Intezze Cliq

With a weight of 4.3 grams per side, the Intezze Cliq are extremely light, fit comfortably in the ear and don’t cause any pressure discomfort even when worn for several hours. Their housings barely protrude from the ears, so these in-ears can be worn under a cap. The flat design promotes a stable fit that also makes it possible to take part in sporting activities. With the corresponding earpieces, these in-ears can even withstand stronger vibrations. In accordance with IPX4, the small earpieces are also protected against splashes of water and perspiration from all sides.

The case does not have IP certification, but the housing is made entirely of aluminium, which indicates quality and is hard to find in this price range. The weight of just under 64 grams can fit in a trouser pocket, and the case is even flatter than that of the Apple AirPods 3. And much like the gesture that is possible with an old-school Zippo lighter, you can “pop” the lid…

Battery life

These wireless in-ears deliver decent endurance, even if they’re not the most powerful on the market: At a high volume, the Intezze Cliq offered a runtime of around eight hours. The headphones can be fully charged four times via the case, resulting in a total runtime of about 40 hours. A charging cycle of the headphones takes about 90 minutes, and multicoloured LEDs ( on the in-ears and the case) indicate the charging status. However, the manufacturer has not provided a quick-charge function. The case is charged via USB-C; wireless charging via Qi is not possible. A short, approx. 27-centimetre-long USB-C to USB-A charging cable is included in the package for the purpose.

Operation

Pairing the Intezze Cliq, which also support single-mode use, is done by removing the in-ears from the case. This turns them on and puts them into pairing mode. Putting them back in the charging case switches them off, but by holding down the touch-sensitive surfaces, the in-ears can be switched off and on again manually. Charging capacity or pairing readiness are announced via an English voice prompt. Multipoint, i.e. simultaneous connection with several end devices, is not supported by these headphones.

The range of the Bluetooth connection remained stable across several rooms, and up to 40 metres was possible in open space – a very good result.

The touch control reacted precisely but did not behave “with industry-standard”: The volume can be reduced with a single tap on the left and increased on the right. Playback is controlled by double-tapping the touch surfaces; this is also used to end phone calls and is possible on both sides. The left headphone can be used to skip forward to the next track, the right headphone to skip back. Voice assistants can be called up by tapping the left or right side three times. An app connection is not available to customise the earpieces and their controls. Comfort functions such as transparency mode or active noise cancelling are also missing. The latter is hardly noticeable given the very high passive noise cancellation, but some people might sorely miss the non-existent auto-pause function: If you take the earphones out of your ears and place them on the table, they continue to happily drone on until the battery runs out.

How the Intezze Cliq sound

The Intezze Cliq sound powerful in the bass range: the reproduction was full-bodied, snappy and clear, but at high volumes – and these headphones can be really loud! – the sound became a bit spongy and, at times, diffuse. The bass did not radiate into the mid-range or mask it. The mids, on the other hand, seemed slightly recessed so that solo instruments and voices were not particularly assertive in loud background noise. However, this never seemed obtrusive or tiring.

The high-frequency range was not the liveliest but always remained clear and delivered details cleanly. This contributed to the airiness and impression of space but could tire the ear quite quickly when detailed, treble-heavy tracks were played back. When turned up loud, the high frequencies could sometimes be overemphasised in sibilant sounds. As a daily accessory for use on public transport or in the home office, the Intezze Cliq delivered a very solid and tidy performance.

The manufacturer has installed the entry-level chipset Qualcomm QCC3040 in this model, which, in addition to the power-saving version 5.2, also delivers the codecs SBC, AAC as well as aptX, but high-resolution variants of the aptX family or LDAC, are not available.

Telephoning with the Intezze Cliq

In a quiet office environment, the Intezze Cliq offered satisfactory voice quality for video conferencing and phone calls, which applied to both sides of the conversation. By suppressing background noise using Qualcomm’s cVc technology while speaking, one’s voice could still be understood quite well on the go.