Noise, the company behind truly wireless earbuds like the Noise Shots X5 among others, recently launched a new pair of truly wireless earbuds called the Noise Shots XO. The earbuds come in a case that looks like it could be a make-up pack, or a miniature instant cooker from a children’s kitchen set, and they are priced at ₹5,499. Well, I tested them out, and compared them to the Realme Buds Air (₹3,999), and honestly, the Noise Shots XO do some things really well, but they’re not the truly wireless buds you should go for. Here’s why.
Look, most Bluetooth earphones — especially truly wireless ones — are at least a little bit of a hassle to pair with a smartphone with the exception of some, including the Galaxy Buds which pair with Samsung phones the same easy way that AirPods (and AirPods Pro) pair with iPhones and iPads.
If there’s one thing I’ve come to expect from Noise’s earbuds, it’s a decent to good sound quality for the price. However, the Noise Shots XO sound like they are trying too hard. The earbuds push the bass way too high, it’s almost overpowering in songs with heavy bass-lines such as ReauBeau’s Cut You Loose among others.
Normally this section would be right at the top, but since my overall opinion of these earbuds is that they’re not worth the money, it felt like a better choice to keep the issues right at the top.
The design of these earbuds, however, is one thing that I sort of have a love-hate relationship with. Let’s start with what I love.
However, there are some problems as well. For one, the case doesn’t open the way you’d expect it to. The top rotates around to expose the earbuds inside, and it doesn’t rotate easily, which means you’re gonna have to apply a little bit more pressure than should be needed. Then, there’s the fact that the earbuds, while they do make a good seal, aren’t very comfortable if you’re looking to wear them for long. Noise’s silicone buds have their merits in the near-perfect seal that they make, but that also means you get that stuffy feeling of trapped air inside your ear canals.
One of the best things about the Noise Shots XO is the tap controls. Quite similar in their idea to the controls you’d find on options like the Realme Buds Air, and even something more expensive like the AirPods, these controls work pretty well thanks to the capacitive touch panels that make up the majority of the exterior of the earbuds.
That’s slightly annoying, but isn’t entirely a new problem with truly wireless earbuds in this price range. At the very least, it’s great that these earphones don’t use main/secondary configuration, because that way you’d just not be able to listen to music with the secondary earbud when the main is in the case.
Battery Life and Charging
Coming to one of the few things about these earbuds that I really like, the battery life here is phenomenal for a pair of truly wireless earbuds, especially in this price bracket. Noise claims that the earbuds themselves will last for around 6 hours of music playback with a single charge — that in itself is a bigger claim than most manufacturers make, and it’s what I found to be the case as well. At around 60 to 70% volume, the earbuds do last somewhere around 5.5 hours, and personally, I don’t feel the need to go to a higher volume than that for fear of all the issues with sound quality I described earlier.
The Noise Shots XO case only charges when the earbuds are inside the case, which is downright weird. I don’t know why Noise did that, but they did, and it’s just silly.
All things considered, the Noise Shots XO just don’t feel like the truly wireless earbuds anyone should be buying. Sure, they have a great battery life, but the sound quality is terrible when compared to other options in the price range, and pairing them can be very annoying, especially if you use multiple smartphones as your daily drivers. Plus I guarantee you, one of your friends will break that make-up kit looking case trying to pry the lid open instead of rotating it. It’s just going to happen.
