This is a Klipsch T5 II True Wireless Sports review after jogging over a thousand kilometers without encountering any major issues. The earbuds never fell off our ears or malfunctioned due to water or sweat. However, some issues need to be addressed, which are not captured in most online reviews that only tested the earbuds for a few days.
When the Klipsch T5 True Wireless Sport earbud was released in July 2020, we managed to get our hands on a test sample in a local store. We understand the importance of personally testing sports earbuds, especially to confirm that they can stay secure in the ear without falling off. The sound was superb, and we loved their charging case as it was the first with an IP67 rating, and it also comes with both USB-C and wireless connectivity and built-in desiccants.
Good design features:
Perfect and Secure Ear Fit
Three sizes of ear wings and 5 sizes of ear gel ensure a good fit for most users.
| Do not believe any reviews or videos telling you that an earbud has a good fit, because they are referring to their ears, not yours. |
There are issues with the ear wings covered in the last section of this article.
Charging Case:
- It was the first model in the market where both earbuds and charging case have an IP67 rating, which means they are certified dust-tight and water-resistant up to 1-meter depth. The desiccant in the charging case can be renewed by putting it inside the microwave oven for 30 seconds. This is a unique design feature that is not found in most, if not all, other brands and models.
- The charging case can be charged wirelessly or via the USB Type C port inside the casing. The reason why the USB-C port is inside the casing could be due to the IP67 rating.
Points for Improvements
Battery Life
The battery life for both earbuds is inconsistent and can differ by as much as 10 to 20% when new. Due to this issue, we received a new replacement with a more consistent battery life.
Electrical Contact
The electrical contact between the earbuds and the charging case needs to be improved in future designs. As shown in the photo below, the Klipsch T5 II TW Sports contact point is almost half the size of those on the Jabra Elite Active 75t earbuds.
The Jabra earbuds do not have any charging problems because the connecting points are much larger than the Klipsch earbuds.
This is very obvious in the photo below with a side-by-side comparison where the Klipsch T5 II TW Sports (right photo) contact is almost half the size of the Jabra Elite Active 75t.
After several users complained, Klipsch had a quick design change to address the ear wing problem. After that, Klipsch gave away the improved replacement earwings with additional ribs to prevent them from falling off (see photos below).
As shown in the photos below, the new earwings have an additional “return” that wraps around the earbud to prevent it from slipping. The replacement earwings come in all the 3 sizes.
Charging Case Design
The earbuds do not sit tightly inside the charging case, and the allowable space seems to exceed the size of the connecting points on the earbuds.
Every time we dropped the earbuds into the charging case, we had to adjust the earbuds to the optimal position (+/- 1MM) for the earbuds to charge (red lights on). The charging case cannot be closed because the earbuds might shift and lose contact with the pins inside the charging case.
Once we left the earbuds inside the charging case overnight, and the batteries were drained the next day when we needed for a run.
Application Problem
As shown in the screen capture below, the phone app always shows “Disconnected” even when the earbuds are already connected. The problem persists even after reinstalling the app and restarting the phone,
Besides the irritating “Disconnected” message, the app is usually working, but it is not showing the battery information on this page. To check the battery, we will need to click the inverted triangle, as shown in the photo below, to open another page with the battery status.
Conclusion
The Klipsch T5 II True Wireless Sports earbud is a sound earbud for jogging and running, and it has been tested over a thousand kilometers with no major issues such as falling off or malfunctioning.
Earlier issues with battery charging were isolated to a particular batch, and the faulty earbuds were replaced by local Klipsch customer service. The warranty is only one year, which we feel is too short considering the price tag.
