The Lypertek PurePlay Z7: A Decent Sounding True Wireless Earphone With Some Major Drawbacks
True wireless earphones are all the rage, but finding a pair that delivers both excellent sound quality and the convenience of a wireless design can be a challenge. Lypertek, a brand known for its focus on high-quality true wireless solutions, aims to bridge this gap with the PurePlay Z7. Featuring a hybrid triple-driver setup and support for advanced Bluetooth codecs, the Z7 promises impressive audio performance on paper. But does it deliver on its promise, especially considering its premium price tag of Rs. 15,999 in India? Let’s find out.
A Familiar Design with Some Quirks
The Lypertek PurePlay Z7 takes a familiar design cue from its predecessor, the Tevi, with bulky earpieces and physical buttons for control. While the in-canal fit is secure and comfortable, the sheer size of the earpieces might feel a bit overwhelming for some. Their large profile can feel awkward when worn, leaving you constantly worried about them falling out during movement.
The physical buttons, while offering a tactile experience, might not be ideal for a premium headset in today’s market. Pressing these buttons can easily dislodge the already precarious fit of the earpieces, leading to accidental disconnections. However, the button layout is intuitive and familiar, covering essential functions like playback control, volume adjustment, and voice assistant activation.
A Feature-Rich Setup but With Some Notable Omissions
The PurePlay Z7 boasts an impressive feature set, including a hybrid triple-driver setup with two balanced armature drivers and one dynamic driver in each earpiece, delivering a wide frequency response range of 20-20,000Hz. Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity with support for Qualcomm aptX and aptX Adaptive codecs ensures a stable connection and high-fidelity audio transmission. For voice calls, the Z7 utilizes Qualcomm cVc 8.0 environmental noise cancellation to improve clarity in noisy environments. However, it’s worth noting that the PurePlay Z7 lacks active noise cancellation (ANC), which is becoming increasingly common in earphones at this price point. There is a hear-through mode to allow ambient sound, but its effectiveness is debatable.
Battery life is another notable highlight. The PurePlay Z7 offers an impressive 8 hours of playback on a single charge with aptX Adaptive codec enabled at moderate volume levels. Coupled with the charging case, which provides six additional full charges, you can enjoy a total of over 50 hours of listening time per charge cycle. The charging case itself is a relatively large unit but offers the convenience of Qi wireless charging.
A Musical Maestro With a Few Technical Glitches
The PurePlay Z7’s performance shines when it comes to music listening. The hybrid triple-driver setup, combined with aptX Adaptive codec support (when available on your source device), delivers a truly engaging audio experience.
Music tracks come alive with impressive detail, clarity, and well-defined frequency separation. The dynamic driver excels in delivering punchy, controlled bass, while the balanced armature drivers handle the midrange and highs with precision, resulting in a balanced and well-rounded sound signature.
The earphones’ performance shines with various genres, showcasing their ability to handle complex electronic tracks, powerful dubstep, and crisp pop with ease. The detail and depth within music are impressive, revealing nuances that may have been missed with other earphones.
However, the PurePlay Z7’s performance comes with some technical quirks. The accompanying PureControl app, unfortunately, fails to live up to expectations. The app frequently struggles to detect the headset, even when properly paired and connected. Moreover, the touted LDX audio mode, which offers a custom audio profile for enhanced performance, did not produce any noticeable improvement in sound quality.
Furthermore, while the connectivity is generally stable, some inconsistencies were observed during testing. The earpieces often refused to power down when placed within the charging case, continuing playback even with the lid closed. Manual repositioning and firm pressure on the lid were required to force a shut down. In a few instances, the earphones unexpectedly turned on and connected to the smartphone even while the case was closed and undisturbed. These issues, while potentially specific to the review unit, raise concerns about potential design and build quality inconsistencies.
The Undesirable Reality of Everyday Use
While the PurePlay Z7 delivers on its sound quality promise, its shortcomings in everyday functionality hold it back from being a truly exceptional true wireless earphone. Call quality, sadly, falls short of expectations. While voice pickup is acceptable in quiet environments, outdoor calls suffer from a lack of clarity and volume, making it difficult for callers to understand what’s being said.
The combination of a precarious fit, outdated physical controls, an unreliable app, and underwhelming call quality makes the PurePlay Z7 less suitable for all-around use.
A Solid Sound Performer, But Not a True Wireless All-Star
The Lypertek PurePlay Z7 delivers impressive audio performance, rivaling more expensive options like the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2. The hybrid triple-driver setup and support for advanced codecs create an immersive and detail-rich listening experience. The excellent battery life and wireless charging add to its appeal.
However, the Z7 is not without its shortcomings. The bulky design, unreliable app, inconsistent functionality, and subpar call quality prevent it from fully excelling as an everyday true wireless earphone. While the sound quality justifies the premium price point, considering alternatives like the Jabra Elite 85t and Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, which offer a more balanced package, might be a wiser choice.
The PurePlay Z7 is a case of potential unfulfilled. While it excels in sound, its shortcomings in other areas limit its overall appeal, making it a worthy, albeit imperfect, contender in the competitive true wireless earphone market.
