BlitzWolf BW-FYE1 True Wireless Earbuds Review

The BlitzWolf BW-FYE1 is a pair of budget-friendly true-wireless earbuds which promise up to 3 hours of music playback (call time may differ), a comfortable wearing experience and a painless pairing experience, all that while ensuring a decent sound quality. We keep on hearing about these new TRUE wireless earbuds, but what are they and are these devices really better than the traditional wired headphones?

In the consumer market, both the wireless and the true wireless refer to those earbuds that connect to your devices (usually) via Bluetooth, featuring no wire in between the earpieces and the paired device; the difference between the wireless and the true wireless earbuds is that while the former still has a cable running from the left to the right earpiece, the true wireless earbuds lack any cable whatsoever, relying on Bluetooth to communicate with the phone/PC/tablet and between each other.

So, essentially, the true wireless earbuds bring a high level of convenience, but, if you’re wondering whether they’re better than the wired headphones, the answer is no, the latter still holds the crown for the best sound experience. Perhaps the most popular true wireless earbuds come from Apple, in the form of the AirPods, which have pretty much paved the way for this new cable-free trend, but, since not that many are eager to enter the pricey Apple ecosystem, let’s have see if BlitzWolf is able to provide a reliable alternative.

Built Quality and Design
Ever since Apple cut the proverbial (and the literal) cord to the wired headphones, the manufacturers have been trying to find the best way to design their earbuds to ensure that, despite being forced to include all the necessary hardware inside the earpieces themselves (battery, Bluetooth antennas and more), they will still feel comfortable to wear and not weigh too much. The BlitzWolf BW-FYE1 earbuds are nicely designed and do fit this description, a single unit measuring 1.34 x 0.68 x 0.93 inches and weighing 0.22 ounces, its form allowing for a comfortable positioning inside the ear.

Specifically, a single BlitzWolf BW-FYE1 is made of plastic (covered by a black glossy finish), with its body slightly elongated towards the bottom (to insert the Bluetooth antenna?) and, towards the ear, the manufacturer has added a soft flap near the top for the upper part of your ear (to ensure that the earbud stays in place). Towards the bottom, the earpiece features a curved area where sits the speaker and the soft silicone tip (and between these two areas, rest the charging connectors).

On the outer side of every earbud, there’s a small LED light (it will flash intermittently between red and blue when it’s unpaired and it will flash once every second when the earbud is paired), a microphone hole and a single multi-function button. The functions of the button are the following: to Play or Pause a song, simply press once on the button; to answer an incoming call, press the button once, to reject it press the button twice and to hang a call, press the button once during the call. To return to a previous song, you need to long press the multi-function button on the left earbud for about 2 seconds and, to go to the next song, long press the button on the right earbud (also for about 2 seconds) – unfortunately, you cannot adjust the volume directly from the earbuds, so you will have to rely on your phone. If no music or song is being played, you can press the button twice to wake up either Siri or the Google Assistant.

The earbuds come inside a charging case which is small enough to easily ft in your pocket (it measures 2.42 x 1.71 x 1.18 inches and weighs 1.67 ounces). The case is covered by a glossy black finish (which does retain fingerprints) and inside, it has two cut-outs, one for each earbud – the earpieces get charged only after you close the case (which is held closed by magnets). On the top of the case, you’ll be able to notice two transparent areas corresponding to the LEDs on the earbuds (to let you know the current status of the device) and, on the rear side, there’s a micro-SD connector and four LEDs which show you the case charging level (four LEDs means the case is fully charged).

Inside the package, besides the charging box with the earbuds inside, you’ll also be able to find a small charging cable (12.5 inches) and two additional sets of silicone tips (if the default ones won’t properly fit). The BlitzWolf BW-FYE1 is IPX4-rated, so the earbuds are protected against water splashing directly on them which indicates that you can wear these earbuds during the rain or while working out (sweat won’t harm them). Are they great while jogging? If the silicone tips fit your ear, the earbuds shouldn’t come off while jogging (in my case, they weren’t really stuck to my ear, but wouldn’t fall off unless I was doing some serious neck-straining head movements). Furthermore, even after prolonged use, I felt no fatigue inside my ears – I’d still feel the earbuds (a light pressure), but they wouldn’t hurt my ears at all.

Connectivity and Sound Quality
The BlitzWolf BW-FYE1 earbuds are equipped with an Airoha AB1526P chip which is Bluetooth 5.0 dual mode certified, therefore a significant upgrade over the last generation and with a lot more focused towards the IoT market (offering data transfer speeds of up to 2 Mbps, better coverage, automatic pairing and more). Furthermore, the manufacturer claims that the earbuds feature independent sound chambers with 10mm titanium film driver units for better sound quality, but, while the size of the driver unit can directly affect how loud the output will be, it doesn’t necessary indicate a better sound quality. As for the pairing process, it is surprisingly fast and easy: after you take the earbuds from the case, they’ll immediately turn on and wait to be paired to your Bluetooth device.

Using a mobile phone (a Google Pixel 2 XL), I could immediately see the BlitzWolf BW-FYE1 (while using both earbuds, you’ll be able to pair to the right one and, if using only one earbud, you’ll be able to pair to either of them via Bluetooth – they’ll automatically work in mono mode) and, if I would put the earbuds immediately in my ear, I could hear the ‘Pairing successful. Connected’ confirmation message. The maximum advertised range is about 10 feet, but I could go as far as 15-20 feet with a wall in between the phone and the earbuds and the connection was fine – anything further and I started to experience stutters.

While I was using the earbuds, I did experience some occasional stutters on the left earpiece even if I was very close to the phone but, if the issue persists (in my case, it didn’t), the only way to reset them is to put the earbuds back in the case and take them out again.
Note: The BlitzWolf BW-FYE1 doesn’t support multipoint, so it can’t switch between devices.

In order to test the earbuds’ sound quality, I took inspiration from the audiocheck.net guide. This way, under the frequency response, I tested the bass extension and the treble extension. The lowest frequency that we can hear is 20 Hz and some headphones can go even lower, where the human won’t hear the sound, but feel it, therefore making it for a very immersive experience. Using the BlitzWolf BW-FYE1, I could hear the sound as low as 25 Hz which is pretty decent (if you insert them properly in the ears, the bass is good, but not impressive, which is to be expected considering the price point). On the treble extension test, I could hear the sound up until approximately 17 kHz (the upper limit for the human hearing is 20kHz) – this could mean that my hearing is not as good as it used to be, but, since with other devices, I could hear over 18 kHz, it means that this is the maximum for the earbuds, so these won’t really reach those spectacular highs, but should fine in the majority of cases.

In terms of sound clarity, while roaming through various bass frequencies, the BlitzWolf BW-FYE1 did decently well for the most part, but I could occasionally hear a faint buzz. As for measuring the driver matching, I felt that the earbuds are evenly matched, but I do suspect that the level of insertion will have a say in this regard. Furthermore, while the earbuds may not have any active noise cancellation built in, it still does a good job at isolating the outside noise and the only time where I would be startled was when a really loud noise would come through (while in the plane, I was able to hear the engine noise, but I could also hear the music without needing to increase the volume to the maximum – something that I have to often do with my cheaper LG earbuds).

Both BlitzWolf BW-FYE1 earbuds have a microphone built-in, so you can either use both during a call or a single earpiece. During a call, I could hear the other person reasonably clear (when compared to the native Pixel 2 XL speaker, it felt a bit muted, but there wasn’t a huge difference between them) and the microphone does a good job – the other person was able to clearly hear me, but, if I wasn’t talking, it would easily amplify any background noise.

In terms of battery life, I was able to get about 2 hours and 40 minutes on a single charge because of the 50mAh (3.7V) battery (I used about 70db – the performance can vary depending on the volume level) which is a bit below average when compared to other more expensive alternatives, but actually quite decent when put next to earbuds from the same price range – the case can provide up to four other charges because of its 700 mAh/3.7V Polymer lithium battery and fully charging the earbuds shouldn’t take longer than 1 hour and a half.

Conclusion
The price of the BlitzWolf BW-FYE1 earbuds suggests that the earbuds adhere to the entry-level segment, but there are some elements that can make it a worthy competitor to some devices above its league. The built quality is good and the waterproof rating is always a welcomed addition, they feel comfortable in ear and even if it doesn’t completely isolate the outside noise, you won’t have any problem hearing the music while in a coffee shop or even while travelling by plane. The sound quality is not the best and there are some noticeable weaknesses, but it falls somewhere within the average category and this is actually a good place to be for the large majority of people (which more than likely aren’t audiophiles, so they’re not going to spend big cash for their earbuds). Additionally, the manufacturer often offers discount codes, so you can get them even cheaper than before.