Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
The Aukey EP - N5 extend good sound and enough participating noise invalidate for a wallet - well-disposed Mary Leontyne Price .
Not too long ago , you would have been correct to doubt the quality of any true wireless earbuds with active noise canceling selling for less than $ 100 . The $ 60 Aukey EP - N5 thus serve as a pleasant admonisher that the engineering is no longer as out of reach as it once was . These bud still diminish short in features like mic quality and body of water resistance when compared to pricey competition from the the likes of of Apple , Samsung , and Sony , but they ’re deserving contain out if you ’re hunting for serious audio and decent ANC above all else .
From a distance , the EP - N5 earbuds look even more expensive than they actually are , in part because the innovation of both the subject and buds extract so heavily from Apple ’s AirPods and AirPods Pro — save for the fact that they only come in black . The difference in physique tone is more apparent once they ’re in reality in your hands , as Aukey crafted them with a lightweight plastic that does n’t feel super lasting but does help keep them easy when worn for hours at a meter .
The fount itself is a fluid and pocket-size little thing , which grants around 35 special hours of maneuver on top of the seven or so hours you ’ll get from the buds themselves without ANC flip out on . With the ANC on , unfortunately , the bud ’ battery life drop to roughly four 60 minutes , especially if you care heed to medicine at mellow volume . On the bright side , a rowing of four light-emitting diode lights on the front of the case keep you updated on how much succus the face has left , and the USB - C charge port ensures that you should well be able to obtain another electric cord to burden it with if you ca n’t bump the short cord that comes in the box seat .
extra visible radiation on the buds themselves let you know if they ’re pair .
union is easy , too : I just open my phone ’s Bluetooth menu , pulled out the correct bud and put it in my ear , heard a British distaff voice say “ Pairing , ” and pressed the Aukey EP - N5 prompt when it appeared . you may geminate them with two twist , too , although you ’ll have to disconnect them from one gadget before you may use the earbuds with another .
Crank it up
But the Aukey EP - N5 really showed their worth when I cranked up my music — not too much , though , because these things are gaudy . I lean to release up the volume to maximal stratum with most of my other earbuds , but I found myself wince when I tried that with these . I did notice a few drops even when I was simply post my earphone in my pocket , but for the most part the Bluetooth 5.0 technical school maintain the music quality fairly coherent . I had to get around 30 foot away and put two brick walls between me and my earphone before the signal get going dropping significantly .
The EP - N5 audio surprisingly good , too . The middle reach are n’t as clear as I ’d wish , but these buds handle dispirited ranges well and do n’t slump with the highs . The mileage varies depend on the major power of the bass , though . Billie Eilish ’s thumpin ’ track “ Bad Guy ” sounds cracking on these bud , for illustration , but I can barely find the drums on The Rolling Stones ’ “ Sweet Virginia ” at all . It ’s a good thing that they vocalise so well out of the boxwood , as there ’s no means to customize the equalizer with an app .
The catch ? You ’ll need to image out which of the three sets of ear tips outfit you the best as shortly as potential , as arrive honest bass from the EP - N5 depends to a great extent on having a tight seal . Fortunately , the tips themselves stay tight once they ’re in place , even to the level that I never worried about them slipping out during jogs through the neighbourhood . On that note , their IPX5 water system underground rating build them serviceable companions for workouts . Judging from the build quality , though , I would n’t actively try subjecting them to anything wetter than general effort or the occasional rainshower .
I was surprised I did n’t get much ear tiredness from wearing the EP - N5 after several hour .
You ’ll also need to experiment with the ear gratuity to get the most out of the active racket cancellation , which is n’t as potent as what you ’ll get from pricer models . Still , it work well enough that my desk buff gets observably quieter when I switch on the ANC , even if it does n’t to the full mute the sound as some earbuds do .
The ear crown fit so well , in fact , that they declare oneself real passive noise cancellation on their own , even to the full stop that I almost always had to get rid of the buds if I wanted to have a conversation with someone nearby . It result me yearn for the “ transparency ” or “ ambient ” modes found in pricier earbuds , but I ’m not surprise by their absence in earpieces this affordable .
The limitations of the Aukey EP - N5 really start to show up when using the pinch control . The buds are antiphonal to the basic natural action of tapping once on the odd or right bud to break music , but they struggle to specialize more complex actions . Often when I hear tapping three times to spark off my part assistant , the buds would think I was either tap double on the right bud to skip a birdsong or double on the left bud to play back a birdcall . Making more deliberate , slower rap does n’t help , either , as the bud think I ’m but trying to play or pause the euphony . Worst of all , sometimes nothing happen at all .
Still , I found these quirks livable for the price , as I principally only use the play and pause actions on my earbuds anyway . Instead , it was the dual microphones that really let me down , as they make me sound as though I ’m talking through a walkie - talkie no matter of whether I ’m recording voice memo or making call . At least the audio frequency never cut out . One perk of the dual - mike setup is that you could make calls with just the veracious earbud if you wish . Unfortunately , you ca n’t use the left microphone on its own .
The bottom line
For just $ 60 — and often less on Amazon — the Aukey EP - N5 offer far better sound tone and dynamic noise canceling than we ’d commonly expect from earbuds in this price range . If you ’re fine with that , they make a groovy budget duet . But just keep in judgement that the damage comes with some ritual killing , admit wretched microphone performance and fiddly sense of touch mastery .
