pTron has recently launched new TWS earbuds called pTron Bassbuds Perl in India. These entry-level earphones are priced under ₹1,000 and come with an all-glossy design, low-latency gaming mode, dual microphone, side-mounted sensors, IPX4, up to 28 hours battery life, and many more. Below is my detailed review of these earbuds, which I’ve been testing for the past week.
pTron Bassbuds Perl Full Specification
| Earbuds type | Half In-Ear |
| Sensors | Pinch / Touch |
| Gaming mode | Yes |
| Bluetooth | v5.3 |
| Bluetooth range | 10 meters |
| Supported codecs | SBC |
| Noise cancellation | Passive |
| IP rating | IPX4 |
| Driver | 13mm Dynamic |
| Earbuds battery | 30mAh x 2 |
| Earbuds charging time | 60 Minutes |
| Case charging time | 90 Minutes |
| Charging input | DC 5V-1A |
| Music playtime | Up to 28 hours with a case |
| USB port | USB-C |
| Microphones | Dual microphones |
| Net weight | 31 grams |
| Earbuds weight | 3.25 grams each |
| Case dimensions | 5.6 x 4.7 x 2.6 cm |
| In the box | Pair of Earbuds Charging case USB-C cable Welcome card Manual |
pTron Bassbuds Perl Design & Build
The pTron Bassbuds Perl earbuds come with an all-gloassy finish and are sleek and stylish. Except for the golden accent, the entire case has a black glossy finish that is very smooth to the touch. The downside to this design is that it scratches easily and attracts fingerprints. However, they are also not very fragile and can withstand a fair amount of wear and tear. So you don’t have to worry about them breaking easily. The entire case is made using good-quality plastic and doesn’t look cheap.
The case is compact and fits perfectly in your hands and pockets. You’ll find the pTron branding on the front. An earphone with a glossy finish may look great, but keeping it clean can be a pain. Fingerprints and smudges show up easily on the surface, and it can be difficult to get rid of them. Plus, the glossy finish is prone to scratches, so you’ll need to be careful not to damage it. If you like to keep your devices clean, you’ll find yourself constantly wiping away fingerprints. It can be a bit of a hassle, but if you’re willing to put in the effort, it’s worth it for the earphone’s look.
My dislike for the all-glossy design was offset by my satisfaction with the charging case. The fit and finish of the charging case are very good, and it does not seem to break if you drop it from a lower height. When you open the charging case’s lid, you’ll find two earbuds firmly seated in their respective slots.
One of the key highlights of these earbuds is the Digital LED indicator. You’ll find a digital indicator on the front side of the charging case that tells you how much battery is left in the charging case. There are L and R markings too. Once you place the earbuds in their respective slots, they start charging immediately, and LED lights on the front start blinking, indicating the earbuds are charging.
There are two separate markings for the Left and Right earbuds. If you place only one earbud in the case, only the respective side’s LED lights start blinking. The magnets on the earbuds are quite strong, so you can be sure that they will stay in place and not make a rattling noise when moving. Also, they do not fall even if the charging case is facing downward with the lid open.
The rear side of the charging case has regulatory markings, while the USB-C port is placed on the bottom. pTron has provided a USB Type-C cable with the package, but you’ll need to use your existing 5V/1A power adapter to charge the case.
Like the charging case, the earbuds also come with an all-glossy design. Note that these earbuds are not ‘In-ear type,’ and you cannot adjust the size using the eartips. These are called ‘Half-in-ear Earbuds’ and don’t support adjustable eartips.
You’ll need to ensure these earbuds are properly fitted in your ears to get the best sound quality. An improper fit will lead to audio leakage and a bad music experience. As there is no provision to add ear tips, you need to ensure that these earphones fit your ears perfectly. Otherwise, they will fall out.
These earbuds come with 13mm dynamic drivers and are certified by IPX4 to protect from splashes and spills. Only the earbuds are water-resistant, not the charging case. You’ll find any brand markings on the earbuds. Both earbuds also include LED indicators and glow red and blue. These LED indicators turn Red while charging inside the case and blue during pairing.
One of the key highlights of these earbuds is Pinch Controls. Generally, most of the earbuds in the market support Tap controls, and sensors are placed on the front (Mostly at the front top, behind the LED indicators). But, in the case of Bassbuds Perl, the sensors are placed on the side, and these support Pinch controls.
These sensors allow you to play/pause music, change music tracks, switch music modes, attend/reject voice calls, and activate the voice assistants by pinching them. Yes, these are different, but I felt the tap controls are more convenient than the pinch controls. If you try to pinch the sensor, there is a maximum possibility of the earbuds coming out of your ears. Alternatively, you can use these sensors just like tap sensors, and all functions work fine. No need to pinch the sensors if you are not comfortable.
In case you missed it: pTron Bassbuds NYX TWS Earbuds Review: Best Non In-ear TWS Earbuds with Transparent Design Under ₹1000
pTron Bassbuds Perl Touch / Pinch Controls
- Turn on earbuds: Remove the earbuds from the charging case
- Turn off earbuds: Pinch or tap any sensor 4 times or Keep both earbuds in the case
- Answer a phone call: Pinch or Tap the sensor on either earbud once.
- Reject a phone call: Pinch or Tap the sensor on either earbud twice.
- Music Play/Pause: Pinch or Tap the sensor on either earbud once.
- Next song: Pinch or tap the right earbud twice
- Previous song: inch or tap the left earbud twice
- Voice assistant: Pinch or hold the left earbud till you hear the beep sound.
- Mode audio change: Pinch or tap the sensor three times
Unfortunately, these earbuds do not support volume control using the sensors. You’ll have to control the volume using the connected device.
pTron Bassbuds Perl Connectivity
The pTron Bassbuds Perl supports Bluetooth 5.3 and has a wireless range of 10 meters. These earbuds don’t support Open-to-pair technology like Truke BTG Beta, so you’ll have to remove these from the charging case to enter into pairing mode. To connect Bassbuds Perl to your phone or laptop:
- Turn on the Bluetooth on your phone or laptop.
- Remove the earbuds from the charging case
- Select ‘pTron TWS‘ in the list of available devices.
- Allow access to Contacts and Call logs (Optional)
- Select Pair.
To check the earbuds’ battery levels, you need to open the Bluetooth Settings on your phone post pairing the earbuds. These earbuds support only the SBC codec and not ACC. Also, these earbuds don’t support Dual-pairing. Once paired, these earbuds will automatically connect to the last connected device if the last connected device is within the 10 meters range of the buds and the Bluetooth of the device is ON.
pTron Bassbuds Perl Features
Gaming Mode: These earbuds support two audio modes – Music and Game. You can quickly switch between these two modes by tapping or pinching the right sensor three times. I have tested the low-latency mode with COD Mobile, and the results are not great but not bad. I did experience some audio delay a couple of times during the gameplay. If you are a casual gamer, the game mode might help, but you’ll be disappointed if you are a pro gamer.
Dual microphones: These earbuds are backed by dual microphones, one on each earbud. These earbuds offer passive noise cancellation but don’t make much difference in the voice quality. The microphones catch the outside noise quickly and make the voice calls noisy if you are outside. The voice quality is fine indoors, and I did not observe any issues.
Digital display: The charging case has an LED indicator that tells you how much battery is left in the charging case. Also, at the same time, when you put the case for charging, you can see how much the case has charged. 100 on display means that the case is fully charged. The display has Left and Right earbuds status indicators too. If the indicators are blinking means the earbuds are charging inside the case. If the indicators aren’t blinking means, the earbuds are fully charged.
Voice assistant support: You need to pinch or tap the left sensor three times to activate the Voice Assistant. I tested these earbuds with Google Assistant, and they worked without a hitch.
Mono/stereo mode: You can use these earbuds in either Mono or Stereo mode. When you remove both the buds from the case, they switch to stereo mode. If you put one earbud back in the case, the other switches to mono mode. This helps you save some battery.
In case you missed it: pTron Musicbot Lite Review: Best Portable Mini Bluetooth Speaker Under ₹400
pTron Bassbuds Perl Battery
Both earbuds are backed by a 30mAh battery (on each bud), and pTron claims that these can provide a total music playtime of up to 28 hours with the charging case. The earbuds take around 60 minutes to charge inside the case fully, and the case needs around 90 minutes to go from 0 to 100% using a standard 5V/1A power adapter. I got approximately 22 hours of playtime during my testing with about 60% to 70% volume.
pTron Bassbuds Perl Performance
When it comes to audio quality, these earbuds perform quite average. The audio is loud, and there is a good amount of bass too. Once your cross the 50% volume level, the bass dominates, and the audio distorts once you cross the 70% volume level. The vocals are slightly good, but the mids & highs and the instrument separation are average.
The sound starts leaking once the volume level crosses 70%, and the person sitting next to you can tell what music you are listening to. Regarding comfort, I did not observe any issues during the review. Despite using these earbuds continuously for over two hours, I never had to adjust them. Overall, the audio quality is average but not bad, as these earbuds are available for as low as ₹799 without any bank discounts.
I’m not a huge fan of the glossy finish on these earphones. They look great at first, but they start to show scratches and fingerprints pretty easily. I’ve only had them for a few weeks, and they’re already starting to look a bit battered. If you’re looking for something that will stay looking good for longer, I’d recommend checking out a different pair of earphones with a more matte finish.
If you are on a tight budget and looking for more features rather than audio quality, you can go ahead and buy pTron Bassbuds Perl. These earbuds support many features, such as an all-glossy design, gaming mode, pinch controls, mono mode, digital display, USB-C port, and above-average battery life. If audio quality is your top priority, check out pTron Bassbuds Eon (review). If you are a gamer, have a look at Truke BTG Beta (review) or Truke BTG X1 (review).
In case you missed it: pTron Force X10e Smartwatch Review
What I like
- Useful digital display
- Good build quality
- Good battery life
- IPX4 water-resistant
- USB-C port
- Good indoor voice quality
What I didn’t like
- Prone to scratches
- No dual pairing
- Sensors location
- Average audio output
- Cannot control volume
pTron Bassbuds Perl Price & Availability
pTron Bassbuds Perl comes only in Black and will go on sale via Amazon.in at ₹999. It will be available as low as ₹799 during the sale. The pTron Bassbuds Perl comes with 1-year limited warranty. Follow GizArena on Facebook and Twitter for the latest tech updates. If you have any queries, do let me know in the comments section.