The Z5 comes with Lypertek's now-trademark sound quality, customizable EQ options, a companion app with useful options, and a decent battery life.

Lypertek's PurePlay Z5 is the company's first attempt at a true wireless ANC earbud. The Z5 comes with Lypertek's now-trademark sound quality, customizable EQ options, a companion app with useful options, and a decent enough battery life. While the ANC isn't quite as good as you'd hope, the rest of the Z5 package adds up to a set of earbuds very much worth your time.

Lypertek is well-known for delivering brilliant audio without breaking your budget. Previous releases have focused on the audio side of earbuds, something we've praised in our previous reviews of Lypertek hardware.

But that's all changing with the Lypertek PurePlay Z5 true wireless earbuds: the company's first earbuds to launch with active noise canceling. Alongside the new earbuds comes an updated companion app, PureControl ANC, and a design overhaul that sees Lypertek's first ear stem bud release.

With a battery promising up to 35 hours of playback and a trademark tuned sound, the PurePlay Z5 earbuds are some of Lypertek's best earbuds to date.

From the outset, you can see how the Lypertek Z5 differs from the company's previous earbud releases. The charging carry case is a chunkier, more solid affair, far removed from the fabric-covered case of the PurePlay Z3 2.0 and the textured plastic of the SoundFree S20. Instead, the case is taller than its predecessors, with a smooth exterior and embossed Lypertek logo adding a style flourish.

The case feels strong enough, and more importantly, the magnetic clasp holding the lid down is strong and won't fly open when you least expect it. Lid strength is more important than you might think, as the internal magnets holding the Z5 buds in place are the opposite; once the case is open, the earbuds come out with ease. Still, passing the upside-down-vigorous-shake test is always the more important of the two.

One thing to note is that the case won't fit comfortably into your standard trouser pocket. Throw them in your raincoat or windbreaker or into the side pocket on some cargo pants, and you're good to go. But a regular pocket will struggle with the Z5 case.

Battery life is another important feature Lypertek is well known for. The aforementioned Lyptertek earbuds come with massive battery life, up to 80 hours in one case. The Lypertek Z5's combined 35 hours of playback falls somewhat short of that lofty figure, but seven hours of playback on the earbuds and another 28 hours in the charging carry case are still good numbers.

The Z5 battery life does drop if you use active noise canceling permanently, and there are differences in battery life playback depending on volume and other factors. Delivering up to four full charges is great, though, and keeping the earbuds up and running for between six and seven hours is typically more than enough for most users. Fast charging adds up to two hours of playback on a 15-minute charge, and the case supports wireless charging.

As mentioned above, the PurePlay Z5 become Lypertek's first true wireless earbuds to use an AirPods style ear stem design. Weighing just 4.4g apiece, the Z5 buds are lightweight and designed for comfort, meaning you can wear them for hours at a time without your ears getting tired.

Although the ear stem design itself isn't remarkable, Lypertek has taken the time to craft three different types of silicone ear tips:

You receive a total of ten ear tips, and you should absolutely play around and figure out the best option for your ears. The ear tip selection makes such a difference to earbud sound and ANC quality, and Lypertek has done a great job here with its extensive array of options.

On the outside of the Z5 casing, you'll find the touch controls. I'm going to talk about touch control customization and options in the PureControl ANC app section, which you'll find below. Right now, the focus is on responsiveness, which the Lypertek Z5 buds are in spades. The touch controls, in fact, can be a little overzealous at times.

Lypertek opted to include a power on/off touch control option (itself somewhat rare for touch control earbuds that normally switch on or off when you put them in the carry case) that you can accidentally trigger with a three-second press. Three seconds doesn't sound like much of an issue, yet if you're fiddling with the Z5 while doing something else or just cannot get the fit quite right, there's a strong chance you turn the earbuds off. On more than one occasion, I cut a call and turned off the Z5 while making an adjustment.

Lypertek's previous true wireless earbuds delivered impressive sound quality. The Lypertek Z3 2.0 earbuds were exceptional and remain some of the best buds you can pick up for under $100, period. And, in five short years since first hitting the market, Lypertek has gone on to win multiple awards for each set of earbuds it releases.

I'm happy to say the Lypertek Z5 buds continue that rich-vein of audio-form, packing a nicely balanced soundstage into the lightweight earbuds. The 10mm dynamic drivers deliver a substantial sound. Although you're not listening to a neutral sound, Lypertek has tuned the Z5 earbuds with precision, allowing the bass to connect nicely with the mids and treble for a sublime final product.

As the soundstage of the Lypertek Z5 isn't completely flat, these buds might not be the best option for the hardcore audiophile. Then again, even the most ardent audio lovers just want something fun and easy to use at times, and for my money, the Lypertek PurePlay Z5 fits that bill. While the bass is slightly amplified, it isn't booming or overwhelming. It's a similar story for the Z5 mids and highs, the default EQ setting enabling any genre to shine through.

Importantly, the Z5 uses Bluetooth 5.2, enabling super-fast connectivity, along with support for Qualcomm's aptX and aptX Adaptive codecs (along with AAC and SBC). The Lypertek Z5 can use the aptX Adaptive low-latency mode to keep your music in sync almost no matter what while allowing for some bitrate scaling to allow better audio quality where possible.

Now, the PurePlay Z5 is the first set of Lypertek buds to feature ANC. Previous Lypertek earbuds have gone without active noise cancelation, and it hasn't been an issue, the typically excellent audio experience more than making up for what's considered a premium feature.

Lypertek's Z5 ANC does work, but often struggles against sharper, louder, and continuous noises.

For example, sitting and typing loudly with my mechanical keyboard and the Z5 ANC blocks out my tapping (along with background noise in the house). Out for a walk through town, and a reasonable amount of background noise is blocked. But up against the tougher proposition of a ride on a double-decker bus, the Z5 buds begin to struggle. It's a similar story versus a noisy airline white noise video, with the Z5 ANC blocking some noise but maybe not enough you'd want them on a prolonged flight.

So, while the ANC works, it won't beat out the premium competitors. But, then again, when you consider the Lypertek Z5 price, are you really expecting miracles?

Ambient mode works as you'd expect an ambient mode too. The difficulty for any earbuds attempting to create a subtle ambient mode (where you can still hear the outside world through your earbuds without removing them) is tuning the microphones to allow noise passthrough but not amplifying that noise excessively. The ambient sound mode works, but, unfortunately, has that unwanted side-effect.

If ambient mode is your cup of tea, you'll enjoy Lypertek's new Auto-Ambient mode. When enabled, Auto-Ambient mode switches to ambient mode as soon as you end your call or switch your music off. The auto-ambient mode is surprisingly good, even for someone that isn't a particular fan of ambient modes. Having ambient mode enable automatically saves the hassle of toggling yet another setting, something we can all relate to.

Launching with the Lypertek PurePlay Z5 is the overhauled PureControl ANC app that enables ANC features for the earbuds. Upgrading to this app is imperative if you buy the Lypertek Z5, as the original app doesn't work with the new buds (as this reviewer found out!). Once you download the app on your device, you can connect your Z5 buds and begin tinkering with the sound, ANC settings, touch controls, and more.

During the app and Z5 setup process, you're asked if you want to choose between the Standard or Safe touch control layout. Being given these two options is a nice touch, especially if you don't want to fiddle about with the touch control configuration. One thing to note is that this doesn't resolve the accidental switch-off issue mentioned earlier, though switching to Safe mode will stop any quick single tap problems.

The PureControl ANC app has another feature you'll want to try out, too: LDX Audio mode. Lypertek's LDX Audio mode is a custom EQ that delivers a bit more bass and an overall EQ expansion. The mode is a fun way to listen to music but won't be everyone's favorite EQ option, especially those that want to listen to music how it was made, without interference. Still, for those days when you go for a run and want something to push up the bass or tweak the mids and top-end, LDX Audio mode could be just what you're looking for. It's definitely an interesting feature to play around with.

The Lypertek PurePlay Z5 currently retails for $119.

My take on these earbuds is that the audio quality more than makes up for the slightly disappointing ANC performance. Lypertek's audio engineering pushes the sound quality to make them a competitive option if your main concern is how your music sounds on the go.

If you're considering the earbuds for their noise cancellation quality, you might be best served elsewhere, but for a very first attempt at a true wireless ANC earbud, the Lypertek Z5 isn't that far wide of the mark. It seems as if all the parts are there to make an outstanding product, the fine details just need some refinement to block out that extra bit of noise that those seeking an ANC bud demand.

Still, the PureControl ANC companion app, LDX Audio mode, and highly-responsive touch controls (along with the great audio!) make the Lypertek PurePlay Z5 true wireless earbuds a solid proposition at $119.

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Gavin is the Junior Editor for Technology Explained, a regular contributor to the Really Useful Podcast, and a frequent product reviewer. He has a degree in Contemporary Writing pillaged from the hills of Devon, and more than a decade of professional writing experience. He enjoys copious amounts of tea, board games, and football.

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