Lypertek PurePlay Z5 earphones: Performance at a great price
Lypertek PurePlay Z5 ANC. Picture Lypertek.
The PurePlay Z5 are the first wireless earphones I’ve reviewed from Lypertek and I’ve been impressed when taking into account the performance, price and features.
The Lypertek PurePlay Z5 won’t win any design awards thanks to a shape that harkens back to a few years ago. That isn’t to say they look bad and generally, prefer a bud with a stem which makes using them easier. The case and buds have a plastic matte black finish with no other colour options available. I have been using the Z5 for a while now and they’ve held up well to the knocks and bangs of use.
The case is an average size but a little bulky in a pocket. I love that it has a flat bottom and the top lid is rounded with a stylish Lypertek logo debossed on the top.
The front of the case has a single LED to indicate battery status and the back has a USB-C port for charging. The case can also charge wirelessly which is always a welcome option.
The buds feature a stem that makes it easy to remove them from the case or your ears. I also find handling earbuds with a stem avoids accidental and unwanted touch controls.
The outside of each bud has a silver ring and a touchpad area for controls. You can use touch to control calls, ANC modes, volume and summons your voice assistant. The touch controls work well and it’s good that you can customise them via the PureControl ANC app.
The speaker end of the Z5 earbud is oval-shaped and you get ten different ear tips in the box. Eight of these are made from silicone but you also get two sizes of memory foam based ear tips. The latter provides the best seal and in my testing, sound quality, but your mileage may vary. I found the PurePlay Z5 comfortable to wear after going through all of the tip options available and had no problem wearing them for long periods.
With ANC enabled you can get up to a less than average four hours and a more respectable seven hours with ANC off based on 50% volume. However, I rarely listen to earphones for longer than four hours at a time and you get four extra charges from the case for a total of 28 hours.
The PurePlay Z5 feature an IPX4 waterproof rating for the odd splash or heavy perspiration.
They feature most of the latest audio codecs including aptX, aptX Adaptive, AAC and SBC but not LDAC.
Bluetooth 5.2 ensures a solid connection for up to 10 meters and they connect to your paired device as soon as you take them out of the case. Unfortunately, they don’t support simultaneous connections to two devices. There’s also no wear detection, so they don’t pause/play when you take them out of your ears and put them back in again.
Lypertek’s PureControl ANC app allows you to see the battery levels of each bud but not the case. You can update the firmware and change the ANC and ambient sound modes but additionally, you can enable auto-ambient. This will automatically activate when you stop/pause playback. Once you resume playback the earbuds revert to ANC or normal - depending on your initial settings. I found this to be a really convenient feature. You can tap on either bud to pause the music to talk to someone and auto-ambient will change the profile to ambient so that you can hear what’s being said without having to remove the earbuds.
The app features a seven-band equaliser with preset and custom options. There’s also the LDX which provides a fully programmed and easy to select sound profile specifically designed for the PurePlay Z5. Lypertek says this adds impact, energy and width for those who desire more. LDX certainly makes a difference but is subtle and can be toggled on or off.
Finally, the app will help you find your buds if they’re outside the case via the Find My earbuds on a map based on the last known location.
I was able to test the Lypertek Z5 on a plane journey and they do a decent job of reducing the engine hum. I also found the foam ear tips the best for both active and passive noise isolation but wouldn’t consider the ANC to be as good as the best on the market. Ambient mode sounds natural and I could hear myself clearly when making calls which is a massive plus in my book. I find it very disconcerting when my voice is muffled on a call.
For a set of wireless earbuds in this price range, the PurePlay Z5 have no right to sound so good. They’re nicely balanced with a fairly neutral sound signature. The mids and treble offer lots of clarity with warm tones and decent levels of detail.
While some earbuds will immediately impress with thumping bass, I found that after listening to a broad range of genres on the Z5 they offer a more enjoyable listening experience with a warmth and openness not always found in wireless earbuds at this price.
And of course, the best part is that you can tweak the sound further via the EQ in the app. It’s also worth noting here that the ear tips will affect the sound signature too and my testing was primarily done using the foam tips. Also, I found the sound changed slightly with ANC which is not ideal.
The Lypertek PurePlay Z5 are not the most stylish or premium earbuds I’ve tested but they do offer excellent sound quality and good ANC with a clever auto-ambient mode. The large selection of ear tips really helps to find the best fit and sound quality which goes beyond what most vendors ship with their earbuds.
Lypertek PurePlay Z5 €130 at www.gear4music.ie
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