Boult K10 Review: Best TWS Earbuds Under Rs 1000 for Bass Lovers

What to know

  • Boult K10 is the one of the best deals in town for audio buffs on a budget.
  • The sound profile is stellar, with a punchy bass and clear highs even at high volume.
  • Boult K10s have a very, very long battery life and a great quad-mic setup. It even has volume controls which is not expected at this price point.

Can you get great sounding TWS earbuds in under 1000 rupees? – That’s one of the many questions that keep me up at night. And although I’ve come across a few disappointing earbuds in this budget bracket, I have also found a few gems. 

One of these rarified gems is the Boult K10, a close cousin to the Boult W10s that I reviewed previously. From the outside, the Boult K10s are plain and boring. There’s no flash or bling to them. But it’s what’s inside that really matters. And after heavy testing, I think these are (almost) the best earbuds that you can get on a tight budget. Here’s why I make this claim. 

Related: Boult W10 Review: ₹999 TWS Earbuds That Punch Above Their Weight!

Boult K10

When it comes to TWS earbuds, Boult has proven to be among the more reliable companies for the budget segment. The Boult W10s didn’t disappoint. In fact they over-delivered for their price. So my expectations for the Boult K10s were a little higher than usual to begin with, especially since they’re one of the recent releases by Boult.

Here’s how the Boult K10s fare in terms of sound, battery, build, controls, and everything else.

👍 What’s good

  • Loud sound, strong bass presence, clear mids and treble
  • Good connection, low lag
  • Above average mic for calling and audio recording
  • Exceptional battery life
  • Great value for money

👎 What’s no so good

  • Basic case design.
  • No dual-pairing mode.

Sound

Right off the bat, the most noticeable thing on the K10s is the sound profile. Geared for bass lovers, the 13mm drivers on the Boult K10 provide enough low end punchiness to knock your socks off and get you grooving all the way to the dance floor. It’s eerie how good they are. From rock and metal to country and jazz, the ‘Supreme bass’ on the buds just enhances the overall listening experience tenfold. EDM and hip hop lovers would appreciate the well-defined lows too that adds that extra oomph to the tracks. Along with the standard SBC codec, there’s support for AAC codec as well. 

Their low rumbling bass also makes them the perfect companion for watching movies and TV shows, and the stereo sound, though expected, is just exceptional. 

But just because there’s a preponderance of bass doesn’t mean the mids and the treble are in anyway shortchanged. Not in the least. Everything sounds as clear as a bell with enough separation for each instrument to shine.

In my hunt for the best earbuds under thousand rupees, I’m yet to come across earbuds with audio better than the Boult K10s. I even compared their sound to that of Sony WF-C500, which isn’t exactly fair since the Sony’s are five times as expensive and deliver better overall sound. But – and I can’t believe I’m saying this – the K10s take the cake for their bass-heavy orientation. 

Battery

Boult claims the K10s can last for 50 hours, including the case. And real world numbers are not off that mark by much. 

One full charge lasted 7.5 hours while listening to music on full volume continuously. That, in itself, is a lot of playback time. Multiply that by the number of times you get a full charge with the case, and you’ll easily reach 50 hours on normal usage. 

When you’re in a rush, fast charging for 10 mins gives 110 mins of playback. This is only 10 mins shy of what Boult claims. But as far as real world usage goes, it’s more than enough. 

Build and Design

Boult K10s are perhaps the most plain-looking TWS buds I’ve ever come across. The case is, well… it’s just a black plastic box, ain’t it? No bells and whistles, no glitter. But I can get behind that sort of a muted charm. It’s not like budget TWS earbuds need to make much of a splash anyway. 

The simple box design in fact works in its favor. It’s lightweight and small and fits nicely in the pocket. The earbuds snap in magnetically which is exactly how it should be. The rubber ear-tips come in a different shade (grey for my black K10s) which adds some dimension. But barring that, there really isn’t anything fancy about the K10s in terms of design. 

Mic

Like most other earbuds in the same segment, the K10s have a quad-mic setup with environmental noise cancellation. But the mic is much improved on the Boult K10s and call and voice recording quality has also taken a leap forward, even in noisy environments. Most callers couldn’t tell if I had the Boult K10s on or other more expensive budget earbuds like the Sony WF-C500. And that’s really saying something. 

Gaming and Latency

Boult’s game mode is available on the K10s as well. At 45ms, the numbers tend toward a lag-less experience, and in real world testing, I found nothing to suggest otherwise. Playing RPGs and battle royale games is a fun, uninterrupted, and immersive experience with the Boult K10s. 

Bluetooth 5.4 ensures fast pairing and a solid, stable connection that doesn’t stutter in the least. With the K10s, Boult has really got its priorities straight. It isn’t trying to buff its specs unnecessarily or chasing features in the wild (like dual pairing) which allows Boult to improve the features that matter, such as sound, latency, and connection quality, which is also a big plus on the K10s. 

Controls

The K10s have the same multi-touch controls as on the other Boult earbuds. Here are all the controls for your reference:

  Left Right
Music
  • Tap to pause
  • Double tap to previous track
  • Triple tap to reduce volume
  • Tap to pause
  • Double tap to next track
  • Triple tap to increase volume
Call
  • Tap once to answer
  • Double tap to end/reject.
  • Tap once to answer
  • Double tap to end/reject.
Game/Music mode
  • Tap 4 times
 
Spatial/Signature mode  
  • Tap 3 times

Like most TWS earbuds at this price point, there’s no app for them. But thankfully, there are volume controls at least.

Boult is one of the few companies that think it necessary to give users some way to control volume from the earbuds. Even if triple-tapping adjusts the volume by only a few percentage points, it’s so much more convenient when your device is lying on the other side of the room. It’s rather a mark of a company that knows what the users need in their day to day and, by focusing on the basics, is giving a real bang for the buck.  

How I use the Boult K10

Ever since I’ve started using the Boult K10, they’ve become my daily go-to earbuds. I’m still floored by the ear thumping, gut-punching bass and the clear ringing highs of the overall sound. As someone who enjoys all genres of music, they’re a real find for me. 

Watching YouTube videos, movies and TV shows is also a blast on the Boult K10s. And whenever my pals call me to join a match, I can rely on the K10s to deliver lag-less gaming without any connection issues, so I can plunge myself into the battlefield without worrying about running low on supplies. The exceptionally long battery is a godsend for someone like me who has a hard time remembering that devices need to be charged as well. 

Sure, the Boult K10s won’t turn heads. But everything else – sound, battery, controls, gaming, and connection quality – is exceptionally well handled. And I couldn’t be happier recommending Boult K10s to whoever’s looking for a budget-friendly set of TWS earbuds.

Verdict

In a market packed so tight that it’s hard to tell one product from another, rarely does one come across earbuds as good as the Boult K10s. By getting rid of unnecessary features and focusing on the basics, Boult has upped its game by a huge margin and run ahead of the pack. 

Usually priced at Rs 1099, the Boult K10s are often available for below Rs 800 on Amazon. If you can grab these on sale, there’s no better deal in the market right now. 

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