A simple compact TWS from Hifiman with a V-shaped sound signature
The
Hifiman TWS450 is an entry-level true wireless earbud offering. With a price tag of around €40, and a sleek minimalist, pocket-friendly design there is a lot to like about the TWS540. But how well do they perform in practice and how do they stand up with the competition in this very crowded TWS market.
Note: Thanks to Hifiman for providing the TWS450 for this updated review. If you want to check out more details about the TWS450 check out Hifiman’s product page
So, I was extremely impressed with the sound from my previous Hifiman TWS, the Svanvar Wireless LE review here. I was curious as to what else Hifiman can do in the TWS market especially at the lower end of the market.
And now having listened to the TWS450 for the past month and comparing it with some other TWS in its price range, I thought I would share my findings. But before I get into the details, lets see what you get out of the box:
Design and Build
The
TWS450arrives in a nice small box:
Opening the box you see that the
TWS450 sports a minimalist, stem-free design with a pebble-shaped charging case.
Taking everything out of the box:
There is plenty of room inside the case for larger third party eartips:
The earbuds themselves are lightweight at just
3.5g each, ensuring comfort even during extended listening sessions.
The
IPX4 water resistance rating adds durability, protecting against sweat and light precipitation, making the TWS450 a great option for workouts and outdoor use.
Features and Technology
While the TWS450 lacks Active Noise Cancellation technology, but did I find it works very well using passive isolation, especially if you get the right eartips, block out most of the background noise in my shared working space and on public transport. But let’s look at the other technologies used:
ENC Deep Noise Cancellation during Calls
Using an
ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation) algorithm, the TWS450 effectively filters out background noise during calls, making communication in noisy environments much easier. I found it worked very well almost as good as the Svanvar Wireless LE provided an excellent experience during calls. It also beat the competition at this price, including the Moondrop Space Travel, Rose Technics Earfree i5 and considering they used a “Stem” design as against the earbud design of the TWS450 I thought this was pretty impressive.
Low Latency Bluetooth 5.3
The
Bluetooth 5.3 chip ensures stable connections and low latency, making the TWS450 a good choice for video streaming and casual gaming. Pairing is quick and seamless, and the earbuds maintain a strong connection throughout use.
Note: The TWS450 supports only SBC and AAC codecs so we are lacking some of the newer high definition bluetooth codecs but given the retail price of the TWS450 I can understand not licensing these more expensive codecs.
20-Hour Battery Life
Battery life was solid, offering
5 hours of continuous playback on a single charge and up to
20 hours total with the charging case. While not class-leading, it’s sufficient for daily use. The compact case charges quickly, ensuring minimal downtime.
Touch Controls
The TWS450 includes intuitive touch controls for playback, volume, and calls:
- Double-tap either earbud to play/pause.
- Triple-tap the left earbud to rewind or the right earbud to skip tracks.
- Press and hold for 2 seconds to activate your device’s voice assistant.
This is a useful diagram from Hifiman:
The controls are responsive, with a slight audible click for feedback, but they might take a little getting used to for precise operation.
Note: There is no Mobile ‘Companion App’, I can understand that many people do not ever use these apps and Hifiman typically focus their R&D costs on improving the default sound quality.
So, having a simple and effective touch controls and as you will see a good default sound quality mostly make up for a lack of App configuration.
Sound Quality
The
TWS450 punches well above its price class, delivering a fun V-shaped sound signature with good punchy bass and some great treble detail typical of the ‘Hifiman sound’ though some people might find the treble a little too much. The soundstage is more spacious than I expected for this price and far ahead of the other TWS I have tried in this price range, and imaging is precise, making these earbuds a great choice for diverse genres of music, but I would especially recommend these for Rock, Hip-hop or Pop music, but less so for Folk or Jazz genres.
Bass
The low end is punchy and controlled without becoming overpowering, offering a very satisfying bass without muddying the mids.
Mids
While the midrange is recessed typical of a V-shaped sound signature, it is still a very smooth midrange. I still found the
TWS450 provided excellent clear vocals, and it worked great listening to podcasts.
Treble
The treble provides excellent airy-ness but avoids harshness, even at higher volumes. It provides enough sparkle to enhance instrument separation, creating a lively fun listening experience. While I did not find it sibilant I can imagine some people might find this level of treble too much.
Comfort and Fit
The compact, stem-free design ensures a secure and comfortable fit both for my larger ears (with the right Eartips) and when my wife who has very small ears used the smallest eartips. Thanks to their lightweight build, the TWS450 remains comfortable during extended listening sessions. So, experimenting with ear tips is recommended for the best fit and especially for sound isolation.
I personally find an “earbud” design more comfortable than the “stem” design (typically used by Airpods Pro). Thoguh this will be very subjective. but compared to say the “Rose Technics Ceramics X” see photo below, I found the TWS450 lighter and therefore more stable in the ear and easier to wear for longer periods.
Here are the larger sized Rose Technics so you can see the TWS450 is a much smaller design:
Specifications and Measurements
Feature | Details |
---|
Driver Type | Dynamic |
Weight | 3.5g per earbud |
Water Resistance | IPX4 |
Bluetooth Version | 5.3 |
Bluetooth Codecs | SBC, AAC |
ENC | AI-powered Environmental Noise Cancellation |
Battery Life | 5 hours (earbuds), 20 hours total with case |
Latency | Low-latency mode for stable connections |
Frequency Response
You can clearly see the v-shaped sound signature in the frequency response graph below:
But what is probably not as obvious is that the bass is mainly sub-bass (rather than mid-bass) to the midrange even though its recessed will be clear and the treble does add a lot of sparkle to the sound.
Distortion
To test the distortion I really pushed the SPL and mostly the TWS450 performed well with a very low THD value though some inaudible peaks in the treble:
And the distortion as a percentage:
Comparisons
So this comparison graph clearly shows the V-shaped sound of the TWS450, but also you can see how the TWS450 matches the much more expensive Hifiman Svanar Wireless LE in the treble:
The other TWS in this comparison go for a more analytical ‘reference’ sound with less bass and much less treble detail.
Rating
I have given the
Hifiman TWS450 a very pragmatic 4-stars, I think Hifiman have made the right compromises to keep the price down yet deliver a well executed simple TWS with a engaging V-Shaped sound signature. The lack of full ANC, high-res codecs and any EQ capabilities means for those wanting more advanced capabilities will probably look at some more expensive TWS but those wanting a simple out of the box experience will be happy with the comfort and sound of the TWS450.
Conclusion
The
Hifiman TWS450 offers good sound quality and decent comfort in an affordable, compact package. While it lacks some premium features like a companion app or ANC, its V-Shaped tuning and effective ENC make it a good choice in this price category. Perfect for casual listeners, commuters, and anyone looking for a simple comfortable budget-friendly entry into the Hifiman world.