Astrotec S80 Review – The Black Pearl

What we?ve here is the Astrotec S80 review – true wireless earphone. As the true wireless earphone era is taking its shape. Astrotec is also one of the companies that have an interesting true wireless earphone technology and budget-friendly (USD 89)

Astrotec first-generation true wireless, from what I know is the first that has a knowless driver.

The second generation the Astrotec S80 has an interesting driver, it?s a beryllium driver. Astrotec is bold with their claim since it has a very interesting slogan ?Audiophile Grade Sound?. Let?s see the Astrotec S80 review whether it can live up the name of an Audiophile Grade Sound.

UNBOXING ASTROTEC S80 REVIEW

The box for Astrotrec S80 has a simple design. You?ll see the casing and earpiece as the front image.

A quick guide on a frosted plastic, awesome! in this way hopefully you’ll read on how to connect the earphone to your device and how to wear the Astrotec S80 earphone properly.

When you open the box you?ll see two cases and this surprises me because normally you?ll see only one case to store the earphones.

You?ll also find 3 different sets of earphone tips, Astrotrec is serious when it says about audiophile-grade sound as we know very well that isolation and fit plays a big role in the sound.

A USB-C cable (short cable) is also provided. I like the short cable, cause it?s easier to carry and if I need a Long cable I can use the USB-C from another device.

What’s in the Box?

• Astrotrec S80 true wireless earphone
• Charging and storing case for the earphone
• Case for the accessories
• USB-C Charging Cable (short)
• 3 different sets of tips
  • Silicon S,M,L
  • Foam tips S
  • Grey Custom Silicon M,L
• User Guide.

Astrotec S80 Specification

• Weight: 4g per earphone, Charging case 45g
• Frequency response: 5Hz – 25kHz
• Drivers: 6mm
• Driver type: Beryllium Dynamic Driver
• Impedance 16 Ohm 
• Sensitivity 98 (+/-3) db
• Battery life: 5-6 hours (55mAh)
• Casing Battery life: 20-30 hours (USB Type C)
• Earphone Charging time: 1.5 hours 
• Casing Charging time: 2 hours (500mAh)
• Wireless range: 10m | NFC: No
• Bluetooth 5.0 
• Transmission Range: 10m 
• Codec AAC, CVSD, mSBC, SBC, HFP, HSP, A2DP, AVRCP, SPP, PBAP

CASING BUILD & DESIGN ASTROTEC S80 REVIEW

The bigger case to store the accessories is similar to the casing that normally included in the sub $100 ChiFi.

But Astrotec personalise it a bit further by giving a grey fabric finishing and it feels more solid for the protection. I tied to fit in the charging case to the bigger case and even though it’s a little bit squishy I can still fit it in. The design reminds me of Sennheiser momentum true wireless case.

The charging case has a combination with a metallic appearance and grey fabric. the closing mechanism is not using a magnet, maybe it’s a good idea to use a magnet instead.

It?s an attractive design but if you inspect it closely the reflective metal plate could easily be scratched and feels a little bit cheap since it?s made from plastic. Apart from that, I like it because it?s very light, I think that?s one of the considerations why the plate is made from plastic.

It?s a very lightweight case, wondering how Astrotrec pack in a 20 hours extra battery life from this lightweight case. you’ll know the status of the battery from the four blue led light in front of the case.

when you put the earphone inside the case, it’s just snap and work flawlessly, thanks for the strong magnet. I tried to shake the case while the case was open and it was still in place.

why this is important? it’s important because if the earphone loosens a little bit from the casing, it may not be charged properly. that was happening with the Coopedia true wireless sometimes.

I’ve tested the ear tips and fit without any problem to the casing from the largest to the smallest tip.

I like Astrotec S80 charging case is reliable and light. I just wished that the hinge mechanism comes with a magnet and it has a full fabric design instead of a reflective on the top part.

EARPHONE BUILD AND DESIGN REVIEW

Light, black with a silver line, simple yet bold design. It’s shining like a black pearl.

The size of the earphone is medium size range, it does not consider that small yet not as big as BOSE sport sound.

On the outer side of the shell, it has a glossy finish. it’s kind of a fingerprint magnet. there’s also a hole in the outer side but I found out that’s not the vent, instead, it’s a led status.

at the middle, you’ll find a black rubber, it’s a good idea for anti-slip.

At the inner part (the side that facing the ear) made from matte plastic, you’ll see two connectors (for charging) at this site as well.

The fit and isolation of the ear are good, with the right ear tips it will hold pretty well, you may experience slight discomfort after prolong use depends on your ear canal. I ran with this, it’s pretty secure and never fell off from my ear.

After using this for a while, the fit is a little bit weird and sometimes become uncomfortable. I also need to readjust it most of the time.

OPERATIONAL AND CONNECTIVITY

When you take out the earpiece it will automatically pair the right to the left and to your phone as well with a notification to confirm the pairing is complete.

when you put them back into the casing, it will automatically disconnect the earphone from your phone.

The touch control is a welcome feature, I’m not a fan of mechanical control in a true wireless earphone since you need to press it and it’s difficult to operate.

the touch control is pretty sensitive, there’s a little bit of delay like two seconds after you touch the control to pause or play, it may give the impression that it’s not that responsive but it’s not.

Overall I like the touch responsiveness after getting used the delay for pausing and playing, skipping a song, adjusting volume works flawlessly. But I need to get used to it by not touching it when I’m adjusting the earphone.

The interesting thing, the “master” is the right side, normally the master is a left side but, you can change the Astrotec S80 to a mono mode and connect the left and right to a different phone.

Specification for the range of the Bluetooth is 10 meters, in real life, you can get more than that. During my test the performance of the range is good, I managed to get 16 meters (with a wooden door in between) before it’s dropping the connection.

Rated with IPX5 (Protection from water projected from a nozzle), it’s kind giving me confidence that I can bring this for exercising.

I would say that IPX5 is not waterproof, it’s water resistance and the resistance rating is good enough for splashing water, sweat and occasional unexpected downpouring of rain.

In the guide, there’s an interesting safe use instruction even though the earphone rated with IPX5 “do not let Astrotec S80 get wet with liquid, otherwise it will cause serious damage to the device, warranty is not covered for the damage caused by the water in the device” I would assume what they meant is not to submerge the device into liquid.

Astrotec S80 doesn’t have an advanced feature like sound pass through (to hear surrounding) like those in USD 200 + true wireless earphone but that’s okay with asking price below USD 100. I would say just take out one of the earphone for a while if someone is talking to you 🙂

ASTROTEC S80 REVIEW – SOUND QUALITY

Even though Astrotec S80 doesn’t support aptX but it has the standard A2DP, SBC, and AAC. aptX is not that important if you only use an Apple device as Apple only supports SBC and AAC.

Music

Listening to Love Lockdown – Kanye West, the lows are punchy and the amount is just nice. it has a good impact but I feel that the lows a little bit muddy on the upper part while using the foam. Using silicone tips did help.

Listening to Orinoco Flow – 2009 Remaster Enya, I would say that I kind like the low, it’s gentle yet have a full sound without overpowering.

In the Mids section. From playing Baby Plays Around Anne Sofie von Otter, the vocal is forward and intimate. Lucky – Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat reveal that the emphasized is towards the warm tone, the lows make the voice of the female a little bit bassy.

On the Highs. Listening to Born, Never Asked – Laurie Anderson I could hear the marimba and violin playing okay and I feel that I lack space in between. it doesn’t give you a feeling of spaciousness. It required more extension on the highs.

the good part is that the highs are not bright, this makes easier to listen to a wide range of music with minimum fatigue. on the other side, space and details are not a strong point.

The sound stage is somehow limited and exists in a smaller space, sometimes this makes songs couldn’t release the full potential and placement of instrument is not that clear.

Separation is lacking when it’s demanded to do so. I feel like that it can’t keep up with a song that has a different tempo and complexity like when I listened to Bohemian Rhapsody.

Movie

From my iPhone, watching Netflix – Startrek Discovery and Ted Talks in youtube, there’s still a little bit of delay and sometimes it could be worse but turning it off and on somehow will resolve the issue.

From my laptop, the performance and delay are much better,(almost no delay, perhaps I’m a little bit sensitive if we talk about lip sync issue).

From the testing do take a note if you’ve lip sync issue it could caused by your device not by Astrotec S80.

Call

The other party could hear me well, on my side the voice of another party is a little bit soft and the acoustic is like the other party is in a big empty hall.

Compared to like Jabra 75e there’s certainly a gap in the quality on the microphone but considering the price, it’s still acceptable since both parties could hear and make conversation.

ASTROTEC S80 REVIEW SUMMARY

We are at the end of the Astrotec S80 review. With a warm and intimate sound signature, classical music may not the strong side but pop and general music will not disappoint you.

I’ve listened to this for around 15 hours and I don’t hear any sound difference, maybe it will need to take some time to warm up and let Astrotec S80 break into its full potential.

I feel that the slogan that Astrotec put for the S80 “Audiophile Grade Sound” is somehow almost hit the mark. Its lack in the separation, placement and sound stage area which is important for an Audiophile range.

Astrotec S80 is really a little black pearl that shines. perhaps we will find something even more interesting for the next true wireless from Astrotec.

Astrotec S80 at USD 89 is hard not to recommend for True Wireless Earphone under USD 100. The sound is pleasing for listening to music and good enough for watching a movie. Touch control operation is really designed well.

You can purchase Astrotec S80 directly from Astrotec Global (USD 89) or from Aliexpress