Tech review: Aviot TE-D01b wireless earbuds deliver great battery life

The TE-D01b uses Qualcomm's TrueWireless Stereo Plus technology, which lets both earbuds receive audio signals directly from the audio source, thereby reducing latency. PHOTO: AVIOT

Aviot is a Japanese audio brand that has just entered the Singapore market. Its flagship product is the TE-D01b true wireless in-ear headphones, which won the Wireless Prize as well as the Gold Award in its genre at the VGP 2019 Awards, Japan's most prestigious audio-visual awards.

The TE-D01b is available in three colours - black, silver and blue/gold (version tested).

Each earbud has a multi-function button concealed under its front cover with the Aviot logo. Its main body is rather thick leading to the ear tip. However, it is really lightweight at only 4.5g. The earbuds have a water-resistance rating of IPX7, which means they are sweat- and rain-resistant.

It comes with black and translucent ear-tips - three sets each comprising different tip sizes. I found the medium translucent ear-tips - affixed to the earbuds out of the box - a perfect fit for my ears.

They are really comfortable even after long periods of wearing. Not to mention, the earbuds do not fall out during my jogs.

The TE-D01b also comes with a colour-matching aluminium charging case about the size of a deck of cards. The case's top has a micro-USB charging port and a four-LED battery indicator. You slide out the tray from the top to insert the earbuds for charging.

The TE-D01b uses Qualcomm's TrueWireless Stereo Plus technology, which lets both earbuds receive audio signals directly from the audio source, thereby reducing latency. It also supports the aptX and AAC audio codecs.

  • FOR

  • - Very lightweight

    - Super comfortable

    - Great fit for runs

    - Long battery life

  • AGAINST

  • - Tricky pairing process

    - Bass lacks omph

The pairing process is a bit tricky. You are supposed to press and hold one earbud for six seconds to start the pairing process. And the other earbud will automatically connect. However, after a few attempts, I could only pair the right earbud.

In the end, I have to reset the earbuds by pressing both earbuds for 10 seconds while they are still in the charging case.

I discovered that you do not need to press and hold for six seconds to start pairing after reset. Simply take one earbud out of the charging case after reset and it will appear on the Bluetooth menu of the pairing smartphone (or audio player). Tap on it to pair and the other earbud will connect automatically.

Thereafter, the earbuds would automatically connect to the paired device after they are taken out from their case.

Audio quality is rather flat but the mids and highs are distinct with nice details. Vocals are crystal clear even when the volume is cranked to the maximum. But the bass lacks oomph regardless of the volume.

In terms of latency, I experienced only a few occasional audio signal drops while jogging and in my office where there are plenty of Bluetooth devices.

The charging case is said to provide an additional 51 hours to battery life to the earbuds' rated nine-hour battery life. I found the advertised battery life to be about right.

After using the earbuds to listen to music at near maximum volume for two hours on a full charge, the battery level dropped to 73 per cent.

This is rather amazing, considering most of its peers can only last around two to three hours. Even the impressive Samsung Buds last at most five hours.


TECH SPECS

PRICE: $239

DRIVER: 6mm dynamic

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz to 20,000Hz

CONNECTIVITY: Bluetooth 5.0

WEIGHT: 4.5g (earbud), 85.5g (charging case)

RATING

FEATURES: 3/5

DESIGN: 4/5

PERFORMANCE: 3.5/5

BATTERY LIFE: 5/5

VALUE FOR MONEY: 3.5/5

OVERALL: 3.5/5

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