Since the release of Apple’s very own AirPods, wireless earbuds have been on a rising trend; as seen in this review, the new Sudio TOLV is the latest addition to the market. Thankfully, the industry has progressed greatly since the early days of wireless earbuds, where it was plagued with multiple problems.

The name Sudio is a combination of the words “Swedish” and “Audio” into a seamless name which reflects both their design vision and their promise to offer exceptional sound quality to music enthusiasts of every stripe – wayfarers, daydreamers, and storytellers alike.

As they develop as a company, Sudio is continuously looking for ways to improve their environmental impact. At present, they use PU and artificial leather for several of their products. They also ship their products from their factories to the respective warehouses by boat to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used during transportation. Through these ways, their hope to reduce the amount of waste created in the production process. It’s great to see a corporation such as theirs striving to play their part in corporate social responsibility issues.

The TOLV is Sudio’s second truly wireless model and it has improved features that gives it a big advantage when compared to its predecessors. It has Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity which allows each earbud to be connected individually. That means that the earbuds can also be used one-sided, like a wireless Bluetooth ear set. In addition to that, the earphones only weigh 4.5 grams per earbud. It also comes in a redesigned portable charging cradle with matte rubber finishing.

Right from the get-go, the design is clean and minimalistic. Each side of the earbud has a simple button for all essential functionalities:

• Press once on either side to play or pause music
• Press twice on the left side to go to the previous track; and
• Press twice on the right side to go to the next track

If you’re using it as a wireless Bluetooth earset, you could press once on the right side to answer the call and press and hold the button for two seconds to reject the call.

Now, for the part that all my fellow audiophiles have been waiting for… The bass for the Sudio TOLV is pronounced but not overpowering, whilst the highs are clean and crisp. The vocals are generally clear and concise, however with some tracks, they do sound a little manufactured. Overall, the Sudio TOLV produces a sound that appeals to most genres and is on the better spectrum compared to some of the other wireless earbuds out in the market.

One of the problems that most wireless earbuds have is the fit. As we all know, ears come in different shapes and sizes. As such the earbuds may not fit securely in your ears. A good fit is an important factor as it does affect how it sounds and it helps prevent you from losing one side. So, if you get a chance, do try it out before you purchase! However, I’ve found that they fit me comfortably. And after literally jumping around (sorry downstairs neighbour) and shaking my head vigorously, the earbuds are still securely in place.

Something I really like is the simplicity of switching the Sudio TOLV on; all you need to do is to take the earbuds out of the case to automatically switch them on and place them back to switch them off. Gone are the days of needlessly pressing on buttons to turn the earbuds on and off!

While the case is relatively small, it still manages to hold a charge of approximately 500mAh. However, I found it strange that the cradle is designed to rest flat on its back, but the charging port and the two battery indicator LEDs (the cradle’s battery level on the left and the earbuds’ battery charging status on the right) is also placed at the back. Hence, the Sudio TOLV is left to dangle and can never rest flat whilst being charged.

The earbuds itself has a really good battery life. Sudio claims that the TOLV has a total play time of 7 hours per charge, with 4 additional charges for a total of 35 hours. Through our own tests, after about 4-5 hours of usage, it still had about 40% of battery left.

Overall, Sudio has done a good job on the TOLV – and for the price of SGD189, you can get your hands on one of your own!

Head on over to Sudio’s website right now to make your purchase – and don’t forget to enter the discount code BeyondNorm15 upon checkout to get 15% off and free delivery to anywhere in the world!