INTRODUCTION

   Wireless earbuds are the hottest smartphone accessory (commodity in some rare cases based on price) right now and for good reason since not only do they offer stereo audio (making them ideal for music playback) but they also feature longer battery life (especially when a portable charger/case is in the bundle) and are more compact compared to regular hands free headsets. This of course means that a large number of manufacturers all over the world has either released or are starting to release such products and although there are some well-established ones among them (Jabra, Bose and Onkyo are the first three that come to mind) the majority is not and this is where the you get what you pay for "rule" comes in. Thankfully some rare exceptions however always exist and a rather new company called ERL (Electronics Research Lab) with their brand new crowd funded Wireless Sports Earbuds aims to be among them.

   We love everything about electronics. We are fascinated by technologies that will have a tangible impact on our daily lives. We are missioned to bring the best technologies to consumer products. Transmitting audio signals wirelessly has amazing applications. These tiny, wireless earbuds, empowered by smart engineering and designs, are bringing the next revolution in wireless audio market. We believe that creating the best user experience is the best way to share our vision about the future.

  ERL may still not be a name known to consumers but that didn't stop them from running a very successful crowd funding campaign in Indiegogo (almost 800k raised - 9730% funded) with well over 14.000 backers. This success is not only due to the somewhat impressive set of features and specifications ERL managed to squeeze into their wireless sports earbuds but also due to their very attractive asking price even when compared to some of the lowest-cost models in the market currently (price for early backers that is). What makes the ERL wireless sports earbuds special is the new 8mm graphene composite membrane dynamic drivers (20Hz-20KHz frequency response) which according to ERL generate precision sound with ultra-high fidelity. Of course that's not all you're getting so the ERL sport wireless earbuds also feature Bluetooth v4.2 connectivity with Qualcomm's CSR, built-in rechargeable lithium-metal battery pack (3.5 hours of playtime), MEMS microphones with EC/NR technology, support for both Siri and Google Assistant and are IPX5 certified (hydrophobic nano coating - sweat and splash proof). ERL also bundles a 500mAh charging/storage case with their wireless sports earbuds which can provide them with over 40 hours of extra playtime.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The ERL wireless sports earbuds arrived inside a small white box that has a picture of the earbuds at the front.

At the rear of the box we see a picture of both the earbuds and the charging case along with the main product features.

The entire bundle is placed inside a formed piece of plastic as seen above.

The bundle includes the ERL wireless sports earbuds with their charging case, micro USB charging cable, two extra pairs of silicon eartips (small/large) and the user instructions.

THE ERL

Aside the two included sets of silicon eartips (small/large) there's a medium set already mounted on the ERL earbuds.

The ERL wireless sports earbuds measure 21mm in length and 19mm in width.

To have a better understanding about their size we placed them right next to the Trelab X11 and the Jabra Elite 65t (the two last wireless earbuds to pass from our lab).

Left and right markings are placed at the top of each earbud.

Two metal charging tips are placed on the interior of the earbuds.

Aside using the brand new graphene technology the 8mm dynamic drivers used with the ERL are some of the largest we've seen to date (in such a product always).

The bundled charging case is just 75mm long, 38mm wide and 24mm tall.

An eject button is placed at the front while the micro USB charging port is located at the rear.

Opening the top cover of the charging case reveals the two locations for the earbuds and a button which when pressed showcases the current case battery status with the help of 4 small LEDs.

Jabra has actually placed a more robust charging case with their Elite 65t.

Still thanks to the clear plastic top of the ERL one you can see the current battery status of the earbuds thanks to their LED rings (red/green).

CONCLUSION

   I know we've said it many times in the past but when we get a product by a virtually unknown manufacturer we're always skeptical about its quality and performance. Still ERL with their wireless sports earbuds left us with very good overall impressions. For one mids and highs are surprisingly good and so is the amount of bass and volume these little earbuds are putting out (thus we advise not using them at full volume for long periods of time). Audio is not exactly as clear as what we got from the Elite 65t by Jabra but bass levels are indeed better so if you like listening to music and more specifically bass-heavy tracks the ERL is the better choice. The exact opposite however applies for people on the other end since the Elite 65t did outperform the ERL during our tests (probably due to the two extra MEMS microphones) although not by much (always according to all the people we talked to using them). As for battery life ERL is on the spot with their advertised number of 3.5 hours for a single charge and 40 extra hours via the bundled charging case although as expected these numbers depend a lot on the volume level used (we got really close to 3 hours with a single charge and 32 hours total with the charging case at 5/7 volume). Unfortunately we didn’t thoroughly check the splash-proof IPX5 certification of the ERL wireless sports earbuds but they did work fine while on the treadmill and that’s more than what i can say for several wireless headsets which have stopped working over the years while exercising.

   Currently the ERL Wireless Sports Earbuds retail for USD79.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) a price tag which although quite fair for what you’re getting is nowhere close to the outstanding price of USD39 offered to early backers by supporting this project through Indiegogo. Now I do realize that manufacturers need to give an incentive to people for basically funding an entire project but I am not entirely convinced that asking for twice the amount of money is something potential buyers will like. Still even at USD79.99 the ERL Wireless Sports Earbuds represent a very good choice (especially since they trade blows with the twice as expensive Elite 65t by Jabra) and for that they certainly deserve our Golden Award.

PROS

- Design / Size (LED Rings)
- Very Good Audio Quality / Plenty Of Bass (For The Size)
- Excellent Stability
- Bundled Charging Case (Up To 40 Extra Hours)
- IPX5 Certified (Sweat And Splash Resistant)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- EU Availability
- Price (Compared To The Indiegogo One)
- Build Quality (Not Very Robust)