Edifier TWS5 Earphones Review
The Edifier TWS5 Earphones are an interesting value entry into the ever more popular cased wireless earphones segment. Priced at only £69.99, they claim to be a credible budget friendly alternative to the Apple AirPods.
Design
The underpinning of how these Edifier TWS5s work is the same as that for Apple AirPods; a snappy connection to the last device paired and immediate 'in case' charging are no different. Although Edifier have created a design that is more utilitarian in some respects, with the black rectangular plastic case and earphones themselves being unremarkable in shape. Nevertheless, the case has substantial enough battery capacity to completely recharge the earphones three times from 0%, and the Edifier TWS5s are rated as having 8hrs total audio playback before depleting - we actually managed to get closer to 9hrs. So that’s just shy of 30hrs total playback when recharged sequentially by the case; and it recharges via micro-USB.
Once we'd found the correct sized tips for our ears, the comfort question became an almost ignorable one for some of us whilst others found themselves more conscious of the fit compared to those wireless earphones with a greater rounded universal design approach. Despite the Edifier TWS5 earphones utilising a shape which is more familiar with specialised in-ear-monitoring earphones, the lightness and considered balance of the design makes these earphones a truly and pleasingly forgettable in-ear experience after hours of listening, if your ears accept them.
Sound Performance
Undeniably most will find the audio performance to be favourable across a wide musical scope. The Edifier TWS5 earphones are not tuned in a way to provide pin precision audio playback accuracy, instead they equip the low, mid and high ranges with the ability to be impressive together. A good example is a song like ‘Crush’ by Tessa Violet, with a strong mid range vocal core throughout together with a sprinkling of instrumental elements that all sound brilliant. In addition the spoken word performance from podcasts to YouTube videos is an area where these earphones really shine too.
However, distance between the ranges isn’t all that broad and at times it can sound like they’re touching in songs like ‘Pin it Down’ by Madison Cunningham where you have opposition from the high and low ranges. This conflict isn’t really that dramatic across most songs, but does also mean the soundstage presented is rather humble when compared to the more expensive £99 Lypertek Tevi Earphones.
Verdict
In terms of the nuts and bolts of the build quality these aren’t AirPod standard, but that's sort of the whole point. They’re a similar offering which won’t be so universally accepted in terms of comfort, but share the convenience of a storage case that doubles as a wireless changer. Furthermore, the Edifier TWS5 Earphones will not insult your musical library, with ample volume, nice definition and a good built-in microphone.