“The Rock Jaw T5 Ultra Connect comes with support for Bluetooth v5.0 and interchangeable tuning filters”
The number of audio manufacturers you’ll find online is staggering, to say the least. Amidst the crowd is a small outfit dubbed Rock Jaw which, to my knowledge, makes finely-tuned IEMs for the discerning listener. Unfortunately, the headphone jack is becoming as rare as hen’s teeth and correspondingly, the brand had to rethink its strategy going forward. After what I can only imagine being countless boardroom meetings, the company came up with the T5 Ultra Connect, its first pair of Bluetooth earphones.
Interestingly, the T5 Ultra ship with interchangeable tuning drivers, allowing you to flip the headset’s sound signature on a whim. Clearly, the T5 Ultra Connects cut an interesting figure, which is why, I got my hands on the pair and here’s what I make of it after a week of testing.
Design and Comfort
The RockJaw T5 Ultra Connect are quite affordable and in order to offer the best possible sound for the price, the company has kept the design of the unit fairly utilitarian. Correspondingly, the earphones ship with a rubberised cable that connects the two earpieces together. The cable features two housings on either end, one of which comes with three rubberised buttons to control the music playback.
The earpieces, which have been constructed using metal, look nice and the pair’s silver finish complements the black cable quite nicely. It’s also noteworthy that the earpieces latch to each other magnetically, ensuring the T5 Ultra Connect doesn’t dangle around your neck.
What’s more, the pair is supremely comfortable to wear over extended durations too. Now, I do wish the cable conjoining the earpieces was a tad longer, but other than that, I didn’t have any issues with the fit of the T5 Ultra Connect. The company even bundles several eartips of different sizes, along with a set of comply foam covers which in my opinion, offer the best in-ear grip. Lest I forget, the T5 is IPX5 rated and therefore, will be able to outlast your sweatiest gym sessions comfortably.
The design of the T5 Ultra Connect has been a pretty standard affair so far but, the earphones have an ace up their sleeves. With the silicone/comply ear tips removed, you can unscrew the filter on the earbud, slap in a different pair from one of the two different sets available in the retail box and voila – the earphone’s sound signature changes drastically. The entire process takes under a minute and you don’t need any specialised tools either, which is fantastic. So, the question remains – how good do the T5 Ultra Connect sound?
Sound and Battery life
The Rock Jaw T5 Ultra Connect are backed by Titanium-coated drivers which work in tandem with CCAW coils. As I mentioned previously, the earphones ship with three sets of tuning drivers which allow users to change the headset’s sound signature drastically. One last spec you should know about is that the pair connects to compatible devices over Bluetooth v5.0, and comes with support for Qualcomm’s aptX and Apple’s AAC codecs.
Now, I mostly used the headset with silver tuning filters, which enhance the bass output of the pair. To that extent, songs from the EDM/Hip-hop genre sounded fantastic through the T5 Ultra Connect, with every beat offering a concise yet impactful and satisfying slam. A fine example of the same is Memba’s ‘For Aisha’ wherein, the beats at the beginning of the chorus (right after the singer mouths oye hoye!) sent goosebumps down my spine every single time.
In a similar fashion, switching over to the balanced filters (the gold-coloured ones), brings about a surreal change in the mid-range and I’d recommend this configuration for listening to acoustic blues. You’ll also get a set to boost the high-end of the T5 Ultra Connect but quite frankly, those weren’t my cup of tea as the audio output felt shriller and quite fatiguing. In all fairness, I seldom listen to rock ballads so your mileage could vary.
Now, I know it’s extremely time-consuming to constantly sift through the different filters and therefore, I stuck with the bass tuners as my playlist comprises songs which benefit with a bit more oomph in the low-end. However, I would routinely unscrew the earpieces at work and put on a different filter to get the most out of my tracks. Honestly, once you get into the habit of listening to a song the ‘right’ way, you’ll get hooked to the T5 Ultra Connect too.
As for the battery life, the T5 Ultra Connect lasted me close to 10 hours off a single charge. What’s more, the earphones ship with a USB Type-C port and therefore, I didn’t have to carry a separate cable in my EDC should the pair run out of charge.
Verdict
The Rock Jaw T5 Ultra Connect retail for £74.95, which roughly translates into Rs 6,995. For the price, the pair offers a comfortable design, long-lasting battery life, an enjoyable sound signature and most importantly, interchangeable tuning filters, the likes of which you’ll find on RHA’s T20i (which costs thrice as much). Correspondingly, the earphones are a no-brainer and should definitely be on top of your wish list. That being said, the pair is currently not being sold in India and therefore, you’ll have to order the unit from the company’s website.
I did inquire upon whether the company plans to sell earphones directly on Indian shores to which, a spokesperson responded that they have ‘big plans’ for India. Regardless, the brand doesn’t take any shipping fees so if you’re in a rush to buy a pair, you might as well add the Rock Jaw T5 Ultra Connect to your cart.
Editor’s rating: 4 / 5
Pros:
- Comfortable, rugged design
- Bluetooth v5.0 paves way for rock-solid connection
- Interchangeable tuning filters
- Long-lasting battery life
Cons:
- Utilitarian design
- Rubberised buttons a tad bit stiff to the touch
