A lot of friends and acquaintances have enquired about earbuds from Boult Audio. These are people who are constantly shopping on Amazon, wouldn’t spend more than Rs 3,000 on a true wireless stereo device and are mainly into thumping music. I asked a few of them why they are considering Boult Audio? I was told that friends of their friends use it. Well, makes sense, somewhat. Also, there are pictures of Kriti Sanon and Vicky Kaushal on the sides of the box.

For me, earbuds are primarily for taking calls and maybe listening to music for 30-45 minutes at a stretch. After all, if it is music I want, I would listen to it on a proper audio system. Instead of digressing, let’s find out how Boult Audio Zigbuds did over 10 days.

Peaks and valleys

Coming in a well-packaged box, there are some eartips as well as a connector. The earbuds are housed in a plastic case with a narrow slit that runs halfway around the box. The slit helps you open the case easily, which is a fine addition. But I am not sure about the matte finish of the case. Since I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to allow the device to go on a date with my car keys inside one of the trouser pockets, I am not sure how it would stand up to scratches. Inside the case there is more plastic but it has been well-made. Not too many complains about the finish of the product, given the price point.

When you take the buds out, a light blinks on both earbuds, showing charging as well as pairing status. Neatly done. The colour scheme is also good, going from a light black exterior to a light grey middle portion and then greyish eartips. Once again, neatly done.

But what I am most interested in sound from these tin cans that come at a low price. The noise cancellation spoken about on the back of the box is passive noise cancellation, which means, the earbuds can create somewhat of a vacuum-like feel to stop outside noises seeping in.

First, call quality. Standing near the sink with the tap running, I tried calling a friend. The person on the other end was just about okay with the call quality but around the house it fared well. Calling from a crowded street, things were also okay.

Coming to music, here’s a lesson to be learnt. There is a sizeable crowd who simply wants a lot of bass; a lot of punch in their music. The earbuds can get really loud, so loud that at 100 per cent the person next to you will be able to decipher the song you are listening to. Once you hit 75-80 per cent volume, the bass sort of intrudes on the vocals. And at anything lower than 70 per cent volume, the sound is acceptable but separation of instruments can be a problem for complicated albums, like those from Pink Floyd.

One more observation: Why have a micro USB charging port? It’s a bummer in 2020.

Is it for you?

You can get around 18 hours of playtime from the earbuds (which includes the charge from the case holding the earbuds) but it all depends on the volume level. There is plenty of bass but at the cost of some clarity. It depends on whether you can live with that. There are a lot of target groups out there, which Boult Audio knows well. And it helps that the listed MRP of the device on Amazon.in is Rs 7,999 while the price is Rs 2,499 and we even saw a deal price of Rs 1,799 (all on Amazon). Now, that’s quite a price drop! Boult Audio promises extra bass on its Zigbuds, and extra is what you get.

At a glance

Device: Boult Audio Zigbuds

Driver: 10mm

Waterproof: IPX5

Earbud weight: 7.5g (each)

Specialty: Extra bass

Price: Rs 2,499 on Amazon.in (deal price, Rs 1,799)