There are just some people who prefer an open-fit earbuds over the more popular in-ear earbuds. Most open-fit earbuds such as the Apple AirPods or the Urbanears Luma feature a stem. If you’re not a fan of that “stem” look, then the new Earin A-3 true wireless earbuds might be a pair of open-fit earbuds for you. The Earin A-3 true wireless earbuds is now available for a limited launch price of S$269 on Shopee till 5 May.
Unboxing
Inside the box, it will contain the following items:
- Earin A-3 true wireless earbuds
- Charging case
- USB-C to USB-A cable
- User manual
Tech specs
| Frequency Response | 20 – 20,000 Hz |
| Battery Life | 5 hours per full charge 25 hours in charging case |
| Weight | Earbuds: 4.2g each Charging case: 48.8g |
| Bluetooth Version | 5.0 |
| Charging type | USB-C, Wireless |
| Water Resistance | IP52 |
| Supported codecs | SBC, AAC, AptX |
Design, build quality and features
Earin A-3 comes in two colours for the charging case – Black, or white. The unit I have is the silver model. The charging case looks rather premium with a matte silver plastic as its exterior. The case is only almost 2cm thick, making it very pocketable and easy to bring around wherever you go. Build quality of the case is good and the hinges open and closes well with a satisfying snap.
The earbuds have a unique design for an open-fit earbuds. Instead of a stem, it went for a rounded off flat edge. The Earin A-3 is made mainly from plastic and feels well put together. There is also an IP52 water resistance rating, making it safe to use even if you get caught in the rain. I do wish the texture of the plastic had more of a grippy texture so it would feel secure when taking them out of the case or my ears.
Controls and companion app
One unique aspect of the Earin A-3 is that it does not have a dedicated left or right earbud. You can use either earbud on any ear and it will fit as well. The Earin A-3 employs touch controls, which can be activated using a double tap or a long tap. A double tap will perform a play/pause or pick up a call, while the long tap will activate the voice assistant on your phone.
If you wish to skip tracks or increase/decrease volume, you have to download the Earin A-3 app and customize the controls either from its ‘Hybrid’ or ‘Classic’ preset. The connection with the app works fine when tested with the iOS app. Do note that you cannot select what a single touch will do. The controls in each preset are pre-defined and you cannot change it.
Earin A-3 also features auto play/pause detection. Anytime you remove any side of the earbud, the music will automatically pause, and resume when you put it back in your ears. If you do not like this feature, you can disable it in the app as well.
Battery life
Earin A-3 has 5 hours of playtime per full charge, which is pretty short considering it does not offer ANC. But given the size of the earbuds, it’s fair to say that the duration of battery life is expected.
The charging case is charged via USB-C, but if you prefer the wireless charging convenience, the Earin A-3 supports wireless charging. A fully charged case will provide additional 25 hours of music play time bringing the total use to 30 hours.
Fit
The fit of the Earin A-3 is surprisingly secure. It is not as secure as what you’d get with an in-ear earbud, but for a pair of open-fit earbuds, I am impressed. The fit of the Earin A-3 sits comfortably in my ears with the rounded bulb edges resting nicely along the contours of my ear to register a good fit.
Due to the lack of stem and each earbud weighing only 4.2g, it feels really light in my ears. And I feel like I could just keep them in my ears even with no music playing and it won’ even feel comfortable. I particularly enjoy using the Earin A-3 in the office where I still want to know what is going on around me. And I can also wear them for longer hours than usual in-ear earbuds.
Sound quality
As there is no dedicated left or right earbuds, the Earin A-3 has patented automatic placement recognition to decipher which earbud is in which ear and automatically play the music in the correct stereo channel.
Being a pair of open-fit earbuds, I wasn’t Earin A-3 isn’t expected to have significant bass presence. But bass on the Earin A-3 was surprisingly present and deep. There was enough punch to the bass to give the song more flavour. These definitely have more bass than the AirPods.
Mids and treble are both clear and detailed, with vocals and instruments being the standout in the mix. The Earin A-3 produces a very balanced and comfortable listening experience with no frequency overpowering the other. It is a good tuning for all-day listening.
Microphone quality
The microphone on the Earin A-3 is not the best I’ve tested to date. My voice sounded distant and airy, like I was speaking from a speaking phone. Background noises managed to find its way into the mix quite easily, though the microphone does try its best to keep my voice forward. If you’re using this in a quiet environment, the Earin A-3 should do fine, but it will likely struggle in a noisy place.
Connectivity and latency
Earin A-3 is equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 and the connection I experienced during my time of testing was stable and reliable. Since there is no left or right earbud, you can use any earbud if you listen on a single earbud. I did not encounter any latency or lag when watching YouTube videos from the YouTube app on my iPhone 11.
Conclusion
If you’re a big fan of the open-fit styled earbuds but hate the stem sticking out of your ears then the Earin A-3 should be right up your alley. The Earin A-3 are incredibly comfortable for long hours of wear and nice balanced sound. At S$269, the Earin A-3 is rather expensive. But there aren’t many open-fit earbuds in the market designed like this. So if the Earin A-3 is something you’ve been waiting for then you can consider snapping up the launch promo price of S$269 on Shopee.