Introduction
As I have had already tried the Dudios Zeus Ace and my impressions were fairly good, Carrie has reached me again and sent me a pair of their new TWS model: the Dudios Shuttle.
Let’s see if they’re worth the money and if they’re better than their predecessors.
Disclaimer: the Dudios Shuttle were provided to me by Carrie free of charge in order to write a honest review.
Check https://www.audio-monkeys.com for more content and reviewed gear.
Packaging
Packaging is nothing special: carton box that hides the product, 3 different pair of tips and a USB cable to charge the Dudios charging case.
Nothing different if we compare the packaging to the Ace’s one.
Connectivity
Even if my experience with the Ace was already very good in terms of connectivity, the Shuttles surprised me with even lower time while connecting them to my devices.
After taking them out from thei charging station, they immediately connect to a known device which was connected at least once in the past.
Going around the house with them in the ears has no issues and I could keep them in my ears even if the smartphone wasn’t near me. I would say th 10m maximum distance is fully respected.
Just like the Ace, you can even use a single earbud if you don’t want both in your ears by just taking out a single earbud from the station.
Commands on the earbuds are easy and can be read on the instruction manual: it is possible to activate the vocal assistant, change tracks, stopping and playing the track just by touching the external side of the earbuds. Commands are not the most precise out there, but everything works well without big issues.
Build Quality and Battery
Build quality is good but not groundbreaking. If we speak about the earbuds, they’re pretty solid but the charging station has a sort of loose feeling while moving the upper cover which is not actually solid like the Ace charging station’s upper cover.
The battery lasts for a good amount of time, just near the declared data. I’ve used them for an entire week with a single charge of the dock station but I stopped myself using them at the 5th recharge of the earbuds. I do not know if the battery has to calibrate properly, but the Zeus Ace were better in terms of battery. I will update if situation changes.
A little note: many people are asking if they’re just a rebranded TaoTronics SoundLiberty 53. I do not know if they’re related products or if they sound similarly, but you can find some comparisons online and on youtube.
Comfort and Isolation
Comfort is a mixed bag: they fit well in my ears but I personally prefer the old Zeus Ace style. These are certainly more “in line” with actual trends (Airpods ahestetics trend) in terms of design and shape but fit can be tricky if you have small ears, as the shell is less intuitive compared to the Ace, which were certainly bulkier but easy to place. Isolation is good, but better with the Zeus Ace.
Sound
Now the critical factor that decides if something has to be tried or not: how do they sound?
Personal preferences: I mainly listen to EDM subgenres, from Dupstep and Future Bass to some more genres which represent a niche in the music market. I even like listening to vocal tracks (moreover from female singers like Sia) and sometimes Rock tracks. I always search for IEMs that have a little bit of emphasis in the lower region, and can sacrifice mids with some recession if they still sound clear and natural. I love vivid and sparkling highs if they’re not at a headache level. Soundstage has to be at least average with a bit of air. V-shape signature is my favourite one.
Lows: lows are emphasized with good sub-bass response. The Shuttle are certainly bassy but the bass has a sort of “mainstream” style that makes it punchy but not highly precise. In this case, bass was good out-of-the-box while I remember I have had some distortion problems with the Ace in the first days, which disappeared after some use.
Mids: mids are recessed but in a different way than on the Ace. The Shuttle have recessed midrange with upper midrange being some dBs even lower. Female voices sound a bit off while male voices are ok. Instruments are not highly textured but this is understandable considering the bass bleed and the midrange recession.
Highs: highs are not fatiguing at all but details are sacrified. This is the kind of upper range for the ones who do not pretend to have a top notch upper end with tons of details, and for ones that just search for a comfortable and easygoing pair of IEMs with warm treble.
Soundstage is average, less expansive than Ace’s soundstage. Imaging is ok but instrument separation really struggles with complex tracks.
If I had to choose between them and the Ace, I would take the Ace hands down. I prefer them in terms of sound, but this is just a matter of personal preference, even if I think that the Ace are superior in terms of technical performance (I do not know if the driver is the same, but it’s safe to say that they perform a bit different if they are, maybe because of the shell).
Summary
Dudios keeps offering good products with a nice value for money. The Dudios Shuttle sound just right, being durable in terms of battery and comfortable. However, the new Dudios Shuttle should have a lower price: placing the Shuttle near the price at which the Ace are still sold, I would pick these last ones hands down: the Ace have better battery and a bit better sound, maybe a bit different because of the different shell. For the ones with smaller ears, the Shuttle could be better as the Ace are bulkier, and could be even better for the improved and faster connectivity which was already amazing.
Dudios, keep following the right route, you’re doing a nice job.
As I have had already tried the Dudios Zeus Ace and my impressions were fairly good, Carrie has reached me again and sent me a pair of their new TWS model: the Dudios Shuttle.
Let’s see if they’re worth the money and if they’re better than their predecessors.
Disclaimer: the Dudios Shuttle were provided to me by Carrie free of charge in order to write a honest review.
Check https://www.audio-monkeys.com for more content and reviewed gear.
Packaging
Packaging is nothing special: carton box that hides the product, 3 different pair of tips and a USB cable to charge the Dudios charging case.
Nothing different if we compare the packaging to the Ace’s one.
Connectivity
Even if my experience with the Ace was already very good in terms of connectivity, the Shuttles surprised me with even lower time while connecting them to my devices.
After taking them out from thei charging station, they immediately connect to a known device which was connected at least once in the past.
Going around the house with them in the ears has no issues and I could keep them in my ears even if the smartphone wasn’t near me. I would say th 10m maximum distance is fully respected.
Just like the Ace, you can even use a single earbud if you don’t want both in your ears by just taking out a single earbud from the station.
Commands on the earbuds are easy and can be read on the instruction manual: it is possible to activate the vocal assistant, change tracks, stopping and playing the track just by touching the external side of the earbuds. Commands are not the most precise out there, but everything works well without big issues.
Build Quality and Battery
Build quality is good but not groundbreaking. If we speak about the earbuds, they’re pretty solid but the charging station has a sort of loose feeling while moving the upper cover which is not actually solid like the Ace charging station’s upper cover.
The battery lasts for a good amount of time, just near the declared data. I’ve used them for an entire week with a single charge of the dock station but I stopped myself using them at the 5th recharge of the earbuds. I do not know if the battery has to calibrate properly, but the Zeus Ace were better in terms of battery. I will update if situation changes.
A little note: many people are asking if they’re just a rebranded TaoTronics SoundLiberty 53. I do not know if they’re related products or if they sound similarly, but you can find some comparisons online and on youtube.
Comfort and Isolation
Comfort is a mixed bag: they fit well in my ears but I personally prefer the old Zeus Ace style. These are certainly more “in line” with actual trends (Airpods ahestetics trend) in terms of design and shape but fit can be tricky if you have small ears, as the shell is less intuitive compared to the Ace, which were certainly bulkier but easy to place. Isolation is good, but better with the Zeus Ace.
Sound
Now the critical factor that decides if something has to be tried or not: how do they sound?
Personal preferences: I mainly listen to EDM subgenres, from Dupstep and Future Bass to some more genres which represent a niche in the music market. I even like listening to vocal tracks (moreover from female singers like Sia) and sometimes Rock tracks. I always search for IEMs that have a little bit of emphasis in the lower region, and can sacrifice mids with some recession if they still sound clear and natural. I love vivid and sparkling highs if they’re not at a headache level. Soundstage has to be at least average with a bit of air. V-shape signature is my favourite one.
Lows: lows are emphasized with good sub-bass response. The Shuttle are certainly bassy but the bass has a sort of “mainstream” style that makes it punchy but not highly precise. In this case, bass was good out-of-the-box while I remember I have had some distortion problems with the Ace in the first days, which disappeared after some use.
Mids: mids are recessed but in a different way than on the Ace. The Shuttle have recessed midrange with upper midrange being some dBs even lower. Female voices sound a bit off while male voices are ok. Instruments are not highly textured but this is understandable considering the bass bleed and the midrange recession.
Highs: highs are not fatiguing at all but details are sacrified. This is the kind of upper range for the ones who do not pretend to have a top notch upper end with tons of details, and for ones that just search for a comfortable and easygoing pair of IEMs with warm treble.
Soundstage is average, less expansive than Ace’s soundstage. Imaging is ok but instrument separation really struggles with complex tracks.
If I had to choose between them and the Ace, I would take the Ace hands down. I prefer them in terms of sound, but this is just a matter of personal preference, even if I think that the Ace are superior in terms of technical performance (I do not know if the driver is the same, but it’s safe to say that they perform a bit different if they are, maybe because of the shell).
Summary
Dudios keeps offering good products with a nice value for money. The Dudios Shuttle sound just right, being durable in terms of battery and comfortable. However, the new Dudios Shuttle should have a lower price: placing the Shuttle near the price at which the Ace are still sold, I would pick these last ones hands down: the Ace have better battery and a bit better sound, maybe a bit different because of the different shell. For the ones with smaller ears, the Shuttle could be better as the Ace are bulkier, and could be even better for the improved and faster connectivity which was already amazing.
Dudios, keep following the right route, you’re doing a nice job.