Lypertek continues to punch above its weight and outside of its pricing bracket with the PurePlay Z3 2.0 true wireless earbuds, a stellar-sounding and well-priced package.
One minute review
The original Lypertek PurePlay Z3 true wireless earbuds, also known as the Lypertek Tevi, completely blew us away when we initially evaluated them. We couldn’t believe that such high-quality headphones with such a long battery life could be purchased for such a low price from a business we’d never heard of. Because of how great they were, we named them our headphone product of the year and featured them in our list of the top true wireless earbuds.
We’re now taking a look at their replacements, the Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 true wireless earbuds, which are a couple of years later. These are quite identical to the originals, with a few significant enhancements, and are still available for the same reasonable price of $99 or £99 as the originals.
With this, you get everything we adored about the original PurePlay Z3—detailed balanced sound, an incredible 80 hours of battery life from its tiny USB-C charging case, and a comfortably-fitting bud with physical buttons—plus wireless charging, a potent new LDX Audio mode, improved app functionality, and a hear-through ambient mode. One of the top budget-friendly headphones for 2022 is this one.
It’s generally an improvement over anything else and one of our top selections for the finest wireless earbuds and headphones. For those who prefer more oomph than the near-reference setting, LDX Audio offers a well-tuned, full-bodied sound. Wireless charging also works wonderfully, EQ functions respond nicely to adjustments, and battery life is still excellent.
The ambient hear-through mode is essentially useless in comparison to rivals like Sony’s noise-cancelling WF-1000XM4, and app connectivity is at best spotty.
Despite this, they remain essential earbuds, more so than a pair of headphones that cost twice as much or a match, because the price is still incredibly low, nothing has changed from the quality standard the originals established, and they have made a few noticeable improvements. Take them.
Price and availability
Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 is currently available and costs $99 / £99 (about AU$185). Despite a host of additional features, that doesn’t cost a dime more than their predecessors. Although they lack active noise reduction, they nevertheless outperform competitors that cost many times as much. That includes the Sony WF-1000XM4 ($279.99/£250/AU$449.95) and Apple AirPods Pro ($249/£249/AU$399). These are a complete bargain.
Design
The Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 doesn’t appear to be significantly different from its 1.0 predecessors from the exterior, and this is indicative of the product as a whole in many ways. This is a refinement of the excellent original rather than a radical departure from it.
Once more, ovoid, stemless earphones are contained in a pill-shaped, fabric-covered casing that also has a detachable carrying strap. The PurePlay Z3 2.0 is offered in black and white colors and has four LED indicator lights for battery life in addition to USB-C charging. The earbuds are magnetically secured inside the case, where they will begin to charge from the case’s internal battery. Removing the earbuds from the case will initiate the Bluetooth pairing process; once you’ve done this once, you won’t need to do it again unless you want to pair the headphones with additional devices.
The case is unassumingly appealing and uses its size to accommodate a massive battery (despite being slightly too large to fit comfortably in a trouser pocket). The earbuds alone provide a good ten hours of music, but you can extend that time by 70 hours by charging them in the fully-charged charging case. The overall battery life is an astounding 80 hours before the wire needs to be plugged back into the enclosure. Moreover, wireless charging is supported here, which is a first for the category. If you had any doubts, these battery specifications are of the highest caliber.
They fit comfortably in the ear and are lightweight when it comes to the earbuds themselves. Each can be used with small, medium, or large silicone ear tips, as well as Flexifit foam tips, which stretch slightly in your ear for a stronger passive noise canceling seal. It’s important to note that there is no active noise suppression in these earphones because of their low cost. Yet, with the PurePlay Z3 2.0, ambient noise was hardly ever an issue thanks to strong volume levels and a close fit. They are protected against water damage thanks to IPX7 waterproofing, but the case is not similarly shielded.
Both earbuds have hardware controls for volume, music selection, play, stop, answering calls, and activating hear-through mode. These require some experience to push without pushing the earphones deeper into your ear, but they are significantly more dependable than touch-sensitive buttons (and are therefore preferable here).
Internally, there has also been improvement when Bluetooth 5.2 support was added. This enables smooth handling of the SBC, AAC, and aptX codecs, with the Qualcomm QCC3040 chipset’s ability to increase battery life even compensating for the addition of the aforementioned LDX Audio mode.
Audio performance
When it comes to providing an ear-pleasing, neutral sound, the original PurePlay Z3 or Lypertek Tevi excelled. They were revolutionary when taking into account their price range, but short of what we’d consider reference or audiophile quality. Yet this place still has that fundamental, stock tune. With 6mm graphene drivers, there is a similar level of clarity to the Z3 2.0, providing an impartial sound that favors studio goals rather than amplifying any specific frequencies. Because of this, we’ll direct you to our original Lypertek PurePlay Z3 review for a thorough explanation of the Z3 2.0’s out-of-the-box sound.
Although it’s a preferred method of listening for audiophiles, it’s not necessarily the best tune for every situation. What if you want a little more bass while working out at the gym? Or do you normally like a punchier, more forceful sound, even if it compromises balance?
Here is where the newly added LDX Audio mode for the PurePlay Z3 2.0, which is accessed via the companion app, enters the picture. By turning on LDX Audio in the app, you’re essentially turning up the loudness of less prominent frequencies, especially bottom tones, and expanding the soundstage.
It produces a delivery that is more dynamic and energetic and that definitely deviates from the stock setting. I found myself alternating between the two depending on the listening scenario, favoring LDX Audio when out and about and opting for the standard tuning when I was indoors and paying close attention to songs and albums. They are two very different sound profiles, and each has advantages. Both have clarity, and the PurePlay Z3 2.0 does a good job of bringing out specifics and keeping distortion to a minimum even at high levels. Simply put, they are enjoyable to listen to.
Features
The LDX Audio mode, which is superb as already said, is joined in the app by an equally impressive EQ option. There are many settings, ranging from Rock to Jazz, Pop to R&B, as well as presets that emphasize Bass or Treble response. Moreover, you get two custom places to store your own tunings. They have a substantial effect and help you truly customize the sound to your preferences.
Nevertheless, other aspects don’t quite measure up. A “Hear Through” mode, which is intended to let you hear more of your ambient surroundings via the earbud mics without interrupting playback, is pretty much useless, not making anywhere near the impact needed to make you comfortably more aware of what was going on around you. While the app itself occasionally struggled to locate and connect to the headphones at all – even without any nearby wireless devices to potentially cause confusion – the Find my Earbuds feature was similarly inconsistent.
It’s difficult to be too critical of the PurePlay Z3 2.0, despite some shortcomings here. They continue to be an enhancement over an already excellent product since they manage to bring more to the table than earlier versions (mainly in a good way).
Conclude
You value good audio.
The PurePlay Z3 2.0 sound fantastic right out of the box, just like their predecessors did, especially at this price point. Those who do not want a balanced, studio reference-like tune will appreciate the optionally beefier sound that the new LDX Audio setting affords them.
You don’t want to always fumble for a charger.
The PurePlay Z3 2.0’s battery life is so excellent that you’ll be taken aback when you inevitably need to recharge its large power box. And it’s now simpler than ever to recharge them thanks to new wireless charging capabilities.
But, you still want a high level of performance.
The PurePlay Z3 2.0 offers a robust build quality and top-notch audio performance of a product that typically costs double the asking price, despite the low asking price.
