Wireless earbuds are the default headphone choice for many mobile device users: no surprise considering they are cable-free, lightweight and offer plenty of battery life. If you don’t want to be burdened by large headphones when you’re out and about, they are the way to go.
I’ve been privileged to try out some higher-end offerings from the likes of Nura, but these require some investment. So, what about at the more affordable end of the spectrum? Do you really need to spend more?
The Acefast Crystal Earbuds T8 earbuds retail for just $99 (£78), cheaper than the Apple AirPods second-gen pair, which go for $129 (£139). Even the basic Apple earphones have a strong reputation for sound quality, so the Acefasts have their work cut out for them to compete. At least they would at full price: it’s worth mentioning that the Acefast T8s can be picked up on the Acefast site for just $69.99 (£56), which should mean they won’t have to work quite as hard to get the nod over the likes of the AirPods.
The design of the T8s does bring Cupertino to mind, but not the Apple of today – more the Apple of the late 1990s. Yes, that dates me, but I think the look works well, in a retro-cool kind of way. And like Apple kit of that time, The T8s are available in a variety of colours – black, white, blue, pink, green and purple.
The earbuds case charges via USB C (wireless charging is not an option) and come with a plastic cover and a lanyard so you can wear it around your neck and the headphones fit nicely into the side. A standout feature is that when you remove either earbud from the charging case an LED lights up to indicate the total charge in a digital percentage and also how much power is left in each earbud. No more trying to interpret the meaning of a tiny light – you know where you are power-wise immediately. It’s such a great feature I wonder why all wireless earbuds don’t do it!
At the price I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have simple touch controls for pausing, skipping tracks and answering calls. However, as the T8s don’t have a supporting smartphone app, you can’t customise them, but at least it makes things simpler.
The Bluetooth protocol supported is version 5.3, but you only get basic SBC and AAC codec supported – no lossless or hi-res action here, which is hardly a surprise at this price.
There’s also no noise cancelling tech, so if you want to shut out loud noises in a crowded café or on a train, these aren’t going to be right for you. They also don’t automatically stop playing when you take them out of your ears – you’ll have to manually pause to avoid wasting power.
However, the upside the lack of bells and whistles means you get a decent 30 hours of charge from the case, with the earbuds giving you around seven hours of playtime before you have to plug them back in. If you’re taking a phone call on the earbuds that time will come down further.
As unlikely as you are to use these for seven hours in one stretch, the headphones are at least not uncomfortable. There are four sizes of earbuds to choose from so you can pick one that suits your lugholes. In my ears, they felt lightweight but never very snug. At least, when I went for a run they didn’t fall out. If you do drop them you can rely on their IPX4 rating to cope with some light splashing, but they won’t survive being dunked into a pool.
So, after all that, how do they sound? No doubt I’ve been spoiled by the likes of the Nura earbuds, but to my ears the sound was just OK. The balance is lightweight and somewhat anaemic with little bass to speak of. On Since I Left You but The Avalanches, the triangle-type sounds came across clearly, but the instrument separation of the dense mix was poor. There’s very little bass – you won’t be able to discern any of it. The treble is more prominent but it’s harsh when pushed. The famous tremolo lines of The Smiths’ How Soon Is Now was so shrill it hurt my ears, as were the guitars in The Beatles Taxman.
Switching to podcasts, the lack of mid-range weight meant voices that I’m accustomed to being full, sounded thin. That said the sound is not by any means unlistenable – it just doesn’t match up to more expensive headphones, which I guess is reassuring for those that can and want to pay more.
The Acefast T8s are not terrible they are fun, inexpensive, earbuds that will likely appeal to a younger audience. They will do the job then if you’re looking for a pair of slightly flashy, affordable fun-looking headphones that don’t sound terrible. And the power indicator LEDs on the front are an absolute winner. They’d make a great pair of starter headphones for a young child or someone that wants a spare pair in case they don’t want their main headphones to get lost or damaged. If you get them for $70 or lower then the AceFast T8s justify their existence.
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