User Review pTron Basspods 992

Product Link: pTron Basspods 992
Price Range: ~Rs. 1500 - Rs. 1700

My Requirement:

My primary TWS is Jabra Elite 65t but recently it went bad and stopped charging inside the case. I have raised request with Jabra to RMA and from the looks of it, it will take sometime as they are slow to respond and also from what I got to know through a member here, I will need to go and collect the replacement (once Jabra approves) all the way from a shop in Crawford Market near CST, Mumbai which is pretty far for me so only can be done on weekends.
Hence I was looking for a backup earbuds which decently worked and I did not want to spend a lot. I do eventually intend to buy the Airpods Pro. I wanted TWS only, due to the convenience they offer and me getting accustomed to them.

My Options:
Amazon is littered with 1000s of listings of TWS and finding a good one is very difficult. I drilled down to all 4 star and plus ones. Also I wanted to have something relatively cheaper. I didn't drill down to like 3-4 options due to the sheer volume of brands and units. I did consider brands like Noise, pTron, Mivi, boAt and so on. Most brands have similar feature set like touch controls, deep bass and so on.

Why pTron Basspods 992?
After wasting few hours trying to compare the sub 2K earbuds, I drilled down to the pTron Basspods 992 as it seemed to offer great feature set (on paper at least) and had good reviews, but only 150 odd reviews were there so those may be gamed too. Still took a chance.

What I like?

  • Feature set offered for the price. I mean ANC, transparency at 1600 bucks?
  • Nice fit and decent sound quality, latency seems controlled.
  • Transparency Mode - My jabra has it so I wanted this feature. It works pretty well.
  • ANC - I have almost no experience using ANC earbuds but I am seriously impressed by how well it works in this. In my bedroom, with fan and AC on, on turning ANC, the humming sounds totally disappeared. Even on road, the environment sounds are very highly controlled, just that when an auto rikshaw would pass or breeze would come then I would hear them. Seriously impressed by ANC for this price point. This is real ANC and not that voice call CVC ANC stuff.
  • USB-C Port - I am indifferent for this and don't care if there is MicroUSB too but many people like USB-C port so mentioning in Pro.
  • Instant connection to last connected device after opening and taking over single earbud. I guess this should be expected anyways.
  • Can call Voice Assistant from earbuds directly through connected phone.
  • The lady saying "pTron ANC Connected" sounds pretty enthusiastic and not robotic. :)

What I Dislike (not cons, this is very subjective)?

  • Touch controls do work well but sometimes can be finicky. Also I am personally not fan of touch controls, I like buttons better.
  • Switching between ANC On, Off and Transparency Mode is slow and has lady voice declaring the mode. Useful but also bothering.
  • No Multi point connectivity - I know it was never there but would have loved if it was available. Not a deal breaker but just stating the fact that feature doesn't exist. My jabra 65t has.

At the price I bought (Rs. 1676), I am satisfied with the product and at the time of writing this review, I have only used this for 2 days. I will keep updating the review whenever I remember or if anyone of you are reading it and have questions, you may ask here. I have not yet tested call quality and I rarely use this for calls and I rarely call people so I am ok with it.
 
Great review.

Small question. How about the battery life for the tws? And how long it take to charge?

I think it takes 2 hours or so to charge. Honestly didn't actually calculate. My max continuous usage has been only 2 hours but still it was showing almost full battery on my iPhone / iPad top bar. That makes me feel it will go to 4+ hours easily. May be I will try to do a battery test with continuous music playback and see. Honestly, I don't see myself using more than 2 hours in a go and hence it would not matter very much to me.
 
Looks like vfm item,

+ 1 for Usb C and Bluetooth version 5.0. Battery backup must be good as expected on Bluetooth 5, many are still manufacturing Bluetooth 4+ only.

-1 for no codec support like Aptx, Aptx HD, SBC, AAC etc. but can't complaint at this price.
It does matter a little but exceptions are there, some earphones sounds wonderful without these codecs too like my Philips TAE1205BK.

I'm yet to experience this TWS technology.
 
I have sold these TWS earbuds now as I got the replacement Jabra 65t and myself I am using the 75t. For the price, these earbuds are actually very good and offer features like ANC and transparency which actually work. I only sold as I didn't want to keep something as backup and never use it or just keep in anticipation of using in future. Better to get money.
 
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