Overview

HTC Corporation, once a dominant smartphone manufacturer, has expanded into audio products including true wireless earbuds and mobile audio accessories. The company markets products like the HTC True Wireless Earbuds series with features such as 24-hour battery life, Bluetooth 5.0/5.3 connectivity, and active noise cancellation in premium models. HTC’s audio approach centers around their proprietary BoomSound technology, originally developed for smartphones, which employs separated tweeter and woofer designs with dedicated amplification. However, independent measurements and market analysis reveal significant performance and value concerns across their current audio product lineup.

Scientific Validity

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HTC’s audio products consistently demonstrate problematic measured performance levels. The HTC headphone adapter, independently tested by Audio Science Review, exhibits high output impedance that creates compatibility issues with headphones below 50 ohms, delivers only 2 milliwatts into 300-ohm loads, and achieves third-tier SINAD performance [1]. Output voltage measures 0.8 volts with power output lower than competitive dongles like Google’s V2 adapter. For wireless earbuds, no credible third-party measurements are publicly available, and manufacturer specifications lack audio quality-relevant metrics such as frequency response deviation, THD+N, or signal-to-noise ratios. The available measured data places HTC products significantly below transparent performance levels across multiple critical parameters, with several measurements exceeding problematic thresholds defined in professional audio evaluation standards.

Technology Level

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HTC demonstrates moderate technical capability through their proprietary BoomSound technology, which implements separated tweeter and woofer designs with dedicated amplification systems. The company has developed 24-bit DAC implementations for mobile devices and maintains in-house design ownership for their audio processing systems [2]. However, current wireless earbud products rely on standard Bluetooth 5.0/5.3 implementations without significant technical differentiation from commodity solutions. The BoomSound separation concept shows engineering merit but has seen limited industry adoption, indicating uncertain competitive advantage. Modern competitors increasingly integrate advanced DSP, AI-powered features, and sophisticated software processing that HTC’s current offerings lack. While historical development demonstrates technical competency, recent products show no cutting-edge technology adoption or meaningful innovation beyond basic wireless earbud functionality.

Cost-Performance

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HTC wireless earbuds face severe cost-performance challenges when compared to equivalent-or-better alternatives. The HTC True Wireless Earbuds 2, currently priced at approximately 80 USD, provides 24-hour battery life with Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity and IPX5 water resistance. However, the TOZO T10 offers equivalent-or-better functionality at 25 USD, featuring 55-hour total battery life (10.5 hours per charge plus 40 hours from case), Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, IPX8 water resistance, and touch controls [3]. This site evaluates based solely on functionality and measured performance values, without considering driver types or configurations. CP = 25 USD ÷ 80 USD = 0.3. Additional competitors such as CMF Buds 2 Plus offer active noise cancellation reducing ambient noise by 83% for 69 USD, while Creative Zen Air SXFI provides 39-hour battery life for 80 USD [4]. The comparison demonstrates poor value proposition with multiple alternatives offering equivalent or superior specifications at lower costs.

Reliability & Support

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HTC provides standard one-year warranty coverage against manufacturing defects with 7-10 working day repair timeframes [5]. However, customer service quality shows concerning patterns with documented cases of 5-month repair delays and refusal to provide replacement units when repair parts are unavailable [6]. Warranty coverage excludes rough handling, moisture exposure, and physical damage, with voided protection if serial numbers are altered. The company’s declining market presence in consumer electronics raises questions about long-term product support sustainability. No global support infrastructure is evident, with repair services primarily handled through standard manufacturer channels. Construction quality follows typical wireless earbud design complexity without inherent reliability advantages or disadvantages compared to industry standards.

Rationality of Design Philosophy

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HTC’s audio design philosophy prioritizes subjective “musical” tuning over measurement-based performance optimization, explicitly targeting “warmth and colorations to be more appealing to the mass” rather than accurate reproduction [7]. This approach contradicts scientific audio principles that prioritize fidelity to source material through measurable parameters. The company invests in branding and marketing concepts like BoomSound without demonstrating corresponding improvements in objective performance metrics such as frequency response linearity, distortion reduction, or dynamic range enhancement. Current wireless earbud products lack justification for existence as dedicated audio equipment when smartphones combined with quality dongles achieve superior measured performance at lower costs. No evidence exists of performance progression in newer models, with design focus remaining on subjective characteristics rather than advancing transparent audio reproduction capabilities. The emphasis on proprietary technologies fails to deliver measurable advantages over general-purpose alternatives.

Advice

Potential purchasers should avoid HTC audio products in favor of superior alternatives. For wireless earbuds, the TOZO T10 at 25 USD provides superior battery life (55 hours total vs 24 hours), superior water resistance (IPX8 vs IPX5), and newer Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity compared to HTC True Wireless Earbuds 2 at 80 USD. For active noise cancellation needs, the CMF Buds 2 Plus offers proven ANC performance at 69 USD. For mobile DAC requirements, independently measured dongles like the Apple USB-C adapter or Samsung dongles deliver superior measured performance at lower costs than HTC’s problematic headphone adapter. HTC’s subjective tuning philosophy and poor measured performance make their products unsuitable for listeners seeking accurate audio reproduction. The combination of weak cost-performance, reliability concerns, and focus on marketing over engineering makes HTC audio products difficult to recommend across any price segment or use case.

References

[1] Audio Science Review, Review and Measurements of HTC Headphone Adapter, https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-htc-headphone-adapter.6974/, accessed 2025-10-23, SINAD measurement, 300Ω and 33Ω load testing

[2] Android Central, HTC 10 audio testing — BoomSound evolved, https://www.androidcentral.com/htc-10-audio-testing-boomsound-evolved, accessed 2025-10-23

[3] SoundGuys, TOZO T10 review, https://www.soundguys.com/tozo-t10-review-83525/, accessed 2025-10-23, battery life measurement, Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity specs

[4] TechRadar, The best budget earbuds you can buy in 2025, https://www.techradar.com/best/the-best-budget-wireless-earbuds, accessed 2025-10-23

[5] HTC, Warranty Statement, https://www.htc.com/us/support/warranty-statement.html, accessed 2025-10-23

[6] Steam Community, HTC Does not honor their warranty!! Vive controller repair, https://steamcommunity.com/app/358040/discussions/0/1692659769951072043/, accessed 2025-10-23

[7] NishantRana.me, HTC 10 and LG V20 – Sound Quality, https://nishantrana.me/htc-10-and-lg-v20-sound-quality/, accessed 2025-10-23

(2025.10.23)