The advantage of HIFIMAN TWS500 is the sound quality, other aspects are more general. ANC is available, but not enough. The touch controls on the earbuds are not comprehensive enough, and some controls are missing.
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$54 – Check latest price on AliExpress
Appearance Design & Comfort Fit
The charging case is made of plastic, which greatly reduces the weight and meets the lightweight standard. The surface of the charging case is treated with high-gloss paint, smooth and round, with a delicate touch. The disadvantage is that it is easier to scratch and stain fingerprints.
There is a circular button and LED light on the front of the charging case, the LED light is always on – sufficient power, the LED light flashes quickly for 4s – low power.
There is a certain sense of damping when opening the lid, and the strength to open the charging case with one hand is also moderate. Also, the earbuds are still a little slippery when taking them out of the charging case.
HIFIMAN TWS500 adopts an ergonomic shape design, which can fit the curvature of the ear well. The sound tube of the earbud is relatively short, which will be more comfortable to wear and reduce the pain and swelling of the ear canal. A single earbud weighs only 4g, and it can be basically insensible when worn, suitable for long time wearing.
Thanks to the IPX4 waterproof rating, you can use it with confidence while running and exercising.
Connection & Controls & Battery Life
The earbuds uses Bluetooth 5.2 and supports SBC and AAC codec. When connecting for the first time, just select “HIFIMAN-TWS500” in the bluetooth device list of your mobile phone to connect quickly. Open the charging case for subsequent use to connect to a successfully paired bluetooth device. The earbuds is connected to the mobile phone stably within 10 meters. In an environment without obstacles, the connection will be intermittent if the distance from the mobile phone is more than 10 meters.
Also, the multipoint connection is not supported.
The control area of the earbud is on the top of the back of the sound cavity with touch operation – more convenient to use. The earbuds respond quickly to touch with no lag. Long press to ANC on/off, click to play/pause music, answer/hang up calls, switch between noise cancellation modes, etc.
Cons: You can’t adjust the volume and switch songs on the earbuds.
The battery capacity of the earbud is 60mAh, and the charging case is 300mAh. The single battery life is up to 10 hours, the ANC mode is about 7 hours, and the battery life can reach 26 hours with charging case.
Active Noise Cancellation & Calls & Gaming
ANC Mode: Available, but not enough – noise cancellation strength and width need to be improved. The noise cancellation depth is 35dB, and the actual effect is close to that of Jabra Elite 85t. It can indeed filter out most of the noise in the environment, and at the same time, there will be no discomfort caused by too strong noise cancellation. Unfortunately, the noise cancellation level of the headphones cannot be adjusted.
Transparency mode: After playing music, you can hear the sound on the broadcast clearly, and the actual listening effect is clear. However, when communicating with others, the sound is not clear enough and the music needs to be paused.
HIFIMAN TWS500 is equipped with ENC call noise cancellation technology, which extracts the human voice and filters out the surrounding environmental sound at the same time. When talking in a quiet place, both parties can receive clear sound. In noisy environments, call quality degrades – but calls continue. However, wind noise still interferes with calls – especially when cycling.
HIFIMAN TWS500 has a game mode with the latency as low as 60ms – fourth-tap earbuds to turn on. In “Game For Peace”, the roar of airplanes and the sound of cars driving feel the direction, and there is almost no delay when shooting guns – sound and picture are in sync.
Acoustic Configuration & Sound Quality
HIFIMAN TWS500 is equipped with a 10mm dynamic driver, but it does not use the nano-layer Topology diaphragm design, perhaps considering the impact of the active noise cancellation function. The tri-frequency of the earbuds is solid, the vocals are full, and the air sense is very obvious.
The sound style of TWS500 is transparent, solid and warm. The high-frequency extension and transparency are very good, and the overtone quantity is full, with a very obvious air sense. The vocal performance is the most commendable, with high density, clear imaging, and obvious mouth shapes.
The low-frequency processing is very interesting, the quantity sense is not much, the cohesion is very high, and the envelopment sense is relatively strong, and the transient is very good.
With the wide soundstage and good resolution, the sound of HIFIMAN TWS500 is very individual among TWS earbuds at the same price, and the family-style timbre is well reflected. The sound is suitable for a wide range of user groups, whether you are a headphone audiophiles or not, you should like it very much.
Conclusion
The advantage of HIFIMAN TWS500 is the sound quality, other aspects are more general. In terms of sound quality, it is much better than the TWS earbuds launched by some mobile phone manufacturers. ANC is available, but not enough. The touch controls on the earbuds are not comprehensive enough, and some controls are missing. Also, multi-point connection is not supported.
HIFIMAN TWS500 specs and features:
- Bluetooth 5.2 with SBC and AAC codec
- 7-10 hours playback of per charge (ANC on/off)
- Charging case can charge earbuds fully 2 times
- IPX4 waterproof rating (rain and sweat resistant)
- 35dB noise cancellation depth
- $54 – Check latest price on AliExpress