Earbuds we have tested with ANC that cost around £100 haven’t come close to the audio quality that the E5Bs offer. If it’s a deal-breaker for you, there are other options. You’d expect an audiophile approach from Yamaha and that’s what you get here. There are extra features too, though the primary focus has been on audio performance, and they’re all the better for it.

The result is a spacious, transparent sound image by in-ear standards. Solo voices in the center show a certain tendency of playing inside your head, but a generous, stable impression of reverb and ambience are created to either side. The nimble response to impulses and sparkling fine dynamics in the treble region also speak in favor to the yamahas. However, if you regularly listen to pop and rock recordings from the old days offering a somewhat questionable sound quality, they also expose all the details like a studio monitor, down to a slight hiss.

The Yamaha TW-E5B earphones lack extra features, but offer solid Bluetooth codec support and high-quality audio performance for the price.

While the audio quality is really great, the Yamaha TW-E5B misses out on several features like a working ‘Ambient mode’, Active Noise cancellation and a good microphone. If you are looking for a huge earbud with decent battery life and really great audio quality, the Yamaha TW-E5B might appeal to you.

With the TW-E5B, Yamaha presents the market with sonically powerful true-wireless headphones. The main focus is on the open and balanced sound, which definitely justifies the price with regard to the competition in this market segment. In practice, these elegantly designed headphones – provided you find the right fit – make a practical accessory for everyday mobile use but are less suitable for specialist sports use.

The Yamaha TW-E5B does compare rather favorably with the Sennheiser CX, Sony WF-C500, and Final Audio ZE3000, but it does not offer the same tuning as those other models. This is a rather good pair of wireless earbuds for the aforementioned genres of music — Yamaha just needs to fix the app to make the package better.

The rather boneless sound and a lack of comfort hamper these