Realme Buds Air 5 Pro, a more than amazing in-ear headphones

Technologies such as Active Noise Cancellation, LDAC HD codec, spatial audio and Hi-Res were only available to a handful of people a few months ago, but apparently 2023 is the year when these paradigms are behind us. The realme Buds Air 5 Pro is proof of this, and after several weeks of use, we have reached a verdict. Below, we tell you all the details about what could be the best in-ear headphones of this 2023.

Technical Specs

Methodology

To put the realme Buds Air 5 Pro to the test, we used them with iOS devices, Android devices, a PC, a MacBook Pro, and even a Steam Deck indoors, outdoors, and even on an intercontinental flight.

Noise cancellation

To be in-ear it has enough capacity to avoid loud noises like an airplane, just to give us an idea of the power, on average the on-ear headphones with noise cancellation support up to 80 decibels and these have only 38% less of that power, but considering that they are in-ear, we can get an idea of the strength with which it can obstruct the outside noise.

As for the modes, these feature cancellation:

They do a series of tests where we hear a type of vibration and then they do an analysis of our ear canal structure to give us a better experience. También cuenta con un modo de transparencia por medio del cual puede mejorar las voces y reducir el ruido del viento.

Audio quality

For this review, we used Tidal in HiFi Plus mode to evaluate the high-resolution audio and even the spatial audio.  Master, Dolby Atmos, and even normal tracks have clarity with frequencies and bass that are amazing; few headphones in this category deliver this level of sound. In fact, at times we forgot we were wearing in-ear headphones.

One thing we liked is that there are different sound effect modes:

The two bass modes are noteworthy, with the deep mode delivering an effect that few in its class can match.

One of the sections that stands out the most is the Gold Mode, which tries to match the sound of a studio. Here, the Realme Link application can generate a more optimal audio experience using software and a mix of sounds that we have to configure for each of our auditory channels. It is important to note that this test takes about 3 minutes because we have to validate different sounds for each of our ears in order to generate our profile.

In addition, you can activate the LDAC codec (which we recommend because it is one of the best currently available), dynamic bass that you can adjust from -5 to +5, a volume booster, a section to visualize the connected equipment, the Game Mode function, the headphone adjustment check and finally the section where you can configure the control taps.

Other sub-functions include enabling or disabling in-ear detection and auto answer, which means that when you take the headset out of the case, the call is answered automatically.

realme Buds Air 5 Pro are a good option for gaming

The fact of having low latency makes them a reference for titles such as Call of Duty Mobile, Free Fire, PUBG Mobile or Fortnite. In addition to this, considering that you can adjust them to taste, we are facing one of the best options for all mobile gamers without having to discard them to play on PC or laptops like the Steam Deck.

Design

The case, despite its sober appearance, is comfortable and the finish (at least on the beige version we tested) looks very good. The black ones could be a good fingerprint magnet, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they have a premium finish and the subtle color details on the ear cushions give them a special touch. Best of all, there are six covers to customize the headphones to your liking, and they are IPX5 certified, so they are water and sweat resistant.

For calls

The tests we carried out, both recording and calls, had average results, nothing extraordinary taking into account the price point, only when you use them indoors they can create a small “echo” effect, something common in this type of devices.

Baterry Life

Using them with active noise cancellation at a volume of around 90% gave us up to 3.5 hours of playback. Without noise cancellation, it can reach more than 6 and if we add that the case can give us about 3 and a half charges, we could extend the duration to almost 40 hours. It is important to note that the charging times of the case are about 50 minutes from 0 to 100% for the headphones and up to 2 hours to charge the case plus the in-ear.

Software

In addition to being able to customize the touches to control noise cancellation, pause, play, forward, or answer calls as we see fit, the options built into the Realme Link app put them at the top of the line by allowing us to do whatever we want with them.

Score: 9.5