Intro
Contents
Apple has opened a complete new market with the original Apple Airpods. Yes… Those white rods that now dominate the streets. And with good reason: they’re damn fine. No wires, great playtime, and they sound… actually quite nice. But then that price: 199 or even 259 euros for a set. Teufel thought that it could do better. The Teufel AIRY True Wireless is sold for 149 euros. What’s the catch? Read on
When opening the somewhat sober carton box, we find a sleek white case. We open the lid and take out the two white in-ears. Two white LEDs are happily blinking. That must the the pairing mode… We pull out our phone and open the bluetooth menu. In the list of new devices we quickly see the Teufel… …tap the screen and we’re done. We can listen. It couldn’t be easier.
Teufel supplies – besides the AIRY in-ears – another small bag with two extra sizes of sillecone caps. So three in total: small, medium and large. Now, large is the best for your editor, but it seems like it creates a little vacuum, which is not pleasant when taking it out of your ear. Medium does not seal completely. Now your editor is sensitive to these kinds of things, so it may well not bother you at all.
We have played with both large and medium caps. Large clearly gives a better seal and better bass. But medium is a bit more comfortable. Concessions in this case.
Charging and so on
The Teufel AIRY True Wireless in-ears are charged via the supplied storage case. The in-ears have to be put back in there after about six hours of play. After two hours they are charged again and can last another six hours or so. Recharging the storage case – this is done via micro-usb, unfortunately no usb-c – takes less than an hour. We estimate that one charge of the storage box can charge the in-ears up to three times. So in total, you can play for 24 hours with a set of full AIRY True Wireless and a full storage box.
We haven’t really been able to find anything about the used units or amps. Only that they support Bluetooth 5.0 (with AptX AptX-HD and AAC codec) and that unfortunately there is no ANC in them. There is a microphone to call and a touch sensitive part on the in-ears. On both sides. With this you can do all kinds of things. Answering a phone call, pausing, skipping… …unfortunately, no volume control. Now we have regularly accidentally stopped music because we pressed an in-ear in its place in the ear. Or cut off a phone call. It will take some getting used to. Keep that in mind.
Compact and smooth
All in all, Teufel delivers an excellent set of in-ears that can easily be taken out for a walk, run, … whatever you like. And everything works just the way we like it: you take the caps out of the case and … well the rest is automated: pairing, playing… In this case we used a Google Pixel 3A and a Lenovo tablet. They both worked fine.
Switching between devices is child’s play. First you must of course pair the in-ears with the second device. This is done by 2.5-second ‘pressing’ the touch part of both devices (we use the thumbs). Then the LEDs start flashing again quickly. Now you can pair with the second device. To reset the in-ears, place the in-ears in the storage box and then “press” the touch area of both in-ears for 8 seconds. We have sometimes needed a second attempt. And if it really doesn’t want to reset or start pairing mode, just put them back in the box and leave them there for a minute with the lid closed. By the way, here’s the manual.
Of course, Teufel did not invent this segment and there are now countless manufacturers who supply such a pair of in-ears. Also in a nice box. Also with Bluetooth 5.0 and also with multiple sizes of caps. However, the price of 149 euros is interesting. The competitors often ask (much) more. Let’s see how they sound.
