The Lypertek PurePlay Z7 earbuds are an excellent choice for anyone looking for a high-quality pair of true wireless earbuds
- Manufacturer: Lypertek
- Model: PurePlay Z7
- Type: TWS Bluetooth 5.2 earbuds
- Price: £89 MSRP (£69 at select retailers)
- Supported Connections: Bluetooth 5.2
- Reviewed on: Windows PC, Samsung Mobile/Tablet
- Supplied by: Lypertek
Lypertek Z7 Review
Overview
Lypertek is a relatively new brand, having only been established in 2017. Designed and manufactured in China, it would be easy to dismiss the Lypertek PUREPLAY Z7 earbuds as just another obscure import, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. These are premium buds that can hang with the best that Sony, Bose, Apple et al can offer, but priced at just £89 (and even as low as £69, if you shop around), the Z7 represent incredible value for money – they were originally priced at £199, which is still competitive, but at the new lower price the Z7 are sensational.
The Z7 earbuds have a desirable set of features, including an ambient mode, superb app-controlled EQ, IPX5 splash resistance, wireless charging and outrageously long battery life, but the real hero here is the phenomenal sound quality of the triple hybrid dynamic/armature drivers. The bass the Z7 can produce is effortlessly powerful, complemented by a rich and warm mid-range. If it wasn’t possible to tweak the audio profile, you could argue that the treble, though beautifully clean, could do with being slightly more prominent. That’s a moot point, though, as the Lypertek PureControl app has an outstanding 7-band EQ.
The 7-band EQ allows you to effortlessly adjust the sound profile to match your desired profiling, and it has some effective presets that genuinely match their intended use. The gaming profile, for example, brings vocals and upper mids into focus without sacrificing bass, whilst the bass boost setting produces thundering bass without turning the sound into a muddied, undefined mess. Whatever your preference, it’s a breeze to adjust the profile, and if you can’t find a preset to suit, you can make two custom profiles, too.
There’s no ANC here, but the fit is excellent, providing great passive noise isolation, and in my use, I had no issues hearing my music over roaring traffic or in bustling cities. I was a little disappointed with the ambient mode, though, which I’ll cover in more detail further on.
Design and Build
What’s in the Box?
- Lypertek PurePlay Z7 Earphones
- Charging case
- Silicone tips (S/M/L) x2
- Flexifit foam tips (S/M/L)
- Filter mesh – 4pcs
- USB Type-C cable
- Quick start manual/Thank you card
The Lypertek Z7 earbuds have a sleek and minimalist design with an elongated housing. The simple black shell is relatively plain, and they protrude quite far from your ear, but they are very comfortable to wear. They feel quite large compared to more slimline buds that are on the market, but Lypertek has had to make space for the triple-driver arrangement and you get superb battery life. In this case, the benefits are worth a slightly larger bud.
The Z7 also have an IPX5 rating, which means they are sweat and spray-resistant, making them ideal for use during exercise and able to withstand rain showers, though they can’t be submerged in water.
I like the variety of ear tips that comes with the Z7, and there was an extra pack of thicker silicone tips that aren’t mentioned on the packaging or product information, which is a nice touch. It’s somewhat tricky to change tips, as they are a very tight fit, but with a bit of perseverance, I got there. Unfortunately, the Flexfit foam tips aren’t very strong and ripped apart when I took them off to test a different set, despite my being as careful as possible. Fortunately, the thicker silicone tips worked perfectly for me, providing a secure and comfortable fit and a perfect seal.
The product description for the Lypertek is a little misleading; “Easy to use buttons on the PurePlay Z7 helps avoid accidental button presses and prevents the need to push onto the earphone.” This made me initially think the Z7 utilised touch controls, but you actually have to press a physical button, located inside the circular insert on the outside of each bud. This multi-function button has perfect reliability, but pressing it pushes the buds into your ear, which is a little uncomfortable, especially for functions that require double or triple clicks.
The charging case for the Lypertek Z7 earbuds is well-designed, and I adore the fabric-covered finish. Like the buds themselves, it’s notably larger than competitors and fairly weighty, but it’s still pocket friendly and holds a huge amount of backup charge for the buds. QI charging is supported, and like most modern devices, you can also use the included USB-C cable, with an indicator light on the front to display the charge status.
It’s a little limited in this regard as if the light is green the case has >90% charge remaining, red means <10% remaining and white covers everything in between. 10% charge still equates to around 8 hours of battery life, but I’d have liked a more accurate way of checking the current battery capacity. Checking the buds themselves is easier, as the app will show you a percentage for each bud.
These aren’t the most distinctive buds I’ve seen, but they are perfectly functional. Importantly, the build quality is excellent and they seem very durable. I’d have liked more options in colour to help the Z7 stand out amongst the crowd, but they are discreet enough to not draw attention if that’s your preference.
Connectivity
The Lypertek Z7 earbuds have Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, which provides a stable and reliable connection to your phone or other devices. Bluetooth 5.2 also supports a wider range of audio codecs (aptX Adaptive, AAC and SBC), which means you can enjoy high-quality audio even when streaming music wirelessly. I was also very impressed with how quickly the buds connected to my phone, taking just a split-second to connect and activate.
Bluetooth range is good, maintaining a connection at up to 10 meters, though in my house this was reduced significantly by walls and obstacles. Realistically, you’ll have your device next to you, or in your pocket or bag, and when using the buds like this the connection was flawless, with no dropouts or stuttering.
Unfortunately, the Lypertek Z7 earbuds don’t support Bluetooth multipoint, so you will have to pair them every time you swap devices.
The latency on the Z7 is pleasingly low, with no lip-sync issues when watching videos, and I found them suitable for gaming, too. There is still a slight but tangible delay, but outside of using wired headphones, you’ll struggle to lower the latency much more than this.
Features and Controls
The Lypertek Z7 earbuds have a physical multi-function button on each bud that allows you to easily access all of the buds’ functions without reaching for your phone. As mentioned, though, multiple presses can be slightly uncomfortable as you end up pressing the buds into your ear. If you find you constantly need to adjust your buds, touch controls can result in accidental presses, but the fit was great, so I would have preferred touch controls over a physical button.
The ambient (hear-through) mode is activated by pressing and holding either button, but it takes a second or two. When holding the button, the Z7 will beep once which, if you release the button then, will activate your voice assistant, or if you keep holding the button longer, you’ll hear a double-beep letting you know ambient mode is enabled.
Finally, Lypertek’s app is well-designed and easy to use, with straightforward viewing of battery levels, control customisation (though it’s limited to only changing the volume and track skip assignments), and access to the superb 7-band EQ.
You can adjust the power-off timer for when no audio signal is being received, but I found that the Z7 seemed to forget my previous setting and revert to off quite frequently. The EQ settings were maintained, which is the most important part, so hopefully, the power-off reliability will be improved in a future firmware update.
The “Find my earbuds” feature would be brilliant, but the app won’t connect unless you are paired to your buds, which need to be less than 50cm away. It accurately pinpointed my location down to the exact house number, but seeing as you can’t see this unless you are connected to the app, I don’t get how this is supposed to be useful.
Overall, the physical controls are intuitive and easy to remember, even if I’d rather use my phone to control major changes like large volume increases or decreases, but the app could use some improvement. The bits that work well, though, like the EQ and battery indicator, are extremely useful and work perfectly.
Sound Quality
The hybrid drivers of the Lypertek Z7 earbuds provide a supremely well-tuned sound signature that delivers clear and detailed audio across the entire frequency range and can be fine-tuned to meet any user’s specific demands within the app’s EQ. The separation of instruments is exceptional, and I was hugely impressed by the Z7’s ability to accentuate specific frequencies without adversely affecting the rest of the sound.
The first thing that struck me was the expansiveness of the soundstage. The Lypertek Z7 have a wide and spacious soundstage with excellent positioning, something that is uncommon in wireless earbuds in the sub-£100 bracket. Granted, these were originally £199, where you’d expect this quality from your buds, but the performance at their new price is second to none in this regard.
In its native guise, bass is deep and punchy, providing a powerful and lively foundation for the rest of the frequencies to build upon. This is where the hybrid driver arrangement comes into its own, as the dynamic driver-powered bass can be amplified by a huge degree without infringing upon or stifling the higher frequencies. Conversely, if you prefer clarity, dropping the lowest frequencies within the EQ transforms the bass into a much more articulate sound, with excellent definition. Whatever you’re listening to, the Z7 has a bass response to match, and it’s one of my favourite things about these buds.
Mids are clean and highly detailed, but they don’t distract or take away from the other frequencies. The lower mids merge seamlessly with the bass, before blending cleanly into the upper mids, making vocals and instruments sound natural and accurate. If you’re gaming or listening to podcasts, the presets in the app do a fantastic job of bringing vocals and vital audio elements to the fore with surprising clarity, while still retaining subtle warmth from the low end.
The treble is detailed and precise, without being harsh. As I mentioned earlier, I found the treble wasn’t prominent enough, but once again the EQ came to the rescue, enabling me to redefine the sound and imbue the Z7 with added brightness and a sparkling finish that sounded glorious.
Whilst these may not be the absolute best-sounding earbuds I’ve tested, they’re pretty damn close to it. The customisability of the sound profile means you can deftly switch from a lively, powerful and energising experience full of thundering bass to a restrained, articulate, accurate and more relaxing sound at the press of a button. It’s rare that I test headphones that I would deem suitable for everyone, but the Z7 certainly fit the bill.
Noise isolation and ambient mode
There’s no ANC on the PurePlay Z7, but honestly, they don’t need it. The passive noise isolation muffles and suppresses the vast majority of irritating background noise to a level that’s almost on par with ANC buds. With your music at a decent volume, you’ll only be aware of surrounding sound when the music pauses or dips in volume dramatically.
Ambient mode is a bit of a letdown, though. When using ambient mode you can assert the direction of outside noises accurately, but the delivery is distinctly lacking in volume. Whilst music is playing at anything more than the lowest volume, ambient sound is essentially silenced bar the loudest of sounds. When you pause your music, there’s a brief delay, and then the ambient volume becomes much louder, but it’s accompanied by significant white noise.
Unfortunately, if you like to blend your music in with ambient noise, you’ll find the Z7 lacking with no practical workaround. Even for those times when you only need to hear what’s going on momentarily, when you factor in the lengthy button press and subsequent pause of the music, and the lacklustre ambient mode performance, you’re better off just taking one of your buds out when needed. It’s a disappointing application of the technology, that can likely be attributed to the underwhelming microphone quality.
Microphone Quality
The Lypertek Z7 earbuds have a built-in microphone on each earbud, which allows you to make phone calls and use voice commands. The microphone quality is kind of acceptable, assuming you’re indoors in the quiet, but even then your voice comes through quiet, distant and hollow.
It’s hard to be too harsh on the Z7 in this regard, as that distant-sounding rendition of your voice is a byproduct of the microphones being further away from and not in line with your mouth, but other manufacturers manage it far better. It’s the overall pickup volume that’s the problem, which is why the ambient mode seems to suffer. When your voice is quiet and hard to hear already, the fact that the Z7 aren’t the best at filtering out background noise just makes things worse.
Given that the vast amount of my communication is via email, group chats or text messages and I have a dedicated mic on my PC, the Z7 mic quality is not something that bothers me, but if you rely on your buds for frequent calls, they may not be ideal for you.
Battery Life
The earbuds have a battery life of up to 10 hours on a single charge (50% volume), which is very impressive for a pair of true wireless earbuds. The charging case also provides an additional 70 hours of battery life, which means you can use the earbuds for a total of 80 hours without needing to charge them.
This is outstanding and should last even hardcore users for a full week without needing to top up the battery. For more casual users who just like to break up the monotony of their commute each day, you could feasibly get an entire month’s worth of life from a single charge.
A full charge of the case takes about 2 hours, with the buds themselves taking about 1.5 hours in the case. The charging case also supports fast charging, which allows you to charge the earbuds for 15 minutes and get up to 2 hours of listening time. This is useful if you need to quickly charge the earbuds before heading out for a workout or a commute, though with battery life this good, you’re not likely to need it!
The earbuds also have an auto on/off feature, which means they automatically turn on when you take them out of the case and turn off when you put them back in. This helps to conserve battery life and ensure that the earbuds are always ready to use when you need them.
Summary
The Lypertek PurePlay Z7 earbuds are an excellent choice for anyone looking for a high-quality pair of true wireless earbuds. Even at their original price of £199, they represent a sound investment (no pun intended), but if you pick them up for £89 or less, they become essential. The sound quality is magnificent, and thanks to the effective EQ, they are adaptable to any user’s preference. The only downside is that the mic quality and ambient modes aren’t great, and they’re relatively plain looking, but otherwise it’s hard to fault Lypertek’s premium yet affordable buds.
