A stand up pair of true wireless, the Aukey EP-N5 earbuds literary stand upright inside the charging case! If you don't like charging cases to bulge out, the Aukey EP-N5 earbuds are exactly what you want. The charging case has a slim, low profile design, which is super portable and extremely easy to slide in and out of a small pocket.
Being so compact though, there is a trade off and that is, the Aukey EP-N5 don't integrate neat features such as wireless charging and power bank function. If you have a phone that is Qi-enabled, it makes sense getting a pair of true wireless earbuds like the Aukey T10 which support Qi wireless charging.
The Aukey EP-N5 charging case integrates a 500 mAh li-polymer battery. Total weight of the case is 40 grams and the case can provide four extra charges, taking 2 hours to charge via USB-C connection. The charging case lid hinge is also made of plastic, just like the entire case, which has the same smooth matte finish as the earbuds. The charging case can hold 28 hours worth of charge.
The EP-N5 earbuds protrude just above the docking area, making them easy to grab and slide out of the case. The status led pinholes do not stay lit up or flash after connection; hence no blinking light during audio playback. The only time the Aukey EP-N5 status leds light up is while charging inside the charging case and during bluetooth pairing. The status led is so tiny and dim though, that you can barely see it in a lit up room.
There is a four second re-connection delay when the EP-N5 earbuds are taken out of the charging case. Switching between mono and stereo listening is not entirely seamless either. A lot of true wireless earbuds have some re-connection delay (up to 8 seconds), while some true wireless don't have any delay; hence re-connection is instantaneous, which is perfect when switching between earbuds.
When the AUKEY EP-N5 earbuds re-connect, not only you get a delay of four seconds but also a voice prompt saying "connection". Most true wireless earbuds don't have a "re-connection" voice prompt, which makes the transition from stereo to mono (and viceversa) more continuous. This "re-connection" voice prompt may even be potentially irritating to some users.
Strangely enough, the AUKEY EP-N5 active noise cancellation (ANC) function does not have a voice prompt, other than an audible beep. Without a voice prompt though, you cannot tell exactly whether ANC is turned on or turned off. Active noise cancellation can be activated from both earbuds even though the user guide states from the right earbud. ANC works well and it's easily enabled via a long press. The ANC provides an instant drop in noise, even without music playing.
The AUKEY EP-N5 ANC microphone is located on the body (near the nozzle), while the microphone for calls is located at the bottom (below the touch control area). While there is only one microphone for calls, it is a MEMS microphone with noise filtering controlled by a digital signal processor (DSP), which does a good job at suppressing the sounds around you while picking your voice without digitizing too much so, your voice sounds natural.
The EP N5 earbuds take 1.5 hours to charge and can provide up to 7 hours of playtime at 50% volume and with ANC turned off. With ANC turned on, you can get up to 4.5 hours at 50% volume. The Bluetooth 5.0 only supports SBC; hence the long battery life. AptX and AAC do help to lower audio lag so, without these codecs you may spot the audio lag on Android and iOS devices when using the Apple Music app.
The AUKEY EP-N5 earbuds cannot be used independently; hence you cannot used them individually with separate devices because the EP-N5 earbuds have a master/slave function. If you like wireless earbuds that can connect independently, check out the T21 true wireless and the T16s earbuds.
The Aukey EP-N5 have a similar stem design to the KSOUND K01 true wireless but slightly shorter, measuring 20mm long, 6mm wide and 5mm thick. The EP-N5 earbuds integrate highly sensitive (101dB) 10mm dynamic drivers, which deliver good bass, clear vocals and clean treble. You can skip tracks and play/pause but, there is no volume control from the earbuds though.
Despite not having a rubbery finish or ear wings, the EP-N5 stay in the ears pretty well, which is aided by the low weight (5 grams per earbuds). The EP-N5 earbuds work well for jogging, running or outdoor use, thanks to IPX5 water resistance. Included in the box are also different size silicone ear tips and a short USB-A to USB-C charging cable. You can buy the Aukey EP-N5 on amazon.