Shootouts

True wireless earbuds shootout: Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100 vs. RHA TrueConnect vs. Sony WF-SP700N

By Marcus Wong - 12 Jun 2019

Introduction

Note: This article was first published on 12th February 2019.

True wireless earbuds for everyone!

We started shining more limelight on true wireless earbuds in a big way since early 2017 when we ran a big shootout for the best in the industry. Some of those models can still be snagged in retail today at good bargains. In our June 2018 issue of HWM, we covered 8 new models and you can tell by the enthusiasm exhibited by these audio brands that they are shifting to improve and address core concerns like price points, battery life, connectivity quality, audio quality, and multi-purpose usage. Sony's WF-1000X came out on top for its good audio quality, but connectivity and battery life were still areas that we felt could use some work.

Since then, we've identified a few more new releases and those are the models we're comparing in this article. Released towards the tail end of 2018, the Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100 and RHA TrueConnect are the first true wireless earbuds for both companies, while the Sony WF-SP700N is Sony's first true wireless earbuds that target sports usage.

Both the Sony and the Plantronics add water resistance to the equation, with IP57 and IPX4 moisture-proof ratings respectively. Meanwhile, the RHA TrueConnect also boasts an IPX5 rating despite not being marketed as a “sport” earbuds, so you can freely take any of these true wireless earbuds out regardless of the weather.

Here’s a quick table to show how the three compare:-

True Wireless earbuds compared

Model

Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100

RHA TrueConnect

Sony WF-SP700N

Driver size

13.5mm

6mm

6mm

Frequency response

20- 20,000 Hz

20- 20,000 Hz

20- 20,000 Hz

Bluetooth version

5.0

5.0

4.1

Battery life (earbuds)

Up to 5 hrs

Up to 5 hrs

Up to 3 hrs

Additional Battery Life (from case)

10 hrs

20 hrs

6 hrs

Weight

22g

13g

7.6g each

Charging time

15 mins for 1 hr listening time;

15mins to 50%; 1hr 40mins to 100%

1.5 hrs

Price

S$249

S$288

S$299

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