As with its smartphones, OnePlus gives its discounted headphone model the Nord name, with the emphasis of the wonderful Chinese manufacturer on the sound. The OnePlus Nord Buds will not offer you advanced features such as active noise cancellation or wireless charging, but when it comes to sound there is real news here in relation to their modest price: NIS 249.
OnePlus took its first step in the TWS headphone market with theBuds Z which we reviewed inThe second headphone test A little over a year ago and we can say that we didn’t really fall for what they had to offer. The situation improved slightly with theBuds Z2 And immediately after that came theBuds Pro We did not review them, but we had time to experience them and they are very impressive. However, these are not the cheapest headphones that are sold at a price of about NIS 450 and offer all the most advanced features of the TWS world, such as active noise cancellation and wireless charging.
with the-Nord Buds One Plus is back to basics. The company’s cheapest model (average price of 190 shekels on most trading sites) does not offer any advanced features. There is no active noise cancellation, no wireless charging, and no luxurious design. What is there here? Extra large 12.4 mm drivers that should provide excellent sound for the price and a battery that should last quite a long time compared to many competitors.
As far as the design is concerned, even though they don’t exude luxury, I actually liked the Nord Buds. The short elliptical tail gives the headphones a slightly different look than the competition and in the TWS world where everything looks similar to each other, it’s a refreshing change. I also liked the small recessed circle, which serves as the touch button, located on the top of the headphones which looks good and also makes using the gestures more convenient. The charging case, on the other hand, looks good and is well built, but it is very large and not very comfortable in the pocket.
Despite the slightly bulky design, the headphones are very comfortable in the ear even during prolonged use. I did feel the need to tighten their grip from time to time during my evening walks, but no more than most of the other headphones I review.
As mentioned, the Nord Buds do not have active noise cancellation, but their passive sealing is not bad and it certainly manages to prevent some of the ambient noise from penetrating. This seal certainly can’t compete with what the average and above ANC headphones have to offer, but it’s better than nothing.
OnePlus is very proud of the audio quality of the Nord Buds and we must admit that they are right. The large drivers give the headphones particularly strong bass, but surprisingly the bass does not “bury” the other sounds and the sound manages to remain balanced, with clear and successful high and mid tones. I tried to listen to several different genres and the sound was excellent in all of them. It is important to note, there is no sound here that competes with headphones from Sennheiser, Sony or B&O, and there are also quite a few headphones from smaller manufacturers that will offer better sound, but at this price I have yet to come across headphones that sound better than the Nord Buds and in fact I have not come across any that offer Sound at this level. For those looking for the best sound on a limited budget, these are headphones that will give them the best value that can be found.
If you own a OnePlus device, you will enjoy a quick connection of the headphones as soon as you open the charging case for the first time. Happily, I discovered that this feature also worked on the Realme device I had, which makes sense since Realme also belongs to the BBK corporation, which belongs to One Plus. Although I have not tested it, it is likely that the other BBK brands – OPPO and Vivo – will also support the fast connection.
I’m a fan of apps for headphones and I was happy to find out that One Plus offers one for its “discounted” headphones as well. In fact, if you own a smartphone from the company (or one of OnePlus’ “sister” companies), you won’t even have to download the app because it will appear in the device’s Bluetooth settings screen. Those who do not have a device from BBK can download the app My Melody the app stores.
Within the application you can access the equalizer that allows you to switch between three built-in EQ modes or set your own EQ mode. In addition, you can define their role from the various operating gestures – single click, double click, triple click or long press. Unfortunately, despite the variety of tapping options, lowering or increasing the volume is not possible using the gestures. The application also allows you to update a version and even use the “find my headphones” feature in case you lose them.
The lack of active noise cancellation also has an advantage and it’s all about battery life. One Plus claims 7 hours of use on average and not only do they keep their word, I even managed to squeeze a little more than 7.5 hours of use, a very impressive figure. 10 minutes of charging should provide up to 5 hours of use, with the charging case providing over 3 additional full charge cycles.
The call quality on the Nord Buds is good and should be enough for the average user. I didn’t encounter any complaints about how I sounded during conversations I had with them, even when I was in noisy places. They don’t excel in call quality, there are better than them in this respect, but not at this price. In order to win a better call quality, you will have to part with at least 100 additional shekels in order to purchase headphones such as theJabra Elite 3 But not sure that they sound better when listening to music.
In conclusion
In the days when every company tries to push as many features as possible into their products for as little money as possible, the Nord Buds are a refreshing line. OnePlus has decided that it wants to concentrate on sound and it is doing it very impressively. True, there is no active noise cancellation and the (too large) case does not have wireless charging, but there is audio quality here that would not put much more expensive headphones to shame. There is also a good app, impressive battery life, nice design and surprisingly good comfort. For those who have a limited budget for headphones and do not need active noise cancellation, Don’t need more than that.
we loved
- Excellent sound
- Beautiful design
- comfort
- call quality
- Impressive battery life
We liked less
- Bulky charging case