Affordable audiophile-friendly earphones
Yamaha’s $99.95 TW-E3B true wireless earphones may not look or feel premium, but they sound great, with surprisingly accurate audio for the price. They also support the AptX Bluetooth codec, which adds to their appeal for audiophiles on a budget. If you prefer a bit of boosting in your bass, there are plenty of other sub-$100 models worth considering, many of which offer more in the way of features. Anker’s $79.99 Soundcore Life P3 earphones, for instance, offer active noise cancellation and a higher-quality build for $20 less, making them our Editors‘ Choice in this price range. An Uninspiring Design Available in black or multiple pastel shades (including lavender, light blue, light green, or pink), the TW-E3B earphones sport a slippery plastic design that feels a bit cheap. They stay in place quite well even if you don’t fully insert them, but it’s important to twist the earpieces until each is in the same orientation to ensure the best sonic performance. They ship with four pairs of silicone eartips in different sizes. Internally,6mm drivers deliver a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz. The earphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.0 and support the AAC, AptX, and SBC codecs. We noticed some quirks with the design that contributes to the low-budget feel. For example, magnets in the earpieces that help with the docking process also cause them to repel from one other when you place them close by. And the pairing behavior hearkens back to the early days of true wire earbuds, in which one earpiece connects to your phone (or other audio source) and then the other attempts to pair with it. Now, most wireless earphones can pair independently (or simultaneously) with the source. The outer panels of each earpiece feature push-button controls. A single tap on either handles playback and call management. A long press on the left earpiece navigates backward a track, while on the right, it skips forward. Double-taps on the left and right earpieces respectively lower and raise the volume. The controls are somewhat prone to misfires, especially when you attempt to perform double-taps, but they work fine and we appreciate the presence of volume controls.
