AUKEY is pretty much the maker of all electronic things. They make battery packs, mechanical keyboards, Bluetooth speakers, and much more. Generally, their products are very well made, and quite affordable, which is part of their M.O. In the past I haven’t really looked at their products as “high end”, but with this product, I may have to rethink my opinions on what they are capable of. Sure, their products are good; I wouldn’t keep reviewing them if they weren’t – but they haven’t really knocked my socks off or blown my expectations out of the water. Well, this time things have changed. Say hello to the AUKEY EP-B80 Key Series Bluetooth earphones.
Presentation: Every other AUKEY product that I have received has come in a generic, recycled cardboard material with no markings or graphics on them, so when I opened the shipping package, I didn’t really have any sort of fancy presentation – this should have been my first clue. The Key Series earphones come in a light blue box that has a really neat looking key symbol on it, along with a picture of the earphones. After I opened the box, I was greeted by a layout of all of the accessories, from the carrying pouch to the complimentary sets of moldable foam ear tips, and the earphones. The packaging and presentation were a welcomed surprise, and a great prelude to the audio experience.
Here’s what’s in the box:
- (1) Set of Key Series earphones
- (3) Pairs of moldable foam ear tips
- (3) Pairs of silicone ear tips
- (1) USB-C Charging cable
- A carrying pouch
- User manual and documentation
- 24-month AUKEY warranty card
Tech Specs and Characteristics:
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Built-in Microphone
- USB-C Charging
- 1.5hrs for a full charge (10mins of charging will give you 80mins of listening time)
- Up to 8hrs of listening time
- IPX6 Water Resistance
- 49ft of listening range
Sound Experience: The sound experience is fantastic, especially for the $79.99 price tag. I previously reviewed one of the lower-end sets of Bluetooth earphones that AUKEY has to offer, which sound very much like their $20 price tag – which isn’t bad at all, but they weren’t overly impressive. This time around, holy wow. I took them out of the box and put them in before I looked at the price tag so that I could have a “blind” experience and make my impressions without knowing how much they cost. Well, after about 2-3 songs and trying to figure out how AUKEY managed to make such impressive sounding earphones, I decided to look up the price. One thing about AUKEY is that their products generally are better than what they sell them for, and the same is true with the Key Series earphones. At $79.99, they are definitely in line with other competitors’ earphones that are at the $99 or higher category, which is impressive.
Sound Quality: The sound quality is impressive in each band: low, mid and high. The bass has thump and “mmmmph” and sounds really good in a variety of different types of music. I tested out 80s rock, metal, 90s dance, and of course some Linkin Park, and it all sounded great. One of the most impressive characteristics of these earphones is that they are very receptive to equalizer changes. Many times, I try to adjust the equalizer on other earphones and it’s like “meh”, and the changes are very minimal, or unimpressive – not with these earphones. Changing the equalizer or it’s presets makes a significant difference in the music, and is very noticeable, which makes for a much better listening experience across pretty much any type of music. Many times, audio products will emphasize a certain area (usually bass), and one band of the sound spectrum will be better, and one or more of the others will suffer. Well, I’m happy to say that this isn’t the case with the Key Series earphones. The vocals are consistent and rich throughout the sound spectrum, and highs are crisp and well represented. I tried changing the volume, music type and equalizer for many different songs, and I was very happy and impressed, pretty much across the board. If I had one thing to complain about on these earphones it would be the volume. The volume is solid and goes up pretty high. Admittedly, I have terrible hearing – thanks to a decade and a half in the military. I had my wife listen to them and she made me turn the volume down because it was too loud. So, likely these earphones have great volume for just about anyone (minus the hearing impaired like me). Regardless, the volume was ample and cancel out any outside noise when you’re using the foam ear tips. The foam tips are really nice, comfortable, and help to create a great seal for the ultimate sound experience.
Comfortability: The earphones are very comfortable and have a molded apparatus that goes over and around the ear, to help hold it in place. The ear tips come in three different sizes (S/M/L), for your individual fit and comfort. If you have the wrong size ear tips on then they don’t stay as securely in your ear, but with the proper size, the fit and comfort level is exceptional. I was a bit disappointed at first when I tried using the earphones with the standard tip that is on them when you open the box, but that all went away once I put the proper size ear tip on them. The Key Series earphones get two thumbs up in the size and comfortability department.
Conclusion: The AUKEY Key Series earphones have fantastic sound, solid volume, and a great listening experience. These earphones really do stand out from the competition and offer a really refreshing and exceptional sound experience, all for less than $80. I am a pretty big audiophile and really care about the quality of my sound, and the earphones that I use – my normal earphones are Bose – and I was really impressed with the Key Series earphones. Not only are they worth $79.99, but they compete really well with earphones that are priced $20-50 more than they are. I definitely give huge kudos to AUKEY on this one. Not only have they exceeded my expectations, but they have set a new standard for themselves in the premium quality audio category, that I hope they maintain in the future.
If you’re interested in picking up a pair of AUKEY’s Key Series Bluetooth earphones, you can find them on Amazon for $79.99 (MSRP). However, check the sale page periodically because AUKEY is always running different sales on them. For instance, today (12/30/2018), there is a $10 coupon on the sale page, making them $69.99, which is a fantastic deal. I can’t make any guarantees for the future, but AUKEY is constantly putting their products on sale. They earphones also qualify for Prime 2-day shipping. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Wirele...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU6433406
Presentation: Every other AUKEY product that I have received has come in a generic, recycled cardboard material with no markings or graphics on them, so when I opened the shipping package, I didn’t really have any sort of fancy presentation – this should have been my first clue. The Key Series earphones come in a light blue box that has a really neat looking key symbol on it, along with a picture of the earphones. After I opened the box, I was greeted by a layout of all of the accessories, from the carrying pouch to the complimentary sets of moldable foam ear tips, and the earphones. The packaging and presentation were a welcomed surprise, and a great prelude to the audio experience.
Here’s what’s in the box:
- (1) Set of Key Series earphones
- (3) Pairs of moldable foam ear tips
- (3) Pairs of silicone ear tips
- (1) USB-C Charging cable
- A carrying pouch
- User manual and documentation
- 24-month AUKEY warranty card
Tech Specs and Characteristics:
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Built-in Microphone
- USB-C Charging
- 1.5hrs for a full charge (10mins of charging will give you 80mins of listening time)
- Up to 8hrs of listening time
- IPX6 Water Resistance
- 49ft of listening range
Sound Experience: The sound experience is fantastic, especially for the $79.99 price tag. I previously reviewed one of the lower-end sets of Bluetooth earphones that AUKEY has to offer, which sound very much like their $20 price tag – which isn’t bad at all, but they weren’t overly impressive. This time around, holy wow. I took them out of the box and put them in before I looked at the price tag so that I could have a “blind” experience and make my impressions without knowing how much they cost. Well, after about 2-3 songs and trying to figure out how AUKEY managed to make such impressive sounding earphones, I decided to look up the price. One thing about AUKEY is that their products generally are better than what they sell them for, and the same is true with the Key Series earphones. At $79.99, they are definitely in line with other competitors’ earphones that are at the $99 or higher category, which is impressive.
Sound Quality: The sound quality is impressive in each band: low, mid and high. The bass has thump and “mmmmph” and sounds really good in a variety of different types of music. I tested out 80s rock, metal, 90s dance, and of course some Linkin Park, and it all sounded great. One of the most impressive characteristics of these earphones is that they are very receptive to equalizer changes. Many times, I try to adjust the equalizer on other earphones and it’s like “meh”, and the changes are very minimal, or unimpressive – not with these earphones. Changing the equalizer or it’s presets makes a significant difference in the music, and is very noticeable, which makes for a much better listening experience across pretty much any type of music. Many times, audio products will emphasize a certain area (usually bass), and one band of the sound spectrum will be better, and one or more of the others will suffer. Well, I’m happy to say that this isn’t the case with the Key Series earphones. The vocals are consistent and rich throughout the sound spectrum, and highs are crisp and well represented. I tried changing the volume, music type and equalizer for many different songs, and I was very happy and impressed, pretty much across the board. If I had one thing to complain about on these earphones it would be the volume. The volume is solid and goes up pretty high. Admittedly, I have terrible hearing – thanks to a decade and a half in the military. I had my wife listen to them and she made me turn the volume down because it was too loud. So, likely these earphones have great volume for just about anyone (minus the hearing impaired like me). Regardless, the volume was ample and cancel out any outside noise when you’re using the foam ear tips. The foam tips are really nice, comfortable, and help to create a great seal for the ultimate sound experience.
Comfortability: The earphones are very comfortable and have a molded apparatus that goes over and around the ear, to help hold it in place. The ear tips come in three different sizes (S/M/L), for your individual fit and comfort. If you have the wrong size ear tips on then they don’t stay as securely in your ear, but with the proper size, the fit and comfort level is exceptional. I was a bit disappointed at first when I tried using the earphones with the standard tip that is on them when you open the box, but that all went away once I put the proper size ear tip on them. The Key Series earphones get two thumbs up in the size and comfortability department.
Conclusion: The AUKEY Key Series earphones have fantastic sound, solid volume, and a great listening experience. These earphones really do stand out from the competition and offer a really refreshing and exceptional sound experience, all for less than $80. I am a pretty big audiophile and really care about the quality of my sound, and the earphones that I use – my normal earphones are Bose – and I was really impressed with the Key Series earphones. Not only are they worth $79.99, but they compete really well with earphones that are priced $20-50 more than they are. I definitely give huge kudos to AUKEY on this one. Not only have they exceeded my expectations, but they have set a new standard for themselves in the premium quality audio category, that I hope they maintain in the future.
If you’re interested in picking up a pair of AUKEY’s Key Series Bluetooth earphones, you can find them on Amazon for $79.99 (MSRP). However, check the sale page periodically because AUKEY is always running different sales on them. For instance, today (12/30/2018), there is a $10 coupon on the sale page, making them $69.99, which is a fantastic deal. I can’t make any guarantees for the future, but AUKEY is constantly putting their products on sale. They earphones also qualify for Prime 2-day shipping. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Wirele...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU6433406
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