Yamaha has expanded its range of true wireless earbuds with the all-new TW-E7B as well as its first-ever sporty pair, the TW-ES5A.
The TW-E7B offers a trifecta of technologies. Like the TW-E5B that came before them, the E7B deliver the company's True Sound and Listening Care technologies, but this time they also add active noise cancellation (ANC) to the mix.
True Sound is what Yamaha calls its ability to combine acoustic and digital technologies to render the music "as the artist intended". Listening Care, meanwhile, balances the difficult-to-hear high and low frequencies during low-volume listening so that you don't have to crank up the volume in order to hear these parts. In the long run, this will help preserve your hearing.
The E7B have a more advanced form of Listening Care than their predecessors, suitably called 'Listening Care – Advanced'. This factors in the content volume (like the music's dynamic range and the different recording levels) and background noise to optimise the sound at any volume.
Add active noise-cancellation in there and you've got what's known as a triple threat.
Yamaha claims the noise cancellation is unique thanks to the firm's own algorithm. This analyses the signal received from the internal mic and the playback music signal, calculating and filtering the noise components out to leave the music signal untouched with no EQ correction required (as it is with most ANC).
Inside each earbud is a 10mm driver, while acoustic holes on the driver housing control the airflow to supposedly maximise performance. To ensure a comfortable fit, the E7B come with five ear tip sizes, plus an app-facilitating Listening Optimiser function that analyses the shape of the inside of your ear and adjusts the sound to compensate.
So what else is there? Qualcomm Clear Voice Capture (cVc) is onboard in an effort to make calls come through nice and clear, while TrueWireless Mirroring enables independent transmission from music sources to each earbud for greater playback stability. You can hear sounds from your environment like station announcements using the Ambient Sound mode, and the low-latency Gaming Mode is perfect for playing games or watching videos. The earbuds detect when they're removed from your ear and automatically pause playback, resuming when they're returned, too.
The battery life is six hours from the buds, plus another 16 from the charging case – not class-leading but not bad by any means either.
The Yamaha TW-E7B will launch in July/August and cost £219 (around $275, AU$380).
As for the TW-ES5A, they arrive as Yamaha's first entry into the active true wireless earbuds market, which is dominated by the likes of JBL, Jabra and Jaybird. Like their 'standard' siblings, they too sport the same True Sound, Ambient Sound, Qualcomm cVc and Listening Care technologies, but in a body that boasts a water-resistant rating of IPX7, meaning they're about as waterproof as they come.
They're suitably durable in the battery department too. The earbud battery lasts nine hours while the charging case provides another 25 hours, making the total battery life from a single charge a very impressive 34 hours.
The TW-ES5A will be available in July/August, priced £149 (about $190, AU$260).
MORE:
See our extensive back catalogue of Yamaha reviews
Consult our pick of the best wireless earbuds 2022: budget and premium
Check for the best wireless earbuds deals 2022: cheap wireless earbuds at bargain prices
