TWS true wireless earphones - under $25 - $50
With so many affordable wireless earbuds on the market, it's hard to review them all extensively, even when you have a specific site for this purpose. Here's a combined review of the Cowin Apex with ANC, the $20 Dudios FreeDots, the Enacfire E90, and the Wintory Air.
Some wireless earphones don't get their own extensive review on Scarbir.com, because they don't compete with the best wireless earbuds in their price class. That goes for the models tested on this page as well… but that doesn't mean they aren't interesting. Let's go!
Wintory Air review: Great wireless earbuds for in bed
IPX5 waterproof - 4 hours playtime - micro-USB - $40
Seeing emails from Scarbir.com readers, there's a specific market for wireless earbuds that are great for lying in bed and wearing under helmets. The Wintory Air TWS-107 falls perfectly in this category.
The earpieces of the Wintory Air are delightfully compact, don't stick out your ears, and have deeply placed buttons instead of touch panels, preventing you from accidentally activating a function. They also don't blink when playing music on them. These features make them comfortable and great for lying in bed and wearing under a helmet.
The charging case of the Wintory TWS-107 is a beautiful little metal box, but its specs could be better. It powers via micro-USB and can charge the earbuds three times fully before needing new power itself. The earbuds themselves reach around 4 hours of playtime on a single charge - which is not a great score. It's easy to change the most important controls right on the earbuds itself - volume and track selection controls are always within reach.
Don't expect too much from the call quality: the Wintory makes you sound distant and like you're in a cave... if your voice is audible at all. Sometimes it's just overrun by loud white noise. Watching videos fares well in video apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime, but unfortunately, YouTube-videos aren't entirely in lipsync.
When it comes to music, the Wintory continues to be bed-proof. The volume can go from very loud to very soft. On these lowest volumes already, the Air passes through plenty of higher mid-tones, with great left-right separation and a fair amount of detail.
The Wintory Air boasts a solid mid-bass thump that acts quick and makes dance, pop, and other electronic genres sound uplifting. The sub-bass may not sound too deep, but it has a presence with its often-released rumble. In the higher frequencies, vocals and other upper-mids are elevated, making voices clear and prominent without making the sound too bright. The tones in between do lack a little body between this bass and upper-mids peak, and some claps and male vocals can strike a bit tinny, but the Air handles most genres well.
The Wintory Air is a pair of wireless earbuds worth considering for anyone with tinier ears or looking for a pair to use in bed or under a helmet.
Comfort, build and battery life: 4/5
Controls and connectivity: 4/5
Calling and watching movies: 2/5
Sound quality: 3/5
VERDICT:
Buy Wintory Air on Amazon Canada (currently unavailable elsewhere)
Dudios Freedots review: Good $20 earbuds?
IPX7 waterproof - 4 hours playtime - micro-USB - $20
The Dudios Freedots is among the very cheapest wireless earbuds on Amazon, costing only 20 dollars. Are they worth picking up?
The specs are what you can expect for the price. The Dudios FreeDots has a medium-sized micro-USB-powered charging case that can charge the earbuds three times fully, providing the earbuds up to 4 hours of playtime on a single charge.
The best feature of the Freedots is the earbuds themselves. They are compact, made from soft and smooth plastic, yet have a shiny actual button in the middle, preventing them from looking too generic. The star is the inside, though. The Freedots are shaped slightly oval and are perfectly tight and comfortable in your ears, thanks to a slight bump in the design.
The actual buttons respond well to your touch, and it's possible to play/ pause, change volume and tracks right on the earpieces. They can be worn under helmets and in bed comfortably, although they stick out a little more than the Wintory Air - and the LED-light flashes while playing music.
Feature-wise, the Dudios Freedots continues to live up to its price point. It's doable taking a phone call with them, but only in quiet areas, as noises from your surroundings come through just as loud as your voice. Watching videos comes with a slight delay in the YouTube-app sound, but fares well on other video services.
Musically, this Dudios delivers a warm sound with slightly boosted lower-mid tones, such as darker electronic tones. There's a fair mid-bass slam, but the sub-bass lacks a bit of depth. Vocals in the upper-mids are elevated only slightly, making their presence the most important aspect of the music, but they hold back from brighter territories. Don't expect much detail in vocals and brighter instruments or a big soundstage - but there's still a fair airiness in the sound, and left-right separation is good too. The best way to describe the Freedots' sound is friendly, or perhaps inoffensive.
For a few dollars more, competitors like the Edifier X3 and Mpow Mbit S offer more bang for your buck - but at only 20 dollars, you'll hardly regret buying these.
Comfort, build and battery life: 4/5
Controls and connectivity: 3/5
Calling and watching movies: 3/5
Sound quality: 4/5
VERDICT:
Buy Dudios FreeDots on Amazon US
Buy Dudios FreeDots on Amazon Germany
Buy Dudios FreeDots on other Amazon stores
Read: The best TWS under $25
Enacfire E90 review: Cheap AirPods Pro-alternative?
IPX5 waterproof - 7 hours playtime - USB-C - $40
Enacfire is likely one of the first brands of wireless earbuds you'll stumble upon when searching for TWS on Amazon. The Enacfire E90 is one of their newest models, and this time around, they've gone for an Apple AirPods Pro-like approach.
No, the Enacfire E90 doesn't have ANC noise cancelling, but it shares a bit of the form factor from the AirPods Pro: it has narrow rubber ear-tips, and the earbuds itself have a delightful short stem. The E90 has a great fit and, while you can feel the earbuds in your ears, they are comfortable to wear for a few hours.
You can also use them for a few hours, as this Enacfire boasts strong battery life. The E90 can reach up to 7 hours of playtime on a single charge, switching between music and calls. The case can recharge them five times fully too, making these very suitable for even traveling.
You won't find volume controls on the touch panels, but it's easy to play and pause music, skip tracks and activate the voice assistant on your phone. Music also automatically pauses when you take an earbud out, but this auto-pause doesn't always work - it can even occur music pauses when you take the earbuds in, and they resume playing when putting them out.
Call quality on the Enacfire E90 is okay. The microphone picks up wind noise, and your voice can sound like you're talking into a pillow, but the E90 leaves other sounds from your surroundings well into the background. Watching videos is convenient: there's good synchronization between audio and video, including the YouTube-app.
When it comes to music, the Enacfire E90 has a strong emphasis on the lower frequencies. There's a steady mid-bass pumping underneath the music, but even more so, lower-mids are emphasized, giving darker electronic tones and vocals the biggest presence of all the frequencies. Mid-instruments and vocals can have a hard time surpassing these lows and sound recessed. Also, some (female) vocalists can sound a little ill. The E90 lacks clarity and detail in the highs, and a big soundstage at that.
The Enacfire E90 tends so much towards warmth that it sounds a bit congested and dark. Despite the long battery life, music lovers should probably look elsewhere.
Comfort, build and battery life: 4/5
Controls and connectivity: 3/5
Calling and watching movies: 3/5
Sound quality: 3/5
VERDICT:
Buy Enacfire E90 on Amazon US
Buy Enacfire E90 on Amazon Germany
Buy Enacfire E90 other Amazon stores
Read: The best TWS under $50
Also read: The best wireless earbuds under $25
Cowin Apex ANC review: Useless noise-canceling
IPX5 waterproof - 4 hours playtime - USB-C - $45
ANC active noise cancelling and wireless earbuds: it's not always a great combination. While some great affordable pairs lower your surroundings' volume greatly - like the Oppo W51 and Tronsmart Apollo Bold - others barely work. The Cowin Apex ANC falls into the latter category.
Yes, the Cowin Apex has ANC active noise cancelling and it could have some effect... but the earpieces have such a weird slope on the inside, your ears will likely push the earbuds out constantly - attacking any effect noise canceling could have. Even when you're playing music on them, higher-pitched sounds from your surroundings come through easily. There's no specific Ambient Mode to put through traffic or chatter sounds the moment you need it, but honestly - the Apex doesn't even need it. You can still hear them with ANC on.
The Cowin Apex has an original design, with diamond-shaped earbuds with touch panels and LED-lights on the inside (that happily don't blink when playing music or watching videos). The earbuds last around 4 hours on a single charge, and can be recharged four times before the case needs new power via USB-C itself. The case is a little box with a slideable lid - and it's easily the best part of these earphones.
That's because the Apex' other features aren't very good. The Bluetooth connection suffers from regular dips even when you're sitting still within a meter from your device, and the call quality is abysmal. Not only are your surroundings heavily reduced in calls - so is your own voice. You're distant, muffled, even completely inaudible when calling. Watching videos fares better happily, with good audio-video synchronization even on the YouTube-app.
In the sound department, the Cowin Apex boosts the lower frequencies and sounds warm as a result. The bass has a steady, if somewhat flattened-out thump and darker electronic tones take up a prominent in the music, which makes instrumental electronic music sound fairly good. Unfortunately, the Apex doesn't extend highs well, preventing vocals from sounding clear and detailed - and even restricting them so much that the sound from the Apex is best described as dark and muffled.
Useless active noise cancelling, horrendous call quality, connectivity issues and muffled sound - there's not much to like about the Cowin Apex ANC earbuds.
Comfort, build and battery life: 2/5
Controls and connectivity: 2/5
Calling and watching movies: 2/5
Active noise cancelling: 1/5
Sound quality: 3/5
VERDICT:
Buy Cowin Apex on AliExpress
Buy Cowin Apex on Amazon US
Disclaimer: I bought these TWS true wireless earbuds myself. I test and review all audio products equally honest - read about it here.
Consider buying this earphone? I'd really appreciate it if you use the links in this article. It won't cost you extra, yet it will financially support me a bit in my ongoing quest for great affordable audio. <3
Also read:
Leaderboard: All rated wireless earphones
