Established back in 2017, Lypertek is a relatively new player in the wireless earbuds game.
What this UK company clearly prides itself on is audio focussed products at great value prices for music fans and gamers alike.
The brand offers three models within its PurePlay lineup, with the Z3 2.0 at £99 up to the Z7 at £199 (which are currently discounted to £89). The Z5 model on test here is sandwiched somewhere the middle at £99, being the most recently released (and currently discounted down from £129 to £99).
Premium packaging emphasises Lypertek’s commitment to quality
The Z5 is also Lypertek’s first true wireless earbud (or ‘in-ear-monitor’ to use the official lingo) with hybrid active noise cancellation (ANC) built in, plus control via the brand’s PureControl ANC app to access all of the Z5’s features.
And to hammer home the point, as an intro to the Z5, Lypertek shared this video at launch of users living their best lives out and about while being budded up.
Solid tech
Thankfully there’s solid tech underpinning the Z5’s marketing, with each one sporting a 10mm dynamic driver, alongside twin cVc 8.0 powered microphones with noise suppression and echo cancellation for taking calls on the move.
Battery wise the Z5 offers up to seven hours of playback time (reduced to four hours with ANC switched on) on a single charge. These figures go up to 35 hours when using the supplied charging case which also offers high-speed wireless charging (alongside wired) and a fast charge option giving two hours playtime after a 15 minute charge. And if you do want to go wireless, you’ll need to budget for Lypertek’s £25 charging pad.
Compatibility is as up to date as you’d expect, with support for AAC codecs plus standard and 5.2 aptX Adaptive Bluetooth. They’re also IPX4 water resistant rated, which equates being safe when getting caught in the rain.
Lifting the lid, the Z5s are nicely presented
Unboxing
The PurePlay Z5s arrive in a solid shrink wrapped and sealed case, giving you confidence that they’re factory fresh.
Once opened the quality packaging continues with the buds and lozenge sized case hiding the accessories underneath, which are what you’d expect with a USB-A to USB-C charger cable and multiple sets of ear tips.
Accessories include charger cable and 10 ear tip options of varying sizes and designs to aid audio and comfort tuning
For the latter, instead of the usual McDonald’s approach of small, regular and large, Lypertek offers its ear tips as audio tuning devices, with sets of thicker silicone PurePower options for a more focussed and powerful sound, thinner PureSpace tips for a more spacious soundstage (fitted as standard) and high density foam PureComfort tips for a smoother sound.
And with 10 tip options included in the box, finding a set that offers the right fit and sound characteristics for each user’s personal tastes shouldn’t leave anyone wanting.
Lyptertek’s Z5 with ear tip removeds revealing where their 10mm drive units sound is directed through
Take control
To fine tune their sound further, the PureControl app is laced with options. The LDX (Lypertek Definition Expander) audio mode is the brand’s own audio tuned mode, and there’s also a seven band custom equaliser with six present variations.
ANC comes in three flavours, with standard ANC, ‘ambient’ for being more aware of surrounding noises when you’re on the move and ‘normal’. In ANC mode you can also select auto-ambient mode, which deactivates ANC when the music is stopped or paused and activates ambient mode, which is ideal for example when pressing pause to listen out for traffic when crossing a road.
Other app settings include how customising how to operate play/pause/skip and a handy ‘find my earbuds’ geo locator for forgetful types.
Lypertek’s PureControl ANC app offers its own LDX sound mode plus a custom equaliser and hybrid ANC/ambient modes. The ‘find my earbuds’ tool is a practical way to ensure your buds don’t get lost
Controlling the Z5s is intuitive enough, with a quick tap on either ear for play and pause, two taps to skip forward (right ear) or back (left ear), three taps to access volume, a longer hold to toggle ANC and a quick press then hold to activate voice assistance.
Performance
Connecting up to the Z5s is also plain sailing, simply pop them in their case for a few seconds and open the lid for them to begin pairing.
Tips wise, a mid-size of the PureComfort gave the best combination of fit and a full bodied audio experience (probably due to how they sealed) in my ears.
Neatly packed into their charger case, which has a firmly closing lid to keep the Z5 buds safe
After experimenting with the app’s equaliser settings we found the best results using the LDX sound option on most material, although for heavily compressed and lower resolution music, the bass boost option also helped to smooth out some of the sibilance at the extremes.
What’s more contrasting though is the difference between ANC and normal modes. Hooked up to me iPhone 13 and running Tidal HiFi, there’s a huge leap in audio quality with ANC activated. Playing a Master file of London Grammar’s How Does It Feel leaves bass sounds frankly compressed and thinly veiled in the normal mode, however with ANC on it’s a different ball game altogether. The music sounds full bodied and impressively dynamic for an earbud in the sub £300 price bracket. I can clearly define each bass note and layers of percussion which sound full of energy, making for a highly engaging listen.
Lypertek’s Z5 are both stylish and practical, making them great value
Dialling back the decades with a Tidal Master of Babybird’s Back Together from their 1998 album There’s Something Going On and the looping guitars have sufficient space to move around in the mix without sounding closed in, much more so than in comparison to Apple’s AirPods and the like, which sound kettled in by comparison.
Taking to the streets for a 10k jog at a moderate pace, the Lyperteks pass the first and most crucial test for any earbud, as they remain firmly in place and comfortable while running.
With the slow melodies of Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You setting the pace, the Z5s bring decent levels of warmth and detail to the music, aiding the track’s atmospherics. And when at 3k in a voice call interrupts my run, the Z5s effortlessly demonstrate their modern life capabilities with voice and audio sounding clear and effortless to operate, for both myself and the third party telling me tomorrow’s parcel will be delivered next week.
Hanging up the call and letting the Lypertek’s sooth me back into the music, makes my delivery woes fade away with the Z5’s sonic abilities allowing me to leave that day’s life admin behind and be free to enjoy pounding the pavements some more.
In summary
Put simply, Lyptertek’s Z5 are a fantastic value earbud that are more than worth the money. Fresh from the box they’re stylish and fuss free, but take time to get the best of them from the app and you’ll be surprised and rewarded in equal measure for how much they offer at the price, making them a Best Value award winner.
