Aukey EP-T31

Equipment package

In the rather plain box, you will find the in-ears, three pairs of earpieces (S, M, L), a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, operating and quick-start guides and the charging case, which can also be charged wirelessly according to the Qi standard. Pairing via Bluetooth 5.0 is quick and straightforward when the box is opened for the first time, although removing the in-ears from their cradles is a little fiddly. Once you have found the right adapters for your ear, the small plugs almost disappear in the ear, which is a pleasure to wear in terms of wearing comfort, but on the other hand, also means a bit of twisting and pushing until the EP-T31s have found their right place and are securely in place.

Sound

This relaxed feel continues with the music, which is quite delicate and a little lacking in bass via the SBC or AAC codec to the 7mm drivers and lacks depth and punch, which for me was clearly caused by the slightly off-centre fit. After a few corrective adjustments in my ear – although the combination of large fingers and the small size of these in-ears lead to unintentional actions on the remote sensors – a quite balanced sound eventually emerges, to which one can assign a certain suitability for everyday use. Even if the bass doesn’t quite hit you in the gut, the mids and trebles make a statement in a somewhat blurred and not quite as powerful sound, which is useful for background music and your daily podcast and, thanks to the lightness of the construction, barely distracting either in and on the ear.

Controls and more

As mentioned earlier, the remote sensors on the backs of these in-ears are quick and sensitive, which is both a curse and a blessing with the EP-T31s, as every swipe near your ear is immediately acknowledged with an action, whether you want to trigger one or you were just pushing the slipped earplugs back in.

Except for the volume, all essential commands can be triggered on the EP-T31: start/stop/calls, skip forward and back, digital assistance and a small highlight of the features, the low-latency mode can be switched on. This is supposed to provide improved synchronicity for games and videos. For these affordable True Wireless in-ears, that’s a decent range of functions, and they are also waterproof according to IPX5 and equipped with an infrared sensor that acts as wearer recognition and pauses and resumes the programme. Of course, you can also use the EP-T31 to make phone calls, but the voice quality does not go beyond “usable”.

Power

The tiny batteries in the small EP-T31s provide four hours of operation, which can be extended to 28 hours in total with the help of the pocket-friendly charging case. This is quite good for such a small design, even if the competition offers significantly longer runtimes. The EP-T31s can claim another plus point thanks to the wireless charging option for the case.