AWEI ES-Q5 Noise Isolation Earphones Review

We recently gave you the AWEI TS-150vi review that offered pretty good sound performance despite its sub-Php500 price tag. Now we have the AWEI ES-Q5 that is less than half the price of the TS-150vi. Is it a good buy? Read on and find out.

Design and Construction

Unlike the metal build of the TS-150vi, the ES-Q5 sports a wooden housing for its 10mm neodymium drivers. I personally like things that are made of natural materials (like the Loudbasstard sound amplifier) more so in gadgets so having this shell is a plus for me. Then again, it’s up to the preference of the user.

The golden cover on both sides accentuates and complements the color of the wood, sealing the sound drivers inside. A rubber arm then dangles down and supports the cloth-wrapped and tangle-free cable.

If there’s one thing lacking in the ES-Q5 that’s seen on the TS-150vi is an in-line microphone for calls as well as navigation buttons for choosing your songs. The ES-Q5 is a very basic pair of in-ear headphones so don’t expect extra bells and whistles in its form factor except from the usual interchangeable and differently-sized ear tips.

Sound Quality

The company claims that it has Extendedbass Response which should give off improved bass. As someone who always comes across promises from the company we paid little attention to it. Although trying on these in-ears showed that AWEI really made its drivers capable of producing clean lows, and by clean we meant there was very little to no distortion on its bass levels.

Mids are also enjoyable and follows suit on reproducing decent sound. They worked well on tracks with vocal-dominant elements which was enjoyable to listen to.

The highs, although sometimes tolerable, were too bright for our liking. It’s not that bad, but when a song comes up that plays on the higher-end of the frequency it just gets distracting. Keep in mind though, that this is us nitpicking on the device and if you’re just a casual listener you might not notice what we’re talking about.

Conclusion

Priced at a little over Php200, the AWEI ES-Q5 delivered above-average sound quality for the value it’s asking for. There’s no in-line microphone or navigation buttons but you get a nice in-ear that you can easily bring around with, and has a nice touch of nature too. Is it a good buy? Yes. We’re just not sure about the durability of these in the long run, but for 200 pesos it doesn’t hurt the pocket that much.

Awei ES-Q5 specs:
Design: In-ear
Speaker size: 10mm neodymium drivers
Frequency response: 12Hz-22KHz
Impedance: 106dB
Maximum output power: 50mW
Price: Php219

What we liked about it:

• Decent sound with good bass
• Nice wooden touch
• Affordable price tag

What we didn’t like:

• Highs are too bright

The Awei ES-Q5 along with other Awei products are available thru Droidhero.ph and their Facebook page. They can also be acquired at participating Novo7Tech branches in Lucky China Town Mall Binondo, SM Southmall Las Pinas, SM BF Paranaque, and Gateway Cubao.