Acefast Crystal (2) T8 review: Flashy and loud wireless earbuds

AppleInsider · March 18, 2023 5:57PM

Standard wireless earbuds can become a mundane piece of tech lacking personality. If you are tired of boring white or black earbuds, check out the flashy Acefast Crystal (2) T8.

Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds with touch controls

When you are one of many who use wireless earbuds daily, the predictable colors owned by the masses can start to look drab and bleak. The Acefast T8 wireless earbuds can add visual interest to match your creative personality. That is if you want to stand out with lighting effects.

Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds - design

The Acefast T8 earbuds have an eye-catching transparent design, and the inside of your earbuds and charging case are visible. You have six luminous colors to choose from, such as lotus pink, ice blue, and mint green.

Acefast Crystal (2) T8 shows the battery percentage on the charging case

The lights on the earbuds blink when activated or paired with a Bluetooth connection. The charging case features a mesmerizing breathing light and shows the battery percentage in twinkling digits from 99% onwards. It lets you know when it is at 100% battery by displaying the word OK.

The earbuds did not have as much of a curved design as more ergonomic earbuds such as the AirPods Pro. However, it was snug enough not to fall out during a strength training workout on Apple Fitness Plus.

For busy users on the go, these earbuds are resistant to sweat and raindrops and come with a lanyard carrying case. These features make it practical for commuting and traveling on rainy days.

Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds - features

When you take the earbuds out of the charging case, they turn on automatically. The earbuds are touch-control sensitive, so you can tap to control volume and playback when listening to music and tap to answer, reject, or end a call.

Acefast Crystal (2) T8: Clear case and earbuds with lighting effects

Acefast Crystal (2) T8 (in White Moon color): Clear case and earbuds with lighting effects

These earbuds were tested during an hour-long phone call, and they performed well, providing clear audio and no connectivity issues. The wireless Bluetooth range is up to 100 feet, and the audio will start to chip out when approaching the distance limit.

The battery life was decent. Acefast claims they will give you up to 7 hours once fully charged and up to 30 hours when used with the charging case.

Although it delivered clear vocals, the instrumental sounds were mediocre when using this to listen to music. It had a decent bass kick, but the mids and highs were flat, and these did not sound as well-rounded and balanced as other budget earbuds, such as the Tozo NC9.

Acefast Crystal (2) T8: What's in the box

Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds come with extra ear tips, a lanyard case, and USB-C charging cable

What affected the audio performance of these earbuds was that they do not come with active noise cancellation (ANC). Due to this, you will not have a truly immersive music-listening experience.

You can still crank the volume way up despite the lack of ANC. The volume can get so loud you can listen to music while munching on potato chips. The key to improving your music listening experience is to have a proper seal to your ear, and these earbuds include varying sizes of ear tips to do just that.

The Acefast Crystal T8 earbuds are not the best for music but provide vocal clarity and stable wireless connectivity. The lighting effects are not for everybody, but these could make a brilliant gift for someone who enjoys lively colors and dazzling lights.

Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds pros

Very loud maximum volume

Microphone delivers clear audio for calls

Decent battery life

Responsive touch controls

Fast and stable Bluetooth connection

Colorful breathing light effects

Comes with lanyard carrying case

Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds cons

Not noise canceling

Mediocre performance when listening to music

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Where to buy

You can get the Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds directly from their website. They retail for $99.99 but are currently on sale for $69.99.

Read on AppleInsider

chutzpah · March 18, 2023 7:50PM

JP234 said:

The only demographic I see here is the pathetic narcissist who wants illuminated earbuds that say, "HEY! Look at ME!"

middle and high school and most college students

And there you are. Or maybe just projecting?

Seems like a decent product at a good price to me. No need to rant about something just because it wasn't designed in Cupertino.

chutzpah · March 18, 2023 8:28PM

JP234 said:

chutzpah said:

JP234 said:

The only demographic I see here is the pathetic narcissist who wants illuminated earbuds that say, "HEY! Look at ME!"

middle and high school and most college students
And there you are. Or maybe just projecting?

Seems like a decent product at a good price to me. No need to rant about something just because it wasn't designed in Cupertino.

I made no claims about the device functionality, only its lame gimmick, and how Apple Insider missed the indisputable fact that AirPods are a status symbol, and these are not. And that the name stinks (c'mon, you know we agree on that!). You must be projecting yourself!

You did make a claim about the device functionality, you knocked it's bluetooth pairing process, which is the same basic stuff as any other generic bluetooth pairing process, and the same as the AirPods when pairing with a non-Apple device. It's fine.

You view the design as a lame gimmick, and the design of AirPods as somehow better, just because Apple. I don't love it, but it's fine. The way they clip into the case is kinda neat. AirPods are hardly a masterclass; pretty uninspiring, just white plastic.

And you pre-empitvely insulted anyone who might be interested in these as pathetic and narcissistic. As the first comment on a thread that likely would have died without any other comments, I can tell from that that you rate your own opinions very highly, while taking a lot of pleasure in judging others indiscriminately for their tastes. Yeah, I think you project something, but nothing good.

Have a nice day.

Japhey · March 19, 2023 12:59AM

chutzpah said:

JP234 said:

chutzpah said:

JP234 said:

The only demographic I see here is the pathetic narcissist who wants illuminated earbuds that say, "HEY! Look at ME!"

middle and high school and most college students
And there you are. Or maybe just projecting?

Seems like a decent product at a good price to me. No need to rant about something just because it wasn't designed in Cupertino.

I made no claims about the device functionality, only its lame gimmick, and how Apple Insider missed the indisputable fact that AirPods are a status symbol, and these are not. And that the name stinks (c'mon, you know we agree on that!). You must be projecting yourself!

And you pre-empitvely insulted anyone who might be interested in these as pathetic and narcissistic. As the first comment on a thread that likely would have died without any other comments, I can tell from that that you rate your own opinions very highly, while taking a lot of pleasure in judging others indiscriminately for their tastes. Yeah, I think you project something, but nothing good.

Have a nice day.

This occurs on a daily basis around here. If JP doesn’t like it, it must automatically be shit. And JP doesn’t like much.

Japhey · March 19, 2023 1:07AM

JP234 said:

Apart from the clumsy and awkward name of the product, there's another consideration Apple Insider ignores. Here's their take:
"If you are tired of boring white or black earbuds, check out the flashy Acefast Crystal (2) T8" (see what I mean about the name?)

Here's my take:
The Apple AirPods are every bit as much a fashion statement as they are a music device. The branding was established with those primary colored commercials they ran in the days of the iPods. That makes these a hard sell to anyone aware of branding and status symbols. That would include all middle and high school and most college students, who dictate the trends the rest of us follow. Add to that the clunky pairing process for third party bluetooth devices, compared to Apple devices, and you've got an even harder sell. The only demographic I see here is the pathetic narcissist who wants illuminated earbuds that say, "HEY! Look at ME!"

Of course that’s the only demographic that you can see here. Or anywhere. Do you ever wonder why?

Contrary to your weird claim, I actually know several children that would love these, and not because they are part of your “pathetic narcissist” demographic. They just simply like things with lights. Not everyone is Apple exclusive. And not everyone is you. Get over yourself.