Although Blaupunkt is better known in the automobile audio segment, it’s gained some reputation in the personal and home audio space in recent years. Its product range now includes soundbars, wireless speakers and speaker systems, and headphones and earphones, most of which are priced affordably and are largely sold online in India. Among the company’s recent launches is the BTW100 true wireless headset, which promises to deliver a competent budget experience with a focus on sound quality.
With environmental noise cancellation, touch controls, and USB Type-C charging for the case, the Blaupunkt BTW100 covers the basics at a competitive price of Rs. 1,299 in India. Is this the best affordable true wireless headset you can buy right now? Find out in this review.
The Blaupunkt BTW100 doesn’t have active noise cancellation, but there is support for the AAC Bluetooth codec
Blaupunkt BTW100 design and specifications
The Blaupunkt BTW100 is priced very affordably, but the design doesn’t really give that away. This is a good-looking pair of true wireless earphones, with a proper in-canal fit and long stems. There are chrome accents and distinctly large Blaupunkt logos on the earpieces along the length of the stems, along with indicator lights at the top. The charging contact points are on the inner side of the stem, and the microphones are at the bottom of the earpieces.
There are two colour options for the Blaupunkt BTW100 — black and white. The black variant sent to me didn’t show any grime or fingerprints easily, and I found the fit comfortable even for long listening sessions. The outer sides of the earpieces are touch sensitive for the controls, but the lack of app support means these controls can’t be customised.
A single tap on either side plays and pauses music, a double tap skips to the next or previous track, and a triple tap lets you adjust the volume. The touch-and-hold gesture invokes the default voice assistant on your paired smartphone. There were quite a few occasions where the taps didn’t register correctly; a double tap or triple tap registered as a single tap, so you’ll have to be careful when performing such gestures to ensure the tap controls work properly.
The charging case of the Blaupunkt BTW100 true wireless earphones is simple, clamshell-shaped, and is small and light enough to slip into a pocket or handbag. There are three indicator lights on the front for the battery level, and the back has the USB Type-C charging port. The earpieces and the lid snap into place magnetically.
Even though the Blaupunkt BTW100 is a budget true wireless headset, the specifications and features on offer are decent. The earphones use Bluetooth 5.1 for connectivity, with support for the SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs. Environmental noise cancellation for improved sound on calls is also present on the headset. The earpieces are IPX5 rated for water resistance.
There is environmental noise cancellation for calls on the Blaupunkt BTW100 earphones
The Blaupunkt BTW100 supports 80ms low-latency, but since there is no way to activate this through the headset, it’s presumed that the earphones are always in low-latency mode when in use. The headset has 10mm dynamic drivers, and the sales package includes a total of three pairs of silicone ear tips, and a short charging cable.
Blaupunkt BTW100 performance and battery life
Although it’s possible to buy true wireless earphones with features such as active noise cancellation and app support for around the Rs. 2,000 price point, more affordable headsets are expectedly a bit simpler in operation. The Blaupunkt BTW100 isn’t feature rich, but it is technically adept at its core functionality, and the most important aspect — sound quality — is decent enough for the price.
Usefully, the Blaupunkt BTW100 does support the AAC Bluetooth codec in addition to SBC, and this makes a difference to sound quality. Listening to Back To Life by Croatia Squad, the earphones revealed a very obvious low-end bias in the sonic signature. The sound was punchy and aggressive with the beat of this progressive house track drawing much attention, and fans of electronic or popular music will definitely enjoy the bass attack on the earphones. The headset gets quite loud, which is felt more with fast, aggressive tracks.
While this did sometimes come across as a bit much, the attack seemed to stop short of sounding muddy or overbearing. With 24K Magic by Bruno Mars, despite the strong hip-hop-inspired beats punching hard, the vocals and synth-pop elements had plenty of room to push through, making for an enjoyably aggressive sound that had a reasonably good soundstage and imaging.
Battery life is decent for the price on the Blaupunkt BTW100, with a total of 23 hours of listening time per charge cycle
There is a fair degree of separation in the audio, but that’s not to say that the Blaupunkt BTW100 sounds very detailed, as this is an affordable headset after all. The strong bass tends to be distracting and makes it hard to hear the finer aspects of tracks, but there is some level of cohesiveness and definition to be heard in softer elements of the track, particularly in the mid-range and highs.
It’s also worth pointing out that the bass does tend to cause some listener fatigue over long listening sessions at high volumes. At lower volumes, I found the Blaupunkt BTW100 comfortable, but considerably less exciting and fun to listen to.
Call quality on the earphones was average, but useful enough for short calls indoors. While the environmental noise cancellation did seem to improve voice quality, there was still plenty of background sound sneaking in when outdoors. Connection quality was good, with the Blaupunkt BTW100 holding a stable connection with the paired smartphone at distances of up to 3m.
Battery life on the Blaupunkt BTW100 was good for an affordable headset. The earpieces ran for a little under four hours per charge, and the charging case added nearly five additional charges, for a total battery life of around 23 hours per charge cycle at moderate to high listening volumes. This is a fair bit lower than the company’s claimed figure of 40 hours, but it’s pretty good given the price of the BTW100 earphones.
Verdict
Affordable true wireless earphones tend to be a bit too basic and lacking in polish, but the Blaupunkt BTW100 is a refreshing change in a price segment where we typically find mediocre products. The earphones aren’t particularly feature-filled, but things such as the decent design and sound quality, support for the AAC Bluetooth codec, and good battery life make this well worth considering if you have a budget of around Rs. 1,500.
This price segment is a competitive one, and indeed spending just a few hundred rupees more can get you options with active noise cancellation, such as the Realme Buds Q2. It may also be worth looking at neckband-style Bluetooth earphones in this price range, but if you’re sure you want true wireless earphones and have a tight budget, the Blaupunkt BTW100 is a decent pick.
