Truke has been on a bit of a release spree this year, putting out wireless earbuds across different categories and price points. We previously reviewed their ‘Born To Game’ series and were impressed by the sound profile and range of features on offer at very affordable pricing. The German-origin brand manufactures its products out of its Noida factory. Truke’s entry-level TWS products have gained a reputation for punching above their weight, and rightfully so. The recently launched Buds A1 by Truke are some of the most affordable TWS in the market to offer ANC. We used the Truke Buds A1 for over a week, here is our review.
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Truke Buds A1 review: Design
The Truke Buds A1 come packed in a squarish white box inside which you’ll find the charging case, earbuds, a Type-C USB cable, extra ear tips, a user manual, and a warranty card. The charging case and earbuds are housed in a flimsy plastic tray within the box. Truke’s packaging continues to be shoddy, but it’s something we have no problem with since the brand does not compromise on the really important aspects of the product.
The pebble-shaped charging case is made out of plastic but the quality of the material used is surprisingly good. The in-hand feel of the case is quite good, certainly better than other entry-level TWS we’ve used so far. The case has a matte-like finish to it. The Truke branding can be found inside a cutout at the front of the case. This cutout has a small recess right where the lid meets the case. This makes it very easy to flip open the case with just your thumb. Below the cutout lies a solitary notification light.
At the bottom of the case, you will find the USB charging port and a pairing button. We don’t usually get to see a pairing button on entry-level wireless headphones that often, but Truke continues to surprise us. Overall, the case feels quite sturdy. The simple design doesn’t seem boring and at the first glance, you wouldn’t peg Buds A1 as an entry-level product at all.
The wireless earbuds get the in-ear design, which is the correct choice since Buds A1 also offers ANC. The earbuds offered us a comfortable, snug fit and we didn’t have to use the extra ear tips provided in the box. Out of the box, the earbuds are fixed with medium-sized ear tips. Two extra pairs of small and large ear tips can be found in a small pouch inside the box. The earbuds also house the touch control panels and 2 mics for ANC.
Truke Buds A1 is rated IPX4 for water and dust resistance, which means the earbuds can handle water splashes without hampering their performance. We wore the earbuds while working out and while their performance was undeterred by sweat, the fit got loose on multiple occasions.
Truke Buds A1 review: Performance
The Truke Buds A1 deliver their audio output with 10mm dynamic driver units on either earbud. Bluetooth 5.3 support ensures smooth pairing without any hiccups. Most earbuds in this price range are still offering Bluetooth 5.2 or 5.1 support. The buds support both SBC and AAC codecs. There are 3 preset EQ modes on offer – Dynamic Audio, Bass Boost, and Movie Mode.
A low latency mode for gaming mode makes Buds A1 a complete all-rounder. The earbuds play a notification alert every time you pair them to a device or switch between the different modes. These notification alerts sound very boxy and hard and they can amount to be annoying. Another thing we noticed was that the earbuds don’t disconnect when you place them back in the charging case. Even the music playback doesn’t pause once the buds are in the case. You will need to disconnect the buds using your smartphone in order to fix this.
Moving on, the Truke Buds A1 offer a great sound profile that is definitely unmatched in this price segment. The overall sound is very bass-focused but other frequencies are not lost in the mix. The quality of sound does not feel entry-level at all, these earbuds could’ve easily been placed at a higher segment. The mix of frequencies is very pleasant.
The level of detail produced by the dynamic drivers is quite impressive, although there is some room for improvement. The audio had a warm tone to it, which we found quite pleasant. If the audio is too bass-driven for you, you can switch to Dynamic Audio mode. We found the higher frequencies in Dynamic Audio mode to be somewhat shrill. The Normal mode and Bass Boost mode remained our staples during our time of use.
The Gaming Mode on Buds A1 offers a low latency of 50ms which we found to be just acceptable while playing Call of Duty mobile. There were some occasional stutters but the overall experience was decent. If you’re looking for dedicated gaming earbuds, we would suggest Truke’s BTG X1.
The hybrid ANC is certainly the biggest highlight of Truke Buds A1. At this price range, wireless earbuds with ANC are unheard of (no pun intended). The ANC performance was decent, with the Buds A1 being able to suppress up to 30dB of ambient noise. This is good enough to cancel out the background noise in a room, but don’t expect the same results when you’re outdoors. The earbuds were successful in suppressing the sound of chirping birds, distant footsteps, and faint voices. However, the sound of the traffic from outside was still able to filter through. Regardless, this is still a good performance in a segment where you don’t get this feature at all. Truke also offers ENC with the Buds A1, which is efficient in isolating the surrounding noise while voice calling.
The only disappointing aspect of the Truke Buds A1 is the lack of app support. Currently, Truke has no app for its TWS products. This isn’t a big deal when buying entry-level products, but navigating multiple EQ presets along with ANC and transparency modes gets very confusing when you don’t have an app to help you with it. We have been using these earbuds for over a week and still can’t remember all the specific touch commands to activate different functions. Hopefully, Truke comes out with a dedicated app for its TWS products soon.
With a 40mAh battery on either earbud, the Buds A1 can last up to 8 hours on a single charge. With Active ANC, this number drops down to 5-7 hours. There is an additional 300mAh battery pack in the charging case, which offers a playtime of up to 48 hours without ANC. It takes two hours to fully charge the case, while the earbuds take 90 minutes to fully charge. A quick 10-minute charge can provide 10 hours’ worth of battery to the case.
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Verdict
At a price of Rs 1,499, the Truke Buds A1 seem like a no-brainer purchase. The sound profile is ideal for the segment and the presence of ANC definitely sweetens the deal. The charging case and earbuds have a good build quality that will easily last you a long time. IPX4 rating ensures resistance to water splashes. The lack of app support is the only issue we have with these earbuds, but the pros easily outweigh the cons here.
Truke Buds A1 Pros
Sturdy build
Simple design
Good audio performance
ANC
Truke Buds A1 Cons
No app support
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