Pros:– Good sound quality for the segment– New sound presets and custom EQ in the app– Lightweight and comfortable fit– Good battery life, fast charging– IPX5 splash resistance– Programmable touch controls including volume control– Dual-pairing support
Cons:– Default sound is bass-heavy– Average call quality– Bulky charging case prone to scratches– No ANC (blame Realme Buds Q2 for this)
Price: Rs 2,499
Rating: 3.8/5
There is a pattern we have observed with Realme TWS earphones over the past year or so. They launch a product too many in a narrow price band that straight away runs into in-house competition. Some of them even struggle to justify their existence. Those who do, then have to face the fire from the 16 months old Realme Buds Q2, which is one of the best TWS earbuds under Rs 2,500, not just from the company, but in the entire segment.
Image Credit: Tech2 Ameya Dalvi
Realme has finally moved on from their usual three sound profiles, and you get four of them here – Nature Balance, Clear Vocals, Clear Bass, Bass Boost and also a 6-band equaliser to create a few custom profiles of your own. It is great to have this functionality which is quite rare on budget TWS earbuds. The first two sound profiles are perfectly usable, while the two bass profiles are overkill given that the default sound of these earbuds is already high on bass. More on that in the next section.
Realme Buds Air 3S: Performance (7/10)These buds are sufficiently loud around 70-75% volume level and a little higher when in noisy areas. If that’s not loud enough for you, there is an option of switching on Volume Enhancer from that app which makes the buds significantly louder even at 50%. As I was just saying, the default output here is bass heavy, and the Nature Balance profile will suit the majority of users. The sound signature is V-shaped with boosted lows and highs, which should appeal to a sizable audience in this category.
The mids get impacted from both sides, yet the vocals are produced with reasonable clarity. The highs are quite sharp without sounding sibilant and there is ample bass. The bass is punchy but could have been tighter. If you find it excessive or prefer better vocal clarity, simply switch to the Clear Vocals preset. While it significantly enhances the midrange frequencies, the bass isn’t deficient either, just not excessive. If you are not a bass head, you might like it that way. It is also handy when watching voice-heavy content.
The ideal option is to simply create a couple of custom profiles using the 6-band equaliser. Just play around with it and see what suits your taste best. If it doesn’t work for you, you can always switch back to one of the aforementioned presets. One small thing that the company can improve upon in the future is to provide two equalisers with each for low, mid and high frequencies; currently, there’s just one for mids and three for the high-end frequencies.
The soundstage here is fairly narrow, but par for the course in this segment. We faced no latency issues even when not in Game mode. There was no noticeable lag between the video and audio when watching videos on my phone from OTT platforms. The wireless range is pretty good too with a strong connection at 10 metres with a clear line of sight, and more than half of that with a concrete wall in between.
Image Credit: Tech2