What to know
- Boult W10 offers a good sound profile with punchy bass and clear highs.
- Packed in an elegant leatherette case, they are excellent value for money.
- The dual pairing mode and spatial audio mode didn’t work as expected.
- The earbuds are quite good given their sound quality and value.
Almost a decade after they were first introduced, TWS earbuds have now the norm, and a necessity. Unless you have a neckband, Bluetooth headphones or truly wireless earbuds, the lack of a 3.5mm jack on your phone is going to haunt you every time you want to listen to music or watch videos in public (without being a nuisance). Fortunately, TWS earbud technology has been democratized enough that even the cheapest of them deliver tons of features in a reliable and not so shabby a package.
Boult W10 is one of the defining examples of a set of earbuds done well in the budget category that don’t just get the basics right, like sound, build, controls, etc. but also give earbuds that are almost twice their price a run for their money.
On the tightest of budgets, here’s why I think the Boult W10 is one of the best buds you can find.
What’s good👍
- Good signature sound, punchy bass, clear highs.
- Elegant leatherette case.
- Superb value for money.
What’s not so good👎
- Dual pairing mode has issues switching devices.
- Spatial audio mode just sounds bad.
Boult W10: Solid foundations
At the extremely low price of Rs 999 (available for Rs 799 recently under sale), Boult W10s are a solid pair that deliver the basics – sound, battery, controls, build, etc. – well. Here’s a look at how it handles each of these.
Sound
No matter how low the price of the earbuds may be, the primary concern should always be how little one has to compromise on the sound quality. And the Boult W10s don’t disappoint.
The 13mm drivers produce exceptional sound (for the price). Out of the box, the Boult W10s have a solid punchy bass that isn’t overdone. It’s easy on the ears and any kind of music sounds full.
The highs are clear and crisp and do not break or bleed at high volume, unlike the Truke BTG Flex which are much more expensive. Even at high volume, the earbuds hold their own. This is all thanks to Boult’s Signature Sound mode, which is enabled by default. Along with the standard SBC, the earbuds also support the AAC format for better sound.
The Boult W10s also have a Spatial Sound mode. But in terms of sound quality, it’s a major drop off and isn’t really worth the label. Spatial mode sounds like you’re listening to a very bad recording of the song. So, it’s best to stick with the Signature sound, which is already quite impressive, and leave the Spatial mode alone.
TL;DR: Signature sound is great with punchy bass and clear highs. Spatial sound is worthless.
Mic
Most budget earbuds have a quad-mic setup with environment noise cancellation, and that is what you get with the Boult W10s too. Indoors, the mic works flawlessly and the caller on the other side couldn’t tell if I had the budget earbuds on or the more expensive Sony WF-C500. Outdoors, however, it’s a different story. Strong winds and traffic can sometimes make their way through and muffle your voice. But in most cases, you wouldn’t find much issues with it.
Battery
Boult advertises 55 hour battery life (including the case, of course). In one full charge, at full volume, I got 6 hours of listening time. At lower volumes, you could potentially cross 7 hours on a full charge. A quick 10-min charge will juice the earbuds for about 100 mins. This is much lower than the 150 mins advertised, but in terms of raw numbers, it’s good enough. A full charge will take no more than an hour, which is standard.
Build and Fit
The lightweight plastic build is nothing unexpected. But what’s quite surprising to see is the leather detailing on the case, which is a big departure from the glossy or matte finishes we’re used to seeing.
The buds snap easily into the case and a single white/green light indicates charging/pairing status.
The earbuds didn’t provide a perfect fit, to my ears at least. While running down the stairs or head banging, it did sometimes feel like they were about to come out. But this is a highly subjective factor, so take it with a grain of salt.
Compared to the Truke BTG Flex, I prefer the Boult W10’s simple and elegant case that is easily pocketable and has that slightly rugged leatherette feel that can easily be mistaken as premium. For what it’s worth, the box in which the earbuds arrive is made with a lot of care and thought and can be opened with a single finger.
Gaming and Latency
At 45 milliseconds, the latency is minimal and gaming is a fun experience on the Boult W10s. Every now and then you may hear the audio cut out for half a second, but a little inconsistency in the connection is to be expected at this price point.
Dual pairing mode (a perennial problem)
Technically, dual pairing mode is available on the Boult W10 so you can connect to two devices at once and switch between them. But, in my testing, I found it basically unusable. The issue is similar to how it is with Truke BTG Flex: the connection reverts automatically to PC and sometimes you won’t get any audio from either device. The only fix is to disconnect from both devices and connect to a single device only.
Or, if you need to switch between devices, it’s better to disconnect from one and then connect to the other device. Bluetooth 5.4 allows for super fast pairing (in less than two seconds) so that’s some consolation.
Controls
The touch controls are placed at the top of the stem. They are a little on the sensitive side so you may end up triggering them accidentally while putting them on or re-adjusting them (happened a few times).
Fortunately, the controls themselves are easy to navigate. And yes – there are volume controls too. Here’s a look at them all:
| Left | Right | |
| Music |
|
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| Call |
|
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| Game/Music mode |
|
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| Spatial/Signature mode |
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There’s no app so there’s no possibility for EQ adjustments. But because Boult’s signature sound is quite good on its own, you may not miss it much.
How I use the Boult W10
With the default Signature sound, the Boult W10s stay in my ears delivering music at full volume for hours on end. The buds are not a perfect fit for me so I try behave. Except the signature sound, the modes don’t work for me so I let them be.
When I’m not using my go-to Audio Technica for watching movies, Boult W10s have proven a reliable backup so long as I don’t use dual pairing mode, which doesn’t seem to work well at this price. In a clutch moment, a mere 10-min charge can last for the duration of an average movie.
Volume controls are greatly appreciated even though triple tapping only changes volume by a few points. Still, it’s much more than I can say about the Truke BTG Flex that cross the thousand-rupee mark but don’t have any volume controls, period.
Verdict
Boult W10s are one of the best TWS earbuds in terms of value for money. At the price point, it punches well above its weight in terms of sound, controls, build, and battery. Where it veers away from the basics, it runs into trouble. Trying to throw in dual pairing and spatial audio may be good for marketing, but it’s not easy to pull these features off. But because it has a strong foundations, it is a reliable enough companion.
