Grell TWS/1 in the test: neutral sound with aptX Adaptive, LHDC and ANC

The earbuds have a unique design that differs from many of its competitors. The inner part adjoining the silicone attachment is provided with a silicone ring, which is supposed to improve the hold in the ear. This chamber is followed by the round outer area, on the outside of which the touch sensors are located under a thin glass surface and which houses a microphone in a short stem. In order not to give up the ghost even in rain and sweat, the earphones are protected against splash water according to IPX4.

Metal charging case with large battery

The metal charging case measures 39.0 × 66.0 × 34.0 mm (H × W × D) and is therefore a little thicker than many of its competitors. The Apple AirPods Pro, for example, come to 45.2 × 60.6 × 21.7 mm, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 to 50.0 × 50.2 × 27.8 mm. It is therefore a little too thick to be able to carry it comfortably in your pocket.

The weight is 61 g and is therefore also slightly higher than many of its competitors, the however, rely on a pure plastic housing. Each earbud weighs 7 g. The case is charged via USB-C or wirelessly according to the Qi standard. The internal battery is relatively large with a capacity of 770 mAh – each earbud has a capacity of 60 mAh.

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5, 28 and 45 hours of battery life

The manufacturer specifies the battery life of the earphones at around 5 hours with activated ANC. In total, it should be 28 hours with the charging case if ANC is used. The case charges the earphones around 4.5 times. Without ANC, the total battery life should be around 45 hours, i.e. 8 hours on one charge.

In the test, the pre-series model lasted 5:15 hours at medium volume and a colorful music mix with activated ANC, before the earphones have to be recharged.

garish TWS/1 Klipsch T5 II True Wireless ANC (McLaren Edition) Klipsch T5 II True Wireless Sport McLaren Edition Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Bluetooth standard: 5.2 5.0 5.2 Audio codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive, LHDC SBC, AAC SBC, AAC, aptX SBC, AAC, SSC Operation: Touch buttons Touch battery life of the earphones: 6.0/5.0 (ANC) h 7.0/5.0 (ANC) h 8.0 h 7.5/5.0 (ANC) h Battery life with charging case: 35.0 h 28.0 h 32.0 h 29.0 h Wireless charging: Yes ANC: Yes – Yes Single use: Yes IP certification: IPX4 IP67 IPX2 Weight per earphone/only charging case : 7.0/61.0 g 5.5/43.0 g 6.0/82.0 g 5.0/41.5 g USB charging connection: USB-C Dimensions charging case: 39.0 × 66.0 × 34.0 mm 49.1 × 55.5 × 28.9 mm 44.8 × 82.8 × 42.0 mm 50.0 × 50.2 × 27.8 mm Price: € 199.99 € 439 from 249 € 149 €

ANC, NAR and transparency mode

The garish TWS/1 have both active noise suppression and a transparency mode, with which one can perceive the surroundings. The manufacturer wants to counteract the typical noise of many in-ear headphones when activating ANC with better, but also more expensive microphones that generate 12 dB less noise than cheap microphones. A total of three microphones per earphone are used, so that a hybrid ANC with an inward and outward-facing microphone (feed-forward and feedback processing) was implemented, in which the inward-facing microphone measures the noise in the ear and also measures it a negative feedback loop as low as possible. Two microphones have an omnidirectional characteristic and are interconnected to form an intelligent array that is aimed at the mouth. The rear external microphone also serves as a microphone for the transparency mode and as a feed-forward microphone for noise-canceling.

NAR, the “Noise Annoyance Reduction”, is an in-house development, patent pending, which aims to counteract a problem from ANC. Because through the strong, active damping of low frequencies, the high frequencies are more clearly perceptible and are more disturbing. So a strong ANC can leave annoying high frequencies behind. The garish TWS/1 therefore analyze the spectrum of background noises and adapt the ANC using a psychoacoustic model in order to reduce the perceived annoyance from the environment. NAR is therefore an addition to ANC and can be added when the ANC is activated.

grell TWS/1

In telephony, the microphones also switch from cardioid to omnidirectional when wind is detected, in order to be less susceptible to wind noise.

control with swiping gestures

The garish TWS/1 rely on touch controls on both earphones. On the right copy, playback is started and paused by tapping it once. If you swipe from top to bottom, this reduces the volume. On the other hand, if the surface is swiped from bottom to top, the playback volume increases. Tapping the right earbud twice activates the voice assistant of the connected smartphone.

On the left earbud, it is primarily used to switch between ANC, NAR and transparency mode. If you tap the left earbud once, the transparency mode is activated, another tap changes to ANC. To deactivate the ANC again, the touch surface must be held down for about one second. However, deactivating these two modes only works if you are in the activated ANC. If the surface is held for one second when the transparency mode is active, the system switches to ANC. If the surface is held down for three seconds while the ANC is activated, until three short tones sound, the “Noise Annoyance Reduction” (NAR) is switched on. You can now switch between transparency and NAR with a single tap. If you want to use ANC again instead of NAR, you have to hold down the touch surface of the left earphone for three seconds in NAR mode. For the control, NAR is configured as an addition to ANC and can only be switched on and off when the ANC is activated.

grell TWS/1

garish TWS/1

The left earphone also offers swiping gestures. If you swipe from the back to the front, the repetition jumps forward one track, and one track backward from the front to the back.

If the area on the right earbud is held for five seconds, the pairing process starts and another device can be connected.

It takes a while until you have internalized the controls and even then you have to make sure to touch the touch surfaces cleanly so as not to accidentally activate a swiping gesture if you only want to tap briefly. The TWS/1 are therefore not completely free of incorrect entries, but the control works reliably. Adaptation is not possible. The garish TWS/1 also does not offer a function for automatically pausing and resuming playback when an earphone is removed from the ear or reinserted.

Good single use, without adjustment

Both earphones of the garish TWS/1 can be used alone. There are annoying dropouts and pauses neither when switching from stereo to mono nor vice versa. The control is not adjusted when using only one earphone, so that only the functions of the respective earphone can be used.

garish TWS/1

No app yet

The SoundID app from Sonarworks for the TWS/1 was not yet available for testing, but should be ready for sale in mid-November. Among other things, it will offer an equalizer with individual profiles and the option for firmware updates. However, it will not be possible to adjust the controls.

Comfortable to wear

The TWS/1 are expansive, which is why they cannot be worn well under hats, but the wearing comfort does not suffer. Thanks to the rubberized edge, they sit comfortably in the ear without pressing or constantly changing their position. Even light jogging is not a problem in the test, but with faster sports it can be problematic due to the relatively far out center of gravity, which always depends on the individual seat.

garish TWS/1 in the ear

garish TWS/1 in the ear

garish TWS/1 in the ear

garish TWS/1 im Ohr

On the next page: sound, ANC, telephony, latency and conclusion