Klipsch T5 True True Wireless review: Exceptional sound but not a great fit

The Klipsch T5 True Wireless earphones have a unique sound signature — a clear edge over its premium rivals from Apple, Jabra and Bose. Completely wireless earphones rarely sound so good. But the T5 is not a pair designed for life on the move. It’s for a niche audience looking for a great audio experience and comfort.

Design 3.5/5

The silver metal case is subtly ornate. It has a premium matte finish with three lights to indicate the battery level. It weighs about 100 grams. In comparison, the Apple Airpods case weighs less than half of that. But the T5 is still small and easily fits in a pocket, unlike the Bose SoundSport Free (Rs 18,990) or the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless (Rs 24,990), which need a lot more space.

The earpods are designed to protrude out of the ears and be noticed. It’s also because the outer surface of the earpods doubles up as physical buttons instead of sporting touch controls. There are pros and cons of both. While touch controls feel better, they are less reliable. The T5 earpods need to be held and pressed in for play/pause, next/previous track, voice assistant and volume controls. Though I prefer the latter, using them often requires readjustment of the earpods.

The T5 comes with three pairs of eartips in the box and I highly recommend trying them all to find your best fit. If you happen to pick the biggest size, the pods will struggle to fit in the case and pulling them out will invert the eartips almost every time.

However you fit them in your ears, the T5 wireless earpods will not last a tricky cardio workout. You might drop one and not even notice. That’s certainly not a good quality, but the upside is that the pair causes no ear fatigue whatsoever. I have had them on for six hours straight without wanting to take them off.

Performance 4/5

Klipsch has left no stone unturned to give the absolute best sound quality. You get decent passive noise cancellation with little room for ambient noise. There’s no Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), though, but you won’t miss it.

The sound is rich with almost no distortion even at high volume levels. The mids and highs also come through nicely. The bass is dense and has a little bit of rumbling, so you feel it.

T5 delivers a brilliant sound and noise isolation without causing ear fatigue, something most other wireless earphones can’t match. But it suffers from some basic connectivity issues.

Both earpods are designed to be recognised and used as standalone devices. While it is a good idea, this causes occasional connectivity snaps, especially when your phone tries to pair with both of them at the same time. It’s not a grave concern, but something that you will notice.

The battery of the earpods when fully charged gives a playback of seven hours, which is excellent. The case carries power worth three extra charges. In total, the earpods can go on for about 30 hours. Even if you use them for four hours every day, you won’t have to charge them before the week ends. In comparison, Apple Airpods Pro deliver a maximum of 24 hours and Bose SoundSport Free lasts for 15 hours.

Overall 3.5/5

The Klipsch T5 True Wireless earphones has the best sound among truly wireless earphones. But the fit is not suitable for a lot of action. There are sporadic connectivity issues and the microphone quality is also barely average. That said, it is a studio-grade pair meant for a great audio experience. And the pros should outweigh the cons for people looking for that.