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HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2019: Editor's Choice - Part 1

By Team HardwareZone - 11 Mar 2019

Best True Wireless Earbuds

Best True Wireless Earbuds

Once considered a Kickstarter gimmick, true wireless earbuds are now truly a category in their own right, with offerings from pretty much every headphone/earphone brand. Case in point: this year, we have no less than nine contenders for the title of best true wireless earbuds. As the name implies, true wireless earbuds are in-ear headphones that consist merely of two earbuds, communicating wirelessly with each other and with your chosen audio source.

 

Nominees:

  • B&O Play E8
  • Bose Soundsport Free
  • JBL Free
  • Jabra Elite 65t
  • Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100
  • RHA TrueConnect
  • Samsung Gear Icon X (2018)
  • Sony WF-SP700N
  • Yevo Labs Yevo 1

 

And the winner is...

RHA TrueConnect

With true wireless earbuds, the biggest issue almost always revolves around connection strength. It's apparent RHA has spent a good deal of time on this aspect, as the earbuds served us one of the best true wireless experiences to date, with dropouts the exception rather than the norm. The full-bodied sound the TrueConnect delivers makes listening a pleasure no matter the genre, and the earbuds manage to provide the sense of excitement we look out for when listening to faster moving tracks. There’s also a generous amount of ear tips thrown in - helpful when you're trying to get the best possible fit. Battery life is also sufficient considering the case brings the total listening time up to 25 hours on the go, and it also has a handy quick-charge feature. So for now at least, the TrueConnect is the one to beat.

Scoring Breakdown
Criteria/Model

B&O Play E8

Bose Soundsport Free JBL Free Jabra Elite 65t Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100 RHA TrueConnect Samsung Gear Icon X (2018) Sony WF-SP700N Yevo Labs Yevo1
Performance 8.5 8.0 7.0 8.0 7.0 8.5 8.0 8.0 8.5
Design 8.5 7.5 7.5 8.0 7.5 8.5 8.0 8.0 9.0
Features 8.0 8.0 7.5 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.5 8.0 8.0
Value 7.0 8.0 6.5 8.5 8.0 8.5 8.5 7.5 7.5
Overall 8.0 8.0 7.0 8.0 7.5 8.5 8.0 8.0 8.0
Price S$429 S$319 S$249 S$268 S$249 S$288 S$268 S$299 S$368

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References section at the end.

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