Just Corseca Soundwave Review: A Budget-Friendly TWS Earphone With Solid Performance
In the ever-expanding ocean of true wireless earphones, cutting through the noise to find a truly worthwhile option can be a challenge, especially when sticking to a budget. The Just Corseca Soundwave, priced at Rs. 4,299, aims to conquer this challenge with a compelling combination of features and performance. But can these earphones deliver on the promises of immersive sound, noise cancellation, and a long battery life, all while remaining affordable? This in-depth review delves into the Soundwave’s design, features, performance, and more to help you decide if it’s the right fit for your audio needs.
Design and Features: A Familiar Yet Functional Package
The Just Corseca Soundwave adopts a straightforward in-ear canal design with silicone ear tips. The choice of silicone tips allows for a snug fit and includes two additional sizes in the box, ensuring a more customized fit for different ear shapes. Each earbud weighs in at a mere 3.8 grams, making them comfortable for extended listening sessions, even exceeding a couple of hours at a stretch. The mic placement at the bottom of the buds and the strategically positioned multi-function touch buttons on the stems effectively avoid accidental control triggerings.
The charging case, crafted from ABS material, boasts a sturdy build despite weighing only 41.5 grams (including the earphones). The case features a matte finish that resists fingerprints and smudges, maintaining its clean appearance over time. Its compact square design with rounded corners makes it easy to carry comfortably in pockets, even in women’s jeans.
The case utilizes a secure magnetic mechanism to hold the earbuds in place, making it simple to open and close with a thumb press. The magnetic interaction reliably positions the earbuds in their respective slots, requiring minimal effort to secure them. Additionally, the Soundwave comes bundled with a vegan leather pouch, including a keyring extension, further enhancing portability.
App and Specifications: A Straightforward Approach
While the Soundwave doesn’t offer a dedicated smartphone application, this may not be a deal breaker if you primarily consume music, podcasts, and other audio content. For those who seek customization through an equaliser or gesture control settings, it’s a disadvantage compared to some competitor offerings.
However, the Soundwave boasts a range of impressive core features:
- Bluetooth 5.3 Connectivity: A 10-meter Bluetooth 5.3 connection ensures smooth and reliable wireless streaming.
- 13 mm Drivers: Powering the sound experience are 13mm drivers, promising a high-fidelity, holistic sound experience.
- Extended Battery Life: Each earbud is equipped with a 40mAh battery, while the charging case boasts a 500mAh battery, resulting in a total playtime of up to 40 hours.
Performance: A Surprising Sound Experience
The Just Corseca Soundwave surprised me with its sound performance, particularly the clarity at higher volumes. Testing with tracks like Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog, the earphones effortlessly delivered Robert Plant’s high vocals and John Bonham’s intricate drumming patterns with minimal distortion.
Bass-heavy tracks, such as Jethro Tull’s 1975 album, Minstrel in the Gallery, or Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, also exhibited impressive performance with minimal contortions, even at 80 percent volume. I even tested the Soundwave with The Beatles’ I Want You (She’s So Heavy), a track known for its challenging high-volume sound reproduction. The result was seamless and impressive.
Mid-tones on the Soundwave came across as clear and crisp, further enhancing the overall listening experience. A significant advantage of these earphones lies in their treble performance, an area where many budget TWS options struggle, especially at high volumes.
The Soundwave successfully navigated the complex treble tones of Kenji Kawai’s soundtrack for the 1995 anime Ghost in the Shell, showcasing a remarkable level of detail and clarity even at 90 percent volume.
While not completely replacing an immersive Imax experience, the Soundwave capably handled the orchestral symphonies of Hans Zimmer’s score for Dune: Part One, preserving its inherent clarity.
Noise Cancellation: A Effective Solution
The Soundwave offers a Hybrid Noise Cancellation feature, giving users the option to choose between Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Environmental Noise Cancellation (ENC). Switching between these modes is simple with a two-second press of the multi-function touch button. The ANC effectively blocks out most indoor low-frequency noises and a surprising number of higher-frequency noises.
ENC mode, or transparent mode, ensures adequate awareness of surroundings, ideal for on-the-go situations. The earphones also feature a dedicated Game Mode with a low latency of 40ms for a more responsive gaming experience.
Controls: Intuitive and User-Friendly
The multi-function touch buttons on the Soundwave offer a smooth and intuitive operation. Single, double, or triple taps, combined with long-press variations, allow for seamless control over volume adjustment, track switching, and the selection of modes.
The provided instruction leaflet provides a clear guide to the control commands, and with a minimal amount of familiarization, the controls can be mastered within an hour.
Battery Life: A Long-Lasting Performer
On a single charge of one and a half hours, the Soundwave is claimed to deliver a total battery life of up to 40 hours with the charging case. During testing, the earbuds provided approximately six hours of playback time with active ANC usage. However, the battery life could stretch to almost eight hours when ANC was disabled.
The charging process is straightforward; simply placing the earbuds in the case delivers a two-hour playtime after just 10 minutes of charging. The charging case itself takes approximately one hour and 40 minutes to charge completely using a 67W adapter with a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable.
Microphone Performance: Room for Improvement
While the sound quality is impressive, the microphone performance on the Soundwave falls short. While not completely inaudible, the sound quality on the receiving end can be unusually subdued, similar to speaking with a hand over your mouth. This aspect is a noticeable drawback given the otherwise excellent sound performance.
Verdict: A Well-Rounded Budget Option
Priced at Rs. 4,299, the Just Corseca Soundwave presents a compelling option for anyone seeking TWS earphones under Rs. 5,000, particularly those not overly reliant on a dedicated equalizer app.
These earphones offer decent voice calling capabilities, effective noise cancellation that even tackles some higher frequency noises, and a competitive battery life, placing them against strong contenders from established brands in the Indian market.
Despite not offering the most premium sound available, the Soundwave delivers a well-balanced audio experience.
However, if you are willing to spend a bit more, the OnePlus Buds 3 (Review) at an additional Rs. 1,200, could be a good choice. These earphones offer a companion application, multipoint connectivity, customizable slide gesture support, and a host of other beneficial features.
Ultimately, the Just Corseca Soundwave provides a budget-conscious solution that outperforms other options in its price range in several key areas. If you prioritize clear sound, reliable noise cancellation, and extended battery life, these earphones are certainly worth considering.
