WESC True Wireless Earbuds

Founded in Stockholm in 1999, fashion label WESC has always been dedicated to the lifestyle of skateboarding, art and music subcultures. The latter is probably the reason for their expanded portfolio of headphones, such as these True Wireless Earbuds. These in-ears cause a stir with their upbeat colours, available in pink and blue options. For the more conservative who like something less flashy, they are also available in black. The shape of the earpieces seems a bit clunky compared to some graceful-looking in-ears from other companies, but they feel very light due to their plastic construction.

Visually, I find the transition between the earpieces, which are attached to the driver channel and supplied by the manufacturer in three different sizes, and the in-ear body very smooth and thus unobtrusive. On the top of both earpieces, the multifunction button stands out with its rubberised surface and the WESC logo. A microphone is built-in for making phone calls and communicating via voice assistant. An LED serves as an indicator for the Bluetooth connection. Two golden pogo pins flash out from the bottom, these are used to magnetically place and charge the in-ears via the matching pins in the transport case. Depending on the battery status of the case, up to four LEDs on the front light up in 25-per cent increments. The case can be conveniently powered wirelessly by placing it on an optional Qi-certified charging surface or conventionally with the included USB-C cable.

Wearing comfort

With their corresponding rubber tips, these lightweight in-ears fit naturally in the ear canal for secure placement. They noticeably close off the ear canal to audibly isolate distracting ambient noise. Yet you hardly feel them, as they also fit very comfortably. With these features, the True Wireless Earbuds prove to be a reliable accessory for sporting activities such as jogging. However, it is not clear what IPX certification the headphones have, as the product website speaks of IPX6, while the user manual states IPX4.

The specs

WESC only really discloses data on wireless operation: thanks to Bluetooth 5.0, these in-ears remain paired at a distance of up to ten metres; unfortunately, the codecs used are not disclosed. In terms of possible playing time, the manufacturer talks about five hours with one charge. Since the case can charge the headphones up to three times, we arrive at a total runtime of up to 20 hours. The built-in lithium-ion batteries charge fully within about two hours.

The manufacturer only advertises an impedance of 16 ohms and a sensitivity of 93 +/- 3 decibels. Our sound test will shed more light on this.

The sound

These Earbuds with their 6-millimetre drivers impressed with transparency and a balanced frequency spectrum. This was also confirmed by my listening tests: the individual synthetic instruments in Kraftwerk’s “Computer World” sounded very accurate and detailed so that one could audibly read almost every track as if from the arrangement. The sequencer in the intro is clearly defined with every single note, the low bass lays itself gracefully underneath, although extra decibels in the low frequencies wouldn’t go amiss. The mids are placed discreetly between the upper basses and the highs, which indicates the homogeneity of the sound. For vocals, the Earbuds offer the clear assertiveness of the treble, which ensures brightness. Only S-sounds are slightly overdone by the drivers with a slight hiss. In the track “Sordid Affair” by Röyksopp, the rumbling bass at the beginning delivers a solid low frequency with a pleasantly warm note. The vocals are crystal clear on the precisely accentuated groove. Only the S-sounds bite a little bit into the ear, but this can be forgiven. “Westchester Lady” by Bob James, an organically orchestrated sound sample, sounds positively rounded through these Earbuds, as I expected from a jazz title. The instrumentation, mainly in the mids, shines with dynamics and transparency. The bass offers a pleasant-sounding plateau without masking other frequency bands. Peaks like the triangle are reproduced cleanly and not overdone.

This means that the Earbuds are generally impressive with their sound, which I particularly like for its naturalness and transparency. Certain tracks would seem even better with a few more nuances in the low-frequency range.

The output of these Earbuds is solid, but they could do with a bit more headroom. For a powerful sound experience, you have to turn up the volume control to the last third, despite its low impedance. But even if you want to challenge the drivers with the maximum level, they manage to reproduce transients without distortion.

Bluetooth operation

As soon as you take these in-ears out of their case, they connect with each other automatically and then go into pairing mode, which is confirmed by the white flashing LED. From then on, your Smartphone lists the earphones in the list of discoverable Bluetooth devices. Once the pairing is confirmed, I could use the multifunction buttons to play or stop my music or to select the next or previous song.

Making a telephone call also goes smoothly: the buttons take care of answering, hanging up or rejecting incoming phone calls. During a call, it was possible to mute the microphone and switch to audio playback. The voice quality was very intelligible thanks to the built-in microphone and the sound pattern.