Boult Z40 Ultra: Great Specs And An Even Better Price Tag
While affordability and premiumisation are having a face-off in the consumer tech industry, some brands such as Boult are finding a middle ground and acting upon it. The Boult Z40 Ultra, the company’s premium offering in the affordable earbuds range, a segment that brings the lion’s share of Boult’s revenue is a good example of how premiumisation can be used to market budget products to the masses.
In this review, we will be taking a dive and finding out what the new TWS product from Boult offers and whether it holds its ground against the competition or not. Keep reading to find out.
The case design is classy and eye-catching. The entire unit is extremely light in weight, which is always an advantage. The case has a dual-tone finish with a glossy lid and a rubberised bottom. The LED light indicators for charge are located at the bottom. The Type-C charging port is situated just below it.
Coming to the earbuds, the design is once again, done in a dual-tone finish. The stem-shaped design of the Z40 Ultra is very retro, in my opinion. The silicon ear tips come in 3 different sizes. The earbuds are IPX5-rated. Hence one needs to be careful around the elements.
The Boult Z40 Ultra uses 10mm audio drivers. They also offer 32dB active noise cancellation while supporting AAC and SBC codes. The earbuds make use of Bluetooth v5.3 and offer multiple modes, i.e., gaming mode (ultra-low latency mode) and Bass Booster mode (for enhanced music experience).
Enhanced bass is one aspect where the Boult Z40 Ultra truly shines. The audio output is on par with its competitors when it comes to bass. Treble is not a forte for the Z40 Ultra but it is not a deal breaker in any way.
Calling features and call quality are important points to factor in while buying TWS earbuds. As far as the Boult Z40 Ultra goes, these areas are well covered. Making calls is easy and so is receiving calls. The call quality, however, is not what one would wish for. Voice clarity is compromised to some extent. Audio during calls is muffled. People on the other end of the call often asked me to disconnect by TWS if possible for a better calling experience. It worked too! Upon disconnecting the Z40 Ultra, the clarity came back and the muffled audio vanished. However, I must point out that this is not at all a deal breaker and is very much manageable.
The Z40 Ultra claims to be powered by AI-driven intelligent voice processing but I have no idea to what extent this technology enhances the end result.
The active noise cancellation or ANC in the Boult Z40 Ultra works wonderfully. It manages to block out most of the noise. At the price point that the Boult Z40 Ultra is competing at, the 32dB ANC is quite decent. The Transparency Mode works as advertised as well. You can listen to the ambient noise around you and be more aware of your surroundings.
This is hands down, the most impressive feature of this product. Boult claims a 100-hour run time for the Z40 Ultra and guess what? Although 100 hours seems like a lot, it does manage to churn out the claimed run time with ANC turned on. For this price range, this kind of battery life is fabulous. As per the company's claim, these buds also support fast charging. So, a 10-minute charge can give you close to 100 minutes of run time.
Boult is as serious as it has ever been about the sub-5K TWS segment with the launch of the Z40 Ultra. While these TWS earbuds are touted as premium offerings by the brand, they come with an affordable price tag and play on multiple fronts. They present a very tempting price tag of Rs 1,999 and also offer a gamut of features that are both attractive as well as functional.
However, the Boult Z40 Ultra TWS earbuds present a glaring drawback when it comes to highly affordable audio products. It reminds us that even affordability comes at a cost. The earbuds get the job done with sound quality that holds up and with battery backup that is nothing short of remarkable but at the same time it fails to give that premium feel that it boldly claims. Despite the work that went into the product’s aesthetics, the build quality feels a bit underwhelming.
All that being said, once you factor in the price point, the Boult Z40 Ultra turns out to be a great value-for-money audio product that hits all the right spots. It caters to the vast majority of Indian consumers who want to upgrade from wired earbuds and want new-gen features such as ANC and bass booster mode at a price that doesn’t make them rethink their decision.
