Elyxr Air True Wireless earbuds review
Elyxr Air True Wireless earphones
€139.99Pros
- Extremely portable
- Great sound quality
- Hands-free calling
- Earphones recharge when in case
- Power case recharges phone too
Cons
- Have long hair? You will look like you're ignoring people
- Ensure you have the right tips to fit or lose an earbud
Cables, according to people such as Apple, are so yesterday. So are, it seems, bulky earphones. Elyxr Air are some rather natty looking earbuds that are both wireless and tiny.
I met the lads from Elyxr last week and when they showed me their Air True Wireless earphones I knew I wanted them. The case looked cool and, as the bottom of said case was pushed up, a pair of small ear buds presented themselves.
Now, I thought (and still do) that the Motorola Verve Ones+ were small, neat and clever. Well, strap yourselves in gadgety faithful, because your world is about to be rocked.
Elyxr Air design
If you own a regular compact powerbank, then you know how little room they take up. Now, imagine a powerbank that had a little recess, just large enough to store a pair of earbuds.
That is basically what I was faced with. In my hand is a gun metal (pretty much Space Grey) case with the top of two earbuds. I know that they are charging as they both display little red LEDs.
Pushing the case up from the bottom slides the earphone docking station up so that I can easily remove them.
The earbuds themselves are held in place by magnets, and who doesn’t dig magnets?
The earbuds themselves are equipped with an 8mm driver. As you have probably already worked out, they are Bluetooth connected. They also pack a tiny microphone for hands-free calling.
These things are tiny. We are talking a diameter of 13.9mm, and 20mm long. They tip the scales at a minuscule 8 grammes.
The battery life of the earphones is around 3 hours but, each time you put them in their case, they top up.
The case gives you 12 full charges. Oh, and the charging case also has the power to top up your smartphone thanks to the USB port. The micro USB port is what you use to recharge the case.
Elyxr Air performance
Once I got the earbuds charged, or rather the case, it was testing time.
Set up
First you have to get the earbuds to ‘see’ one another. This is done by holding the multi-purpose button (the bit with the Elyxr logo on it) on each bud down for six seconds.
One will flash blue and red alternately, whilst the other flashes blue. The multi-coloured flasher will be the ‘master’. Once that’s done, you’re sorted
Just as with the Verve Ones+, the master is the link to your audio source and then that bounces the audio on to the ‘slave’. In the Elyxr Air’s case, the left is the master.
I must add here that there is no lag between buds. There is a little lag between audio and video if using them when watching a film on your tablet, etc.
Now it’s time to hook up to the phone. This is the same procedure. Button down for six and then pick Elyxr Air from your phone’s device list.
Now, whenever you turn the buds on in your ear you will be told when they’re connected to each other. They will also tell you if they are the left channel or right channel earphone. So, if you have them the wrong way around you can sort them out. I for one don’t like it when music I know pans from the wrong side.
Bluetooth range is given as the standard 10 meters. They do drop out a bit in busy areas, but so do all the Bluetooth headphones and earphones I have tested. However, the link between the buds is generally stable
Sound quality
I will admit, I was a little worried. The first 3-4 hours listening to the Elyxr Air was a tad painful. Regular readers of my reviews will know that I like a fairly flat and honest reproduction when it comes to head/earphones.
The Air was extremely middle-y with fairly harsh top end. Now, I thought, I wonder if this is it. Should I leave it there or persevere? I am so glad that I stuck with it.
All of a sudden (well, after a couple of commutes) the sound just seemed to open up. There was low mids and then, deep and warm bass.
The treble had also loosened up a little and became more integrated with the rest of the ensemble.
‘Hear Me Out’ from Frou Fou (Imogen Heap and producer/arranger/songwriter/musician Guy Sigsworth) came through clear and remarkably balanced. The vocal harmonies full and centre stage whilst the accompaniment was all encompassing but in its own space.
Portishead’s ‘It Could Be Sweet’ had all the dark, forboding emotional content that I love about the UK West Coast trip-hoppers. The layers could get messy in lesser earphones but, again, they were all clearly discernible.
The earphones have a quoted frequency response of 20Hz -20KHz and sensitivity of 108dB ± 3dB. My ears just liked them.
It wasn’t all chilled female vocals though.
‘Wounded Knee’ by Primus is generally a good test. The 2.5 minute percussion track works each side differently, giving something for your brain to either work out or just wash over it.
Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’ is a wonderful track in headphones. The drums power through and the sometimes hidden sounds in the background were present and correct in the Airs.
The vocals were gloriously full and rich.
Elyxr Air review conclusion
You might have gathered that I was impressed by these earphones from Elyxr.
The fit, finish and design cannot be faulted. The colour options of gunmetal grey, black, and rose gold to me shows that they are looking to attract iPhone owners and we all know how picky they can be over design. I think Elyxr has got that bit wrapped up.
The charging case is easily pocketable and the fact that it tops your buds up each time they’re plonked in there is great. The added bonus of being able to charge your mobile in an emergency is very cool.
The sound quality from these tiny things is remarkable. They can really push out some convincing bass. The intro to ‘Shadows’ by Pryda, for example, really pumps out.
If I had to be really picky (I guess that is my job here) I would say that the Elyxr Air could benefit from adding a set of Comply foam tips (or similar) in with their current selection. With even that said, these have become my go to earphones if heading out to a gig or for a pub night where I don’t want to be carting my PM-3 headphones.
Well done Elyxr. Very well done.
Elyxr Air price and availability
You can get your own Elyxr Air earphones right now for €139.99 (£122-ish).
They are available in Rose Gold, Gun Metal (silver) and Jet Black.
