Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3 Review: Buy Them for the Sound Quality

Lypertek has been making earphones since 2017, but it garnered the attention of experts and audiophiles in 2019 with the Tevi. The Tevi packed essential features, sounded incredible, and most importantly, were quite affordable.

Following Tevi’s success, Lypertek made a few changes to the earbuds and introduced them with a new moniker, PurePlay Z3. It’s 2024, and the company has now joined hands with Headphone Zone—a popular online store for purchasing audio products in India—for a special edition PurePlay Z3.

Called Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3, these earbuds are an India-exclusive offering. They’re still the familiar PurePlay Z3, which gave it the repute but with updated codecs and software, sound tailored to the Indian audiophile, and more notably, a more affordable price tag.

The PurePlay Z3 cost Rs 5,999. But what do you get for that price? And should you pick them over other TWS earbuds in the market? I’ve been testing the new PurePlay Z3 for over two weeks, and here’s what I feel about them.

Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3: Design, Build, and Fit

The Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3 have a stemless design—but one that comes without the wing tips. A physical button sits atop each earbud for volume and playback controls. Operating this button isn’t very practical, though, and you’ll inadvertently end up pushing the earbuds further inside the ear canal most of the time when you press the button.

On top of the button on each earbud, you’ll also see an LED that helps tell the battery status. Besides, the earbuds are also IPX7-rated, so you don’t have to worry about using them during workouts or outdoor runs.

Unlike the earbuds, the charging case of the PurePlay Z3 is rather different. It’s oval and a bit bigger, unlike most TWS earbuds, owing to the big battery on the inside. The case is made of plastic and wrapped with a fabric layer, which offers a distinct look and makes it easy to hold. In addition, the case also has a lanyard coming out of one side to make it easier to carry them around and not lose them.

On the front, you’ll find four LEDs to help tell the case’s battery status. Turn the case around, and you’ll see a USB-C port for charging. What’s also different about the case—and a nice touch—is the lanyard coming out of one side, which makes carrying the case around easy and ensures you don’t lose it.

However, what isn’t so good is the hinge. It isn’t sturdy enough and has a little play, which results in some lateral movement on the lid. Because of this, you can also hear a squeaking noise when you press on the lid. This isn’t ideal, in my opinion, considering many users had complained of a similar issue on the original Tevi, and the company should’ve taken measures to fix it on the new release.

Talking about the fit of the earbuds, it can take multiple tries to get the PurePlay Z3 earbuds to fit in your ears properly. But once they do, they sit pretty comfortably, and you can easily wear them for long listening sessions. However, if you’re struggling to get the fit right, you can try replacing the default ear tips with one of the bundled ones to find the right pair for your ears. Lypertek bundles three different-sized silicone tips and one foam tip (in case you prefer it over the silicone one) with the earbuds.

For those unfamiliar, a foam tip offers a more secure fit, is more comfortable, and provides a tighter seal (hence better isolation) than its silicone counterpart. But be mindful that it also enhances the bass and cuts down the treble, which can negatively impact your listening experience.

I often go for runs and perform casual stretching before and after a running session. Naturally, I subjected the PurePlay Z3 to this routine during my time with them, and I came out unsatisfied: the earbuds refused to stay in my ears for long and often required me to stop what I was doing and stick them back into my ears.

Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3: Performance and Features

On the inside, each Hypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3 earbud packs 6mm graphene drivers, said to be tuned to deliver a clean and balanced sound. For those unfamiliar, a graphene driver is lightweight, requires less power to drive the sound, isn’t subject to distortion, and, more importantly, produces a far more accurate and detailed sound.

For connectivity, the PurePlay Z3 use Bluetooth v5.2, which promises faster pairing, better range, and improved battery life. Speaking of pairing, it’s pretty easy to pair the earbuds with both Android and iPhone. However, they don’t always automatically reconnect to the paired device when you take them out of the charging case and require intervention. Latency isn’t an issue on the PurePlay Z3, either.

What’s also nice about the PurePlay Z3 is support for high-end codecs, such as Qualcomm aptX and AAC, in addition to the basic SBC codec. If your device supports one of these high-end codecs, you can get a much better music-listening experience out of these earbuds.

Talking about features, the earbuds don’t have all the bells and whistles, unlike some of the other earbuds in this price range. For instance, it lacks the in-ear detection feature. Then, you don’t get an active noise-canceling mode; sure, the seal offered is pretty tight, but it can’t replicate what a dedicated mode can do.

What’s more, the earbuds don’t have a compatible companion app, which is a major missing, in my opinion. Although Lypertek has the PureControl app on the App Store and Play Store, it isn’t compatible with the PurePlay Z3, per the company’s website. I tried to check this myself and found out that the app refused to pair with the earbuds. On a few occasions, it did pair, but then the status for the earbuds in the Bluetooth settings showed the earbuds as disconnected, and the audio wasn’t channeled through them, either.

That said, the PurePlay Z3 have you covered on the most basic features. For example, they come with controls to help you control volume and playback, offer the ability to directly invoke voice assistant, and support fast charging (for quick top-ups) in addition to wireless charging (for a more convenient charging experience). Besides, they also get an ambient mode to give you some sense of your surroundings by bringing in some outside sound. But to be honest, it isn’t very effective at doing that.

Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3: Call Quality

Lypertek employs a Qualcomm cVc 8.0 chip inside the PurePlay Z3 earbuds. This chip promises to provide a crystal-clear calling experience by suppressing external noise and echo. In my usage, I found the earbuds to be pretty decent with calling; on no occasion did I hear the other person on the call complaining about noise or sound issues.

Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3: Sound Quality

Talking about the sound quality, which is the highlight of the Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3, I can simply summarize it in just one word: Excellent. I’ll even go as far as to say that I haven’t tried a pair of TWS earbuds—under Rs 15,000—that sound this good.

A lot of the magic on the PurePlay Z3 is carried out by the 6mm graphene drivers on the inside. The earbuds get quite loud without getting tinny or distorted, and it’s generally a pretty well-balanced sound (with an enhanced bass).

You also get to experience a pretty wide soundstage. This allows for sense of a spaciousness, where instruments seem separated far and wide and sound natural without interference. Similarly, the instrument separation is incredible, too, and you can clearly tell the different instruments playing in the background.

The PurePlay Z3 also display good clarity and detail in songs. You’ll sometimes even hear nuances in tracks that some of the other earbuds would simply fail to bring to light. If you listen to a lot of lyrical tracks, you’ll certainly enjoy them more on these earbuds.

As for the bass response, it’s pretty contained and doesn’t bleed into the mids on the PurePlay Z3. It feels tight and refined but isn’t as thumpy as some of the bass-heavy earbuds. If I have to pick one up, though, I’ll choose this one over a thumpy one that isn’t clear or bleeds into other frequencies on any given day. Another thing I like about the earbuds is that the highs aren’t subdued, so you get to listen to the complete sound.

All in all, it’s a treat to listen to music on the PurePlay Z3.

Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3: Battery Life

Coming to the battery life, the Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3 promise up to 10 hours of music playback on a single charge. Plus, you can get an additional 70 hours of use with the charging case. Mind you, these numbers are promised on the SBC codec with volume at 50%.

While I haven’t used the earbuds for 10 hours straight to test and comment on the company’s claim, I can tell you one thing: during my 15+ days with the earbuds, I had to put them on charge just once. And all this time, I used the earbuds for everything from listening to music on my phone to watching content on my Mac to taking some calls.

As for charging, the earbuds aren’t fast-charge compatible, so you shouldn’t expect any faster top-up times. However, the company says that a 15-minute quick charge can give you two hours of playing time.

Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3 Review: Verdict

Priced at Rs 5,999, the Lypertek x Headphone Zone are an excellent pair of TWS earbuds for anyone looking for audiophile-grade sound in a TWS form factor without breaking their wallet. It’s simply a no-brainer for its price.

If you, too, prioritize sound quality over other aspects and don’t mind missing out on some flashy features, you can’t go wrong with the PurePlay Z3. However, if you prefer features like active-noise cancellation, app support, better touch controls, and the likes, you should look at some other offerings in the market.

Buy Lypertek x Headphone Zone PurePlay Z3