AUGUST 2019 MACWORLD 113just as well as if I
wasn’t wearing
earphones at all. This
could make the Ear
Duo a great choice for
cyclists or others who
want to enjoy a few
tunes or a podcast but
still need to keep tabs
on their surroundings.
Unfortunately, the level
of situational
awareness that these
earphones afford
comes at the cost of
decent audio quality.
While the Ear Duo
produce reasonable
mid and high-frequency
sound, there’s almost no bass at
all. It made anything I listened to
sound absolutely anemic. That
kick drum in Queens of the
Stone Age’s The Way You Used
to Do? Forget about it. Worse
than this, from the first time I
wore the Xperia Play Duo, until
the last time that I wore them, I
experienced frequent
disconnections from my iPhone 7
Plus. To ensure it wasn’t an issue
with my handset, I also paired
them with an iPhone SE and
OnePlus 6 handset. The problem
persisted. I expect better sound
performance than this from a
$280 pair of earphones.THE BOTTOM LINE
If situational awareness and a
unique design are more
important to you than great
sound, solid connectivity, or a
user interface that isn’t designed
to drive you insane, Sony’s
Xperia Ear Duo are the truly
wireless earphones you’ve
been waiting for. Everyone
else should steer clear. ■mmh
Sony Xperia Ear Duo
PROS- Rock solid build quality.
- Allows for exception
situational awareness. - USB-C charging.
CONS - Frequent connectivity
issues. - Gesture controls frustrating
to use. - Design makes finding
physical controls difficult.
PRICE
$226
COMPANY
Sony