Boult Airbass Livebuds are priced under Rs. 3,000.
It was once a dream to own a pair of truly wireless earphones for many. As they cost over Rs 10,000 in the Indian market. A little soon after this, the market started flooding with cheap Apple AirPods knockoffs from China that were selling at throwaway prices, however, their sound quality and the build quality was horrible. Honestly, both of these markets still exist, but players like Boult Audio, boAt, HiFuture saw an opportunity here, where people were looking for a good pair of truly wireless earphones they could buy without breaking the bank.
With the entry of products like the Boult AirBass LiveBuds, Realme Buds Air and more, I can say that customers can now not worry about losing a Rs 18,000 pair of EarPods while running. While at the same time not listening to horrid audio. I was a bit excited when the Boult AirBass LiveBuds showed up, as they were Boult Audio’s answer to the recently launched Redmi EarBuds S, which were decent for their price. Here’s how the Boult AirBass LiveBuds performed during our rigorous tests.
Boult AirBass LiveBuds review
Before I get into the review, I would like to reiterate that the Boult AirBass LiveBuds cost just Rs 2,499, so do not expect them to have the sound quality that you can get out of a Rs 16,000 Jabra. These have smaller drivers and are meant to be accessible to the masses. With that said and your expectations lowered a bit, let’s get into the review and pep you up a bit.
The case has a rubberised texture.
First impressions last is what I was taught in business school, and the Boult AirBass LiveBuds does not fail to impress. The capsule sized case is fit for any of your jean’s pocket and due to its rubberised texture feels a bit premium when held. The hinge feels sturdy and does not feel as if it will open easily on shaking it.
Opening the case, you get to see the earbuds nestled inside quite cosily and the LED indicators showing the battery percentage. There is foam on top of the can to protect the earbuds from touching the lid if they were to take a fall. I feel the foam could have been of better quality. The earbuds feature an elongated design which help them fit in the ears snuggly. The only issue I had was that they feature physical buttons instead of touch controls. However, asking for touch controls at this price seems to be a huge demand.
The earphones fit well and come with different sized silicone ear tips.
Note: They are IPX5 rated, so you can take them out for a jog and not worry about them getting wet.
These are one of the few truly wireless earphones you can get at Rs 2,500 that come with AptX support. The sound seems to be quite balanced and full. The Highs are not what you would expect from a sub Rs 3,000 pair of earphones and are quite decent. The mids are detailed with the vocals being crisp and sound clear. The lows were punchy, however, did not have the oomph one would expect while hearing Bollywood songs. Due to this, the sound quality would turn muddy at times.
The soundstage is quite wide, making you hear all of the instruments and vocals clearly in heavy songs. Noise isolation is also quite good due to the snug fit.
The microUSB port is a bummer but at the price, you cannot really complain.
I would not recommend taking calls on this one as the microphone is not up to the point. The calls I made usually ended up with me switching to my phone, or calling the person once again after they disconnected due to muffled and distorted voice.
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The earphones do also suffer from a few connectivity issues. However, that is due to their signals being interfered by other gadgets in the surrounding. But, they usually managed to gain back the connection pretty soon.
Another fault with the earphones that I found was that most of the times they keep on playing music even after being put back in the charging case and closing the case. To pause them I either had to shut off my phone’s Bluetooth or take out the buds from the case and put them back in, hoping they would turn off.
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The grey and black colour combination looks subtle.
The Boult AirBass LiveBuds lasted me for about five hours while constantly listening to music. The charging case provided me around three full charges in one go. The device took around three hours to completely charge over a micro-USB connection.
Overall, the Boult AirBass LiveBuds is a good pair of truly wireless earphones under Rs 3,000. At this price, it is difficult to find features like aptX and IPX5 water resistance, due to which they have an upper hand over the competition. If you have a budget of Rs 2,500 and are looking for a good pair of truly wireless earbuds then the Boult AirBass LiveBuds is an option you should heavily consider.
