"A chic design and a tiny size make the Earin A-3 in a class of its own."
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Tiny size
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Elegant design
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Good call quality
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Good battery life
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Wireless charging
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Auto play / pause
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Expensive
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Limited control adjustment
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No noise cancellation
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No quick charge option
You may not have heard of Earin before, but if you've ever seen someone with a set of true wireless earbuds, you've seen the impact the company has had on personal audio. The Swedish company single-handedly introduced the true wireless category when it launched its M-1 earbuds in 2015. The rest is history. And while it's been pretty quiet for Earin in recent years, it hasn't rested on its laurels.
At CES 2021, the company unveiled the $ 199 A-3, its true third-generation wireless product, and its first earbuds to use a semi-open design. Much like the M-1, the A-3 broke barriers as the smallest and lightest earbuds on the market, as well as the first true wireless earbuds that automatically detect which ear they're in.
All of this is very impressive, but it won't mean much if the A-3 doesn't perform in all of the major areas like sound quality and battery life. Let's find out if they're worth your consideration.
What's in the box?
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
The Earin A-3 are delivered in a matt printed box. With the exception of a few small plastic stickers that protect the earbuds' contact surfaces, everything is easily recyclable. Inside you will find the A-3 earphones – already in the charging case -, a braided USB-C charging cable and a user brochure.
design
From left: Jabra Elite 75t, Apple AirPods Pro, Earin A-3 Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Let's start with the loading case. The U-shaped bottom and the hinged lid are available in silver or black and most closely resemble the case of the second-generation Google Pixel Buds. However, the A-3's satined aluminum shell gives it a high quality, sophisticated feel that Pixel Buds owners can only dream of. It is perhaps the nicest charging case I've ever seen, as is the Klipsch T5's fantastic Zippo case.
Earin tells me that both the case bodies and lids are hand polished and then clear anodized so there may be small differences in the finish that you see on these parts. That certainly was true for me – Earin sent in two samples of the A-3 and each case and lid differed slightly in terms of smoothness.
The charging case is also very small – only slightly larger than the one that houses the AirPods Pro, which is still one of the smallest cases on the market.
They look like someone painted a set of AirPods black, tore off the stems, and then gave them a mohawk.
On the back of the case is a black plastic plate that not only enables wireless charging, but also masks the A-3's invisible pairing and reset button.
The only thing I can't figure out is why the case isn't even smaller than it is. You'll also wonder why when you flip open the lid to reveal the A-3 earbuds inside. They are incredibly small. So small, in fact, that once you've removed the bottom two-thirds of the charging box, you might not have room for the battery and wireless charging coil, but still plenty of room for the buds.
The earbuds themselves look like someone painted a set of AirPods black, tore off the stems, and then gave them a mohawk.
They're likely to be easy to drop if you're not careful. To my great surprise, they slide in and out of their charging sockets with ease. Your magnets are aligned so well that all you have to do is drop them into the top of the case. They take care of the rest and click into place as if they had been waiting for the opportunity.
According to Earin, the A-3 are rated IP52 for water and dust protection. This is the bare minimum to claim water resistance. However, if you don't forget these while in the shower (quite possible), this should be fine for most workouts.
Convenience, control and connections
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Do earbuds with silicone earbuds feel like a little rubber animal is trying to get into your brain? Do you like the way Apple's AirPods or their wired equivalent, the EarPods, feel? If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, the A-3 is very comfortable. As I've also found, they may feel a lot more secure than Apple's earbuds.
There really aren't any perfectly comfy earbuds, but the A-3 comes as close as I've ever felt.
Their shape is part of the reason. The main body is a tiny bit larger than the corresponding part of the AirPods, which allows them to make contact with the skin of your concha (the outer ear). But the other part is their tiny mass. Shake your head as hard as you dare or pound the sidewalk for hours – those things are going nowhere.
There really aren't any perfectly comfy earbuds, but the A-3 comes as close as I've ever felt.
The A-3 are equipped with both touch-sensitive control panels (the small protruding slats with the Earin logo) and accelerometers. Skin contact with the panels is considered "touch" while "knocking" is any type of bump and can be done through clothing such as gloves and hats.
What's a little strange is that despite these two types of control methods, Earin lets you choose which one to use and then turn the other off. Oddly enough, these modes are not equivalent. In “classic” mode, which uses touches, you can use single, double and triple touches to control play / pause, skip the track forwards / backwards and access the voice assistant. It is possible that Earin intended to let you adjust the controls of these touches, but for now they are locked out.
In "Hybrid" mode you can tap twice, but this only controls play / pause and cannot be used for any other function.
That's the bad news. The good news is that the earbuds will detect both tapping and touching accurately – just don't confuse them. Trying to use Taps in Classic Mode will get you frustrated pretty quickly.
The auto ear detection works very well and will quickly pause and resume your music whenever you remove or reinsert an earbud. It can be deactivated in the app if you wish.
Bluetooth pairing is quick and easy, and the earbuds remember previously paired devices so you don't have to use the pairing button when switching back and forth between them.
Wondering if the A-3 automatically knows which ear it is in? It works as stated, using the accelerometer to detect the earbud's orientation. If the "E" in the Earin logo is facing up, it's the right earbud. If the "N" is on top, that is the left bud. If one of the buds is pointing in the same direction as your partner, the system will assume you are sharing one of your buds with a friend and will put both earbuds in mono mode so neither of you will overlook details from the audio track. Smart!
Bluetooth range is decent. Indoors, I was able to walk around two floors from my phone before it was disconnected.
Sound quality
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
With its semi-open design, it would be unrealistic to expect the A-3 to deliver the same sound quality as a set of inexpensive in-ear canal earphones. Instead, you get sound quality that can rival Apple's AirPods – and maybe even a little better than them.
The sound is not without compromise.
The A-3 are particularly good at reproducing higher frequencies with a clear and accurate sound. Vocals – especially those that reach the highest register, like Whitney Houston's – are brilliant and sharp.
The bass, which is usually the Achilles heel of half-open earbuds, shows up with enough presence that you don't get the nagging feeling that something is missing. Even the midrange drivers get their money's worth, which adds up to a satisfying listening experience.
But the sound is not without compromise.
First, your listening environment plays a bigger role than with closed earbuds. Traffic, loud chatter, or even the sound of a TV in an adjacent room will get to your ears where they will compete with your music.
Second, as powerful as the A-3s are for a semi-open design, I had to run them at 80% volume to feel like I was getting enough volume. This will not only hit the batteries harder, it will also push the drivers of the A-3 to their limits. On a few occasions I heard the beginning of the distortion.
Third, nuances in the midrange and across the soundstage tend to be smeared a bit. Our brains are amazingly good at adjusting to this, and you may not be bothered at all, but throw in a set of Jabra Elite 75t or AirPods Pro and you can definitely hear the difference.
I don't know how much tweaking the EQ would help with this – I suspect it probably wouldn't help much – but the point is controversial: there are currently no EQ adjustments in the Earin app.
The advantage of a semi-open design is that you can perceive your surroundings much better. This should be taken into account when running near traffic or other hazards while exercising.
Battery life
Earin keeps the A-3's battery life at five hours per charge, with a total of 30 hours of playtime when you include the charging case. That surpasses both the AirPods and AirPods Pro, which both reach a maximum of five hours and 24 hours. Also, I think Earin was conservative in finding out his numbers. After running the A-3 at 85% volume for five consecutive hours, the Earin app still reported 30% battery remaining.
Unlike Apple's earbuds, the A-3 does not have a quick charge mode. If it dies, you'll have to wait about 90 minutes before it can be used for another five hours. In comparison, the AirPods can last three hours of play with a 15-minute snooze in their case.
Call quality
Given that the A-3 barely sticks out of your ears, meaning its mics are farther from your mouth than stem-based designs, I was prepared for some pretty terrible call quality. But Earin managed to pack four microphones into those tiny buds, including two dedicated voice pickup units, and the result is surprisingly good.
Most background noises, such as B. passing traffic are well suppressed and my voice was mostly clear to callers. As you'd expect, wearing a hat over my ears degrades call quality, but even then I could make myself understood.
Our opinion
The only major contribution the Earin A-3 makes to the real world of wireless earbuds is its incredibly small size. I'm not sure if this is worth the $ 199 price tag for most people. However, if you're struggling to find earbuds to live with, the A-3 may be the answer you've been looking for.
Is there a better alternative?
If a semi-open design is appealing for the sake of fit, iPhone users should probably stick with Apple's AirPods. For the same price as the A-3, you get almost identical functions, almost as good sound quality and thanks to Apple's H1 radio chips, hands-free access to Siri.
For everyone else, the A-3 has few direct competitors. There are 1Mores $ 60 comfobuds that are semi-open and very comfortable, but don't sound that great, don't have wireless charging, and have shorter battery life. A better compromise could be the $ 150 Strange branches. They're just as comfortable as the A-3, charge wirelessly, and have better bass response, but their three-hour battery life isn't that good.
How long will they last?
Backed by a one-year warranty from Earin, the A-3 and its charging case appear to be very well built with high quality materials. Without worn-out silicone ear tips, they are likely to last longer than some in-ear canal models.
Should you buy it?
Yes, but only if you really appreciate what the A-3 has to offer: A tiny and comfortable semi-open design. If this isn't high on your list, other models can help you get better sound quality for less money.
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