During a time when earbud design has become pretty stale, REDMAGIC is looking to buck that trend with its Cyberbuds DAO TWS earphones. Combining a transparent design with the latest Qualcomm tech, these earphones boast must-have features like Active Noise Canceling and low latency for gaming, while maintaining a futuristic and eye-catching design. Here is my REDMAGIC Cyberbuds DAO TWS review after daily driving them for work and play over the past few weeks.
Futuristic first impressions
Unboxing the Cyberbuds DAO TWS is an interesting experience. You see, while other high-end earphones tend to come with a case and cable, the DAO TWS comes with both a case and cable, yes, but also a Control Station.
The Control Station allows for the convenient wireless recharging of the case, but it also has a volume knob and dongle for connecting to a device without Bluetooth. Oh, and it also has RGB lighting, which will please many gamers.
Big tech for big sound
When it comes to the tech inside the earphones themselves, the DAO TWS boasts the flagship Qualcomm Bluetooth 5.3 chipset, meaning more stable and lower latency connections. This is huge for gamers, whom these earphones are clearly aimed at.
While low latency and stable connectivity are the main attraction for gamers, the earphones’ Active Noise Reduction is practically a must-have at this price point and comes in handy when using the DAO TWS out and about listening to music and consuming video content. ANC works well and has several different strength options.
Fine-tune your sound
Various EQ and virtual surround sound effects can be enabled through an app. While this is nice for users who want to fine-tune the audio, I found the stock sound profile was already tuned to my tastes. It achieves the classic “V” curve with boosted lows and highs, without being overbearing. It balances fun sound with accurate directionality. For those looking for a more clinical sound by boosting specific frequencies, the aforementioned app is well worth installing.
Battery life is impressive, with the DAO TWS rated for up to seven and a half hours on a charge. Crank the volume up and activate ANC and you can expect closer to five hours. Pop them back in the case and you can get a good four to five full recharges.
Final Verdict
While the AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM5 remain the obvious mainstream options in the high-end earphone segment, the REDMAGIC Cyberbuds DAO TWS are positioned as an interesting alternative for passionate mobile gamers.
Similar to how the REDMAGIC phones attract a certain crowd of performance enthusiasts, who want the best hardware specs combined with gaming-first software, the DAO TWS earphones boast the tech and software to please gamers and mobile power users, even at the higher-than-you-might-expect $229.99 RRP.
Positives and Negatives
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Futuristic design.
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Headphone dock is an interesting add-on.
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Solid sound quality for multimedia.
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Low latency and ANC work well.
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Accompanying app unlocks additional tuning.
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RRP pits it against mainstream high-end options.
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In-ear so comfort can be lessened over longer periods of use.
Disclosure: Cyberbuds DAO TWS review sample was provided by RedMagic.
