There are no winners in the land of budget TWS earbuds, only compromises. As your budget lowers, you have to start considering which features you’re comfortable giving up. From build to sound quality to convenience, there’s a lot where companies cut corners. But with the right research, and given the panoply of TWS earbud options in the market, you could actually end up finding the one that fits your listening habits best.
In this new series, we’re going to review some of the popular earbuds that are sold at dirt cheap prices so you can get a fair estimate of what these earbuds have to offer, starting with Truke’s BTG Flex. Let’s begin.
Where’s the Flex?
Truke is a relatively new German-origin brand, though all its products are made in India, for whatever that’s worth. But what really matters at the end of the day is whether the BTG Flex earbuds are any good and worth their Rs 1099 price tag (often less).
Pros and cons!
Before we jump into the details, here’s a quick list of the goods and the bads about Truke BTG Flex.
👍 What’s good
- Loud, with deep bass and strong highs.
- Well constructed, lightweight, with exceptional battery.
- Low latency; good for gaming.
👎 What’s not so good
- No volume controls, EQ, or app.
- Mics are not loud enough.
- Dual pairing is riddled with connection issues.
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Sound
If there’s one thing that’s in favor of Truke BTG Flex, it is its bass heavy sound. Regardless of the genre you listen to, the presence of the bass will be easily felt. To my ears, they’re a little overdriven, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. At the price, the lows (bass) are well established and clear – more than one can ask for a thousand bucks.
The buds are quite loud in themselves, thanks to the 13mm drivers, so you may not need to rock up the volume more than a moderate-to-high level.
The highs (treble) hold their own too. And acapella music and sopranos are clear. But if you go anywhere beyond 90%, they mix together into a cacophony. The cymbals bleed as though there’s no sound separation at those higher levels. This can be problematic if you listen to hard rock or metal at full volume.
Having said that, if your go-to genres are different, or if you maintain a healthy volume (no more than 85%), these sound fantastic. Truke BTG Flex are good for soft rock, alternative, classical, pop, country, hip-hop, reggae, and other similar genres.
The earbuds are also a decent pass for watching YouTube videos (or whatever else) and listening to audiobooks. For movies too, these are pretty good earbuds to have.
TL;DR: Truke BTG Flex are loud and bass heavy with decent highs, but not at high volume.
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Mic
BTG Flex have a quad-mic ENC setup, so four microphones with Environmental Noise Cancellation technology. In theory, that should “ensure your voice comes through clearly during calls, even in noisy environments”, as Truke claims. But the actual results are nothing to write home about.
The voice picked up by the mics is on the softer, muffled side. And in windy environments, the person you’re talking to will hear the noise. Although they’re much better indoors than outdoors, I don’t see myself recommending it wholeheartedly if your day involves a lot of calling.
Build
The earbuds and the case have a strong plastic built. The case is sturdy, the hinge solid, and there’s a certain satisfaction in snapping it shut. So you can fiddle with it until the cows come home. The earbuds snap-in magnetically and hold in place even if you jerk the case open, which is good in case you’re tossing them around.
The earbuds are quite light, and have a snug fit: they won’t come loose no matter you do – shake your head aggressively, headbang with the music, or move round and round and upside down like a yogi.
The Truke logo lights up when the earbuds are in pairing mode or charging. The green, white/blue, and red lights provide clear indicators of the battery levels and charging status. There’s the standard USB-C charging so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting it juiced up. But a cable is provided anyway. All in all, you won’t have any problem with the physicality of it all.
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Gaming and latency
Truke claims a 40ms latency which is as low it can get. While gaming at least, I didn’t encounter anything to make me doubt the claim. If it’s off by a few milliseconds, it’s not noticeable.
There’s a HiFi Gaming Mode (with HiFi DSP sound for 360 Spatial Audio) which you can access by tapping thrice on the left earbud. However, the tone only confirms “HiFi Gaming mode” and doesn’t tell when it’s off. So it’s unclear if there’s any difference to tell at all.
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Connection quality
The connection on the Truke BTG Flex can be a little dodgy. While changing songs, the audio sometimes cuts out briefly before it readjusts. Other times, the audio cut out if I started playing something on another app (on the same device). So this is clearly a signal issue. But it’s not clear if this is a widespread problem. I didn’t find any other reviews that claimed to have similar issues. Perhaps it’s because it only happens ‘sometimes’. Or it could just be my faulty unit. Still, one’s enough for me to form an opinion.
Passive Noise Cancellation
In-ear buds always have some level of passive noise cancellation going for them. And if you play music anywhere about 60%, you can zone out the world around you with ease. Active noise cancellation is rare at this price, and decent ANC almost impossible. It’s good that Truke didn’t waste money on features which are not going to be usable anyway. But the same can’t be said for the following.
Dual Pairing Mode (and its issues)
Dual pairing is one of the highlighted features on the Truke BTG Flex. It’s not something that you normally get on budget earbuds. But Truke BTG Flex can be paired with two devices at a time, such as a computer and a mobile (or what have you).
However, the dual pairing mode is far from being seamless. When switching devices for playback, priority is given to the connection with the computer – and that has caused so many issues that I’ve stopped dual pairing completely.
The biggest issue with dual pairing mode was this – After I pause playback on the computer and play on mobile, it switches back to the PC playback on its own after 5-6 seconds. When you switch to mobile, there’s also an initial lag for about 1-2 seconds when there’s no audio. But then it switches back to PC automatically, which is its priority connection. It’s as though the earbuds need some time to establish the connection before you can hit play on your mobile. This is consistent with the connection quality issues described above.
Simply put, you have to wait long enough for the connection to set properly. If you hit play on mobile before that, the priority connection of PC takes over and you switch. On the other hand, if you go from mobile to PC, no such issue exists.
The booklet mentions “you need to tentatively pause the playback first” Here, tentatively is not a second or two, or even five or ten. But 20 seconds, if not a bit more. So, after pausing media playback on PC, you need to wait a full 20 seconds before playing media on mobile. I could be off by 2-3 seconds. But it doesn’t matter. It’s too long to bother counting.
It’s much faster to disconnect from one device and connect to the other, thanks to the swift pairing feature.
TL;DR: Dual pairing is problematic. Stick with a single connection.
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Battery
One of the things that the Truke BTG Flex do exceptionally well is battery life. I got 7 hours of playback on one full charge. For half that time I had dual pairing on (before it started messing up) and had the volume at full all the time. You could go even longer if you stuck with a single connection and had the volume below 90%, which is where their sound is the best anyway.
The case can charge the earbuds five times over. So do the math and you’ll get anywhere between 40-50 hours of battery (on recommended settings). Although it’s less than what Truke claims (60 hours), it’s still a heck of a lot of playtime. And if you’re in a hurry, 10 minutes of charge can deliver an hour and a half of playtime. At the price point, it’s a serious powerhouse.
Controls
Truke BTG Flex has touch controls that work well and are not too sensitive. They’re also placed well so you’ll have minimal accidental presses.
The actual controls are mentioned on the booklet that comes with the earbuds. But if you misplaced it, here’s a quick run down:
| Left | Right | |
| Music/Gaming/Movies |
|
|
| Calling |
|
|
| Resetting (steps) |
|
|
Unfortunately – and it’s a big miss – there are no volume controls. It’s a bummer that while you can control everything else, you have to manually change the volume on your device. Some manner of volume control is crucial for TWS earbuds. But unfortunately, it’s not available on Truke BTG Flex. There’s no app for it either, so no EQ!
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How I use the Truke BTG Flex
While I love the Truke BTG Flex for their long battery and listening to all kinds of media, some things have tripped me up. Still, I adjust fast and here’s how I have found a space for the Truke BTG Flex in my life.
Since I’ve consistently found the dual pairing mode a disaster I only have one connection at a time, which also lets me use them for longer. When I need to switch, I simply disconnect from one device and connect to another. The swift pairing takes care of everything and the connection is established within a second or two.
The lightweight nature of the buds is a big plus, as is their fit. I didn’t even have to consider the extra ear tips provided. The one on the unit is just right for me. The case, though not the smallest, fits easily in the pocket. Its sturdy hinges have me fiddling with it just for fun, and the magnets work well so the earbuds don’t fall out if the case is open.
I usually prefer listening to music at full volume and for long hours. But that’s not something that I can do with the Truke BTG Flex. My ears feel strained because of the screeching highs at full volume. But loudness is not the only cause. The issue is in the sound generated by the earbuds themselves. But drop the volume down to 85-90%, and it’s a breeze. The loudness helps while watching videos and movies, but that’s perhaps the only time.
What do they say, Orange is the new black? Or black the new orange? Either way, you get both color choices, as well as an Alpine Green.
Verdict
If your heart is set on the Truke BTG Flex, I cannot deny that it’s a very well-made set of earbuds, that it delivers pretty good bass and treble (considering the price), and that they shine best at moderate-to-high volume levels. The volume controls are a sore miss and the dual pairing mode is a misfired attempt at grasping more than what the buds can bear. But it doesn’t take anything away from the otherwise quick and stable single-device connection. Plus, their battery is terrific. Even if they’re not ideal for calling, they’re great for entertainment and gaming.
If you’re in the market for TWS earbuds under a thousand rupees, the Truke BTG Flex make a strong case. But are they the best? Stay tuned for more in-depth reviews, showdowns, and tips and tricks.
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