When buying a pair of true wireless earphones, there are a few important things to look at — the enclosure of the headphone driver, its tuning as well as the ear padding. You may walk out of a shop with a pair of earphones with big drivers but that doesn’t guarantee good sound. Enquire about the material that has gone into the making of driver because that will ensure it doesn’t break at high power levels.

Take the example of Sennheiser, which has an enviable reputation. The company’s primary focus is on innovation to the point that it can be called an engineering science company. And take the example of its CX 400BT true wireless earphones, which has 7mm drivers, yet, there is deep bass, clear mids and well-detailed treble.

All this brings us to a company that has been making the right noises for some time now. The Calcutta-based company Mulo (portmanteau resulting from ‘music lovers’) is constantly coming up with devices that punches above its weight. There are companies like Boult Audio on one hand while more established brands like OnePlus and Oppo have been presenting one set of TWS earbuds after another while removing the 3.5mm headphone jack from their mobile phones.

In case you are looking for earbuds, we suggest the Mulo Wonderbuds 500 true wireless earphones, which has a lower price tag than those from big brands while the engineering passion that goes into its devices remains unparalleled. A big brand can fail with a pair of earbuds and get away with it on its next device but not Mulo, which doesn’t enjoy the perks of having second chances.

Good musical chops

Attention has been paid to small details. For example, the cover of box containing the earbuds can be easily flipped open and instead of showing green and red lights, there is a clear reading of how much battery is left. There is a small screen, which makes things easier. What we didn’t like is the way the company’s logo is plastered on the cover; it’s on the bigger side and could have been embossed, which, of course, would increase the pricing. Secondly, for a person with stubby fingers, it will take a few seconds to take out the earbuds.

Each of the earbuds weigh 4.5g, which is very light and it fits snugly into the ear canals but without hurting the ears. No matter how much you shake the head, it wouldn’t come off while listening to music for a couple of hours.

Let’s get to the sound department. The album we chose to play first was the classic Eagles album, One of These Nights, which begins with the title track. The album appeared when pop and disco were finding a common ground. The guitars are dangerously seductive while the song has a soul feel. All these elements get captured on the earbuds without killing Don Henley’s vocal chops. The same album had the classic Lyin’ Eyes with Glenn Frey doing vocal duties. It’s a storyteller of a number that captured the meticulousness of the band. And that same feeling is not let down on this pair of sound cans. We changed gears to The Doobie Brothers and their album Toulouse Street. The way the band had used phase distortion in the track gets captured perfectly.

Thrown into the mix is passive noise isolation to block out what you don’t want to hear and emphasise on what you do. Works just fine. The call quality on the earbuds is enough for Calcutta streets treets and given the price point, we couldn’t have asked for more. We had zero issues with the touchpad on both earbuds; the slightest of touches helped with the controls.

Is it for you?

The earbuds promise 4.5 hours at 80 per cent volume while the carrying case can give 2.5 additional charges, which takes total playback time to 16 hours. There is even IPX4 certification to ensure you have tension-free sessions while your ears drown in sweat! With smartphones slowly doing away with headphone jacks, you will sooner or later have to look for earbuds. In case you want to restrict your budget on smartphone accessories, the Mulo Wonderbuds 500 does justice to the ears. It’s a small audio giant for your ears.

At a glance

Device: Mulo Wonderbuds 500

Case: Has a digital display

Sound: Deep bass, 7mm drivers, passive noise isolation, Bluetooth 5.0, 10m range

Sweat-proof: IPX4 rating

Voice assistant: Siri or Google

Control: Touchpad

Battery: 4.5 hours in earbuds plus, 2.5 additional charges with carrying case

Price: Rs 2,499