Remember Cellularline? A historic brand that has been dealing with mobile accessories since well before the time of the Nokia 3310. Who has never bought a case, a headset, a cigarette lighter charger or some other accessory of this brand for their mobile phone? Impossible not to have come across this brand that has crowded the stands of shopping centers and telephone shops in the last thirty years, and in fact at the beginning of the millennium it established itself as a European leader in this sector.
This company has always been oriented towards useful and commercial accessories, leaving premium and niche products to much more noble (and expensive) brands. With DEFY, however, the company tries to attack a very growing and certainly fierce market, that of true wireless earphones dedicated to mobile gaming, certainly among the most prolific in recent years.
With the arrival of the latest Bluetooth 5.0 standard and subsequent revisions, it was possible to obtain a quality audio comparable to that of wired earphones, to reduce consumption and therefore battery life, but above all to reduce latency. The latter has always been a limitation as regards true wireless earphones, since the latency between device and earphone is also added to the latency necessary to transmit and synchronize the audio between the right and left speaker.
Therefore, if such a product has always been good for listening to music, it became practically unusable for audiovisual content such as films and TV series or video games, since there was inevitably a lack of synchrony between audio and video (in jargon lipsync). With Bluetooth 5.0, however, this has become a breakable obstacle, thanks to latencies below 80ms. And it is the low latency that is Defy’s main selling point, reduced to just 50ms. Thanks to this parameter, combined with a stylish case with RGB LEDs and a good battery life, the product is proposed as a true wireless headset for gaming on smartphones and tablets.
Starting from the packaging, Cellularline Defy it is contained in a cardboard stand for shopping centers, with the classic display recess. A transparent window shows the earphones arranged outside the case. Inside we find, in addition to these two elements, also three pairs of rubber pads of various sizes, a USB-C to USB-A cable for charging and quick start.
The frame is in opaque rigid plastic and is characterized by two RGB LED strips, one on the outside and one on the outside and three white LEDs that indicate the state of charge. In fact, it houses an additional battery which, adding to the five hours of earphones’ duration, brings the total autonomy to thirty hours. The total recharge, on the other hand, only takes 1.5 hours. Opening the case, the RGB LEDs are activated automatically, giving a nice effect, especially as regards the interior thanks to the glossy black reflective plastics.
The slots for storing the earphones have a magnet that helps in insertion, but we have to point out some flaws. First of all, the container has a not simple opening mechanism and you always struggle a little before being able to extract the earphones. Furthermore, its plastics appear not exactly rock solid.
Pairing is quick and easy. Just open the case with the earphones in place, and they enter automatic pairing mode (red / blue led). The earbuds are comfortable enough and we didn’t need to try the other ear tips provided. Each earcup is equipped with touch keys that perform various functions depending on the duration of the pressure: a simple touch performs the functions of answer / end call, play / stop of music or videos and so on.
We put these Defys to the test first of all with simple calls and some voice messages on instant messaging and although advanced noise cancellation technologies are not heralded, our interlocutors always understood us even when we were talking in the middle of city traffic. Unfortunately, there is no built-in support for voice assistants like Google, Siri and Cortana.
After that, we moved on to where the product is intended, which is gaming. We tested the earphones with smartphone games such as Asphalt 9, PUBG and Call of Duty Mobile, three of the most played and technically advanced titles also in the audio sector. Well, the latency of 50ms actually allows you to have audio synchronized with the game actions such as shots, explosions and screeching tires when cornering. The bass is powerful if not exceptional, and returns a good involvement.
Since firmware 13, Nintendo Switch supports all Bluetooth headsets, so Defy lends itself very well to use with the hybrid console, especially in portable configuration. We’ve tested platformers like Mario Odyssey, Rayman Legends, Metroid Dread, and Okunoka, and the audio is perfectly in sync with the gameplay. The volume is good and it is not necessary to turn it up to the maximum thanks to the good passive sound insulation, but it must be said that even at maximum the sound does not distort. The earphones are comfortable and do not bother even after a few hours long sessions.
However, when comparing the same gaming sessions with Creative wireless headsets such as the Outlier One (which cost less than half), we have to admit that the Cellularline product has slightly worse fidelity and far less powerful bass. We also didn’t notice any appreciable differences in latency.
Certainly, those who buy a true wireless headset will also have in mind to use it for listening to music with services such as Spotify and the like and therefore we have put Defy to the test in this area too. The bass is not lacking, but the midrange are too mixed and the highs not very decisive. With rock and metal tracks containing many instruments at the same time, the resulting sound is poorly defined and sometimes even a little annoying, especially at high volumes. For pop music or R&B it may be fine, but if you’re an audiophile, forget about getting good results with jazz and classical.
As for watching movies and TV series, the low latency allows you to have audio synchronized with the lips of the actors, but the performance is certainly not a Hi-Fi product. It is also true that this is not its market, but the fundamental problem is the positioning of the price. At € 59.99, Defy has to contend with competing products such as Sony WF-C500, JBL Tune 225, Razer Hammerhead and Creative Outlier V3, all Hi-Fi or gaming products that can be purchased at the same price or a few tens of euros more. These offer greater audio quality and materials, waterproofness, various equalizations, support for voice assistants, the ability to use only one earphone at a time and in some cases even active noise cancellation. All features that Defy unfortunately lacks.
In light of all these considerations, we can conclude that the manufacturer should be commended for the audacity, but with Defy it has not yet hit the target. Low latency (now all new BT 5.0 products offer it) and good battery life are not enough to justify the € 59 required. RGB would be the distinctive element, but it is just a useless tinsel that is no longer noticed after a few days. Certainly its target is the casual user who buys what he finds at the mall without documenting too much, but at this figure it is also difficult to recommend a hasty purchase. In our opinion, if it were sold for around twenty euros less, it would enjoy a more consistent appeal and would avoid the ruthless and fierce competition from top audio brands currently in place.
#Cellularline #Defy #Review #True #wireless #gaming #earphones