Tronsmart Onyx Ace Pro True Wireless Earphones

The Tronsmart Onyx Ace Pro True Wireless Earphones are very light with a good battery life and a pocket-sized charging case for all-day listening. Though resistant enough to handle the sweat of indoor training, they get very slippery in your ears when wet, and though the sound quality is decent they feel pretty cheap overall.

The Onyx Ace Pros look pretty similar to Apple's AirPods, and boast a long battery life of 6.5. hours (at 60% volume) with the charging case boosting this to 27 hours. At 4g, they are tremendously light and the charging case is also light and pocket sized.

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They have a waterproof rating of IPX5, meaning they can withstand low pressure water jets. So the sweat that pouring from your face and hair should not affect them, but maybe don't take them into the shower afterwards.

Bluetooth 5.2 keeps the earphones paired to your device from up to 10m away in an open area, and they stay connected a decent distance even through solid walls. However, at times our left earphone would randomly disconnect before reconnecting around 10 seconds later.

The USB-C connection only takes two hours to fully charge the case, while the earphones themselves take 1.5 hours in the case. Unfortunately the lighting system used to indicate charge is awfully confusing.

Audio quality

You would expect some decent quality of audio when spending £50 on earphones, and what you get will not disappoint. The speakers can easily handle the heavy drum and bass to get me through some yucky efforts.

They manage background noise very well, too. I could still hear someone talk to (interrupt...) me whilst on the turbo, but wind noise from the fans didn't affect the audio.

Controls

Control involves tapping the upper stem of the earphone, and it gives a plethora of functions. It takes some time to get used to it, but once you have it's great. One quick tap on the right earphone increases volume, for instance, while the same on the left decreases it.

Unfortunately, once you get sweaty the buds start to slip out of your ears, and pushing them back in can have you inadvertently changing the volume or even the track (tap and hold for two seconds), which really got on my nerves.

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I tried out 'gaming mode' thinking the volume may become more intense with a stronger bass, or different parts might come from a different sides, but it never happened. On the turbo, at least, I couldn't detect any difference.

Value

These fall towards the cheaper end of the scale for wireless earphones. Obviously, you can pick up a £5 set from your local supermarket, but you can't expect much from them; I was pleasantly surprised by the Onyx Ace Pros, though, as the audio quality is not far off Apple's 2nd generation AirPods. Where they do fall behind is the build quality – they just don't feel as nice in your ear (or as secure).

Of course, they don't carry the heavy price of AirPods Pro either (£239), or of the similarly high-end Beats Fit Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds at £199.99. They do still provide a decent audio experience, though.

You might want to also check out HolyHigh's Wireless Earbuds which were £36.99 when we reviewed them and offer silicone earbuds suited much better to sweating away on the indoor trainer. Most sports earphones have wrap-around earhooks made from silicone that really hold position well, but they aren't always the most comfy for extended periods.

Overall

The feathery weight of these in your ear is very subtle and comfortable, but they just don't have that snug fit to cope with actual sweating, even if the IPX6 rating can. Unfortunately there's the chance these will drop out both on the connection to your device and physically from your ears.

Verdict

Great battery life and lightweight feel – just a shame they don't stay put once you start to sweat