Nu Republic Transform-X Review: Sports an attractive look, but lacks punch

Over the last few years, a new category of earbuds has emerged – gaming earbuds. These devices not only cater to audiophiles with good sound quality, but also to gamers courtesy of features such as low latency, dual mics, and long battery life. Consequently, they have become some of the most crucial gadgets to carry around for gaming on the go. Despite being a relatively new segment, the budget gaming earbuds category has strong competition with boAt, Noise, Truke, and Wings, among others vying for attention. Now, Nu Republic has emerged as the latest contender taking them on with its Transform-X earbuds. But are they worth the purchase or just another option in an ocean of wireless earbuds? Know it in our review.

Nu Republic Transform-X: Design

The Nu Republic Transform-X are definitely good looking! The earbuds come in a polycarbonate case which opens like butterfly doors you’d see on the Ferrari Enzo or Mclaren F1. It is one of the most innovative case designs I’ve seen and definitely attracts attention. The Nu Republic Transform-X earbuds are available in three colours – Red Devil, Arctic Menace, and…Yellow. I received the Yellow variant and its colour scheme definitely matches the Bumblebee from Transformers.

There are RGB lights alongside the sides and the bottom of the case, as well as on the back of the earbuds. While I’ve never been enticed by RGB lighting, it is something that has appealed to gamers in recent years, and perhaps that was the thought behind the design strategy. Neat.

Over the years, I’ve tried many earbuds with different fits. Some feature wings to help stay in your ear, and some get silicon and even memory foam ear tips. In this case, the Transform-X earbuds do not feature any support at all. They feature an open-ear design, just like the AirPods. And just like the AirPods, I struggled to keep them in my ear for long periods. While they did not slip out, my ears suffered from fatigue. So, if you’re someone whose ears are not AirPods compatible (like mine), you might struggle using the Transform-X for long periods.

Nu Republic Transform-X: Audio

Being gaming earbuds, you’d expect Nu Republic Transform-X to sound great. So, does it match its attractive design with stellar audio quality? Unfortunately not. On paper, it gets features like X-Bass technology and 13mm neodymium drivers. But that seldom matches real-world performance. The mids and highs are great with very little distortion even at high volumes. However, the Transform-X struggles when it comes to bass, and it is decent at best on most occasions. And it does not come as a surprise, considering the open-ear design of the earbuds. Listening to music with multiple percussion instruments such as Hotel California by the Eagles is a decent experience. However, play Thunder by Imagine Dragons, and you’ll be disappointed by the lack of punch.

The Transform-X earbuds get loud enough although the audio will leak once it reaches certain levels. That is also expected considering its design factor. Although the earbuds come equipped with ENC, they rarely draw out the noise, and I could easily hear the announcements during my metro commute.

That being said, the dual mode on the Transform-X is neat where one earbud plays audio from your game and the other plays your music!

Nu Republic Transform-X: Battery life

The Nu Republic Transform-X promise 60 hours of playtime, and although it is hard to keep track of each hour that I listened to, the earbuds have lasted almost two weeks with 1-2 hours of listening time every day, and that included making calls, and Netflix binge-watching. Thus, the Nu Republic can go long enough on a single charge if you’re someone who only listens to music during daily commutes.

Nu Republic Transform-X: Verdict

The Nu Republic Transform-X earbuds are a decent offering from the company, although it is hard to justify its pricing when looking at other competitive options in the market. Had it been priced just a notch lower, it would’ve definitely been one of the top contenders. The earbuds definitely attract eyes with an appealing design, butterfly door-style case, and RGB lights. However, the audio quality does not keep up with the design factor. The mids and highs are decent but the earbuds struggle when it comes to offering punchy bass. They are a battery monster though, lasting nearly two weeks so far on a single charge.

So, are the Transform-X a good buy at a price tag of Rs. 2099? Yes and no. Yes, as the earbuds have a very attractive design, decent mids and highs, and a long battery life. And no, if you’re solely buying them for the audio experience.