Recently I had a problem – my beloved AirPods, which served faithfully for 2.5 years, were irretrievably lost somewhere in the bowels of the Moscow-Novorossiysk train. Arriving in Krasnodar and discovering the loss, I was already going to look for the nearest store to buy new ones, but I remembered in time that soon Apple should show new AirPods, which means I need to gather my will and wait for them.
Elari EarDrops, relatively inexpensive TWS earbuds provided to me for testing, were called to brighten up the waiting time. They became the hero of this review.
Specifications
- Version Bluetooth: 5.0 + EDR (A2DP / AVRCP / HFP / HSP), range up to 25 m
- Frequency range: 20 Hz-20 kHz
- Resistance: 16 ohm (@ 1 kHz) ± 15%
- Sensitivity: 86 ± 3dB (126mV @ 1kHz)
- Driver: 6mm
- Case / earphone battery capacity: 360/45 mAh
- Playback time: up to 4 hours
- Charging connector: USB Type-C
- Case / earphone dimensions: 60 x 34.6 x 27.6 / 27 x 13.7 x 24 mm
- Weight per earbud / with case: 3.9 / 35 g
Contents of delivery
- Elari EarDrops Headphones
- Charging case
- USB-C cable
- Replacement ear pads (S / M / L)
- Documentation
- Promo code for 3 months of subscription 'Yandex.Plus'
Design, controls
For me, the most important thing in the TWS headphone case is that it fits into a jeans pocket without any problems, and the Elari EarDrops case passed this test successfully. It's compact and lightweight, which is good, but the case is made of pretty cheap scratch-prone plastic. Tactilely, the case material reminded me of Redmi AirDots, there is clearly not enough gloss here.
On the right side of the case there is a USB-C port for charging it – this is definitely a plus for an inexpensive model, since microUSB is still often found in headphones from more famous manufacturers. Inside, in the very middle, there is a case charge indicator – 4 LEDs that allow you to determine the charge with an accuracy of 25%.
It is convenient to take the headphones out of the case – took it and took it out without any problems. With the same Xiaomi / Redmi AirDots you have to sweat, but here you don't have to, and that's good too.
The earbuds themselves have a simple shape, and as the name suggests, the designers were inspired by the drop shape. But if we talk about the form factor, then they are not 'droplets', because Elari Eardrops are 'plugs'. Each earbud has its own microphone and its own physical button with a small LED that glows red when charging and blinks white when connected.
And my first serious complaints about these headphones are connected with the control using these two buttons. First, both buttons completely duplicate each other. Many TWS headphones have this problem, and I still don't understand why manufacturers do not want to separate the actions on two headphones, essentially turning two buttons into one. Secondly, using these buttons you can not only change the volume, but also switch the track. A short press is play / pause, a one second is a call to Siri / Google Assistant, and a double is a call to the last dialed number.
In my opinion, it would be worthwhile to implement switching tracks by double / triple click. To be fair, I note that the location of the buttons on the headphones themselves, due to their shape, is successful – when you press them, additional pressure is not created on the membrane, which is often the case with other models that have mechanical keys.
Sound
A priori, I never expect any revelations in terms of sound quality from inexpensive headphones, nor did I expect them from Elari EarDrops. But this model surprised me in a good way. No, you will hardly wait for revelations here either, but the sound is surprisingly well balanced. Firstly, there is no obvious emphasis on bass, which in inexpensive accessories often tries to mask the dips in the mids and highs. The bass is there, it is enough, but without excess. The mids are also well heard, and the highs turn into 'beeping' only at the maximum volume level, which, I think, will not have to be turned on. In general, for my money, I think the headphones play. I liked the sound here more than in Xiaomi AirDots.
The volume reserve is sufficient, you don't want to twist them by more than 75%, and there is no need to. Rubber ear pads are good at isolating from ambient noise, the main thing is to choose the right size. There is no hint of falling out of the ears, the headphones fit tightly, and you can even run around in them. But just remember that the device does not have any dust and moisture protection, so you shouldn't sweat profusely while jogging in them.
Someone will not like the absence of all kinds of codecs – there is not even Apt-X. But I myself have a device without the support of this technology, so I took it calmly. There is a lag when watching YouTube videos paired with iPhone 11, it's small, but still there, so keep that in mind.
Autonomy
The indicators of autonomy in Elari EarDrops are average for the market – without any deviations in one direction or another: 4 hours of continuous work and about 4 more times the same when charging from a case. The figures are typical for this kind of device, and this is quite enough for almost any task, except perhaps for the 6-hour trips on the Lastochka from Kursk to Moscow. However, if you distract yourself from watching movies or listening to music for half an hour, it will be enough for that.
The time for a full charge of the headphones is a little over an hour, the case is about two hours. There is no support for all kinds of fast charging, as well as wireless charging of the case.
Nuances of operation
I will briefly go over some other important points that I managed to fix after a week of use.
When using Elari EarDrops, you need to get used to putting them on correctly: sometimes you insert them into your ears, and, judging by the sound and convenience, everything is fine, but then you look in the mirror, and they stick out in different directions, it's ugly. We have to slightly turn the headphones so that they fit organically into the auricle.
The main earpiece here, unlike many competitors, is left, that is, it is he who connects to the smartphone. This should be borne in mind if 'one-ear' use is planned.
The microphone and the quality leave a lot to be desired. I made a couple of test calls from a quiet office and from the street, and the interlocutors complained that my voice was somewhere far away, and on the street it was almost impossible to hear it. So using Elari EarDrops as a headset is not a big deal.
Each time you turn it on, you have to listen to voice messages in Russian that the headphones are connected to each other, and then – that they are connected to the smartphone. As for me, such long notifications are superfluous, a couple of sound signals would be enough.
Judging by the reviews on the web, the first batches of Elari EarDrops had problems with connection stability. Simply put, they were constantly disconnected from the smartphone. My copy was made in July 2019, and I have never encountered such a problem in a week of use. So go for July or later if you're thinking of buying. And if there are disconnects, then this is a marriage – go to the store and exchange them for others. There is no way to update the firmware here.
conclusions
The retail price of Elari EarDrops is 3,990 rubles (the bundle also includes a promotional code for three months of Yandex.Plus subscription, which includes Yandex.Music, but it works only for new subscribers). There are white and black options on sale. For this money, you get, in general, good headphones for everyday use.
Their pluses:
- sound worthy for its price;
- comfortable fit;
- normal autonomy;
- compact and convenient case;
- USB-C port for charging.
Their cons:
- cheap plastic from which both the case and the headphones are made;
- poor functionality of the keys on the headphones;
- poor microphone for voice calls;
- lack of Hi-Res-codecs, including Apt-X;
- there is a slight delay when watching videos on YouTube.
There are a lot of headphones in this price range, from more or less popular models it is worth noting Xiaomi Mi Earbuds (AirDots) and 1more Stylish TWS. The former have a slightly worse sound and 1,000 rubles less cost, while the latter have a more interesting sound and even Apt-X, but, in my opinion, a controversial design at a comparable price.
Review Xiaomi AirDots 
Review of the 1more Stylish TWS headset
As for my impressions of Elari EarDrops, these headphones are not perfect, but they cannot be perfect for the money. But now I use them without any problems as the main TWS option, if I take with me or wear full-size Plantronics Backbeat Pro 2 laziness. When the new AirPods come out, I'll buy them, of course, because I'm an apple slave and I'm ready to spend ~ $ 250 on them. But if my budget was limited to four thousand, then Elari AirDrops would probably have a good chance of being bought by me.