Best Earbuds under ₹10,000 in India

• 1.

Sony released the highly-anticipated Sony WF-1000XM3 true wireless earbuds in India to much critical acclaim. The earbuds are now available at a heavily discounted price of Rs 9,990 on Amazon. The popular earbuds come equipped with best-in-class noise cancellation abilities enabled by Sony’s QN1e processor. The ANC is one of the best money can buy at this moment. The earphones also have a classy design with a matte black surface and copper highlights. You get a total battery life of 24 hours, with 6 hours on the buds themselves and a respectable 18 hours via the charging case. The 6mm drivers combined with Sony’s QN1e processor gives you a fairly balanced sound profile. There’s no official IP rating though, which is one of the few cons.

• 2.

Equipped with a 12mm single DLC dynamic driver, the FiiO FD3 in-ear monitor offers a relatively balanced sound signature and a semi-open design. These are the mid-range IEMs in FiiO’s FD lineup and they perform exceptionally well for the price. The shells of the earbuds are made out of aluminium-magnesium alloy and they are quite comfortable to wear. The cables of the are tangle-resistant as well. The sub-bass quality of these earphones is exceptional and it sounds very natural. The mids are slightly recessed but they sound pretty detailed as well and the treble range is energetic and has good attack. Additionally, the buds are also Hi-Res audio certified.

• 3.

Certain Chi-Fi brands such as Shanling and Lypertek have become extremely popular amongst audiophiles due to their balanced sound signature and affordability. Housing a 10mm dynamic driver, the Shanling ME100 is a Hi-Res certified wired pair of earphones with balanced sound signature. The company has also added a lightweight CCAW voice coil to enhance the quality of the mids and highs. The driver used also works well with any portable players or smartphones thanks to its low impedance and high sensitivity. As for the cables, the Shanling ME100 comes with an oxygen-free copper cable that improves sound signature and soundstage performance. The earbuds are also detachable from the wires so they can be replaced if damaged.

• 4.

Another pair of earphones with balanced sound is the MEE Audio MX3 Pro hybrid in-ears that come equipped with a triple-driver setup comprising of one dynamic subwoofer and two balanced armatures. The subwoofer has a moving coil that provides natural air movement within to create a more realistic sounding bass response and the balanced armatures handle the mids and highs effectively. You get detachable cables again for easy and cost-effective replacement. The earphones also come with an inline remote and microphone. The button allows users to control music playback and make handsfree calls. The microphone is also excellent for calls.

• 5.

The OnePlus Buds 3 are praised for their comfortable fit and design, reminiscent of the OnePlus Buds Pro 2, with a matte and glossy dual texture finish. They come with a range of features including LHDC high-res CODEC, customizable controls through the Hey Melody app, and OnePlus Audio ID 2.0 for personalized sound. The earbuds offer a U-shaped sound signature suitable for most music genres, with a bass-boosted sound balanced by boosted highs. They perform well overall, though there’s room for improvement in microphone and ANC performance in noisy environments. Priced at ₹5,499, the OnePlus Buds 3 are considered a solid choice in the budget segment, offering a well-rounded sound and a good set of features, making them a strong competitor to similar products like the Oppo Enco Air 3 Pro.

• 6.

Priced at Rs 9,999, the Oppo Enco X comes with an eye-catching spec sheet and good performance. The company has partnered with high-end Danish audio brand, Dynaudio, to bring compelling sound quality to this price segment. Equipped with Active Noise Cancellation, wireless charging, and other premium features, the Oppo Enco X are ‘flagship killers’, giving premium competitors a serious run for their money. The earphones offer good ANC, excellent sound and a plethora of features making them a value for money purchase that most people won’t regret. The earphones are not perfect, with issues such as finicky touch controls, average battery life and unreliable auto-pause and play functionality. However, the audio experience you get from the coaxial dual-drivers created in collaboration with Dynaudio is excellent for this price range.

• 7.

The OPPO Enco Air3 Pro earphones are designed with an understated gradient charging case and are lightweight, making them comfortable for extended use. They are also suitable for workouts, thanks to their IP55 water and dust resistance. In terms of sound quality, they deliver a clean, detailed sound with a bright and sparkly sound signature that emphasizes bass and mid frequencies. They also support the LDAC codec for high-resolution sound. Feature-wise, they offer up to 49 dB Adaptive ANC, a low latency mode, multiconnect, and customization through the HeyMelody app. However, they lack a customizable EQ. The battery life is considered mediocre, offering 7 hours of playback on the earbuds and 30 hours total with the charging case, without ANC and using AAC audio. The OPPO Enco Air3 Pro earphones offer a balance of sound quality, comfort, and features, but with room for improvement in battery life.

• 8.

The Nothing Ear (2) earbuds, retaining the unique transparent design of their predecessor, offer a snug and comfortable fit. They come with a well-rounded feature set in the Nothing X app, including pinch controls, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), audio personalization, and support for 24-bit Hi-Res audio. The earbuds exhibit a U-shaped sound signature with amplified bass and highs, but may have sibilance and muddy mids. However, they show an improvement in battery life over the Nothing Ear (1), providing around four and a half hours of playtime with ANC on, and additional charging rounds with the case. While the sound quality faces stiff competition from other brands, the Nothing Ear (2) could be a good choice for brand enthusiasts after some audio tweaking.

• 9.

The OnePlus Buds Pro 2, available in Obsidian Black and Arbor Green, are a sleek pair of earbuds with a matte-finish case that exudes class. They are comfortable to wear and come with an IP55 rating for dust and water resistance. These earbuds are packed with features such as Spatial Audio, Dual Connection, Google Fast Pair, and a low-latency mode, although some of these features are exclusive to OnePlus users. The dual driver setup offers improved sound balance and separation, with a bass-forward sound signature that is sure to appeal to bass lovers, but may not be to the liking of audiophiles. The battery life is impressive, offering up to 39 hours of total battery life without ANC and 25 hours with ANC. The earbuds also support Qi wireless charging and fast charging. The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is a feature-rich upgrade that is particularly suitable for bass enthusiasts and OnePlus users, despite some sonic fidelity shortcomings compared to some competitors

• 10.

Priced at Rs 9,999, the Google Pixel Buds A-Series is a solid mid-range TWS with good sound and microphone quality, a secure and comfortable fit, and excellent integration with Google Assistant. The battery life is also pretty decent but not the best we’ve seen in this price range. They’re essentially a more stripped-down version of the 2020 Pixel Buds. With these buds, Google is banking heavily on handsfree Google Assistant integration to make a case for themselves since they don’t have other prevalent features at this price range such as Active Noise Cancellation. The handsfree Assistant integration is very convenient and we found ourselves using it a lot on these buds. So, if seamless Google Assistant integration is something you’ve got your eyes set on, look no further than the Google Pixel Buds A-Series.