Review / We review the Rock Jaw Audio’s T5 Ultra Connect – at less than US$100, can these Bluetooth headphones really beat the Apple AirPods Pro?

The release of the Apple AirPods Pro has had audiophiles buzzing about its merits and demerits, but the fact is that not everyone wants to – or is able to – pay US$250 for a pair of headphones, active noise cancelling or not. Here’s where Rock Jaw Audio’s T5 Ultra Connect can come in.

The latest from British tech brand Rock Jaw Audio, the T5 Ultra Connect was initially released last year with an IPX4 rating for water and sweat resistance. The new earphones are now IPX5, which means that they can pretty much withstand a whole lot of sweating and water jets.

Unlike Apple’s AirPods, the T5 Ultra Connect is not true wireless, so this isn’t really an apple-to-apple (pun intended!) comparison, but if your main considerations are sound and value-for-money, does the T5 Ultra Connect do the job?

Since the T5 Ultra Connect is not true wireless, there is no charging case to deal with. There is a neck cable connecting the two earbuds, incorporated with a battery pod and in-line controls. The aircraft-grade aluminium makes for light earbuds on their own, but a clever magnet makes them stick together more securely when they’re not in your ears.

The neck cable sits comfortably on the neck but, after using true wireless headsets, the in-line controls can flop around a bit if you’re moving a lot and grasping them can require some effort.

I’ve always had a bit of a problem with the fit of earphone tips. The T5 comes with three options of the standard silicone tips and also three options for the Comply memory foam tips. Despite so many options, I couldn’t find one that made the earbuds really sit very securely in my ears. Often, they dislodge with vigorous movement, but I put this down to my ear canal more than the fit.

Not having to carry a large charging case makes the T5s a breeze to carry around in the small pouch that comes with the set. But not having the carrying case also means that you can’t pop the headphones back for a quick charge. Still, the T5s offer about 11 hours of battery life on a full charge which isn’t bad.

For a pair of headphones that costs less than US$100 (US$99.99 on Amazon), the T5s offer sturdy sound. The earphones come with three sets of tuning filters allowing you adjust the sound: gold is the default, silver boosts the bass while black increases the trebles.

The filters are fitted between the eartips and the headphones and can be removed and replaced simply by unscrewing the old ones and screwing in the new ones. It just means carrying more stuff around if you like to change according to music genres and makes me wonder if an equaliser app might do the job better. Fortunately, though, the default filters actually provide the best combination of sounds which work across the genres.