This is the second time we had a chance to test something out from HELM Audio, a brand that surfaced last year with pair or TWS earbuds that blew our minds when it came to distance (range) while providing a unique sound stage compared to most of the other models we have come across.
Now, they have their new HELM Audio TWS 5 wireless buds, which is their second-generation release, and we have been giving them a go for about a week now to see how they compare. Currently resting around $30 more than last years model, we could only assume they have something exciting in store.
Design
They offer literally the same physical design as the previous model. This includes both the buds and the case they come in. From the diamond design of the face of each bud to the silicone wings that are built-in (non-removable).
Everything about their design echoes the original design. The case is the same size, the same micro-USB port (for charging) and the functionality of how it charges the buds (only it seems to work better now).
There are four sizes of tips to customize the fit to your ears (tight, but not uncomfortable), and a USB cable for charging the case (and the buds inside).
Outside of the silver print on both the top of the case and the side of each bud, everything features an all-black design.
Performance
So what has changed? The step up to Bluetooth 5.0 of course. With this, you get better compression with a higher detail to what you are hearing. You get Qualcomm aptX support and more.
You get the sound of the previous model but a bit better thanks to this. Just like the other model, these have a good amount of lows to them, making them great for rock and roll and similar genres of music (it can be fun listening to a nice heavy guitar solo with these). This also means they are good for watching movies on your mobile devices.
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They still don’t provide audiophile listening, but you will almost always hear us say that about TWS buds, no matter the manufacturer. One of the best sounding true wireless (TWS) models we have heard yet is Sennheiser’s Momentum TWS, and even those don’t sound audiophile to us (and those are over twice the price as these). So this doesn’t affect us much when it comes to this model (Helm TWS 5) since it does rate pretty high against just about all of the other TWS models our ears have come across.
With Bluetooth 5, you get more clarity in what you are listening to thanks to the better compression rate that allows more bandwidth to your ears from your paired device (assuming of course that your device also supports BT 5). You can hear the difference with these.
Also with Bluetooth 5, you get much better battery life. Where the other buds offered around 3 hours of playback per charge (up to 15 hours with the case recharging them when not in use), this new model offers 6-8 hours of playback on a single charge, extended to up to 30-40 hours with the case. Now, the price tag of these buds matches them perfectly for the most part.
As for making phone calls, the sound is pretty good. Still noticeable by the other party that you are “using a Bluetooth earpiece”, but both parties can hear each other clearly. It’s hard to create a solid conversation experience when the mic isn’t riding close to your mouth. For what it is, they sound just fine though.
Range (when it comes to distance) is really the only bummer this round. The previous-gen model had better distance at 80+ feet. We were able to take it to the local gym, stash the phone in the locker, and walk into the pool room next door, to the opposite side of the room and into the steam room. All while keeping a connection at that distance, including the fact that we were sitting in a water-dense atmosphere (which also showed off their excellent water resistance). It turned into one of our favorite ways of benchmarking both distance and water resistance in both earbuds and headphones.
With this new model, the range is around 60+ feet. In our own tests, they seemed to perform around the average distance of a normal pair of semi-wireless buds (with the wire running between the buds), which typically have a longer connected range than TWS models. This time they did not make the distance using the same test conditions. The distance is still good as it still ranks better than “most” models we’ve tested, but it would have been nice to hold onto the original capability as for us, that was one of the features that won us over with the previous model.
This may also have something to do with the big gain in battery life (a sacrifice of one feature for another). Less distance could mean they are spending less power on transmission strength, therefore saving a little more on battery. This is nice, but again, we got a little spoiled with the distance before.
They still, however, do an amazing job in water-dense environments. We wouldn’t recommend showering with them as HELM doesn’t claim to be completely waterproof, but they should be perfect for the gym, a good sweat and even light rain.
We did find that these perform better at auto-switching on and off when you take them in or out of the case than the last model. With the last model, we found they didn’t always turn off when placed into the case, which could cause their battery to drain and you not knowing that all of your notifications were being sent to them. We had to manually hold the button on each to turn them off to make sure they were indeed off. With this model, however, they turned off automatically, every time we placed them back into the case.
The tips are a tight fit, so it takes a little more than normal to swap them out. The easiest way is to turn the umbrella section of the tip inside out by flipping it out/up and pinch the tube as you wiggle/rotate it around the stem of the bud. At least you’ll never have to worry about popping off on its own (ever).
As mentioned, the wings are still built-in. It should fit just fine in many cases, as it did for most of us. However, you may find someone with an ear that is shaped in a way that it doesn’t properly grab anything. It might have been smart to approach this as a swappable sleeve style for the wings so that you can have 2-3 difference sizes for further fitting it to your ears.
Our Conclusion
We love these buds and the sound they offer. The range (sound) is an upgrade from the last model and the highs/mids are more clear thanks to Bluetooth 5.0 support and AptX (keeping in mind that they have to be connected to a device that supports the same, which is just about any modern mobile device that is a flagship or comes close to being one). Sound is good and so is the battery life with an amazing improvement of over twice the life of the previous model. Distance from the connected device has dropped by a bit which is too bad, but you do gain in other areas. So they do balance out to compete well against other equally priced buds vs just excelling in one or two categories. These are great for those who like a well-balanced amount of lows in what they listen to, especially listening to rock or watching movies.
| Buy from Amazon | |
Our Rating | Average Price* $129.99 |
*Average price is based on the time this article was published
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