OnePlus Nord Buds 3 offers a bass-heavy sound experience with muddied details.
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 come with a traditional in-ear design with silicone tips
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 were launched in India on September 17, almost two months after the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro launch. The newly launched true wireless stereo (TWS) earphones come with 12.4mm titanium dynamic drivers, up to 32dB active noise cancellation (ANC) support and are said to offer a total battery life of up to 43 hours. The vanilla option appears to be similar to the Pro variant in terms of design. They share a few specifications, but the cheaper Nord Buds 3 comes without a few of the perks that the Nord Buds 3 Pro offers. Do these differences affect the overall performance of the base version? Is there a discernable difference in the user experience these two earphones provide? We will find out in this review.
The design of the newly launched OnePlus Nord Buds 3 is similar to that of the Nord Buds 3 Pro design. Like the Pro variant, these TWS earphones carry a traditional in-ear design with silicone ear tips. The tips come in small, medium and large options, and the medium size offered me the best fit.
The touch control area towards the top of the stem is demarcated with a dip
The earphones are comfortable to use for a prolonged period. The wider bottomed stems of the earphones allow users to adjust the fit more easily. There is a lesser chance of accidentally triggering a touch control command since the sensors are placed towards the upper, narrower part of the stem and are marked by noticeable dents.
Meanwhile, the pebble-shaped magnetic charging case of the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 has a USB Type-C port and a pairing button on the bottom. A blinking LED light on the front of the case indicates the charging status of the device. The charging connectors within the case are placed towards the bottom. The case, even with earphones, is light and easy to carry around. The earphones have an IP55 rating for dust and splash resistance, while the case does not have any such certifications. They are available in Harmonic Gray and Melodic White colour options.
The Hey Melody app allows users to monitor the battery level of the charging case as well as the individual earphones. It also helps manage the different noise-cancellation modes, namely on, off and transparency. You can use the app to control touch functions and customise EQ settings. The dedicated Game Mode is claimed to ensure smooth gaming and audio-visual playback with low latency. Dual device connectivity allows the earphones to connect to two devices at once.
EQ settings can be easily customised via the Hey Melody app
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 has 12.4mm dynamic drivers and a dual-mic system. They offer up to 32dB of ANC and a total battery life of up to 43 hours. Each individual earbud gets a 58mAh battery, while the charging case carries a 440mAh cell. The case is equipped with a USB Type-C charging port. They support Google Fast Pair, Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, and SBC and AAC audio codecs. Only the earphones come with an IP55 rating for dust and splash resistance.
Is there such a thing as too much bass? That is the very first question that popped into my mind within the first few minutes of using the OnePlus Nord Buds 3. But it isn't so much the existence of bass boost than the lack of a balanced tuning. Switching these out with my regular earphones during the review period, I wasn't pleased when some of my current favourite tracks sounded muddied. The lack of detail, especially with higher-frequency sounds, is most vivid.
However, the customisable EQ settings on the Hey Melody app are a saving grace in a way. For a casual listener like me, fiddling around with the six-band equaliser got me to a place where I could play most songs on my playlist bearably. The Serenade preset on the app highlights the vocals a bit, but it mostly takes some of the punch away from the bass. And while I am not crazy about the sound quality, I am not complaining about the bass in absolution. The bass is good. It gets us out of bed or sometimes helps us reign in procrastination. It would have been better to have a balanced sound as well.
The earphones, alongside the charging case, are light and easy to carry
Moving on to ANC. Let's call the spade a spade; it does not do much. It will muffle some indoor disturbances for you, but it is a long way from cancelling anything. The transparency mode allows more noise than the ANC mode, of course, but it does not keep much out either. I was inclined to turn the ANC feature off rather than use the transparency mode.
The mic performance of the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 is decent, considering. Can you enjoy a robust phone conversation with these earphones in the middle of a busy street? No. Should you expect to either? Also no. The voice, if slightly distorted, is audible. I am not a big caller, so I cannot say this altered my experience much.
My gripes with the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 ends here, though. The earphones support dual device connectivity alongside Google Fast Pair. This does not only mean that the TWS wearables can be connected to two devices simultaneously, but these earphones allow us to switch seamlessly between them. These budget offerings come with SBC and AAC support alongside Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. The lack of lossless audio codec support is justifiable, given the price.
Similar to the Pro variant, these earphones have a wider stem bottom
The crowning element of the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 is the battery life. The company claims big numbers, and in most conditions, they are close. Without ANC, the total playback time these earphones offered me is about 42 hours, while just the earphones can last over 11 hours on a single charge. Once the ANC is on, the battery life decreases significantly. I got a total playback time of a little over 26 hours and about six hours on just the earphones. I did not go over 50 percent volume during the battery testing period.
It turns out there can be too much bass, especially if the overall tuning is off-balance. Granted, there is a lack of detail in the sound experience the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 offers, and the noise cancellation performance is inadequate. However, that may not deter interested customers, especially those on a stringent budget.
At Rs. 2,299, these TWS earphones offer an impeccable battery life. Additionally, for casual listeners who use earphones for an extended period of time at a stretch, the comfortable fit of the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 is a good incentive. Especially since most budget TWS earphones are notorious for agitating the ears with prolonged use. The smooth dual connectivity adds to the list of reasons you can opt for these.
With restricted funds, none of us are expecting a studio-mastered sound experience. After all, half a loaf is better than none. If you have dough to spare, though, you can opt for the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro (Review), which retails at Rs. 3,299 in India. At an additional Rs. 1,000, you will get significantly better sound and noise cancellation.
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