EKSA S30 – Directly from CES 2024 I try the OPEN EAR headphones for the BUSINESS world
If you have been following me for a while, you know that I like to try products of all kinds and brands and when I happen to test a product in preview, I am always happy to accept the invitation, as in the case of EKSA, a company specialized in technological products among including headphones, earphones, mice and much more. I have already tried some of their products from EKSA, giving me the idea that this company is able to master the fine line between convenience and quality design.
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Having said that, the product I am presenting to you today is the EKSA S30, recently launched on Kickstarter and presented at CES2024. These are air conduction headphones with a true wireless open-ear design, whose killer feature is noise cancellation, sound quality and remarkable battery life. Today we will find out if all this is true or just marketing.
UNBOXING AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The sales package of the EKSA S30 is well looked after where inside we find everything necessary to start using the gadget straight away. We find a hard case with zip and hook for attaching to shoulder straps, so you can always carry the product with you, which I'll already tell you about, as it is not basically portable. Inside the hard case we then find the USB-A/USB-C charging cable, user manuals (no Italian language) with additional documentation on warnings and troubleshooting and of course the EKSA S30 with relative charging dock.
The sensation that the product transmits from the beginning is of high quality, but as already announced the system including dock and earphones is not extremely portable, but it must also be said that the main audience addressed by the EKSA S30 is business type . In short, the EKSA S30 are mainly intended for desktop use.
The charging dock has a semi-matte plastic finish that doesn't have an oleophobic treatment, so fingerprints may appear over time. Apart from this, everything is well built and well assembled, even the orange button which will be used to turn the earphones on/off but also to perform the reset as well as to establish the multipoint connection. On the back we then find the Type-C input for charging the dock, which takes about 2 hours. On the base itself we then find the seat for the earphones which are basically magnetically recharged, relying on robust magnets inserted in the lower part of the flap, the one in contact with our head.
The earbuds have a mostly matte black look with a combination of hard plastic and rubberized silicone where they meet the top of your ears. On one we find the microphone which can be rotated and better directed towards the mouth, while both also offer two buttons to control music tracks or calls, while on the microphone we find an additional button to deactivate/activate it or to recall the privacy mode. The physical buttons are excellent, which effectively free you from any accidental touches typical in headphones with touch controls. Specifically, we can put play/pause, call back the last number, call up the phone's voice assistant and control the volume.
CONNECTIVITY AND COMFORT
Setting up the EKSA 30 is child's play. Simply remove them from the case, place them on your ears and pair them with your device. Once paired with your device you will only have to remember to click on the orange button on the base to activate the headphones while when you put them back on charge, you will have to click the same button twice otherwise the headphones will not turn off but will remain in a mute state, i.e. they will be immediately ready and operational if you need to use it for a call or anything else.
Wearing them is simple and super comfortable, as we are not dealing with in-ear or semi-in-ear drivers but these will rest on the ear without fitting inside the duct, conveying the sound via air conduction. This makes everything more comfortable without creating pressure points. Furthermore, the silicone headband can be adjusted according to the size of your ear, making them more stable.
In fact, counting on an IPX5 certification, you could also use the EKSA S30 for sports, perhaps for a jog on the treadmill. The left earcup features a boom microphone that can be directed towards your mouth as needed, meaning that when listening to music, where you don't need the microphone, you can rotate it backwards out of the way. Each earbud can work independently of the other for music, but if you want to take a call, you can only use the left earbud.
For phone calls, office work, commuting and work-oriented purposes, the comfort of the EKSA S30 excels. The air conduction and open-ear design allows you to remain alert to your surroundings, clearly distinguishing sounds and alarms, ideal for situations where you collaborate with other people or if you are close to a noise source you want be aware, like a road with moving cars and bicycles.
SOUND QUALITY AND CALLS
The product uses Bluetooth version 5.3, whose wireless connectivity works wonderfully, reaching up to 30 meters. We then have multipoint connectivity available, allowing you to pair two devices simultaneously and therefore manage music on one device and calls on the other. The sound emitted by the EKSA S30 is realistic and very vivid. Although these are not audiophile level headphones, they are in fact designed specifically for communication, but the musical performance is comparable to products designed for this purpose.
I was impressed by the deep, soulful bass it delivered when I turned up the volume on some of my favorite songs, producing more punch and power than I ever imagined. In fact, for these S30s EKSA has integrated "TubeBass technology" to give the sound emission an extra touch of "oomph" that you won't commonly find in headphones like these. The rest of the medium/high tones were clear and real, in short, a well equalized and balanced sound spectrum, which is not something poco considering that we don't have an app available to customize the sound curve.
As for the microphone, I tested it in different conditions and calls with different users and no one ever complained. In short, the microphone picks up my voice perfectly while eliminating background noise. I also did a specific test, with loud noise of voices in the background, simulating a hectic office job and yet my voice always lived up to expectations.
This is undoubtedly due to the ENC VoicePure noise cancellation technology included by EKSA, managing to "clean" the voice of background noise by 99,9% thanks to the presence of 4 microphones suitable for this purpose. Another thing that convinced me so much about the goodness and the final positive opinion of this product is the presence of the Privacy mode, that is, the open-ear nature of the product allows the sound and consequently also the voice of our interlocutor to escape from the ear. on a call, so if someone is around you they will mind your business, but with the Privacy mode (activated with a long click on the microphone button), the sound output will be attenuated by being directed only towards your ear, greatly attenuating and making the final sound almost imperceptible.
AUTONOMY
EKSA boldly claims that the S30s have 70 hours of battery life. Naturally they refer to the total autonomy, also obtained through recharging by the dock, which in fact uses a battery with a capacity of 1000 mAh while the individual earphones make use of a 95 mAh unit, which with a single recharge reach 16 continuous hours, so all things considered they cover two days of work. However, everything refers to a volume value of 70% when listening to music, while in conversation the values are equal to 48 hours in total and 9 hours per single charge and this is because the microphone requires more internal capacity from the battery.
Doing the math, you can expect about 5 full charges for the pair of earbuds, before needing to plug in the USB cable. Most headphones out there won't be able to achieve listening/talking times like these, which says a lot about EKSA and the way they designed the S30. The charging dock takes approximately 2 hours to reach full capacity, but if necessary there is a small LED on the front of the charging base that indicates the remaining battery charge in green, yellow or red.
PROJECTED IMPACT
EKSA has hit the mark with the S30 headphones, although it is intentionally a niche product, aimed at those who make vocal communication the basis of their work, I found that the brand's product works equally well for listening to music and for daily use. Audio quality is superb with no noticeable distortion, even when the volume is turned up to maximum. Perfect for example for work meetings, for switchboards, for video conferences.
The battery life, wireless range and overall build quality meet the requirements for such a product well. The delay was also satisfactory, so much so that I wore them to edit some videos and I didn't notice any delays in general. At the moment you can only find them via crowdfunding on Kickstarter at a launch price of $99, a price destined to reach $199 in its final marketing. So this is the best time to get a pair. Have you already pre-ordered them or have you had the opportunity to try them in advance like me? Do you agree with my opinion or do you have something to share from your point of view? I'd love to hear from you - leave a comment below and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
