Bluedio T-Elf 2 TWS Earbuds Review – Cheap AND Good!?

Welcome to a review of the Bluedio T-Elf 2 TWS Earbuds. In the name of eco-friendly and advancement – Audio jacks, wired earpieces, and even chargers have somehow disappeared from “the essential smartphone package”. What’s left is consumers having to spend more to get things that should be provided in the first place.

But thankfully, there are many good and affordable alternatives these days. Forget about those expensive (half-eaten apple) toothbrushes for a moment, and take some time to consider the T-Elf instead – Read on!

 

THE OVERVIEW

Price	About USD $25.00 (As at the time of writing)
Links	Official Website: Link Get from eBay: Click here
Packaging	Minimal packaging, but includes everything.
Build Quality	Solid plastics, zero cables. Difficult to damage.
Functionality	Touch-sensitive earbuds with microphone.
User Friendliness	Literally, just pick-up-and-use after pairing.
Sound Quality	Overly pronounced clarity, but otherwise decent.
Value	Good quality, excellent value-for-money.
Overall	Audio quality is a tad bit meh, some small issues.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Packaging	Build & Design	Sound Quality
Battery & Wireless	Summary	Verdict

 

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Yep, a pretty slick-looking minimal box, security seal, and a working product verification code gave me some confidence in getting a quality product… Until I read what’s on the box and go – Still the same old bad translation, bad English. Doh.

 

 

WHAT’S INSIDE?

Simple, but has everything.

• The earbuds.
• 2 extra pairs of caps (different sizes).
• Charging case.
• Very short USB-C charging cable – Kind of useless, just use your own.
• Instruction manual in various languages.

 

 

 

QUICK WALKTHROUGH

The “two dots” earbuds themselves, nothing much to see here… There are no hardware buttons, as the earbuds are touch-sensitive. A couple of small complaints though.

• The caps do fall off quite easily, something to watch out for.
• Touch-controls may sound cool, but it comes with its own problems – It is very easy to accidentally trigger play when wearing the earbuds, or even power off with an unintended long press.

The earbuds sit in the case nicely, and yes, the direction does matter. The left earbud has to sit in the left slot, the right earbud has to sit in the right slot… Or this box will not close. For the guys who are worried about losing the earbuds – Both the box and earbuds are magnetic.

So far, it has held up pretty well. The cover remains closed when the box is flipped upside-down, does not open with a few light taps. Even when the cover is opened upside-down, the earbuds are still “stuck” in the box.

 

 

 

SOUND PROFILE

To best explain how the T-Elf sound in words:

• Lows – Actually pretty good deep bass notes.
• Mids – Not to the level of “vivid and luscious”, but “decently good”.
• Highs & Clarity – Ouch. Something about the T-Elf is trying too hard to push the clarity. Cymbals and strings may cause bleeding ears.
• Soundstage – Trying too hard to do that “binaural” and “ASMR” thing.

Overall, still not too bad. Might want to use an EQ to tone down on the highs though.

 

 

FUSS-FREE PAIRING, PICK-AND-GO.

The initial setup experience is a breeze. Just switch on Bluetooth on the smartphone, pair “as usual”, and that’s all. Once paired, it becomes totally fuss-free. Just take the earbuds out from the box, and it connects automatically within seconds.

As for the range coverage, I would say it’s “typical Bluetooth”. Works best in about 1 room distance (5m or 16feet), but of course, any walls or obstruction will block the signals.

 

 

BATTERY LIFE & CHARGING TIME

One thing that some people may not like is the battery life, it lasts 5-6 hours at best for music playback. But considering the very limited space in these tiny earbuds, I would say that is still very respectable. The box itself should also be able to fully charge the earbuds (from 0% to 100%) up to 4 times.

So yes, the T Elf is not something you can use for an entire day without stop. Expect a “charging downtime” of about 1 to 2 hours, but otherwise, the earbuds and box combo should last an entire day.

 

UPDATE – ISSUES WITH THE T ELF

After using the T-Elf for over a month, I started to notice some issues with it.

• The Bluetooth connection dropped a couple of times in the middle of music playback. AND that is not because I was standing too far away, the connection just dropped suddenly.
• The right earbud doesn’t quite seem to sit properly in the charging case. There are a few times I picked up the earbuds and the battery is flat.

Taking half a star off the ratings because of these issues.

 

 

TECHNICAL SPECS

• Bluetooth: 5.0
• Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20KHz
• Play Time: About 6 hrs
• Continuous Talk Time: About 3 hrs
• Standby Time: About 40 hrs
• Charging Port: USB-C
• Case Charge: Able to charge the earbuds about 4 times
• Charging Time (earbuds): About 1.5 hrs
• Charging Time (case): About 3 hrs

 

THE GOOD

• Good build quality.
• Fuss-free pairing and operation.
• Pretty good battery life for something so small.

 

THE BAD

• Overly pronounced clarity.
• Touch-controls can go out-of-control while picking up the earbuds.
• As with every other TWS earbuds – Easy to lose these “tiny dots”.
• Bluetooth connection drops.