Price & Availability
Like many Chinese tech products, there are international vendors that can supply to the UK. On this occasion we found the earbuds for £24.14 on Geekbuying, which helpfully allows you to choose the location of the warehouse from which the package is shipped. We selected Europe and were pleased to see a P&P of only £1.22. US customers have the option of several vendors on eBay, with prices usually around the $30 mark, or Geekbuying for $29.99. This puts them among some the the cheapest wireless earbuds around.
Design & Build Quality
As with most wireless earbuds these days, the Spunky Beat arrives in a pill-shaped carrying case that also doubles as a charger. This one is a little different though as turning it over reveals a coiled USB cable that can be used to charge the case if you’ve forgotten the USB-C cable that plugs into the charging port.
The smooth matt-plastic looks smart, only interrupted by four LEDs on the front that show how much charge remains, but the pleather loop sticking out from the right side does spoil the aesthetic somewhat. Flipping open the hinged lid gives access to the earbuds themselves, which reside in two chambers with magnetic charging pins to keep them in place. Removing the buds is easy, which isn’t always the case with other models we’ve tested, and lets you get a proper look at what you’ll be wearing. The main body is a lightweight plastic construction with a slim profile and short stem that holds the earpiece. On top of each unit there is a large touch-sensitive area, surrounded by a bright LED light that lets you know which mode the Spunky Beat is currently set. Red for charging, blue for connected, that sort of thing. Should you only wish to use one earbud, say if you’re driving or in bed, then once they are connected you can simply put one back in the case and you’re good to go. In the ear the Spunky Beat feel comfortable, aided by their lack of heft. The touch sensitive buttons mean you don’t have to press them into your ear when skipping tracks or answering phone calls. Over time though, we did find that the right bud seemed to have trouble staying in our ear canal. Often ended up at a strange angle. Swapping the size of the tip didn’t really help, so we’re somewhat mystified at why this kept happening. If it wasn’t for the fact that we review earbuds all the time we’d be left with the opinion that our ears are different shapes. Maybe this is the case, but it’s only with the Spunky Beat that we’ve noticed a difference. Possibly the gently sloped design could be the cause of the curious behaviour, so if you get a chance, try these on before you buy them just in case you have freaky ears like us.
An IPX5 waterproof rating means you can use the earbuds while working out or if you’re walking home in the rain but leave them in the case when you slide into a bath afterwards.
Sound Quality & Features
Heading to Spotify and selecting a range of music styles shows that the Spunky Beat can deliver decent performance whether you’re into metal or modern pop. As is the case with many cheaper earbuds, the mix can feel a little unbalanced at times. There’s plenty of bass, but it lacks focus, and the treble frequencies can be too thin, but it’s all acceptable when you consider the price. Connections remain stable and can endure even when we walk into another room thanks to the Bluetooth 5 capabilities. There’s no active noise cancelling, although the Qualcomm QCC3020 chip does employ DSP technology to reduce higher and lower frequency noise, but as these are an in-ear design they do a good job of removing surrounding noise just by the sheer fact that they block your ear canal – aka noise isolation. Call quality is also reasonable, with those at the end of the line reporting that our voice sounds clear and understandable, albeit with a little background noise when we speak even though the Spunky Beat feature Qualcomm CVC 8.0 specs to alleviate that precise issue. The touch sensitive buttons offer a range of control options, including playing/pausing tracks, skipping back and forth, answering or rejecting calls, launching your device’s voice assistant, and of course turning off the earbuds themselves. These duties are all accomplished in a pleasingly consistent manner, accompanied by a binging noise to signify that your commands have been registered. Due to the sensitivity of the buttons we did find that taking the buds out of our ears or trying to adjust the position in the ear usually meant that the content we were listening would stop and start, often multiple times. It’s not the end of the world, but does mean you have to factor this in when touching the buds.
Battery life on the other hand is very impressive. Tronsmart claims up to seven hours of use from a single charge, with the output at 50 percent, and while it couldn’t quite match that we did get six hours which is enough to last you through a fair chunk of the day. That’s not all though, as the case itself can completely recharge the earbuds three times, each one only taking on hour. But, if you want to splash and dash then popping them back in the case for ten minutes will grant you an hour of charge. Not bad at all.
Verdict
For less than £30/$30 there’s plenty to tempt you with these earbuds, name notwithstanding. The sound quality is good, battery life is impressive, and the lightweight construction makes them comfortable to wear for extended periods (providing your ears are the right shape). We wish the control buttons weren’t so sensitive, but in most other areas the Spunky Beats are solid performers and easy to recommend. Martyn has been involved with tech ever since the arrival of his ZX Spectrum back in the early 80s. He covers iOS, Android, Windows and macOS, writing tutorials, buying guides and reviews for Macworld and its sister site Tech Advisor.
