2017 was the year of true wireless headphones, and plenty of new companies entered the true wireless market during the year. But older companies that were among the first to launch true wireless headphones are also still in the game — and some of them are now launching their second, or third, generation true wireless headphones. Case in point — the new Erato Verse headphones.
Erato has been around for a few years now, and dates back before Headphone Review was created. I actually reviewed Erato’s first headphones, the Erato Apollo 7 headphones, over at Digital Trends, and found them to be a pretty awesome option. At the time, however, true wireless headphones were in their infancy, and the hype hadn’t yet worn off. Now, that’s a different story.
Do the new Erato Verse headphones compete in a world flush with true wireless options? We put them to the test to find out.
Design
The first thing you’ll notice about the Erato Verse headphones is their design, and they’re good-looking headphones. The earbuds themselves look very similar to the original Erato Apollo 7 earbuds, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
On each earbud, you’ll find the Erato logo, and a small button on the side — and that’s about it. Those buttons not only turn the headphones on and off, but also allow you to control playback. You’ll be able to skip forward or back, play and pause, take phone calls, and even activate your digital assistant — either Google Assistant or Siri — which is always helpful.
Another great thing about the headphones is that they have Erato’s so-called “SpinFit” technology, in which the tip of the earbud can swivel a little to help you get a better fit. That will come into play a little later when we discuss comfort level.
Then there’s the charging box, which we liked quite a bit. It’s built to be both stylish and functional — and it achieves the latter with its super helpful charging lights, which indicate the battery level of the case and each earbud. The lid is easy to open and close, and the case will easily fit into your pocket.
Of course, the trade-off of a small case is a shorter battery life, but the battery life on offer here seems to be more than adequate. The case will be able to charge the buds up to four times, which will get you up to an extra 15 hours of use. That’s not bad at all, especially for those that are good at remembering to charge their devices.
In the box, you’ll get the headphones themselves, charging case, microUSB cable, and a total of three pairs of earbuds. We would have liked to see Erato adopt USB-C here — not because the case needs it, but because it’s more convenient to have one type of cable as we head into a USB-C connected world. We would have also liked to see memory foam tips. The original Erato Apollo 7 headphones had them, and we don’t like that they’re not here this time around.
Still, for the most part, everything you’ll need is in the box and ready to go.
Comfort
True wireless earbuds often have a tough time in the comfort department, and even when they are comfortable, they’re not always great at staying nice and firmly in your ears. That, unfortunately, continues to be true with the Erato Verse headphones.
We recommend trying out the different ear tips that come with the headphones, but even with the right fit we experienced quite a few instances in which the headphones would fall out of your ears. If you hook them into your ear just right, that issue gets a little better — but when you do so they get relatively uncomfortable to the point where they can even start hurting a little.
This perhaps has something to do with their somewhat large in-ear size. It’s a little bigger than what you would expect on headphones like this, and while the result is an arguably better sound, that doesn’t change the comfort level.
In the end, the JLab Audio Epic Air headphones are still the most comfortable true wireless headphones out there.
Sound
The best thing about these headphones is by far their sound. That’s good news for Erato — true wireless headphones aren’t always the best sounding out there.
For starters, the bass is relatively deep and powerful, something that’s not always true of true wireless headphones. Kick drums punch through a mix relatively well, while bass guitars are smooth and strong.
The mid-range is pretty well-tuned too. Low-mids are heavy and warm, and while only a little muddy, not overly so. The high-mids offer decent presence for things like vocals and guitars.
The high-end is perhaps the weakest aspect of these headphones, but it’s still pretty well-tuned. It could be a little clearer, but in general cymbals were crisp, while the sibilance in vocals sounded relatively good.
Performance
In general, we found that the Erato Verse headphones connect to your listening device relatively well. We did have some issues with the first pair, but after contacting Erato, it became clear that we were sent an early, defective unit — and there shouldn’t be any more defective units being sold. The new unit we received connected well, and rarely skipped or jumped at all, which was very nice to see.
According to Erato the headphones will get a three hour play time, and the case will offer four full recharges — so you’ll get a total of 15 hours of listening time if both the charging case and the headphones are charged. That’s not bad. The three hour play time isn’t stellar — we would have liked to see another hour or two. For most, however, three hours at a time should be fine.
Conclusions
True wireless headphones have come a long way over the past few years. The Erato Apollo 7 headphones were a great offering — but they’ve now been replaced by something better. The Erato Verse headphones are generally decently well-designed and they sound pretty good too. While there are a few bumps along the way — namely in the comfort department — in general they offer a good true wireless experience.
But are they the best true wireless headphones for the money? Well, no. If you’re looking for something that will work great for sports, there are other options that we recommend — like the JLab Audio Epic Air headphones. Those simply looking for a great true wireless experience may want to look to devices like the Jaybird Run.
Still, that doesn’t mean the headphones are bad at all. In fact, because of their generally high quality, we’ve awarded them the Headphone Review Bronze Medal.
| Store | Price |
|---|---|
 |
$171.20 |
| Frequency response | 20Hz – 20kHz | Active noise cancellation |
No |
| Driver size | 5.8mm | Noise attenuation | Unknown |
| Driver type |
Dynamic | On-ear controls | Yes |
| Design |
Closed | Microphone | Yes |
| Sensitivity | 98dB | Eartip material | Gel |
| Rated impedance |
16Ω | Magnet material | Unknown |
| Total harmonic distortion |
Unknown | Water resistance | IPX5 |
| Rated input power |
Unknown | Battery life | 3 Hours |
| Maximum input power |
Unknown | Wireless distance | 10m (33ft) |
| Wireless connection |
Bluetooth 4.2 | Cable length | N/A |
| Wired connection |
No | Case type | Charging case |
| Detachable cable |
No | In-the-box |
|
| Weight | 60g | Colors | Black, white |