Hypeventure's Journey (Series 01) - Episode 18: More audio stuffs?

Not too long ago, I found myself facing a familiar dilemma. My trusty KZ EDX Pro earbuds, originally bought for music production, had become my constant companions for everything – commuting, chores, even lulling me to sleep with ambient sounds. This heavy, unintended usage pattern raised concerns about their longevity. It became clear I needed a dedicated pair of wireless earbuds for daily life, letting the KZs rest for their intended purpose. After some searching and taking a bit of a leap, I settled on a promising option. While distinct from the KZ sound signature – noticeably bassier, in fact – they seemed capable of delivering a full audio experience. I'll talk about it here.

First, a quick word on the brand. Soundcore is the audio-focused sub-brand of Anker Innovations, a Chinese electronics company founded in 2011, primarily known for its charging gear. Soundcore emerged in 2014 with a speaker and solidified as a distinct brand in 2018. Their goal is to challenge the notion that high-quality audio only comes with a premium price tag, offering innovative and stylish wireless headphones, true wireless earbuds (including specialized sport and sleep models), Bluetooth speakers, and even audio eyewear. Features like their ACAA technology and various ANC modes appear in higher-end models. They target a broad audience seeking quality audio at accessible prices, competing against giants like JBL, Sony, and Apple by often packing premium features into more competitively priced packages. It's crazy how they get their products into the hands of major tech reviewers, like Unbox Therapy – that's actually where I first heard about Anker. But endorsements aside, the real question is how their products hold up in personal use? Well, I have one right here, so does my hands who's writing this episode.

The model I picked up is the R50i, a pair of true wireless earbuds aiming for that sweet spot between price, features, and sound. While black was available, I opted for the blue colorway. Examining the packaging, the presentation is clean. Starting with the top flap, which has a convenient carrying handle, we see the model's name R50i and the "True Wireless Earbuds" description. The front of the box showcases the blue earbuds and their matching case with its integrated lanyard, alongside branding like "soundcore by Anker" and highlights such as "Powerful Sound" and the "BassUp" logo, hinting at its low-end focus. It also mentions "22 Preset EQs," pointing towards app compatibility. One side panel carries the bold claim, "Incredible sound loved by 20 million+ people" – a standard, if slightly boastful, marketing line from Anker/Soundcore. Another side panel vertically displays an abstract graphic related to sound waves and explicitly mentions "Powerful Sound via 10mm Drivers," giving a specific hardware detail. The back panel lists key features with icons: the 10mm drivers again, a 10-hour playtime per charge extending to 30 hours with the case, AI-enhanced calls using two microphones, an IPX5 waterproof rating (good against splashes and sweat), and the customizable experience via the Soundcore app. It also details the box contents (earbuds, case, S/M/L eartips) and includes regulatory/distributor info, kind of. Flipping to the bottom, we find the model's name again, alongside a serial number sticker and an important Anker authenticity verification sticker. With the box examined, I began to open it up.

Opening it up reveals a simple black plastic tray. The first thing sitting on top is the instruction booklet. Taking a quick look, the use of clear diagrams and icons instead of just text is a nice touch, making setup seem straightforward. Lifting the tray reveals the main event: the charging case nestled securely, with the included accessories – alternative silicone ear tips (presumably Small and Large, complementing the pre-installed Medium) and a short USB-A to USB-C charging cable – tucked neatly beside or underneath it.

Picking up the charging case (I call them the cage), the design feels practical. It’s a compact, rounded, pebble-like shape constructed from matte blue plastic, which should resist fingerprints reasonably well. The Soundcore 'd' logo is subtly debossed on the lid. Around the back, there’s the essential USB-C port for charging. A particularly neat feature is the integrated fabric lanyard, pre-attached and color-matched (blue and white braided style), making the case easy to carry or secure. There's a small LED indicator on the front of the case (which glows white or green depends on certain operations). The bottom of the case provides regulatory markings, the specific model number (A3949), power input/output details, the case battery capacity (430mAh), and, quite surprisingly, a very recent production date of July 2024, indicating these are fresh off the line.

Now for the earbuds themselves. They adopt the popular stem-style design – a look arguably popularized by Apple's AirPods, though common across many brands now with slight variations. The matte blue finish matches the case. The flat outer surface of the stem features the Soundcore logo and serves as the touch-sensitive control area, which, as we'll see, is configurable. They use silicone ear tips, and I immediately swapped the default medium size for the smallest ones included, seeking a better fit. On the inner side of the stem, you find the two gold-plated charging contacts and clear L/R markings, which correspond to markings inside the charging case slots – standard practice to ensure correct placement.

Getting started is simple. The case itself doesn't handle the connection; its primary role is charging and storage. To initiate pairing, you just need to lift the earbuds out of the case, which automatically turns them on and puts them into pairing mode.

While they function straight out of the box via standard Bluetooth pairing, leveraging the full feature set requires the companion app. I headed to the Google Play Store on my Android phone, searched for the "Soundcore" app, installed it (around 175 MB), and went through a quick account setup.

Once inside the app, the main screen initially showed "No device yet" and a large "+ Add Device" button. Tapping this prompted me to ensure Bluetooth was enabled. After confirming, the app quickly scanned and detected the "soundcore R50i." Selecting it initiated the standard Bluetooth pairing process.

With the connection established, the app displayed the main device screen for the R50i. It shows an image of the earbuds with individual battery level indicators for the Left and Right buds below it. Further down are the main customization options: Equalizer, Controls, Find Device, and a toggle for Gaming Mode.

Diving into the Equalizer first, the app offers a selection of presets. "Soundcore Signature" is selected by default, and right below it is the prominent "BassUp" toggle, which visibly boosts the low frequencies when enabled. There are plenty of other genre and sound-profile based presets available like Acoustic, Bass Reducer, Classical, Podcast, Dance, Deep, etc. However, a notable omission is the lack of a fully customizable graphic EQ to create my own sound profile, which is a bit disappointing. I might have to rely on a third-party EQ app for finer adjustments.

Next is the "Find Device" feature. It's not a GPS tracker like Apple's Find My. Instead, it allows you to trigger a loud, high-pitched tone from either the left or right earbud individually. As the app wisely warns, you should not be wearing the earbuds when using this feature, as the loud tone could potentially damage your hearing. It's designed to help you locate a misplaced bud by sound if it's nearby.

The "Controls" section is where you customize the touch commands. You can configure actions for Single Tap, Double Tap, and Tap and Hold gestures independently for both the left and right earbuds. I immediately set mine up for convenience: Single Tap for Volume Down (Left) / Volume Up (Right), Double Tap for Play/Pause (both sides), and Tap and Hold for Previous Track (Left) / Next Track (Right).

With everything set up, how do they actually sound? For casual listening, they're quite decent. The sound signature feels relatively balanced across the mids and highs, with vocals and instruments coming through clearly, though it's certainly not a flat, analytical response. As expected from the "BassUp" branding and 10mm drivers, the low end has a powerful impact, offering a satisfying thump for bass-heavy genres. Overall, a pleasant sound for the price point.

Understanding the charging indicators took a moment. When you place the earbuds back into the case, the LED briefly glows white (or another color depending on case charge, mostly white) to acknowledge they're seated and charging. When you plug the case itself into a charger via USB-C, the LED pulses green while charging and turns solid green once the case battery is full. When you take the buds out, the buds itself play a brief power-on chime.

I forgot to talk about the battery, so I also have to bring this up. That 430mAh on the case, may not that impressive but to put it to actual use with the buds... That's impressive. I had a run for few hours, and it didn't lost connection, although there is some hiccups happens depends on situations such as environment, signals and devices. Advertisement says up to 10 hours of play time and 30 hours with the charging case so... Quite understandable.

However, it's not all perfect. Let's talk drawbacks. Firstly, comfort is subjective, but for my ears, the shape caused some discomfort and mild pain after extended wear, pressing against a part of my ear. Secondly, operating the touch controls feels sluggish. There seems to be a noticeable delay or cooldown after each tap; you have to tap, wait for the confirmation tone (if enabled), then tap again. Rapidly adjusting volume via single taps becomes a slow, somewhat frustrating process. Lastly, there's the "Gaming Mode." Toggling it on supposedly reduces audio latency, which is crucial for gaming or watching videos. Honestly, I perceived little to no difference with it enabled. Bluetooth inherently has latency, and while some codecs and optimizations can reduce it, drastic improvements on budget earbuds often feel more like marketing than reality. Perhaps others have a different experience, but for me, it seemed like a "smokescreen feature," as I initially suspected.

I believe this covers most of what I wanted to discuss regarding the wireless earbuds I purchased. There is much more to elaborate on, but I lack the time to delve into all the specifics. During long journeys where I need to focus on the road, these earbuds have been invaluable for taking calls and receiving navigation instructions. With that I will conclude this episode. See ya.