Dudios Zeus Ace

Hello!

First of all, thanks to Carrie at Dudios for providing me with the Dudios Zues Ace earbuds for my honest review of them.

Currently the Dudios Zues Ace True Wireless earbuds can be purchased on Amazon.ca for $45.99 CAD

I have been using a few different bluetooth headphones for a while now, as well as the Radsone ES100 and Fiio BTR3K bluetooth receivers for use with wired earbuds. But I have not tried any "true wireless" earbuds before the Dudios Ace.

Note that I consider these to be IEMs (ie In Ear Monitors), but for the purposes of this review I will I will refer to them as "earbuds".

Before receiving the Dudios Ace's, there were a few things that I had concerns about:

(1) Would I be satisfied with sound quality considering they use the SBC codec? My bluetooth headphones use the APTX codec, and both the ES100 and the BTR3K bluetooth receivers use LDAC, so how would earbuds that use the SBC codec compare?

Answer: Yes, they sound surprisingly good!

(2) Would the battery life be satisfactory?

Answer: Yes, battery life is not a concern with the charging case functionality.

(3) Would they stay in my ears without falling out? I have always had problems getting IEMs to fit and stay properly in my left ear. This was especially going to be a concern with the Dudios because if one falls out, there is nothing to stop it from falling to the ground (ouch).

Answer: Yes, they stay in my ears surprisingly well.

I have been using the Dudios with my Samsung S8 for a few months now and in summary, they have surpassed my expectations for various reason. You will see the word "surprised" (in the positive sense) used often in this review.

Packaging:

The Dudios Zues Ace come in a nice, basic black box and the contents were very neatly packaged. Inside the box you get:
- charging case
- the earpieces
- 4 sets of good quality tips (different sizes)
- charging cable (Micro USB)
- user manual



The left and right earpieces fit perfectly into the case's respective receptacles, and a magnet locks them in firmly.

The case is small and is a very nice size for throwing into a pocket and transporting the Dudios. And the fact that the case charges the earbuds is an integral part of the excellent functionality.

Build, Fit & Comfort:

I really like the build of the Dudios. Although they are bulkier than most of your regular wired earbuds, they have a nice smooth finish and are very light. Although the L and R markings are a bit of a challenge to see, it's not important because you just take the left earbud out of the left side of the charging case and put it in your left ear (rinse and repeat with the right). Simple and intuitive.

As mentioned, I have challenges getting IEMs to fit and stay in especially my left ear. But the Dudios stay in my ears surprisingly well after I ensure that they are in snugly. In fact, I have gone on many runs with them, and they didn't fall out of my ears once which was surprising and great. So I have stopped being concerned about them falling to their death.

They are also quite comfortable. The smooth finish causes no irritation. And they are light enough that I don't feel any weight. Great design.

Isolation:

The Dudios isolate fairly well - as well or better than many other IEMs (especially those with bass ports etc). Loud outside noise does still get through, but that's fine with me since I prefer to have some awareness of my surroundings.

Connectivity & Functionality

The first time I took the Dudios out of the charging box, they automatically went into pairing mode and my phone found them and paired with them without any problem.

The next time I took them out of the charging box and put them in my ears, I was very pleasantly surprised to quickly hear "Power On" followed by "Connected". I am used to having to turn on my bluetooth devices manually, so the fact that the Dudios do this automatically and reduces that step is a great.

When playing music, the controls are intuitive:
- pause/play: single tap the right earpiece
- previous track: double tap left earpiece
- next track: double tap right earpiece

The buttons do not take much force to actuate, but still enough that the earbud gets pushed into my ear when pressing them. I've gotten around this by holding the top of the earbud out with my index finger, and pressing the button with my thumb. This works quite well.

The functions are simple and intuitive. It would be nice if the volume could also be controlled with the earpieces (like with my bluetooth headphones), but given how much space is available on the earpieces, I'm not sure how that could be done without creating other functionality issues.

Battery:

I initially thought that the "4 hours of music time" might be a deal breaker. But it is nothing of the sort. It turns out that the majority of my listening sessions are less than 4 hours, and when I am done or need a break, the Dudios naturally go into the charging case. With the charging case in play, the Dudios have a battery life of up to 30 hours, which for me means that all I need to do is to charge up the charging case every 4-7 days! Awesome.

And when the Dudios do provide the "battery low" indicator and need to be charged, it is very convenient just putting them back in their case (which is usually in my pocket), and I know that they will be ready to go the next time I need them. This is much more convenient than having to find a wall charger like I need to do with with regularity my other bluetooth devices.

In summary, this system works very well.

Range & Latency

I am not sure what the range is rated at, but it is good. Without any obstacles, I went at least 25 metres (ie 80 feet) without any issue. And the connectivity was very good when going into adjacent rooms as well. The range is as good or better than any of the other bluetooth devices, so it is very good in my opinion.

And latency is pretty much zero when watching youtube videos on my phone, which is awesome. I guess bluetooth 5.0 and low latency is for real!

Phone Sound Quality & Functionality:

I used the Dudios while driving to call my wife. My car isn't the quietest, and when I got connected, I was very surprised by how good the call sound quality was and how clear my wife's voice sounded. I didn't know it at the time, but apparently the Dudios include "CVC noise cancelling, to reduce surrounding noise when you are in a call". Assuming that was in play, it worked very well! Also, my wife could hear me quite clearly, which has been a problem when using other bluetooth headphones and receivers.

Full marks!

Music Sound Quality

Being used to bluetooth devices that use either APTX or LDAC, I wasn't sure how good the SBC codec would work for me, but as is often the case with the Dudios, I was pleasantly surprised. The Dudios are more balanced than I expected them to be, yet fun sounding, providing a full and rich sound. I like my bass, and the amount of bass is just about perfect for me - not too little and not too much - just enough to provide some weight and make trance sound great. The mids are very nicely present - vocals are not left behind in the mix and sound great. The highs are detailed and there is some nice sparkle, but they never sound harsh or sibilant (which I am quite sensitive about).

Overall the sound signature is a slight V shape - just the way I like it. Kudos for whomever tuned the Dudios

The soundstage is average to my ears for in ear monitors, and the imaging and layering is quite good.

Summary:

The Dudios Zues Ace wireless headphones are great! They are light, comfortable, very functional, and they sound very good. Highly recommended!

Cheers,

Wayne

I bought these myself, and have not been contacted by Dudios in any way shape or form. I've had these for around 5 months. This is my honest review.


Sound:

At first they sounded very harsh and a bit muffled, but had great bass. Then I put some toilet paper in-between the drivers and voilà: the harshness almost entirely disappeared, and what is left is fantastic clarity, surprisingly spacious soundstage for an IEM, and great bass. These are V shaped, but only mildly so. They will satisfy most bass heads, but don't expect EAR DRUM POPPING bass. They're not designed for that. Funny enough, and I don't know why, they've gotten better over a few months. I don't know if it's just my ears, but all the already excellent things about them have gotten better. Maybe my ears have just adapted to their sound (this has happened on a few of my headphones as well)

Like I said though, the soundstage is actually wonderful. It's very far away normally (I say normally because sometimes I'll have to check if a sound was coming from around me or not), but things are always separated very well. There is very little congestion, things have room to breath and move. I couldn't be happier with the overall sound. If you don't mind maybe putting a little toilet paper (or fabric or some kind) to smooth out the sound in-between in front of the drivers, then you should be fine. Maybe you won't need to. The default ear tips are great and provide an good seal.

Comfort:

Not much to say here, they're fine

Bluetooth connectivity:

I've had a few problems, but the vast majority of the time, they work perfectly fine. And almost all these problems were fixed in a few minutes. I say almost because a few times it got really annoying and I couldn't play music in both of them for a day or two.

Battery life:

As advertised, superb.

Durability:

They're well build, but won't be winning any awards. Overall fine.

Use for working out:

They stay in my ears while running 9 MPH for 7 minutes, sweating profusely, lifting weights, etc. The only time they've ever fell out (which happened a few times) is when punching a punching bag as hard as I possibly can. They've launched themselves from my ears a few times while doing that. Overall no problems here.

TLDR: I couldn't be happier for the price. If these were 100$ I'd have to be a little more critical but would still recommend them.

After the annual winter-early spring dry spell, leave it do my friends at Dudios/SoundPeats to save the drought with one of their newest offerings, the Dudios Zeus Ace. If that name sounds familiar to you then it should. I reviewed their original Dudios Zeus last year and still, to this day, utilize it as my primary workout iem because how great it is. So how does the newest and coolest “true wireless” version perform? Is it a worthy upgrade or a different flavor of the same ice cream?







The Opening Experience





The unboxing’s of Dudios products, from my experience, has always been very respectful especially for the MSRP of their products. Starting from the front of the package you’ve a beautifully simplistic presentation. The only thing you see is a picture of an opened case of the product, the company name, and the product name. Rotating to the back is where the Zeus Ace returns to what I expect to see in a product of this price point, a cluttered back of “look at me’s.” I’m a big proponent of a product “speaking” for itself, and a box full of catchy phrases and whatnots takes the voice away from the actual VIP.

But moving on, as you open up the cardboard box, you’ve the Dudios Zeus Ace charging case centered in a cutout greeting you and all but asking you to open it up and try it out. Setting the case aside for a moment, for under that you’ve the warranty paperwork and instruction manual, micro USB charging cable (was really hoping for a type C), and a few extra tips (NOTHING compared to the wonderful supply the original came with).


Construction



Starting with the charging case, it’s made of basic plastic and opens on a rear facing hinge. Inside you’ve the 2 independent Zeus Ace pods placed inside a form cut out of their frame with the charging pins towards the middle of the case. Lastly, on the rear of the case you’ve the micro USB charging port.

Moving onto the actual pods themselves, each pod in roughly the width of a thumbnail and shares the height of the tip of that very thumb. The horn is that of the most common size I see on the majority of iem’s (I do not know the actual measurements) so those with a favorite third party tip brand will likely be able to use them with the Zeus Ace (I was able to utilize my beloved Comply). Each pod can operate and be connected either individually or as a pair and sync’d to the other by simply holding down the single button on the face. On the note of the single button, it is responsible for the off/on/sync, play/pause, answer/hang up commands to the pods. This means that if you’re wanting to control tracks or volume that must be done from the connected device.

All and all the Dudios Zeus Ace keeps everything as simplistic and straight forward as possible. Something I didn’t touch on earlier is that these immediately turn on and go into pairing mode as soon as they’re removed from their charging slit (and reversed when placed back) which is AMAZINGLY convenient and a feature that I personally cannot speak highly enough about loving. Though they’re built using basic materials, expected of a product in this price point, I can unfortunately personally attest that they can not only survive a drop but being thrown across a room when trying to catch them from said drop and accidentally smacking them instead. Dudios has made a very budget friendly workhorse of an iem in relation to its construction.


Comfort



The Zeus Ace is a pretty small pod but I do feel that those with very small ears may have difficulty getting them completely inside their concha thus causing it to protrude outwards somewhat, this doesn’t affect much but a something to note nonetheless. They’re also incredibly light weight and do a fine job at staying in place in your ears, especially if using Comply memory foam, thus wearing these for long durations shouldn’t cause any discomfort. On the note of that actually, these have really good sound isolation properties that I learned first hand when using them to mow my lawn comfortably while listening to a youtube video at my normal listening levels.

The Dudios Zeus Ace can also be utilized as workout iems due to them being IPX4 sweat resistant. I can only speak for myself when using them to workout in so YMMV, but when I used them with weight training and basic cardio I had no issues with them moving or falling out, admittedly to my surprise considering I am a sweater to put it lightly. Now, from my personal experience, when going for a run they did often start slipping loose causing me to have to push them back in every few seconds and often hitting the button pausing my music thus causing me to have to reach up again to rehit the button. As I said, YMMV especially if you don’t sweat as much as I do but so long as you are doing weight training or basic cardio you shouldn’t have any issues with the Zeus Ace causing you any discomfort.

To finish this section, though I personally prefer the corded version (just a personal preference) these are very comfortable to wear, even more so than the corded version. Though these can be worn to sleep as well, from personal experience, the blanket/pillow will often push in on the button causing your music to pause; something to keep in mind.


Sound





So thus far, like the younger sibling, I’ve been incredibly impressed by the Dudios Zeus Ace but how does it sound? Is it an upgrade from my beloved Dudios Zeus or is it just a difference in flavor?

From the first track I played through the Zeus Ace I immediately felt at home with a familiar, fun, sound. The Zeus Ace is certainly no audiophile iem that’s for sure, but it is one that is very fun to listen to when wanting to workout or just get your groove on. Though not as over the top bassy as the original Zeus, it is still the focal point. As for soundstage, it’s certainly an in your face variety which is fine for music but for those wanting to watch tv etc… things may sound claustrophobic and cluttered together. But let me talk more about the individual aspects so that hopefully you can get a better understanding of the overall sound that the Dudios Zeus Ace provides.


Treble


Though, as stated above, the Zeus Ace focuses more on the bass, the treble is still fairly enjoyable as well. From the piano to my oh so enjoyed Violin, the Zeus Ace does a respectable job at reproducing the magical peaks that those instruments create. A piece I’m sure many of you are used to seeing in my reviews is “A Moon Filled Sky” by Tenmon. It’s such an enjoyable piece and though the Zeus Ace doesn’t completely reproduce the magic of that piece it does still make it enjoyable to experience.


Mids


The mids are the are of music that I pay the most attention to because, to me, this is where the soul and emotion of the music is. When listening to just about anything through the Zeus Ace, you can easily tell that the mids are very recessed to highlight the more “fun” aspects of the music, “Into The Coals” by Buffalo Jones or “S.O.B.” by Nathaniel Rateliff showcase this quite quickly. When you’re listening to music or movies or the like though you can most certainly hear the vocals and people talking, instrumentals and background sound effects are what’s going to draw your attention. If I had to put my finger on the main thing about the mids that turn me off, it’s that there’s no body to them, it’s just words without that fleshy sound to make them alive.


Bass


The heartbeat of the music that keeps everything else in time and rhythm, and the Dudios Zeus Ace has a very strong heartbeat. The bass hits surprisingly hard, especially considering the price point, and even has an impressive sub bass quantity. A few songs to highlight my points, and I think you’ll discover why yourself once you hear them, is “I Need You” by Sebastian Ekstrand, this song, though has a disappointing upper bass range, likely to do the recessed mids, showcases a very strong mid bass to sub bass punch “Guitarmass” by Infected Mushroom also does a fine show at showing this. “Oracle” by Timmy Trumpet shows how well the Zeus Ace performs when you’re wanting the sub bass feels.

Though I give kudos to Dudios for giving a very fun headphone that hits surprisingly hard, the downfalls become apparent when pairing them against products that would be considered direct competitors (that also cost almost 3x the price). The bass, though IMO harder on the Zeus Ace, there’s certainly a notable amount of decay present and a lack of control that muddy’s the sound of drums when really listening. Though technically that is a negative for sure, for an iem that costs just over $30 (depending on where you shop), the features and overwhelming positives you get for that price tag MORE than make up the shortcomings.


Conclusion




To sum up my thoughts on the Dudios Zeus Ace, I find that Dudios did an outstanding job. The took everything that made their original Zeus model great and turned it into the ever popular true model version without losing much of anything. If you’ve neither and are looking for a great, budget, iem to workout in or just listen to something fun on your commute then either would do you great so go with whichever model you would like more. If you’ve already the original Zeus and are wondering if it’s an upgrade, then I say no, you’re just getting a different flavor of the same ice cream brand. Myself, I like the corded version, just a personal preference.






Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.