Yamaha TW-E5B audio quality: Does it stand up to the competition?

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Yamaha TW-E5B audio quality: Does it stand up to the competition? (Image: in.yamaha.com)
Yamaha TW-E5B audio quality: Does it stand up to the competition? (Image: in.yamaha.com)

Delhi : The demand for Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds has increased dramatically in recent years. Yamaha, a company well-known for its audio equipment, has released TW-E5B, a pair of truly wireless earbuds that try to compete in the sub Rs 15,000 price range. In this fiercely competitive industry where value for money paramount, Yamaha has launched several products in the past. Can they compete with items like the recently released Sony WF-LS900N earphones, which also have outstanding sound clarity? Here is our assessment.

Describe the Yamaha TW-E5B

Other earphones on the market do not look like the Yamaha TW-E5B. The earbuds are larger than average and have an odd shape. These earphones wouldn't remain in the ears of my coworker and others, either.

These were a wonderful fit for my medium-sized ears. Yamaha has also provided consumers with a video instruction manual on YouTube that demonstrates how to make these earbuds fit snugly in their ears.

The construction is excellent, and despite the fact that I did not drop them while using them, they never felt flimsy. The sides of the earbuds include physical buttons. You may toggle between the normal and ambient settings using the one button on the left earpiece. The volume can be increased or decreased using the two physical buttons on the top of the right one. The voice assistant is activated by long-pressing the bottom, right button. Simply double-press the left earbud's button to answer an incoming call.

The physical buttons, which I initially disliked, quickly won my favour. You won't have to be concerned about those hurried unintentional swipes if you listen to music with headphones while working or relaxing at home. This button's physical feedback is excellent.

The Yamaha E5B produces outstanding audio. I have used these to listen to music from several genres, including pop, rock, metal, and electronic, and I have enjoyed the experience. Tokyo Nights by Digital Farm Animals had an excellent instrument separation and a subtle bass that wasn't overbearing. These earbuds may suit you if you enjoy pop or country music. When I listened to Train's song Drops of Jupiter, the vocals sounded great, and the overall performance was quite good.

The voice clarity in Lana Del Rey's song Mariners Apartment Complex truly caught my attention. The Yamaha TW-mids E5B's and highs are excellent overall, but its lows are at best acceptable.

What's wrong with the Yamaha TW-E5B?

Starting with the design Not every person will be a good fit for the Yamaha TW-E5B wireless earphones. Despite Yamaha's claims that the earbuds are universally comfortable, most persons with large ears were unable to wear them. Another drawback of these earbuds is their size. It is just not feasible to wear this inside of a helmet. Additionally, I never felt confident enough to wear them while exercising since I always thought they would slip down.

What I find to be the biggest letdown is the absence of Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). Although the capability is essentially a given on all high-end earbuds, Yamaha has opted not to include it. Overall, the isolation of outside noise provided by these earbuds is appalling. I could hear everyone around me when I halted or turned the music down. The background noise didn't start to go away until I turned up the level to about 50%.

Yamaha Headphone Control is a dedicated app that is included with the Yamaha TW-E5B. You only have access to the equaliser and three other options: ambient sound, listening care, and gaming mode. Nothing happened when I tried to activate the ambient mode.

I put on a song on my computer's speakers, but I got no sound. I tried installing the app on other phones, but they also experienced the same issue, thus it appears that the feature is not functioning on my review device. "Listening Care' is the second toggle. In several tracks, I felt like I was missing out when the volume was turned up, despite Yamaha's claims that the feature helps improve lows even at low volume. It also has a "Gaming mode," which functions as expected, but when I activated it, I could tell the earphones were experiencing connection problems since the music would occasionally go out for a brief period of time.

The microphone is at best decent. When I spoke to them, they could plainly hear me, but they could also hear the background noise. The TW-E5B, according to Yamaha, can play music for up to 8.5 hours on a single charge and an additional 21.5 hours with the case attached. However, they hardly ever went longer than six hours between charges. I believe it was because the passive noise suppression is so terrible that I frequently had to put the volume up to more than 50%.

Should you purchase the Yamaha TW-E5B?

The Yamaha TW-E5B lacks a number of features, including a good microphone, an operational "Ambient mode," and active noise reduction. However, the audio quality is very excellent. The Yamaha TW-E5B can pique your interest if you're seeking for a pair of large earbuds with a respectable battery life and outstanding audio quality.

But in this price bracket, there are much better options available from more well-known companies that offer features like Active Noise Cancellation, an excellent microphone, and longer battery life. It will be difficult for these to stand out because, at Rs 14,200, the Yamaha TW-E5B feels and appears a little antiquated.