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Aukey EP-T32 Review Ear Hook Earphones With Wireless Charging Case

Tuesday, February 09, 2021

Imagine having to retrace your steps, trying to find a lost earbud. Granted ear hook earphones are bulky and may not look as sleak or trendy but, one thing you can count on ear hook earphones is that you won't loose them! The strap design of ear hook earphones is extremely effective at providing a stable fit during exercise without the feeling that the earphones may fall off at any minute.
The EP-T32 charging case is indeed bulky but, it does house a wireless charging coil alongside a 600 mAh battery. Charging the EP-T32 charging case takes 3 hours (via cable) and 4 hours via a 5W Qi wireless charger. Fast wireless charging is not supported; hence the EP-T32 charging case will not charge quicker when using a 10W Qi charger. 
The USB-C charging port is located on the back of the charging case, while the battery status leds are located inside the charging case; whereas most earbuds with charging case have the battery status leds outside. Having the battery leds out of sight means they don't distract, which is good, although the downside is you can't tell when the charging case is fully charged unless you open the case.
The Aukey EP-T32 ear hook earbuds are easy to take in and out, thanks to the spacious charging case, which is reminiscent of a barbecue grill. The lid has a plastic hinge that keeps it firmly upright and securely closed when shut. When opening the charging case lid, it triggers bluetooth pairing automatically, which means you can connect to them without having to take them out of the charging case. Aukey EP-T32 earbuds take 2 hours to fully charge and can provide a 7 hour battery life with 50% volume. The charging case can store 28 hours of extra charge.
Each Aukey EP-T32 ear hook earbud integrate a 12mm driver, a 55mAh battery, a status led (doesn't flash during audio playback), a microphone and touch control, which is a nice "touch" since a lot of ear hook earbuds have physical controls. The touch controls are responsive, requiring only light touches rather than taps. Control functions include, play/pause, skipping tracks and answering calls. There is no volume support, which on sports earbuds is useful being able to adjust volume on the fly. The automatic play/pause function works well too, using a light proximity sensor to activate.
The 12mm driver size is about twice the size you get with most true wireless and there is good volume output too (95dB). However, considering the size of the EP-T32 drivers, they could probably be more sensitive, although the higher frequencies travel well with clear vocals and clean instrumentals without being distorted by the bass, which is deep, thanks to the large chambers housing the drivers. The EP-T32 microphones provide a good call quality for clear calls with some background noise suppression.
Switching from stereo to mono is not entirely seamless because audio pauses when putting one earbud in the case; whereas with other true wireless earbuds such as the T10 earbuds continue to stream audio without interruptions. There is no re-connection delay though, so you can keep EP-T32 earbuds in the charging case with the lid open, which is convenient when quickly answering a call without delay. The EP-T32 earbuds cannot be used them independently paired individually with separate devices. There is no multipoint connection support.
The bluetooth pairing process works well, although it's confusing because the Aukey EP-T32 earbuds show up twice in the list of bluetooth devices as "EP-T32" and "EP-T32 R" rather than a single instance like with most true wireless earbuds. 
IPX8 rating
Also, a message prompt appears asking if you want to pair the second earbud, which is unnecessary since you can still go from mono to stereo listening by simply taking the second earbud from the charging case. The wireless connection is made via a Bluetooth 5.0 chip that provides stable connection, as well as SBC, AAC and aptX support.
The EP-T32 charging case has a square shape (7.5cm x 7.5cm) with a 4.5cm height and has a matte black finish with a glossy strip running across it. The body of the earbuds measures 3.5cm longwise and 1cm thick. The bit that sticks out protruding from the body is the nozzle neck, which is about 1cm high. The earhooks are made of soft, flexible silicone. The ear tips that come with the Aukey EP-T32 are standard bowl-shaped but also made of thin silicone material.
Like with all ear hook earphones, the Aukey EP-T32 are intended exclusively for exercise; hence they aren't meant to be worn for long periods like regular earphones. If you prefer a pair of multi-use earphones that you can wear regularly, check out the Key Series N33 neckband earbuds and the Ksound K01 true wireless. You can buy the EP-T32 earbuds from amazon.

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