Nostalgic design at the cost of quality

Earbuds are a dime a dozen these days, with seemingly endless options spanning from basic budget earbuds to high-end expensive models. Despite all the different versions out there, they don’t vary much in terms of looks. The Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds offer something a bit more unique with a retro design. It harkens back to the days when all the cool kids had see-through tech products, like the iMac G3 and the clear landline phones. I was never one of those cool kids, though, so perhaps I finally have my chance with these earbuds.

The Crystal T8 falls into the budget side of the earbud lineup, coming in right around $50 at most retailers. As you would expect for budget headphones, there are compromises. They lack any noise cancelation, for example. But despite those expected missing features, are they still worth picking up? I’ve been testing them for a few weeks to answer just that.

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Price, availability, and specs

The Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds are available from the Acefast website, Amazon, and Walmart. The full price is $99.99 on the Acefast website, though they are on sale at the time of writing. The price at Amazon is only $49.99, and Walmart is cheaper at $48.90. These earbuds are available in black, white, green, blue, pink, or purple.

What I liked about the Acefast Crystal (2) T8

Instant nostalgia

The first thing that struck me about the Acefast Crystal (2) T8 was the retro design. It immediately made me think of the Tamagotchi I had as a kid (yes, I’m dating myself). Even more so because of the silicone case and lanyard that comes with the earbuds. It brought me back to my childhood and tickled all those good, nostalgic feelings.

The clear case looks great and comes in many different colors to fit your personality and style. But the best part about the case is what Acefast calls the 3D Embossed Power Display. An LED light on the front shows the precise power level of the case along with the individual battery levels of each earbud. Unfortunately, it only lights up when you take the earbuds out of the case, put them back in, or are charging the case. It is handy for quickly checking the battery left before going out for a walk, but a button to check the battery level without fussing with the earbuds would have been nice.

Speaking of battery, Acefast promises seven hours of music playback at 70% volume. Additionally, the case for these earbuds functions as a 480mAh charging case, offering 30 hours of music time. I’ve been able to get right around those exact numbers and have only needed to charge the case once. I tend to listen at much lower volume levels most of the time since these are quite loud earbuds, and 30% volume is more than plenty inside my house.

The Crystal (2) T8 case doesn’t feature any buttons or controls, but the earbuds offer intuitive touch controls. You can change the volume, pause and play your audio, skip to the next track, and answer or reject calls. They use Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity, and pairing is fast and easy right out of the box.

What I didn’t like about the Acefast Crystal (2) T8

Middling features and quality

Buying budget earbuds is always a bit of a risk when it comes to sound quality. Something has to give to keep the price low, and indeed, the sound quality is lacking in the Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds. There’s no bass to speak of, and the sound lacks depth and detail for music. It’s tough to make out individual instruments when listening to highly layered songs. There’s plenty of treble, but that becomes quite harsh when you turn the volume up.

For podcasts, voices come through a bit thin. It’s plenty clear, so you’ll have no trouble hearing the speaker, but it lacks depth and warmth compared to other earbuds. Unfortunately, there’s no noise cancellation in the Crystal (2) T8 earbuds, so you won’t be able to tune out surrounding noise, which can make it difficult to hear when out in the world.

It’s also disappointing to find that there’s no companion app for these earbuds. The stock sound profile is what you’ll be stuck with as a result, with option to adjust levels. While this isn’t overly surprising given the budget price, there are plenty of budget headphones that offer an app with customizable EQ settings.

Finally, everyone’s ears are different, but these earbuds don’t fit mine very well. They come with four different ear tip sizes, but even with the largest ones, the earbuds aren’t overly snug in my ears. As a result, I wouldn’t want to do any sort of vigorous workout with them. They do offer an IPX4 rating, though, so they could handle sweat, in theory.

The poor fit means that I’m frequently fiddling with them to get better sound quality as they slowly work their way out of place. I also tend to activate the touch controls when adjusting them in my ears, meaning I frequently accidentally pause my music or adjust the volume, which is rather annoying.

Should you buy the Acefast Crystal (2) T8?

As with any budget headphones, the question of whether you should buy them isn’t all that straightforward. If you don’t want to spend a lot on headphones and are looking for a pair of earbuds with a unique, retro look, then yes, absolutely pick up the Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds.

However, if you care about anything more than the old-school styling, I’d recommend passing. That’s especially true if you are hoping for good sound quality or a snug fit for workouts. There are plenty of other options right around the same price that offer a lot more features and quality. For example, the CMF Buds by Nothing are even cheaper than these but offer an epic amount of bass in comparison, active noise cancelation, and an app with customizable EQ settings.