User Experience

Look, no one will be saying the Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 looks novel. It looks identical to the TEVI/PurePlay Z3 to begin with, which is not very distinguishable from the vast majority of TWS earphones out there. When inserted, these will look similar to most such solutions in that they will perhaps be a potential prop to your next Frankenstein's monster Halloween costume. The thing is that you don't see them once in your ears, and that is what matters. The foam tips in particular can be quite comfortable and isolating, but the texture of foam does not appeal to some. The silicone tips are a safe bet thus, and the lower weight of those buds helps keep things comfortable over the long run as well. The earbuds do not get hot, either, but the form factor does not make it conducive to stick in anything other than the tips, so perhaps invest in some replacement tips, such as from SpinFit if silicone is your jam.

Battery life is a key metric for TWS earbuds, and these promise 10 hours of use when fully charged. I hit over 9 hours regularly at ~60% volume on my phone, and the included charger provides for another six charge cycles. Charging them with the case takes about 90 minutes, and there is a quick-charge mode by default, wherein 15 min gives you up to 2 hours of listening time. The indicator LEDs on the case show charging progress of the case in 25% increments, which can take much longer depending on the source. Regardless, this makes for very respectable total battery life to where I got a week on average while commuting, going for walks or exercising outdoors over the ~3 weeks of testing. These are also IPx7 waterproof for the more intense physical workouts, or even a quick shower, which makes the PurePlay Z3 2.0 a good audio solution for the gym and outdoors.

Audio Performance

The included microphones are decent for calls and smart assistant voice control, but do feel more like an afterthought compared to the listening hardware, which are 6 mm graphene drivers, an unnamed Qualcomm 32-bit triple-core Bluetooth audio SoC, an equally unnamed Kalimba DSP and, you guessed it, unnamed DAC/amp combination. In addition to the standard SBC codec, these support aptX and AAC. Nothing more, which is a shame as I would have liked to see some newer, improved codecs adopted since these are brand new and support Bluetooth 5.2 of all things.

I will preface this section by saying that I do not yet have a lot of IEM experience, with my general preference being wireless TWS earbuds and neckband earphones for the convenience on the move. So judge the following impressions with that in mind, as well as my general preference for a V-shaped sound signature emphasizing elevated bass and treble with recessed mids. I also generally prefer instrumental music over vocals, which complements the V-shaped profile.


It took some time to identify all the necessary pieces, order them with a language barrier in place, obtain the necessary software, and finally set up a reproducible testing methodology. It begins with an IEC711 audio coupler earbuds can feed into, enough to where you have decent isolation similar to real ears. The audio coupler feeds into a USB sound card, which in turn goes to a laptop that has ARTA running and the TWS earphones paired to it. I begin with an impulse measurement to test for signal fidelity, calibrate the channel output, and finally test the frequency response of each earbud separately by also keeping the distance from the source to the earbud as consistent as possible. Octave smoothing is at the 1/6th setting, which nets a good balance of detail and noise not being identified as useful data. Also, the default tuning was used for testing, and no app-based settings were chosen. I am avoiding the use of the ear mold for wireless solutions because the base of the mold disrupts the connection somewhat.


Feel free to ignore the actual values of the Y-axis since I don't think an SPL conversion is appropriate with this much equipment adding to the measurement. What is really useful information is how the left and right channels work across the rated frequency response in the Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0, or at least the useful part of it. The left earbud was separately tested from the right one, and colored differently for contrast. I did my best to ensure an identical fit for both inside the IEC711 orifice, so note how the right channel ends up having a slightly boosted response in the low frequency (bass) as well as the highs (treble) compared to the left channel, in addition to an earlier shift from the mids to the treble. Some of the discrepancy could be due to the wireless connectivity since I only started noticing this slight difference in practice after I was made aware of it.

On the right is the Lypertek tuning curve for the TEVI/PurePlay Z3, which I have no reason to believe is different from what Lypertek did with the updated PurePlay Z3 2.0. Based on this, you are not going to get the deepest bass or fantastic highs. Lypertek tuned the sound signature to a neutral profile. As someone who listens to a lot of classical music and smooth jazz when using these outdoors and sometimes even while writing a review on TechPowerUp, I personally dig this a lot. The neutral profile means you are more likely to hear audio as the creator intended, which in stereo mode and when isolated well makes for a very good listening experience.

On the left is the actual frequency curve, and it is more or less in line with expectations. There were no differences between the black and white set, which is good but should also be the case. To me, the drop-off shortly after 10 KHz was actually better in practice than even rated by the company, but you are certainly not going to get as good an experience as with decently tuned IEMs costing the same or even less. The bass is also more elevated than the Lypertek curve would have you believe, which then drops off to more neutral vocals that are the closest to the rated experience. Given these are single dynamic driver earphones, this was to be expected, although the EQ setting can help somewhat in the same way it does with everything else. Bassheads will still want more, however, and this is also where wired IEMs simply can do more. As far as TWS solutions go, there are a few with 10 mm dynamic drivers that do a better job with the transition into the lower mids, but vocals are pretty good here.

The transition to the highs is not as smooth as I'd like, but you can see that the right channel fared better here, albeit with the aforementioned caveats in mind. Female vocals are detailed, which continues with good separation of the two channels as well as detailed notes for orchestral music in particular. The biggest letdown is probably the soundstage, and LDX in the app is not a magic solution that makes it remarkably better, either. The soundstage ends up inferior compared to most other TWS audio solutions I have tried, including the Creative Outlier Gold, Audio-Technica CK3TW, CKS5TW, ANC300TW, and EVA2020 x final, as well as a couple of other Bluetooth earphones that are not of the true wireless type. For instrumental music in particular, however, the Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 hangs with the best of them, and did I mention the others are all more expensive?