To put it simply: Realme Buds Q2 truly punches above its weight. Despite all the corners that have been cut, few — if any — wireless earbuds come close to Buds Q2, which is priced at Rs 2,499. And it has active noise cancellation.
All that one should expect from Buds Q2 is decent sound, which it offers in heaps. In case of hip-hop or electronic music, there is nothing to complain. It’s only when vocal-driven tracks are played, users may feel the punch to be on the softer side. We started with Doja Cat’s new album, Planet Her, and justice is done to the hyperpop bangers, thanks to the 10mm bass boost driver. Moving on, Lorde’s Solar Power is the carefree track of 2021 while doffing the hat to George Michael’s Freedom! 90. The Q2 makes the track shine. It’s when we moved to The Door’s L.A. Woman, we thought Jim Morrison’s vocals didn’t have enough sparkle. It’s a quibble that’s drowned in the price-to-benefits balance we need to look at for Buds Q2.
The degree of active noise cancellation is surprisingly good, drowning out much of the noise around me, including the whirling of the fan and the humming of the refrigerator without creating too much of a vacuum-like feel. The same goes for transparency mode. What could have been better is the quality of microphone because the sound is not always clear while making calls from noisy surroundings. Since we in the negative zone, the quality of plastic that has gone towards the case is not the best.
Yet, there is so much to love about this set of earbuds. Excellent playtime of 28 hours (though at high volumes you will get around 22-24 hours), fast charging (three hours of playback on a 10-minute charge; USB Type-C charging port), low latency during gaming and IPX5 water resistance. The company has even packed in silicone ear tips of different sizes for a better fit.
The Realme Link app has decent controls to offer — sound effects, programme the taps on the earbuds, turn on gaming mode and volume enhancer. It’s a simple interface but packed with features, which makes the app a winner.
Overall, Realme Buds Q2 has set the benchmark in the budget wireless earbuds category.
