The market for affordable true wireless earbuds is growing rapidly and new options are constantly coming up. The recently launched Crossbeats Sonic, priced at Rs 1,999, is one such earbud. We used the earbuds for about two weeks and found them to have a variety of features and advantages. sound qualityThe earphones have Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) which is not common in this price range. Also, they pack a big battery for longer listening hours.
So, how are the new Crossbeats Sonic 3 TWS earbuds? Let’s find out in our review…
design
Calling these a different looking set of TWS earbuds would be an exaggeration. In short, they look just like other similarly priced earbuds but with a twist. The earphones have a white-matte finish and look premium. The entire case is made of plastic and its quality is at par with the competition. We also noticed some gaps in the panels, for example a closer look around the hinge shows that the right side of the hinge has less panel gap than the left. Not a deal breaker but Crossbeats could do a little better in terms of quality.
Moving on, the charging case opens wide making it easy to remove the buds and put them back in. The magnets are strong which prevents them from falling out of the case. It also has the Crossbeats logo that glows in different colours to inform users about battery life, connection status, and more. The charging port is placed at the bottom of the case.
The overall oval design of the case makes it impossible to keep the earbuds flat on all sides, as this causes the case to jiggle and bounce around all the time.
While the case of the TWS earbuds has some issues, the earbuds themselves are excellent – both in terms of quality and finish. Just like the case, the earbuds have a white matte finish with chrome treatment on the stem – which gives a premium feel.
Talking about the overall design, the earbuds are comfortable and fit well in the ear. The company has also included additional tips, allowing users to choose what fits best for them.
On 4G, the earbuds are lightweight. We used them to watch an entire movie, and were able to suppress conversations in the office for about 6 hours. The earbuds never felt out of place, the fit is good and there is no compromise in terms of comfort.
Performance – Audio quality, ANC and more
12mm graphene driver, 30db Hybrid ANCBluetooth 5.3 support, iOS, Android, and Windows compatible, and AAC, SBC, HSP, HFP, A2DP, and AVRCP codec support – this is an impressive spec sheet for TWS earbuds priced under Rs 2,000.
The 12mm graphene drivers are bass heavy and many people will love it. The bass output is well pronounced and has a rumble effect too. If you are a Bass LoverIt is not a big deal to choose Sonic 3. But, if you are someone who prefers other aspects while listening to music or watching movies, then read on.
The bass overpowers the vocals here. It’s not just the bass but the entire sound signature could have been a bit more treble-y (so to say) to balance the output or reduce the issue of overpowering. The vocals are somewhat clean and distortion-free. The treble is mediocre and this is where the bass-heavy nature feels like a compromise.
As a package, this is for bass lovers and nothing else. We listened to a few Bollywood tracks and most of the time the Sonic 3 sounded good.
But this drawback turns into an advantage when using the earbuds while watching movies. Due to the bass-heavy nature, the TWS earbuds sound like a dedicated subwoofer, and the vocals and soundstage also become wider.
The earbuds do a good job when it comes to ANC. With a decent level of sound suppression, we feel the Sonic 3 offers what one can expect from ANC in this price range.
Connectivity is great. What’s most impressive is that the earbuds never lost connection even when we moved around an 1800 square feet house.
Call quality is also acceptable, thanks to the quad microphone setup. Our callers didn’t complain much about background noise or artificial-sounding audio on regular or WhatsApp calls.
Battery life is also good. The 40mAh battery capacity on the buds gave us about 5 hours of listening time and the case has a 300mAh battery. Combining the two, we got about 50 hours of battery life. The Sonic 3 earphones also support fast charging, where it can give you about 80 minutes of listening time with a 10-minute charge.
Decision
The Crossbeats Sonic 3 earphones are priced at Rs 1,999 and that is not too much for a pair of TWS earbuds. There are many options in the market in this price range. The Sonic 3 has something special in terms of case design and features. It has the latest-generation Bluetooth and a wide range of codec support along with hybrid ANC that is satisfyingly functional. In fact, the earphones sound good even for those who like bass-heavy output. If Crossbeats could have tuned it to deliver slightly better vocals and treble while listening to music, these earbuds could have been an option for a wider audience. But, for what it has to offer here, the Crossbeats Sonic 3 is exclusively for bass lovers.
