itel BudsAce Bluetooth earbuds have really solid bass and cost below ₦15,000

The first time I saw the packaging for the itel BudsAce, I didn’t pay it any attention. A member of the Mobility Nigeria team had brought the package in from a media event, and we filed it away. We had other earbuds that cost more and we were sure they were better than whatever itel had to offer. Look, we are humans like everyone else and we sometimes give in to stereotypes and sentiments. Even I, the self-acclaimed unashamed itel fan. Shame.

Months later, I was rummaging for something when the box caught my eye again and I took a closer look. I read the line that said the itel BudsAce offered “super bass”. That is quite a bold claim. Another thing that caught my eye was the Bluetooth 5.3 spec. I have seen many new wireless earbuds with older Bluetooth versions. Bluetooth 5.4 was only just released in February 2023 and I hadn’t seen any earbuds using it yet.

Anyway, I was intrigued and decided to see for myself whether that claim would hold water or not. And so, I took out the box from storage, plugged the earbuds to charge for a while, and then I put them on and played some music.

I was mind blown.

itel BudsAce unboxing

But before I go into the details, let’s look at what came in the box.

The earbuds came in their carry/charging case. There is a short USB-C charging cable, and four spare tips for your ears. The last item in the box is a paper user manual.

How good is the bass?

I used the itel Buds Ace for music playback and telephone calls, and the depth of the bass blew me away. How was this possible? The itel BudsAce earbuds cost less than ₦15,000. That’s a price territory where you are not expecting that level of audio quality.

The marketing copy says that itel collaborated with BoomPlay to come up with the super bass depth. Whatever they did, it worked. Not only am I hearing the bass, I am hearing tones and beats clearly. The clarity of the audio is amazing.

Bearing in mind that one is subject to some measure of bias with whatever gadget one currently has in hand, I do say that this is one of the best Bluetooth earbuds you can buy today in terms of audio quality. If you want to argue, I can qualify that statement by saying it is the best budget earbuds you can buy today.

ENC – Noise cancellation

ENC stands for environmental noise cancellation. The idea of that is that when using earbuds like these for telephone calls, they filter out the sounds around you and focus on your voice so that the person at the other end can hear you clearly. itel says the Buds Ace have four microphones for achieving this. Sounds good, but how well does it work out in real life? It turns out, pretty well. The earbuds do a good job of keeping your calls in and environmental noise out. Colour me impressed, again.

Ear fit

Anyone who has used Bluetooth earbuds for any period of time knows that no matter how good the audio is, if the earbuds are not a good fit for your ears, they are a waste of time. The itel BudsAce are comfortable in my ears. I can’t speak for every earshape and size but mine. They fit comfortably – more than most others that I have used. No; they are not the best fitting ever, but they really fit well. That’s good enough for me.

Are the itel BudsAce earbuds waterproof?

It is also a good thing that the itel BudsAce are splash-resistant. That’s what the IPX5 on the specs sheet mean. Don’t dunk them in water. Don’t get in a pool with them. But should rain start to fall while you are taking a walk with your BudsAce on, or should you accidentally get splashed by water from a passing vehicle, they should be okay. You don’t have to panic. You can read up more on IP waterproof ratings.

Have I specifically tested the water-resistant feature? Not yet. I haven’t been caught in the rain yet with them on.

Battery Life

Each earbud has a 40mAh battery. The carry case has a 400mAh battery, so you can charge both earbuds 5 times on a full charge of the case. Charging is via USB-C, so you can conveniently use any of the available ones in the home, in the car, or at the office.

What is the battery life like for the earbuds? Good. I have never had the feeling that they run out too quickly. itel says they last 6 hours in active use. I’ve never used them at a stretch for that long and they have never died on me.

Price

The itel BudsAce currently sell for ₦12,000 on Intel’s official store on Jumia. For the quality and features, this is a steal. The fact that I am now using them on a daily basis is testament to how good they are. I have owned more expensive earbuds that didn’t deliver this good audio quality.