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Klipsch T5 True Wireless Headphones Review

Tested using Methodology v1.4
Reviewed Dec 02, 2019 at 09:55 am
Latest change: Writing modified Sep 28, 2021 at 05:11 pm
Klipsch T5 True Wireless Picture
6.4
Mixed Usage
5.6
Neutral Sound
6.9
Commute/Travel
7.8
Sports/Fitness
6.1
Office
4.8
Wireless Gaming
4.7
Wired Gaming
5.8
Phone Calls
These headphones were replaced by the Klipsch T5 II True Wireless ANC

The Klipsch T5 are unique-looking truly wireless headphones that have a weirdly long stalk that enters your ear canal. They might not be the most comfortable headphones, but they're still a decent option for people looking for wireless headphones with an excited, V-shaped sound profile. The battery life on a single charge is quite impressive for truly wireless headphones, and they come with a very nice charging case.

Note: We had issues with the fit of these headphones on our measurement equipment, which resulted in odd-looking results. In this review, we give our subjective impression of their sound, but a colleague couldn't get them to fit in his ears and thinks the measurements below could be representative for a user who can't find a good fit.

Our Verdict

6.4 Mixed Usage

The Klipsch T5 are just passable for mixed usage. These headphones have a very long stalk design that enters the ear quite deeply, which isn't the most comfortable to wear for long periods. They have an exciting, V-shaped sound profile if you get a good fit, which won't satisfy critical listeners looking for a neutral sound. They're also only rated IPX4, which isn't that great for sports. They can have decent isolation performance with a good fit, and their 8-hour battery life on a single charge is what makes them stand apart.

Pros
  • Great looking charging case.
  • Great single charge battery life for truly wireless headphones.
  • Well-built design.
Cons
  • Sub-par microphone performance.
  • Enters the ear canal deeply; even more than typical in-ears.
  • No customization options.
  • Very high wireless latency.
5.6 Neutral Sound

The Klipsch T5 are sub-par for neutral sound. This score is influenced by the poor results during our testing procedure due to the poor fit. We don't think the Klipsch T5 are that bad-sounding, but they do seem to have a more excited, V-shaped sound that wouldn't be great for neutral listening. Also, if you're prone to getting seal issues with in-ears, these probably won't be any different.

6.9 Commute/Travel

The Klipsch T5 are alright for commuting. If you can get a good seal, you can probably isolate even more noise than what we measured, although they aren't the most comfortable. Their single charge battery life is quite good and will be more than enough for your daily commute, but might be a bit short for long flights. On the upside, they're easily portable and come with a very good case.

7.8 Sports/Fitness

The Klipsch T5 are good for sports. Thanks to their portable and breathable design, these headphones can be used for physical activity, although better options are available. They're only rated IPX4 for water resistance, which isn't that great for sports headphones.

6.1 Office

The Klipsch T5 are acceptable for the office. They aren't the most comfortable to wear for a full workday, but their battery life should last all day, especially if you charge them during your lunchtime.

4.8 Wireless Gaming

The Klipsch T5 are bad for wireless gaming. These Bluetooth headphones have very high latency and won't be a good option for gaming.

4.7 Wired Gaming

You can't use the Klipsch T5 wired.

5.8 Phone Calls

The Klipsch T5 are sub-par for making phone calls. Their microphone's recording quality is pretty disappointing, and recorded speech is muffled and lacking in detail. The mic also struggles to separate ambient noise and your voice.

  • 6.4 Mixed Usage
  • 5.6 Neutral Sound
  • 6.9 Commute/Travel
  • 7.8 Sports/Fitness
  • 6.1 Office
  • 4.8 Wireless Gaming
  • 4.7 Wired Gaming
  • 5.8 Phone Calls
  1. Updated Feb 18, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
  2. Updated Dec 02, 2019: Review published.
  3. Updated Nov 25, 2019: Our testers have started testing this product.
  4. Updated Nov 25, 2019: Early access published.
  5. Updated Nov 18, 2019: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  6. Updated Sep 06, 2019: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Compared To Other Headphones

Comparison picture

The Klipsch T5 are uniquely designed in-ear headphones that enter your ear canal quite deeply, which isn't the most comfortable. On the upside, they have a cool-looking case and offer a lot of battery life, especially on a single charge.

See our recommendations for the best true wireless headphones, the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds, and if you're looking for something cheap, check out our best wireless earbuds under $50.

Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless are better headphones than the Klipsch T5 True Wireless. The Sennheiser are better built and offer a more neutral sound profile than the V-shaped profile of the Klipsch. They also feel more stable in the ear, and their passive noise isolation seems to block more ambient noise. On the other hand, the Klipsch have a great battery life for truly wireless headphones.

Klipsch T5 II True Wireless ANC

The Klipsch T5 II True Wireless ANC are better headphones than the Klipsch T5 True Wireless. While both headphones are fairly comfortable, the II have a more neutral default sound profile, which some users may prefer, a companion app that offers a graphic EQ and presets so that you can adjust their sound to your liking, and ANC, although it offers just an okay overall performance. They also have extra features like built-in Bragi Moves, which allows you to register commands using head movements. However, the T5 have a better battery performance.

Jabra Elite 65t Truly Wireless

The Jabra Elite 65t Truly Wireless are better headphones than the Klipsch T5 True Wireless. They have a more traditional in-ear fit and a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. They can also be connected to two devices simultaneously, which is helpful at the office. The passive noise isolation is also quite impressive. On the other hand, if you want longer battery life on a single charge, then the Klipsch T5 have the upper hand.

Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless

The Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless are better than the Klipsch T5 True Wireless. The Bose have a more neutral-sounding sound profile, while the Klipsch have an excited, V-shaped sound profile. The Bose are also more comfortable thanks to their earbud-like design, while the Klipsch enter your ear canal very deep. However, the Bose are semi-open, which means their noise isolation is practically nonexistent.

Sony WF-1000XM3 Truly Wireless

The Sony WF-1000XM3 Truly Wireless are better truly wireless headphones than the Klipsch T5 True Wireless. Although we had fit issues with both headphones, the Sonys still perform better, with better sound quality and a noticeably better noise isolation performance thanks to their ANC feature. They also have a dedicated app that allows customization options.

Klipsch T5 II True Wireless Sport

The Klipsch T5 II True Wireless Sport are better than the Klipsch T5 True Wireless. The T5 II are more comfortable and more stable in your ear. They also have a more balanced sound profile, and they can passively isolate against more background noises. They have a companion app, too, and it offers a graphic EQ plus presets to help tweak their sound to your liking. However, the T5 are better built.

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Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
Design
Style
Type In-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Truly Wireless
Transducer Dynamic

The Klipsch T5 are decent-looking headphones, but their design makes them protrude quite a bit out of the ears, which some may not like. On the upside, they have a copper accent that gives off a nice high-end feel.

6.5
Design
Comfort
Weight 0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs

The Klipsch T5 are typical in-ears that go very deep inside the ear canal. They come with a few different tips to help you find a more comfortable and stable fit. However, since they have a tactile control scheme, pushing the control buttons pushes the earbuds even further inside your ears, which hurts a bit. If you want a much more comfortable pair of truly wireless in-ears, check out the JBL LIVE 300TWS Truly Wireless or the Google Pixel Buds 2020 Truly Wireless.

7.1
Design
Controls
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use Good
Feedback Good
Call/Music Control Yes
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control Mute/Unmute
Channel Mixing
No
Noise Cancelling Control No
Talk-Through
No
Additional Controls Voice Assistant

The Klipsch T5 True Wireless' control scheme is rather intuitive and easy to use. The right bud is for raising the volume and skipping tracks, while the left one reduces the volume and goes backward. You can obviously play/pause your music with either bud and manage calls as well. You can also mute your microphone when using the headphones for calls, which is nice.

9.2
Design
Breathability
Avg.Temp.Difference 0.8 °C

Like most in-ears, they don't trap heat inside or around the ears. You won't sweat more than usual when using these, and they make a decent option for sports, although they aren't designed for this use.

9.5
Design
Portability
L 1.3"
W 1.1"
H 0.8"
Volume 1.1 in³
Transmitter Required No

Like all truly wireless headphones, the Klipsch T5 don't take a lot of space, and their footprint is very small. You'll easily be able to fit them inside your pants pockets or a bag. You can also put them inside their charging case.

7.5
Design
Case
Type Hard case
L 2"
W 1.3"
H 2"
Volume 5.2 in³

The Klispch T5 True Wireless come with a good metal case that protects the headphones well. It's small enough to fit in most pockets, although some people might think it's a bit too heavy for a truly wireless case. The lid is also a bit loose, but this shouldn't bother most people. Also, when taking the buds out of the case, the tips stay stuck and turn themselves inside out, which gets frustrating since you need to adjust them every time you take the buds out of the case.

7.5
Design
Build Quality

The Klipsch T5 True Wireless' build quality is good. They should survive accidental drops without too much damage, especially if they're protected by the metal-feeling, heavy charging case. The buds feel dense and are rated IPX4 for water resistance. With head movement, you can easily hear the buttons moving around because they're loose.

7.0
Design
Stability

These headphones are decently stable but not the best option for sports. If you don't have a good seal, they fall off with head movement.

Design
Headshots 1
Design
Headshots 2
Design
Top
Design
In The Box

  • Klipsch T5 True Wireless headphones
  • 3x silicone tip sizes
  • Charging case
  • USB-C to USB-C charging cable
  • USB-C to USB adapter
  • Manuals

Sound
Sound
Sound Profile
Bass Amount
-10.65 dB
Treble Amount
-3.17 dB

We had trouble measuring the Klipsch T5 True Wireless with our testing rig due to fit issues, which explains the lack of bass. We couldn't get an airtight seal. However, when listening to them, the ones that get a good fit hear an exciting, V-shaped sound profile, while the one who doesn't get a seal hears something similar to the test results, meaning it can be representative of use for someone that can't get a good seal.

9.8
Sound
Frequency Response Consistency
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.04 dB

The frequency response consistency was amazing on our dummy head, but only because we couldn't get a good fit every time we tried testing them. However, this is different with humans, as we tested with employees. A few people could get a decent seal, while another one could barely fit them inside his ears, even with the smallest tips. Therefore, they perform quite differently depending on the seal you can achieve.

Sound
Raw Frequency Response
1.3
Sound
Bass Accuracy
Std. Err.
11.46 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
179.59 Hz
Low-Bass
-20.2 dB
Mid-Bass
-10.99 dB
High-Bass
-2.52 dB

In our testing procedure, we couldn't get the Klipsch T5 to fit appropriately in our measurement rig, resulting in a drastic loss of bass. These results seem to be accurate for people who can't get a good seal with these, but if you can, we experienced a lot of low-end thump and pretty good bass performance. We don't think the bass is neutral, but it sounds better than what the graph shows.

8.7
Sound
Mid Accuracy
Std. Err.
1.77 dB
Low-Mid
0.14 dB
Mid-Mid
-2.78 dB
High-Mid
-0.01 dB

With the fit issues we had during testing, the Klipsch T5 show overdone mid-range accuracy, which results in forward-sounding vocals and lead instruments. However, when subjectively listening to these headphones, we thought the bass was slightly overpowering the mid-range, although voices were still accurately reproduced and clear enough for most people.

5.7
Sound
Treble Accuracy
Std. Err.
5.69 dB
Low-Treble
-4.93 dB
Mid-Treble
-4.56 dB
High-Treble
-14.05 dB

The treble performance of the Klipsch T5 True Wireless is sub-par. Although we didn't get a good fit, we think these results are pretty close to reality when we gave them a listen. However, they should sound a bit overly sharp and piercing on high frequencies like vocals and cymbals.

6.9
Sound
Peaks/Dips
Peaks
2.23 dB
Dips
1.15 dB

Due to the poor fit, the Klipsch T5's peaks/dips performance is okay. However, we don't think this reflects an accurate user experience. They do sound a bit excited with an overemphasis in bass and treble, but they aren't uncomfortable to listen to.

8.5
Sound
Imaging
Weighted Group Delay
0.14
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.07
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.27
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.36

The Klipsch T5's imaging is excellent. The group delay is under the audibility threshold, which results in a tight bass and transparent treble range. Our unit also has well-matched L/R drivers, which is important for the reproduction of sounds in the stereo image. Note that these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

1.3
Sound
Passive Soundstage
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
Openness
4.4
Acoustic Space Excitation
1.3

Due to the in-ear design, these headphones don't interact with the pinna, which doesn't result in a very wide or natural sounding soundstage.

0
Sound
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
Speaker Modeling
No
Room Ambience
No
Head Tracking
No
Virtual Surround
No App
7.0
Sound
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.554
WHD @ 100
0.253

The Klipsch T5's weighted harmonic distortion performance is decent. The amount in the bass is within good limits, but it's slightly elevated for the treble range, making these frequencies a bit impure and harsh. On the upside, there's no big jump under heavier loads, which is good.

Sound
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Power
On
Connection
Bluetooth 4.2
Codec
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Silicone (small)
Microphone
Integrated
Isolation
5.5
Isolation
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-13.21 dB
Noise Cancelling No
Bass
0 dB
Mid
-13.97 dB
Treble
-27.08 dB

The noise isolation performance is disappointing. However, this was measured with the same fit issue that we were getting with our sound measurements. They aren't the greatest for blocking noise, but we couldn't hear near conversations when using the headphones with some music, meaning they'll be good for the office. However, they don't block much noise in the bass range, so they might not be the ideal option for your daily commute.

8.9
Isolation
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
27.91 dB

These headphones have excellent leakage performance. They practically don't leak unless you crank up the volume to its maximum in a quiet environment. The leakage volume isn't loud, but when audible, it's thin-sounding.

Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
In-Line
No
Boom
No
Detachable Boom
No
Mic Yes
5.8
Microphone
Recording Quality
Recorded Speech
LFE
538.17 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.7 dB
HFE
3,179.16 Hz
Weighted THD
0.912
Gain
1.97 dB

The integrated microphone's recording quality is sub-par. People on the other end of the line will understand you in very quiet environments, but the audio quality won't be the best. Recorded speech sounds muffled and lacks detail and brightness.

6.0
Microphone
Noise Handling
Speech + Pink Noise
Speech + Subway Noise
SpNR
11.85 dB

Like most truly wireless Bluetooth headphones, the noise handling of this microphone is mediocre. It will only be suitable for quiet environments and can't separate ambient noise from your voice in moderately loud situations like a busy street.

Active Features
6.1
Active Features
Battery
Battery Type
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
8 hrs
Additional Charges
3.0
Total Battery Life
32 hrs
Charge Time
1.3 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
No
Audio While Charging
No
Passive Playback
No
Charging Port USB-C

These headphones offer about 8 hours of continuous playback time, which is quite good for truly wireless headphones and can last you for a full day at work. Their case also holds three additional charges for when you're on the move. Unfortunately, you can't use only one bud at a time while the other is charging.

0
Active Features
App Support
App Name No App
iOS No
Android No
macOS No
Windows No
Equalizer
No
ANC Control
No
Mic Control No
Room Effects
No
Playback Control
No
Button Mapping No
Surround Support
No

These headphones don't have a dedicated companion app for customization options. If you're looking for Klipsch headphones with a companion app, try the Klipsch T5 II True Wireless ANC.

Connectivity
6.5
Connectivity
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version
5.0
Multi-Device Pairing
No
NFC Pairing
No
Line Of Sight Range
116 ft
PC Latency (SBC)
408 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
321 ms
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
117 ms
Android Latency
106 ms

The Klipsch T5 are Bluetooth-only truly wireless headphones. They only have a decent line of sight range, but you shouldn't have any issues if you keep your source near you. Unfortunately, their latency is very high, and even with app or device compensation, people should notice a delay when watching video content.

0
Connectivity
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A

These headphones are Bluetooth-only.

0
Connectivity
Wired
Analog Audio
No
USB Audio
No
Detachable No
Length N/A
Connection No Wired Option
Analog/USB Audio Latency
N/A

As expected, you can't use these truly wireless headphones wired. They come with a USB-C to USB-C charging cable, which means you can plug the case into your phone for on-the-go charging. It also comes with a USB adapter.

Connectivity
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC/PS4 Analog
No
PC/PS4 Wired USB
No
PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No

You can only use these headphones via Bluetooth on PCs, and they won't work with the PS4.

Connectivity
Xbox One Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No

These Bluetooth-only headphones aren't compatible with the Xbox One.

2.2
Connectivity
Base/Dock
Type
Charging Case
USB Input
No
Line In
No
Line Out
No
Optical Input
No
RCA Input
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Power Supply
USB-C

Like all truly wireless headphones, their case serves as a charging dock that you can bring around. It supports charging via USB-C and has no other inputs.