Two heavy hitters in their respective fields have come together to create a great-sounding and looking pair of sporty wireless earbuds. The Klipsch T5 II Sport McLaren edition earbuds offer a clear, powerful, and customizable sound for active users with orange and carbon fiber styling for a premium automotive style. With transparency mode, wireless charging, and lots of fitment options, there are some premium features here for a pair of sport wireless earbuds. Head below to watch the video and see them in action.
Available in three different colors, the Klipsch T5 II Sport wireless earbuds start at $229. For $20 more, the McLaren edition adds some flair with carbon fiber and orange cosmetics along with a wireless charging base that isn’t included in the standard T5 II Sport.
Out of the box
Included with the headphones are a wide assortment of ear tips and ear wings for getting the right fit. They also include a pair of foam tips if even more grip is required, but I found a great fit and seal without them.
Additionally, the T5 II Mclaren edition comes with a wireless charging pad that helps to keep the earbuds topped up on power easily. Just set it down on the pad, and the case will start to charge.
LED lights around the perimeter of the wireless pad illuminate when the case is placed on top of the pad for charging. In a bright room, though, they are kind of hard to see. I would have preferred something more visible from above and in bright light to show when the case is charging.
Design
With carbon fiber and orange racing stripes over the case, it screams racecar. Logos for Klipsch and McLaren share roughly the same space on the front of the case.
To make the Klipsch T5 II Sport McLaren dry, a latch keeps the case secure when shut with a watertight seal.
Flipping the case open, there are two spots for the earbuds, a USB-C port for charging, and three LED indicators for current battery charge. On the lid of the case is a moisture removal system. Little beads in there will soak up moisture and can be dried out by popping it out of the case and cooking it in a microwave for about 30 seconds.
Getting the right fit
Finding a good fit is easy with the T5 II sport earbuds. I found the smallest ear wings to fit well for me and kept the stock ear tips on.
In use, the ear wings do move around a little bit and don’t feel like they have the most secure fit on the earbuds. I’ve never had them fall out of my ears or the ear wing fall off the earbuds, but they move easily when pulling the earbuds out out of the case and don’t seem like it has the perfect seat on the earbuds.
Klipsch Connect app
Connecting to the Klipsch Connect app enables some control from a mobile device. EQ can be adjusted with a few presets or a custom setting.
The Klipsch Connect app feels like a bit of an afterthought compared to a lot of the other features. It’s a little clunky, and the app has to reconnect to the earbuds each time you leave and return to the app.
But, while the app isn’t as powerful and fluid as what we saw in the Jaybird Vista sport earbuds for custom EQs, it is nice to have at least a little bit of control over the sound coming out of the earbuds and get a more accurate reading of remaining battery or check for updates.
How do they sound?
With a good fit and seal, the Klipsch T5 II Sport McLaren earbuds sound excellent. Klipsch is a well-known name in audio, so anything less would be surprising. Bluetooth 5.0 and aptX deliver clear audio with a rock-solid connection, in my experience.
In the flat EQ mode, the earbuds have a clear but impactful sound to them. They hit low on the bass frequencies with the 10-19k Hz frequency response without being overpowering or muddy. But if you want more low-end or high-end, you can always tweak that in the Klipsch Connect app.
Pushing the low end up a bit adds a lot more body to the sound, which I enjoy while being active. It makes the genres of music I typically listen to when running more fun and full and push me to work out a little harder.
Tracks like “Solar Sailer” from the Tron Legacy soundtrack hit low and at the same time, the strings are easily distinguishable without any distortion even when the bass EQ and volume are pushed up towards the top.
Stereo separation is also excellent on the Klipsch T5 II McLaren earbuds. Listening to the Live on MTV version of “Hotel California” spreads all of the instruments and audience out quite broadly across the listening area for a very enjoyable sound.
Klipsch T5 II Sport McLaren: mic test
The microphone sounds pretty standard for a pair of in-ear true wireless earbuds — not spectacular. Watch the video to hear how it sounds when connected to my iPhone 8 and recording through the Voice Memos app.
Transparency mode
As a pair of sport headphones, one of the greatest features of the T5 II earbuds is transparency mode. By just pressing the button on the left earbud, a voice prompt will inform you that the mode has been enabled, or it can also be togged on or off in the Klipsch Connect app.
But, when out for a run or any other situation where some situational awareness is needed, this is a great way to be able to hear what’s going on around you.
Within the app, there are three different levels for transparency mode. This just seems to boost the volume of what the microphones are picking up, and increases the noise floor considerably when set to the max.
Electronicsforward’ Take
Overall, the Klipsch T5 II Sport McLaren Edition earbuds look and sound great. With the variety of fitment options, it’s easy to get a good, secure seal that doesn’t feel like they will fall out. Transparency mode is great when situational awareness is necessary, and making some small adjustments to EQ can fill out the sound a bit more for intense workouts. You pay a bit more for the McLaren edition, but you also get the charging base and a unique pair of earbuds.
Buy Klipsch T5 II Sport McLaren Edition
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