Last year the Lypertek PurePlay Z3, formerly Tevi, were on many buyer’s guides for earphones. I never had the pleasure of reviewing them, but they are now back with a tweaked version offering some important upgrades.
Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 True Wireless Earbuds – 10+70 Hours…
- ADVANCED WIRELESS SOUND: The latest update on the…
- PURECONTROL APP & LDX AUDIO: The PureControl app…
- EXTENDED LISTENING: To make sure the PurePlay Z3…
- BLUETOOTH 5.2: Equipped with the latest Qualcomm…
Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 vs PurePlay Z3 (Tevi)
The earphones are identical for all the main features. You get the same 6mm, graphene drivers, with 20Hz – 20kHz frequency response, IPX7 waterproof rating and 10+70 battery life.
Lypertek has then upgraded the earphones with:
- The latest Qualcomm QCC3040 Bluetooth 5.2 chipset with aptX and ACC high-quality audio codecs for an even more stable wireless connection with an extended range
- Customisable EQ and LDX Audio mode via the new Lypertek PureControl app
- PureControl brings 7-band EQ customisation with presets, the new LDX Audio mode which has been designed specifically for the Z3 2.0, a find my earbuds feature and the capability to easily update the firmware for future upgrades – now available on Google Play and Apple app stores.
- High quality fabric charging case now support wireless charging
- Switchable Hear Through Mode for staying aware of the environment
- Now also available in white
Pairing & PureControl App
The new PurePlay Z3 2.0 works with the new PureControl app from the Play Store.
This gives you a variety of tweaks, with the EQ and LDX audio mode being the stand out features.
It works well, but there is or was some glitchiness. You pair up the earphones as normal, then when you load the app, it will try and find them. I think the first time used it, it asked me to pair up, and it worked flawlessly.
With subsequent uses, the app struggled to identify the earphones at all, with the best solution being to unpair them and then load the app with them in pairing mode and repair them.
However, upgrading to the latest firmware appears to resolve the issue. It sometimes still takes a couple of goes, but it generally does connect.
The app itself is functional, it doesn’t have quite the impressive UI as competing larger brands such as Jabra, but that’s not important.
The LDX mode claims to offer a wider soundstage with more depth, increased definition, plus a greater sense of space.
For me, it is the equaliser that’s the main selling point, allowing you to customise the sound profile to your liking. In particular, you can take this from a very bass-forward consumer-friendly sound to something much more flat to appease more critical listeners.
Design & Fit
Considering the earbuds have a 10-hour battery life, they are surprisingly small and light. You get the usual s,m,l silicon eartips but also a bonus foam tip. I rarely find foam tips work well with my ears, but the included option works quite well.
With the large tips in I found they stuck out of my ears quite a bit, but the fitting was secure enough I could run outdoors without worrying about them falling out.
With the smaller foams tips, they fit quite snug in my concha and stay secure with a more comfortable fit than the larger silicon tips. There is a bit of a drop in bass with the foam eartips.
The trend of earphones been towards touch-sensitive controls, which I am not a fan of. I inevitably pause, skip tracks or mess with the volume accidentally. These thankfully have a physical push button, and you can customise the functionality via the app.
Sound Quality
Sound quality is excellent. One of the reasons why the Lypertek TEVI was so often recommended was the sound quality, and to the best of my knowledge, these should sound the same.
However, you now have the added bonus of the app and its EQ, so you can tailor the sound profile to your liking.
Most of my in-ear earphone usage is in the gym or running, so I am inclined to prefer something a little more bass-forward, working well with the genres I listen to in the gym.
The out of the box sound profile is very balanced with a more subtle bass than you find compared to many consumer orientated TWS earphones. They offer excellent detail and clarity across ranges, and the more I listened to them like this, the more I enjoyed them. It is good when you want to listen to the actual music rather than have some loud boomy background noise. I also experienced no harshness in the higher end, something many earphones are prone to.
The EQ then allows you to tailor the sound, with the Bass+ profile being the immediately appealing preset for me. Bass becomes much more pronounced, but I wouldn’t say excessively so. My old Jabra Elite 75t had considerably more bass even in its flattest profile. I also found the silicon tips will provide better bass vs the foam tips.
The new LDX Audio overrides the EQ and aims to bring a wider soundstage. Earphones and closed headphones never have great soundstage, but with the LDX mode enabled things are significantly improved.
Battery Life
The Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 have a ridiculous battery life, the earphones themselves can go for 10 hours, and the case offers an additional 70 hours. I am not sure of any TWS earphone on the market that can surpass that.
Suffice to say, I have not really pushed the battery life in real-life usage. You have to be really forgetful/lazy with your charging routine for this to run out.
One downside to the 70-hour case is that it is quite large, so not the most pocket friendly, it is not so big it won’t fit in your pocket, you are just going to have a bit of a bulge. It is quite rare that I need to take a case with me, so it is not much of a problem for me.
Due to the wireless charging, if you use this with any QI pad or the official Lypertek slim charging pad, all you have to do is place the case down on the pad and never have to worry about wires again.
Price and Competition
The Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 are priced at £99, available on Amazon and HiFi Headphones. The compatible charging matt is then £24.99
It looks like all the older PurePlay Z3 1.0/Tevi stock is exhausted, so no option for cheap buys, HiFi Headphones have some refurbished options for as low as £59.
I previously reviewed the Lypertek SoundFree S20, which have an RRP of £69.98, I’d say the PurePlay Z3 are well worth the extra money.
There are a lot of options for around £100
I have been a fan of the Jabra Elite range of earphones. The Jabra Elite 65t is just £50 or the Active model £70, but it looks like these are being phased out as they are quite old now. I loved the Jabra Elite 75t, but they cost more at around £150 though they have recently been updated to enable ANC.
The Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 has always been a popular recommendation, the older 1 is also being phased out, but the 1+ is currently £119.95
Overall
I like the Lypertek Pureplay Z3 2.0 a lot, I much prefer these to the lower-priced Soundfree S20, and I think the £30 price difference is well worth it.
Sound quality is excellent, and you have the added benefit of the EQ allowing to tailer the sound profile to your tastes.
The snug fit, IPX7 waterproof rating, and 10 hours run time make these a perfect choice for exercise and will likely be the earphones I use for marathon training.
Some may criticise the lack of ANC at this price, but good ANC TWS earphones cost a lot more and generally lack IPX7 or long battery life (the £190 Jabra Elite 85t are probably the best option).
The main negative is the intermittent connectivity issues with the app. However, I am cautiously optimistic this issue is resolved now.
Posted by Mighty Gadget Blog: UK Technology News and Reviews
