Yamaha TW-E5B TWS review

The textured lozenge shape fits well in your ears, regardless of your ear shape and size. Just insert and twist to fit, with an additional choice of ear tips included for a 100% seal. If you get it right and you should easily, it’s almost 70% as good as an effective ANC headphone. Yamaha has used a 7mm driver in an optimised housing that aims to keep music in and the ambient sounds out. Though, Yamaha has also included a very rudimentary version of “transparency” mode via the Headphone Control app in case you’d like to be more aware of your surroundings.

Controls on the earbuds are via hard keys and while they are responsive to get basic tasks done like track changes, volume level and voice assistant summoning, their placement is such that they inevitably upset the fit. Even though just momentarily. It requires the slightest readjustment in your ears and you’re better off just using your phone’s controls. LEDs on each earbud convey pairing status via different colours and on the case, the charge is indicated by a row of white LEDs.

Wearability comfort is acceptable if you get the right ear tip size snd if you use them for indoor use or commuting. But, the form factor itself doesn’t inspire confidence to wear them for an intense run or work-out. The weight balance titls heavily towards the outer ear, leaving you in a state of fear that either one could pop out any time. IPX5 certification means that it will endure sweat and light splashes though.

The partnering Headphone Control app offers basic EQ adjustments and presets besides toggles for Listening Care, Gaming Mode and Ambient Sound. Working like a loudness control, adding a gentle boost to frequency extremes for low level listening, Listening Care works in the most subtle way, attempting to make music sound fuller without the need to pump up the volume. Yamaha’s ambient mode is equally mild too and since there is no ANC circuitry on the TW-E5B, it lacks the transparency and spatial cues that you get with more expensive TWS earbuds. Also, toggling the mode on/off triggers a piano key alert tone that is rather crude. Lastly, Gaming mode is said to reduce latency between the audio and video while playing games, or watching movies and can be experimented with if you’re experiencing any delays.

Blocking off most of the ambience the moment you plug them in, the TW-E5B deliver on naturalness and it’s instantly audible too. Leave the EQ in the flat position and Just to Keep you Satisfied by Inhaler sounds involving, detailed and full-bodied without any signs of obvious coloration. The recessed vocals with a distortion effect are reproduced with the intended effect against the propulsive bass and drum tracks. Let the tonality sink in over a few tracks and you realise that the TW-E5B doesn’t artificially emphasize any frequency band for short term impressiveness. Instead, the sound is expertly tuned for longer listening without any fatigue with a high degree of timbral accuracy. After a few minutes of going through various genres, it was easy to forget you were wearing anything at all! They can sound open or intimate, depending on the recording and convey the emotional impact of the musical content pretty well.

Where the TW-E5B lose out on are some essential features like auto pause (proximity sensor) when you pluck one earbud out, wireless charging or even something as basic as playback controls in the app. Instead, you have to keep switching back and forth from your music app to the Yamaha Headphone Control which is just tedious. There’s also no Spatial Audio support, which wouldn’t have been a big deal until a few months ago, but suddenly with Google announcing support in Android 13 and a lot of the Chinese TWS brands already on-board with their latest offerings, it might be a deal breaker for some.

A combined playback time of 30hrs between the case and the earbuds isn’t shabby at all and this is thank to the lack of an ANC circuit. During my time with the Yamaha, it came charged fully and I didn’t have to charge them for the duration of my listening tests at all! A USB-C charging port will top up the battery in about 2.5hrs and a 10min charge should give an hours worth of additional listening time.

A typical audio-company offering, the Yamaha TW-E5B focus on the essentials, like sound quality and fatigue-free listening instead of cramming it with the latest features. At its price point though, there are a lot of great options from brands like Oppo, OnePlus, Samsung and even Apple that offer more sophistication in terms of features, app or hardware design. Where the Yamaha scores though is staying true to the musical intent of the artist and giving you a natural, preservative-free sonic experience.