For relatively little money, the Aukey EP-T27 are quite convincing True Wireless in-ears, with a runtime of just under five hours, which can be extended by another 20 hours with the charging case. These IPX07-rated in-ears are light and small, yet sound surprisingly big and wide, which is certainly thanks to Qualcomm’s codec. Apart from a few recurring inconsistencies with pairing and the oversensitive control panels, the Aukey EP-T27 are definitely to be recommended.
After the EP-T21, EP-T28 and EP-T25, which all scored points with an impressive price-performance ratio, now Aukey present the EP-T27, which at around 50 Euros are the most expensive completely wireless headphones in this range. However, the EP-T27s come with AAC and aptX as a high-quality codec – which is definitely noticeable in terms of sound quality.
First
In a simple cardboard box, Aukey provides the headphones, a pocket-friendly charging case, USB-C to USB-A cable, and three pairs of earpieces in S, M, and L, meaning it doesn’t take long to get used to them and you can put the EP-T27 – as long as they’re charged – straight into action. However, pairing via Bluetooth 5.0 on both an iPhone and a MacBook was somewhat awkward, which was why I had to put the Aukeys back into the case a few times and start the procedure all over again until it finally worked. I can only speculate as to the cause of this unusual behaviour.
Aukey promote a single mode as a special feature, i.e. one earphone can remain in the case, the other in the ear. In my pairing list, there was, therefore, an L-Aukey and an R-Aukey, but in stereo mode, only the L-Aukey is paired (which indicates that the left is master, the right slave). Apparently, the device got confused if I took one earphone out of the case and then took too long to get the second one, because, in the meantime, single-mode was triggered. Which brings me to another criticism: Getting these in-ears out of the charging case is a bit fiddly because it’s hard to get a grip on the small plugs.
Sound
Once they were in your ear and safely connected, the quality sound of the EP-T 27 was very surprising. Transparent and rich in the highs with a cleanly defined bass and well-penetrating mids, these headphones present themselves in a very attractive light, even if their surprisingly small size meant that the headphones tended to slip quite a bit in my ear and I had to adjust them quite often. Nevertheless, it was worth Aukey spending the money on licensing aptX, which certainly explains the higher purchase price of the EP-T27, but also explains their excellent sound, which was warm and full, yet did not fatigue over time.
Remote
On the backs of the headphones are touch fields that can be used to call up the usual control instructions. Everything except the volume can be controlled with a few touch gestures. This actually works very well, but the fields react very sensitively to unintentional touching or pressing. Of course, long-distance calls can also be made with the EP-T27. In normal surroundings, the voice quality was sufficient to good, but if it gets too loud, a noise suppression kicked in that seems rather too much of a good thing and chopped off the voice quite a lot.
Technical specifications
- Ear couplingIn-ear
- Typeclosed
- Transducer principledynamic
What's in the box
- 3 pairs of ear tips (S, M, L)
- USB-C to USB-A cable
- Charging case
Special features
- BT codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX HD
- BT version: 5.0
I bought AUKEY IPX7 headphones on 29th November 2020 on Amazon.de, and rarely use them (maybe two or three times a month). In early 2021 I contacted AUKEY to report that a protective grid on the right earpiece had come off. But I did not receive any answer. Last week I discovered a crack that starts from the hinge of the case, which is the result of opening and closing the lid of the case (as the box was never dropped or mishandled). I think that within a month, the case will be irreparably damaged. I truly expected better quality from AUKEY. It is not normal that these kinds of defects occur after only a few months of use. Apart from these aesthetic concerns, I am relatively satisfied with the sound performance of these headphones. If it weren’t for the flaws I mentioned, I would definitely recommend the AUKEY IPX7 to anyone looking for quality wireless BT headphones.