Alpha & Delta is a Singapore brand that designs and manufactures earphones. Being audiophiles themselves, their products receive a healthy following of audiophiles and fans. My first encounter with A&D earphones was the D2M wired earphones that feels amazingly comfortable with respectable audio balance.
The new D2W is the first wireless earphones and takes after the D2. With the same earbud mould and behind-ear cable design, the D2W is equally comfortable. Like the D2, the D2W is IPX4 water rated, and connects via the latest Bluetooth 5. The benefit of Bluetooth 5, besides high data transmission for better sound quality, is the ease of pairing. The D2W automatically goes into pairing mode when no connection is found.
Many wireless earphones come with cable management clips. What I like about the D2W is that the cables are already clipped out of the box so that I can use it instantly without fussing over the setup. There are 2 in-line compartments, one of which stores the battery, but the D2W only has 60mAh capacity and lasts merely 4 hours music play time, which is below average for wireless earphones in this era.
Audio quality
The D2W sounds better than the D2M, thanks to better sound staging, instrumental separation, and a little more treble presence. The bass gets really full when you get a good in-canal seal, but the treble is able to present its clear and bright tones without harshness or sounding pushy, though lacking the midrange support resulting in a not-so-rounded experience. Sound staging is wide and close, with distinct instrumentation positioning to allow comfortable listening and detailing. You get the bassiness without veiling the highs, which is great for modern genres, while Classical tracks might lack excitement.
The unfortunate side-effect is the hiss noise which is distracting for soft music, though most casual users would not notice it when using the earbuds at open environments. Another unpleasant feature is the voice prompts and button beeps which I find too loud. When battery runs low, the loud voice prompts play persistently every 15 seconds for about 6 times before shutting down.
Verdict
The D2W is Alpha & Delta’s first wireless earphones, retaining the comfortable behind-the-ear fit of the wired D2 series. The battery life is too short for my liking, the noise floor is audible in quiet environments, the beeps with button presses are too loud. In comparison, the similarly-priced local brand Creative Outlier One might be too bright-sounding, less bass-warmth, and more fatiguing on the ears as the earbuds protude more and requires ear hooks to hold the earbuds in place.
At a retail price of S$59, the Alpha & Delta D2W could work for infrequent audio listeners who enjoy full bass sound during workouts. They are available at Lend Me UR Ears website and Popular bookstores.
Official Product Website: https://www.alphandelta.com/d2w
Likes
- Comfortable low-profile ear fit
- Full bass without overpowering treble which retains clarity
- Easy pairing with devices
Dislikes
- Short battery life
- Loud voice prompts
Specifications
- Bluetooth Chipset: Bluetooth 5.0
- Driver: 10 mm Dynamic Drive
- Battery capacity: 60 mah
- Music playback time: 4 hours
- Talking time: 5 hours
- Charging port: Micro USB Type B
- Sensitivity: 97 +/- 3dB
- Microphone sensitivity: 42 +/- 3dB
- Supports Multipoint: Yes
