that would be hard to beat around Rs. 3,000 at launch. But Realme had other ideas soon after. They launched their Buds Air 2, and packed it with features like active noise cancellation (ANC) and a fairly balanced sound output at a similar price point. Add to that multiple sound profiles and customisable controls through the Realme Link app, and the title changed hands quite easily.

True wireless (TWS) earbuds have been attempting to sweep the audio wearables market over the past year or so. But you still have users who prefer good old on-the-ear headphones, and some don't mind putting those on even when working out or during a jog. If you are one of them, Philips has just the product that you may want to look at closely.

The OnePlus Buds Z has been an easy recommendation under Rs. 3,000 since its launch purely on the basis of sound quality. But the competition, especially from brands like Realme, has looked to pack their offering with features like active noise cancellation (ANC) at a similar price point. OnePlus did launch its flagship product, the Buds Pro, with a lot of modern features not too long ago but it operates in a very different price bracket.

What is a wireless neckband speaker, you ask? I pretty much had the same question on my mind when the product was mentioned on a call for the first time, and then a few more. Is it a wireless neckband or a wireless speaker? Can it replace regular earphones or headphones? How well does it sound? Hope it's not some kind of a boombox that I need to wear around my neck!

Back in 2020, OPPO launched the Enco M31 wireless neckband that shook the audio community in a good way. Deviating from the typical bass boosted formula, the company opted for a more balanced sound profile. Never did a wireless earphone priced close to Rs. 2,000 sound that good and detailed; that probably holds true even now. While its sound output pleased the purists, the bass aficionados weren't ignored either.

Soundcore by Anker is a relatively lesser known brand in India for audio products. But from our prior experience with some of their earphones, I can assure you that their products have the potential to hang with the best under Rs. 10,000. The brand has a fairly broad portfolio across various price brackets, and the Life Note E that I have for review here is their latest entry-level offering.

Last year we reviewed the Boat Rockerz 330 wireless neckband and quite liked the overall package. Among other things, it offered close to 30 hours of battery backup.

We have covered a lot of budget and mid-range true wireless (TWS) earphones in the past, and now it is time to focus on the premium segment. In India, it is generally a four horse race between Sony, Apple, Bose and Sennheiser at the top of the food chain. In 2020, Sony impressed one and all with the launch of their WF-1000XM3 TWS buds, and set a new benchmark for active noise cancellation (ANC). We expect its successor to be no less in that department.

Not too long ago, 5.1 channel surround speaker systems were quite popular. But one common complaint about them used to be the cables running across the room, especially those connecting the rear speakers to the main unit. I know a lot of people who simply disconnected the rear speakers to minimize the cable clutter. Over a period of time, people started moving to soundbars for convenience.

Most of the wireless earphones released by Realme of late have been impressive, and offer good value for money across various price brackets. We have already reviewed the junior of the two models in their Buds Wireless 2 series with the Neo suffix and were pleased with what it brought to the table.

Our exploration of the budget true wireless (TWS) earphones segment continues, and it brings us to the Micromax Airfunk 1 Pro that, among other things, boasts of a feature that's rare in the sub-Rs. 2,500 segment -- Qualcomm aptX codec support. Of course, just being compliant with those codecs doesn't magically make them sound great.

Realme has been a consistent performer in the budget personal audio category, offering good products for an attractive price. They recently launched two new models in their Buds Wireless 2 series that are meant to succeed their older Buds Wireless neckband. While the Realme Buds Wireless 2 flaunts some premium features like active noise cancellation (ANC) and support for Sony's LDAC codecs, the one with the Neo suffix that we have for review today, is a scaled down version of the same.

Before brands like Realme, Soundcore and OPPO spread their wings to the sub- Rs. 2,000 segment of wireless earphones and upped the ante, brands like Boat and Boult Audio were viable options in the category. Boult recently launched their new Airbass ENCore true wireless (TWS) earbuds that claim to focus on supreme call quality among other things. The buds are meant to have a superior environmental noise cancellation algorithm, and hence the highlighted ENC in the model name.

Just recently we reviewed the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro that boasts of some features unheard of under Rs. 3,000. And, now Realme's new Buds Q2 hopes to do something similar in the sub-Rs. 2,500 category of TWS earbuds. While Xiaomi opted for a more radical approach like a dual driver setup and aptX Adaptive support, Realme has chosen to tread a feature-rich but known path. It would be fair to say that it is a path they have paved themselves.

We have reviewed quite a few true wireless (TWS) earbuds and wireless neckbands, of late.

One look at the spec-sheet and I was keen on getting my hands on the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro. After all, how often do you get dual-driver true wireless (TWS) earphones, and that too with aptX Adaptive compliance under Rs. 3,000? Those are the features you generally find in wireless earphones upwards of Rs. 6,000, and not necessarily all of them. On top of that, a promise of close to 30 hours of battery backup and this pair of TWS earbuds from Xiaomi seems to tick all the right boxes.

The local brand Boat has been growing in popularity in the budget audio category over the past few years.

Most OnePlus audio products released in India till date have been impressive, right from the first Bullets Wireless neckband. Though not the cheapest, they offer excellent value for money.

Dizo is Realme's new sub-brand they recently unveiled to cater to budget-conscious buyers. Not that Realme has done badly in the budget audio segment so far, with their Buds Wireless series neckbands and Buds Air 2 true wireless (TWS) earbuds offering impressive features and excellent value for money in the respective categories.

It's the monsoon season in India, and one feature you hope to have in most of your gadgets at this time of the year is moisture resistance.