Lypertek made waves last year with their TEVI earphones, which have been bizarrely renamed to PurePlay Z3 on many sites, excluding the Lypertek website.
They are now back with a new, more affordable option, the Soundfree S20. These are based on the TEVI, but tweak a few features to get the price down low.
At £69 RRP these are well into the affordable range for TWS earphones, but they offer superior performance to many alternatives at this price.
Lypertek Soundfree S20 vs TEVI / PurePlay Z3 Features and Specification
| Preview | Product | Price | |
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Lypertek SoundFree S20 – True Wireless In-Ear Headphone with… | £69.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Lypertek PurePlay Z3 (Tevi) True Wireless Earbuds – 70 Hours… | £99.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| Lypertek | SoundFree S20 | TEVI |
| Driver: | 6mm Neodymium Dynamic Drivers | High-Performance 6mm Graphene Driver |
| Frequency Response: | 20Hz – 20kHz | 20 – 20kHz |
| Bluetooth Specification: | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.0 + Master/Slave Switch |
| Compatible Audio Codec: | AAC, SBC | Qualcomm aptX, AAC, SBC. Supports True Stereo Plus |
| Play Time: | 8 hours + 40 hours with case | 10 hours & Max. 70 hours with Charging Case |
| IP Rating: | IPX5 | IPX7 |
| Charging: | USB-C and Wireless Charging | USB-C |
Design & Fit
These are quite small and light earphones that fit snug inside the concha of your ear.
You get more than the standard number of ear tips, with two sets, the normal style, then double flanged.
I found that the included ear tips provided a secure fit, but didn’t quite offer enough seal to achieve a decent level of bass. I, therefore, had to swap them for some random ones I had lying around. With a larger tip, these fit me great; there is absolutely no sense of them falling out no matter what I do.
These have a physical button to control them, something that is falling out of fashion, but I much prefer. I find I am much less likely to press a physical button accidentally, and when exercising, I find that touch-sensitive buttons are a bit of a nightmare.
Sound Quality
With my fit issues sorted, the bass of these became more prominent, but they are not your stereotypical TWS bassy earbuds with excessive lows; they have more of a U shaped sound signature.
I wasn’t too sure how much I like the sound signature at first, but they grew on me over time. For casual listening at a low to medium volume, I found they sound excellent, above and beyond other earphones at this price point, with the earphones offering a pleasantly warm sound.
The soundstage is impressively wide, and I have found vocals to be particularly good and overall excellent clarity.
The 8 hours battery life and IPX5 rating make them a tempting choice for the gym or running, and they are certainly capable of producing the lows I like for the gym
Battery Life
With 8 hours per charge, these are well above average; there is only the more expensive Tevi or Creative Outlier Air V2 I can think of that will last much longer than these.
Due to that battery life, I haven’t actually tested going from full to flat. There is just no scenario where I will have earbuds in my ears for 8 hours. I do a lot of endurance sports, so knowing the earbuds won’t die on me is a big plus.
With an extra 40 hours from the case, I think I have only charged them once since getting them. They include wireless charging too, so it is quite convenient to just place the case down on a QI charger when you are done with them.
Price and Competition
The Lypertek Soundfree S20 have an RRP of £69, while the PurePlay Z3 (Tevi) have an RRP of £99
However, the PurePlay Z3 (Tevi) have been consistently £79 since at least the start of January. The current price on Amazon is £99, but there is a £20 voucher available. While I have not used the PurePlay Z3, I will assume they sound either the same or better; you then get a better battery and an IPX7 waterproof rating. I’d say that is easily worth an extra tenner.
There are a lot of other options at this price point, mostly from random brands. The two options on Amazon that stood out to me were the Creative Outlier Air V2 TWS and Jabra Elite 65t Earbuds. Both have a different sound profile to these, being more bass-heavy, but for me, I’d say they are better for things like the gym or running, where you may want something a bit more aggressive sounding.
Overall
The Lypertek Soundfree S20 are excellent earphones at an attractive price. The U shaped sound profile offers buyers something a little more natural than the excessive bassy options you see at this price point.
As good as they are, you may want to consider spending just a small amount extra for what appears to be better specced Lypertek TEVI earbuds.
Posted by Mighty Gadget Blog: UK Technology News and Reviews
