【CNMO Evaluation】Today, true wireless earbuds have been "rampant" for many years, whether it is a music brand that focuses on sound quality, or a third-party accessory that focuses on replacement. For the product of TWS earphones, they are already too familiar to be more familiar. And consumers are even more so, all kinds of headphones are "raising" their ears more and more tricky.
At today's OnePlus new product launch conference, in addition to the absolute protagonist OnePlus Ace 3, OnePlus Buds 3 also arrived. As OnePlus's first work in 2024, this earphone claims to popularize the experience of OnePlus's flagship earphones, thus opening a new chapter in the flagship experience. So will the all-new OnePlus Buds 3 make today's "tricky" consumers pay for it?
Flagship-level dual dynamic units, excellent sound quality can be heard
For a headset, no matter how you wear it or how you connect it, sound quality is always the foundation of the headset. The OnePlus Buds 3 uses dual-dynamic crossover processing in hardware, with a 10.4mm double-layer TPU composite diaphragm for the woofer and a 6mm planar diaphragm for the tweeter. The combination of the two results in a deep bass and clear treble details.
In addition, the OnePlus Buds 3 with dual dynamic drivers also boast an ultra-wide sound range of 15-40KHz. Compared with headphones with a single dynamic unit, the performance of this headset in terms of sound quality is more immersive, whether it is a voice or a soundtrack, it can give users a sense of presence.
When playing Charlie Landsborough's "You Belong to Me", the OnePlus Buds 3 clearly and delicately showed the baritone richness and the clarity of the vocals, while the guitar's clear overtones were also clearly captured and very layered. And this version of "You Belong to Me" was originally a live version, and listening to it through the OnePlus Buds 3 will indeed have a sense of immersion.
In the music-only test, the OnePlus Buds 3 also performed well. When playing Hans Zimmer's "First Step", I could clearly distinguish the sounds of the organ, piano and electronic instruments, with a strong low end and a good midrange performance with clear details in the high frequencies. Overall, the headphones are very good at restoring sound details, and the richness is very high.
It is worth mentioning that OnePlus Buds 3 is equipped with self-developed 3D surround spatial sound effects, which deeply optimize the spatial audio effect. And this function is not limited to equipment and sound sources. After turning on spatial audio, the author can clearly feel that the sound has become more three-dimensional, and there is a feeling of being "surrounded" by music.
In addition, in order to bring users excellent sound quality at the same frequency as themselves, OnePlus Buds 3 is also equipped with Golden Hearing 2.0, through the three major technologies of leakage compensation, ear canal compensation and personalized hearing, making the earbuds an exclusive custom model for users, no matter what kind of audio is played, it is a user's favorite and comfortable sound quality performance.
Good noise cancellation isn't just about depth, it's also about width and comfort
If good sound quality can only be enjoyed in a quiet environment, then good noise cancellation is to allow users to find their own sound in a noisy environment.
The OnePlus Buds 3 has a 49dB depth of active noise cancellation, which can effectively remove up to 99.6% of background noise, and has also obtained the TÜV Rheinland high-performance noise cancellation certification. However, this performance only indicates that the headphones have high peak noise cancellation. If you want to know the overall noise cancellation capabilities of your headphones, you also need to consider how wide the noise cancellation bandwidth is.
OnePlus Buds 3 has 4000Hz ultra-wideband noise cancellation, which can eliminate noise in a wider frequency range, and for high-frequency commuting scenarios, OnePlus has also been deeply optimized to achieve effective noise reduction for low-frequency noise generated by subways and buses. Since I got this headset, I have worn it on my daily commute and subway ride, because it does create a more extreme quiet listening experience for me than the headphones I used before.
In addition, in order to bring users a more comfortable noise cancellation experience, OnePlus Buds 3 has a built-in 3-microphone system, which can automatically recognize the environment and intelligently adjust the noise cancellation depth, so as to balance the noise cancellation effect and comfort. And through the self-developed algorithm, the earbuds can also intelligently adjust the noise cancellation effect based on the shape of the wearer's ear canal and wearing situation, and customize the noise cancellation mode to provide everyone with an exclusive noise cancellation experience.
The "unremarkable" appearance makes for a comfortable wearing experience
OnePlus Buds 3 continues the family design in appearance, and the earbuds body and charging case are very simple. The exterior of the earbuds is sprayed with metallic paint, which is fully coated and coated with metallic paint to create a metallic texture, and also has a fine glittering visual effect.
It is worth mentioning that the OnePlus Buds 3 uses a matte texture material close to the ear canal. This makes people like me who have oily ears very friendly. Compared to the smooth material, it is not easy to loosen after wearing it for a long time, which can cause the earbuds to fall off.
When it comes to wearing, OnePlus Buds 3 has passed a database of millions of human ear scanning models and 2000+ model tests, thus creating a high fit for wearing comfort. Coupled with the weight of only 4.81g per ear, you won't feel tired when wearing it for a long time.
In addition, OnePlus Buds 3's device dual connection function is very practical for me, because the author is a dual-machine party, so I carry two mobile phones with my daily travel, OnePlus Buds 3After pairing with the two devices separately, the earbuds will automatically switch between the two devices according to the current device's usage status, and it can be connected when the cover is opened, and it also supports custom theme pop-ups and sound effects, which is very convenient for daily use.
Write at the end
As OnePlus's start to 2024, the OnePlus Buds 3 performed well overall. Whether it is the flagship-level sound quality effect or the outstanding noise cancellation function, it has indeed popularized the experience of flagship headphones. In addition, the light weight of one ear and the wearing comfort make this headset almost insensitive. Coupled with the initial price of 449 yuan, it can be said that it is the new "volume king" of TWS earphones in this price segment.