TWS true wireless earphones - under $25
FOUR STARS - With great comfort, 6 hours battery life, and clear sound, QCY's first completely wireless sports earbuds are a low-budget treat - if not flawless.
Specs of the QCY T6:
Bluetooth 5.0 with AAC codec
IPX4 water proof (sweat and dust resistant)
6 hours listening on a full charge
Charging case can charge earpieces fully 4 times
Comes with 3 sets of ear tips and micro-USB cable
$25 on GearBest or find latest price on AliExpress
I've added a general link to AliExpress instead of a direct product link, as stocks and prices change rapidly between sellers. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Below this QCY T6 review, you will find comparisons of the QCY T6 vs QCY T5, Mpow Flame Pro and Blitzwolf Airaux AA-UM1.
Design, comfort and battery life
QCY has two brand new wireless sports earphones in their line-up. The brand new QCY T9s (order placed, review on Scarbir.com coming soon) has small rubber ear-hooks on the earpieces to keep them in place in your ears.
The QCY T6 is an all-in sports design, with complete rubber rings to go over your ears. The T6 earpieces rest inside your ears as well as over them, making sure you won't lose them while working out, running or cycling, or while otherwise heavily sweating.
The ear rings are made of soft rubber and rest comfortably behind your ears. The part that goes inside your ears consists of a small round part and the attached rubber ear tip (with three sizes of ear tips delivered). However, the latter is a problem when it comes to sound quality - as the ear tips may not reach deep enough - preventing you from feeling the bass. More on that later.
The fit and comfort of the QCY T6 are outstanding: these earbuds remain tight enough, comfortable, and pressure-free even after hours of sporting. Also, cars coming behind you are still audible, without overtaking the music.
A straight shape connects the inner-ear part with the ear rings, and houses the touch panel and the batteries, providing the QCY T6 with a respectable 6 hours of playtime on a single charge. The micro-USB powered charging case can recharge the earpieces four times fully before needing power itself, and like other ring-bearing sports earphones, the case is BIG. It covers the iPhone X in width and half of its length. It's also five centimeters high. It's not too portable then - but at least it's well-built and the earpieces connect to the charging dots easily. Do make sure you close the lid with a click, though.
Connectivity and controls
The QCY T6 has touch-panels on the straight sides of the earbuds, but it's hard to feel where they start and where they end. Controlling these is a hit-and-miss experience, especially while you're in the middle of a sports session. It can even hard to simply play or pause the music by its double-tap, let alone activate the tree-tap controls.
Apart from play/ pause, you can skip and return a song and activate the voice assistant on your phone. Definitely install the app (more on that later), as it will give you volume controls and more options.
Connectivity on the QCY T6 is excellent, with a robust Bluetooth 5.0 signal up to ten meters. The connection remains strong when running or cycling with the phone on your arm, in your jeans pockets, or around your belly.
The T6 doesn't automatically power-up when you take it out of the case - it requires a one-second press on one of the buds. It is, however, easy to rapidly switch between listening to one and two earbuds.
Calling and watching movies with QCY T6
Watching videos with the QCY T6 is a pleasure mostly, with perfect synchronization between audio and video on Android and video services on iPhone. The YouTube-app on iPhone is a bit of an exception, however, as it misses lip-sync the moment you start playing. The problems are gone when you pause and resume playing.
You won't find the gaming mode on this QCY - and it shows while gaming: you will notice severe delay in the sound.
Like the hugely popular QCY T5, the QCY T6 handles indoor phone calls good. Your voice sounds natural and comes through clear, even when people are talking around you.
The call quality drops as soon as you're outside with a bit of traffic, wind, or even birds singing. Especially mid and higher tones from your surroundings can sound loud to the other end of the line, and like with the T5, occasional beeps and crackles can challenge the call.
—> Also read: The best TWS for sports under $50
QCY T6 app review: Change the controls!
As with other latest QCY wireless earbuds, the QCY T6 has a support app for iPhone and Android. For only 25 dollars, this is insane value for money - especially since it lets you change the controls of the touch panels. It's even possible to add volume controls to the earpieces this way - although you still need multiple hard-to-achieve taps to operate them.
The app also allows you to find your earphones back within Bluetooth range, it lets you update the firmware, and there are different equalizer presets available. Don't expect much from their settings, though. Whether you choose Bass, Pop, Rock, Soft, or Classic: they don't just tweak the sound; they completely change the sound signature into a lifeless, bassy mess.
You can also change the equalizer yourself by dragging peaks and lows in it - but as only a 2db increase in the sub-bass part completely overhauls the sound and drowns away all upper-mids and highs... don't expect too much from it. In fact, it's better not to expect anything from this at all. Make sure to tap the button 'Default' again afterward, to restore your damage done.
Still, changing the controls to your liking is a welcome addition.
Sound quality of QCY T6: fiddling for the bass
So far, QCY's insanely popular wireless earbuds always shared the same sound character: a supportive bass with crispy clear higher tones. On the QCY T6, one of those two offers a challenge.
Spoiler: it's the bass. Whereas the QCY QS1 and QS2, the QCY T3 and QCY T5 offered a delightful, medium-deep bass slam that could strike when asked for, the QCY T6 often only scratches the surface. It can be challenging to get the rubber ear tips deep enough in your ears due to the sporty rings over your ears. When the tips don't go deep enough, the sound leaks, and the bass is the first to go.
You can always hear the bass is willing to offer a thump, but it requires fiddling to hear and feel it. Sometimes, you need to position the square part of the earpieces diagonally in your ears - other times, a horizontal position unlocks more bass. This positioning is further challenged when you start sweating, and the ear tips may lose some of its grip in your ears.
When you get the right fit, there's a gentle sub-bass rumble shaking up your ears, and a laidback, not very deep sounding, but elevating bass slam. Make no mistake: as long as you don't do anything with the equalizer, these are still relatively light on bass.
Happily, the rest of the musical spectrum is conform QCY's trademark. Mids and highs sound clear, with vocals coming in crisp and detailed. There's a soft airiness to the music and instruments such as guitars and violins sound natural and easy-going. Once again, the music isn't the most dynamic, but it's a smooth, well-rounded sound with an emphasis on upper-mids and highs - exactly the signature that convinced so many people that dirt-cheap wireless earbuds can sound really good.
This time, you may need another not-delivered set of tips or ongoing fiddling to get the same out of the sound. Otherwise, it's just the higher tones without the bass. When you unlock it, though, the QCY T6 is a very welcome sports companion.
Selected comparisons
QCY T6 vs Mpow Flame Pro
The Mpow Flame Pro is Mpow's return of the incredibly popular neckband-Bluetooth sports earbuds Flame, and this time around, it's completely wireless. The Flame Pro goes for three times the price of the QCY T6, but it offers nearly 8 hours of battery life, outstanding outdoor call quality, and a more prominent bass suitable for sports usage. The Mpow Flame Pro is a more complete, well-thought-out product than the T6, which mainly offers an even lighter fit and brighter sound.
QCY T6 vs Airaux AA-UM1
If you're looking for sporty wireless earbuds on a budget, Blitzwolf's subbrand Airaux may offer an alternative. The AA-UM1 doesn't have ear rings that go behind your ears, but does have small ear-rings. They're connected on top of the earbuds to achieve a tight fit in your ears. The Airaux feels less comfortable due to the large earpieces, and sounds dull and muffled in comparison, with just enough bass to keep you going, but severe lack of vividness and detail in the sound. Battery life is also worse, with 3,5 hours instead of 6.
QCY T6 vs QCY T5
QCY's absolute hit model - the T5 - costs the same as the T6, and offers a stem-design instead of sports ear rings. The QCY T5 feels more comfortable due to the small part that goes into your ears, but also feels heavier to carry. The T5 puts trough more bass, with deeper strikes and a stronger rumble. Upper-mids and highs on the T5 sound warmer. Surprisingly, the QCY T6 extends highs further and seems brighter, yet it still serves a perfectly balanced sound signature - when you get the fit right to feel the bass. Both offer the same indoor-focused call quality; the T6 has better battery life.
Verdict
The QCY T6 costs only 25 dollars and offers great comfort and a solid 6-hours battery life, but these wireless sport earbuds require fiddling with the controls and fit to get the best music quality. Great value for money, with some drawbacks.
Four stars - very good
Buy QCY T6/ check current price:
Check the price of the QCY T6 on AliExpress
I bought the QCY T6 myself for testing and review purposes. I test and review all audio products equally honest - read about it here.
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