You’d think that being close to technology and playing with gadgets all the time would lead to it all becoming a little stagnant. Yet I’m still taken aback by how fast technology moves on a regular basis. Last year, just after testing the Sony WH-1000MX2, and being mighty impressed by them, I bought the Sony WF-1000X. Great sound quality, but considering the massive price tag, these were too buggy in general and really laggy when watching video on YouTube of Netflix.
So I was sceptical when I got my hands on another pair of truly wireless earbuds that cost a fraction of the Sony ones. Here’s what I thought of the Enod Audio Wireless Earbuds
Who is Enod Audio?
You might not have heard of Enod. I know I hadn’t until very recently. Enod is a Chinese audio company that came into being back in 2015. The company was founded by a few audiophiles looking to spread high-quality audio experiences to the masses. For me, this is quite an impressive mission to set out upon.
If you’re in the market for some new headphones or earphones, there’s really no shortage of choice. I’ve tried out some good and not so good Sony audio bits, some very impressive budget Tronsmart buds too and my cans of choice, the Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II. Depending on what you’re after, buying earphones or headphones can be a bit of a minefield. So if Enod Audio can deliver a truly brilliant audio experience at a great price, they could be on to something. The question is, can they?
The Enod Audio Mini Ring Wireless Earphones
I got to test out the Mini Ring Wireless Earphones from Enod Audio. These are truly wireless buds which mean you literally get two buds that pop into your ears. Straight off the bat, these are some seriously comfortable buds. With a little fiddling and twiddling, you won’t even feel the buds in your ears. Even Sony’s flagship buds couldn’t achieve this level of comfort. I don’t want to labour this too much, but comfort with truly wireless earbuds is a very important matter.
Comfort
Truly wireless earbuds have nothing holding them in place except your ears. As a result, every little bit of imperfection when it comes to comfort will add to the ear fatigue you feel. For this reason, most users won’t be able to bear truly wireless earbuds for longer than an hour or two – and that’s if the battery lasts that long.
While the battery in these Enod Audio buds isn’t anything specifically noteworthy, their unbelievable comfort is.
Audio Quality
Let’s not beat around the bush too much here. It’s all well and good saying these are comfortable but are they any good for listening? The short answer is yes, very much so. I ran through a few audio tests with these and couldn’t believe the quality they deliver. Some of the higher tones cut out a little but the lower bassy tones were incredible and it was these tones I’d half expected to lose when wearing such a tiny little earbud.
It’s important to point out, that these are not noise cancelling earphones so the only environment noise they block out will be purely based on the seal between the silicon bud and your ear. The sound quality is so crisp and the volume is so loud (when you want it to be) that I don’t think many will be bothered by this lack of noise cancelling.
Connection Quality
Because the Sony WF-1000X earbuds gave me such incredible sound quality but terrible connection quality, I had to consider the connection quality. Here’s why.
Truly wireless earbuds have an unusual connection system. One of the buds connects to your smartphone; this is known as the master earbud and is usually the left bud. Then the other earbud, referred to as the slave, connects to the master. All these connections and possible points of failure mean truly wireless earbuds can be extremely irritating, case in point being the Sony WF-1000X.
The Enod Audio Mini Ring earbuds are substantially better. I’m not going to say they’re perfect as they did cut in and out a couple of times, more than the likes of my Bose QC 35 II or Sony WH-1000MX2 did. However, the breaks are few, brief and far between so it’s far from being a deal breaker.
Battery Life
I alluded to this already but the battery life with these buds is fine. Because they’re quite small, the most you can expect to get from them is about two or three hours. They do come with a charging case which gives you another three of four charges and they do charge quite quickly, up to 100% in just 45 minutes. For me, that’s perfect because you can wear them for a few hours work, go for a bite to eat and then come back to use them and close out the day.
Value
Price does kind of have the power to negate nearly everything else in a review up until this point. Those Sony buds are expensive so expectations are incredibly high, expectations that weren’t met. Personally, I thought these Enod buds were right up there with the Sony buds and as such I checked their price through squinted eyes, fearing the worst.
The Enod Mini Ring buds cost less than €75.
Seriously.
This changes everything. Everywhere along the way through this review where I hummed and hawed, I take it back. I had kind of assumed these would cost at least twice that price so at €75, the audio quality is mind-blowing.
I’m stunned that tiny wireless earbuds costing just €75 can be as good as this
The battery is fantastic. The comfort is even more incredible and the connection quality is good. I started this out by saying how fast technology moves and I’m stunned that tiny wireless earbuds costing just €75 can be as good as these buds.
Enod Wireless Mini Ring Buds: The Verdict
I’m stunned. Genuinely.
With so many phone manufacturers moving away from the audio jack, we have little choice but to adopt wireless audio. I’ve gone out on a limb and said it’s unavoidable so it’s best we all start looking for the best wireless audio we can.
Until now, that meant wireless over-ear headphones, sacrificing some audio for consistent connection or spending a fortune on something that just wasn’t perfect. Enod Audio has created something here which sits in a sweet spot for quality and value.
You can pick these up on Amazon.co.uk for about €75.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Mini Ring Buds
I’ve taken a quick look online to find the most commonly asked questions about these Enod Audio buds that I didn’t include in the review.
Are these ok for training?
Absolutely. I gave them a fair shake test and they really didn’t budge that much. You also don’t have to worry about sweating as they are IPX4 protected.
Will these connect to a computer?
Yup. I only tested this with a smartphone so that’s why I only mention smartphones. Bluetooth earphones will work with any computers which also supports Bluetooth.
Can these take calls?
Yep. They can take calls.
Can Just One Bud Be Used?
As I mentioned above, the buds connect through a master and slave connection. These are left and right respectively and as such you can use just the left bud alone, but not the right bud on its own.
