QCY true wireless earbuds review: T2, T4, T5, T6, T7, T10
QCY is becoming a bigger name in wireless earbuds. And rightly so: good tws (true wireless stereo) at a competitive price. But not every model delivers. We compare QCY's main true wireless earbuds so you can avoid a bad buy and choose the pair that suits you.
In this article
All QCY wireless earbuds at a glance
Here's an overview of QCY's main wireless earbuds. Some models have 2 different names. That doesn't make things any easier for us wireless audio fans, so we've put together a handy overview for you. And QCY isn't your only option for affordable wireless earbuds. We showed that in this article on the best wireless earbuds under €50.
| Model | Year | Our rating |
| QCY T10 | 2020 | 6 |
| QCY T7 | 2020 | 7 |
| QCY T6 (sport) | 2020 | 7 |
| QCY T5 | 2020 | 7 |
| QCY T4 | 2020 | 8 🏆 |
| QCY T3 | 2020 | 4 |
| QCY T2C (or: QCY qs2) | 2019 | 6 |
| QCY T1C (or: QCY qs1) | 2018 | 4 |
QCY T10 review
QCY released the QCY T10 in late 2020. The brand makes plenty of promises: much longer battery life, even better sound, and some publications even mention ANC. Do those claims hold up? We put the T10 through a full test and review.
You can buy the QCY T10 now. Or:
QCY T7 review
The QCY T7 are semi-in-ear earbuds. QCY usually makes fully in-ear models. The T7 look more like Apple's familiar white earbuds. But do they sound as good? We tested that in an in-depth review. You can also check out the best AirPods alternatives. You'll find the best white earbuds with the same shape as AirPods there.
You can buy the QCY T7 now.
QCY T6 review
The QCY T6 are different from QCY's other T models. These earbuds hook around your outer ear. That makes them, along with a few other earbuds, ideal for running and workouts. Some people simply don't like the look, which may be enough to rule them out. Still, we'd encourage you to keep going. The QCY T6 surprised us in every area. Sound, comfort, microphone, touch controls: it all works well!
T6 sound
The T6 have the largest housing. It's well known that the smaller a device is, the harder it is to reproduce low frequencies. So it's no surprise that the T6 have the best sound of all the QCY earbuds we've tested so far. The mids in particular come through beautifully. We're genuinely impressed by the full sound. Great!
The QCY T6 are comfortable
With many wireless earbuds, the part inside your ear has to support the entire weight. That can become irritating during long listening sessions. With the T6, the attached ear hook supports each earbud on your ear. That makes these earbuds exceptionally comfortable.
Are the QCY T6 good for workouts?
The QCY T6 are great for workouts! Runners will appreciate how securely they hook around the ear. They stay firmly in place, which is exactly what you want when running and moving around. The charging case is too big to tuck into your running pants, though. More on that later. Gym-goers will also appreciate that the earbuds stay put during bench presses. These T6 tws earbuds are a very good fit for them, too.
Size: large
The charging case is more than big: 7 × 7 × 5.5 cm by our measurements. It's a real beast! That makes sense, as the entire ear hook assembly has to fit inside. You could fit 3 QCY T4 cases into the T6 case. But it also has a high battery capacity: 600mAh. That lets you recharge the earbuds more often before the case itself needs charging. A useful trade-off.
A handy T6 feature is voice assistant access through the touch controls. Tap either earbud 3 times to activate your voice assistant, Google Assistant or Siri.
The T6 are currently discounted at Bol.com
For comparison, here's the size difference between the QCY T4 and QCY T6 charging cases:
Size difference between the T4 (left) and T6 (right)
QCY T5 review
This is a short review of the QCY T5. We also wrote an in-depth review.
The QCY T5 cost around €35. They have a fairly long shape. The thin part points down when you wear them, a bit like AirPods. Unlike AirPods, though, these are in-ear earbuds with silicone attachments called ear tips. These transfer sound much more effectively.
The T5 are large, but not awkward
The earbuds look a little large in your hand. But once they're in your ears, you notice how neatly they follow your cheeks. And they don't extend that far below your ears. In short, wearing them changes your view of the design and size: nicely designed!
Sound
The QCY T5 sound good, especially for the price. We do miss some bass. Understandably, some compromises were made to bring earbuds to market at this price. They didn't give us that real wow factor. Compare them with the B6 Plus, for example, and €35 more gets you a huge difference in sound. On the other hand, they sound much better than the QCY T3. More on the T3 later. One nice feature of the QCY T5 is their gaming mode with minimal delay. More on that later, too.
Microphone
People can understand you on calls. That's probably your minimum requirement, and these earbuds meet it. But they can't cope when you're cycling or walking outside in fairly strong wind. The B6 pro mentioned earlier, for example, handle strong wind with ease. On the other hand, compare the QCY T5 with AirPods knockoffs and the QCY earbuds are much better for the same price.
Want to know which earbuds have the best microphone? We put together a comparison with all the audio samples.
Touch controls: yes. Volume control: no
The touch controls work well. One big disappointment is that you can't adjust the volume using the QCY T5's touch controls. The other standard touch functions work as they should.
The T5 have a gaming mode
Smartphone gaming is becoming more popular, and gamers want minimal latency. Bluetooth earbuds normally have a slight delay that you don't notice during everyday use or when watching videos. But gamers benefit from hearing sounds as quickly as possible. A matter of life and death, you might say. That's why the T5's makers added a gaming mode. Press and hold the right earbud to activate it. We played Call of Duty on a phone for half an hour, even though we only meant to test it for 5 minutes. The delay really is minimal.
Or buy them from Bol.com. (The price there has dropped considerably.)
QCY T4 review
Also check out our in-depth QCY T4 review.
The latest QCY earbuds are the QCY T4. The QCY T4 are classic earbuds: small earbuds without a stem at the bottom. They really do have a bud-like shape. They have physical buttons rather than touch controls. The charging case is nicely rounded and compact. For design alone, the T4 are already the clear winner, both the charging case and the earbuds.
Sound
The sound is exceptionally good for earbuds this small and light. There's enough bass, though less than on the Eardopes B6 pro, for example. But that's reflected in the price. These are the first earbuds weighing just 4 grams (!) with this level of sound quality.
Weight: among the lightest at 4 grams
The earbuds are noticeably light: 4 grams each. That makes them comfortable to wear. After all, the heavier the earbud, the more it pulls on your ear. So the weight is a big advantage. It's remarkable that they sound this good. Usually, sound quality drops as weight goes down. QCY seems happy to ignore that law of physics.
Excellent battery life
We're puzzled. The T4 charging case has a battery capacity of 380mAh. That's relatively little. Yet we listened to music for, wait for it, 5 hours with these earbuds. That's 5 hours of music from earbuds at this price. We're genuinely surprised. Nice!
The buttons, as shown on the right earbud, never let you down
Buttons
As mentioned, the T4 have physical buttons rather than touch controls. They work well. On some earbuds, you have to press so hard that you push the earbuds into your ears. That's not comfortable. But on these earbuds, the buttons are a very good solution. You don't need to press hard.
A light press is enough to activate the button. If buttons reduce production costs, we'd recommend that QCY use them on future earbuds and put the savings toward better sound. A little tip from us at Eardopes.
Check out our in-depth QCY T4 review.
QCY T3 review
One thing sets the T3 apart from the other QCY models, so let's start there. These are hard-shell in-ear earbuds. They don't have a silicone ear tip that goes into your ear canal. You can compare them with AirPods (or AirPods knockoffs), which have a hard housing that rests in your ear.
Little bass
As a result, the QCY T3 deliver less low-end sound and bass. That's why we're not really fans of these earbuds. The T5 and T4 fit better and simply sound much better.
Lots of background noise
Of course, these earbuds don't have active noise cancelling. But that's often unnecessary if they offer passive noise isolation. These earbuds don't have that either. The QCY T5 block out much more noise. Do you mainly use your earbuds on the train, on your bike, while walking the dog, vacuuming, or cooking beside a running range hood? Then these earbuds are definitely not for you. Mostly listen to music in peace at home? They might work for you. Even then, we'd recommend the T4 or T5 instead.
Please consider our advice carefully. Don't mind hearing background noise? Do half in-ear earbuds such as AirPods fit your ears well? Then the T3 are a good option. Otherwise, we'd recommend a different model.QCY T2C (or: QCY qs2) review
The QCY qs2, also known as the QCY t2c, replace the QCY qs1, also known as the t1c. The second generation, qs2, is much better than the first. That's why we've left the first generation out of this review.
Lightweight earbuds, heavyweight sound
The first thing you notice is how light the earbuds are: 4 grams each. Before you put them in, they feel so light that you wonder how good they could possibly sound. But the QS2 are lightweights in your hand and heavyweights in your ears. The bass comes through beautifully.
Sound
The sound is much better than on the previous model, the QCY QS1/T1C. The mids in particular are clearer. To be fair, the previous model is a little dated. The sound is actually close to the T5 (reviewed earlier in this article). It's still remarkable to hear this sound quality from earbuds in this price range.
Range: something we noticed
There are slight audio dropouts. It seems our pair of T2C sometimes struggles to receive the signal, causing a brief interruption in the sound. It certainly doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen 1 to 2 times every 15 minutes. That can be quite annoying. We didn't have this problem with the T5.
Microphone
The microphone is also comparable to the T5's. People can understand you well enough, but you wouldn't use it to record a voice-over. So you won't give the people you call the clearest possible sound with these earbuds. The T5's recordings may be slightly better because the microphone sits a little closer to your mouth. But the difference is minimal.
The QCY T2C's price has dropped considerably at Bol.com
Battery and charging
The charging case holds 800 mAh. You read that right: 800 mAh of battery capacity in a case for earbuds that cost less than €30. The larger the case battery, the less often you need to charge the case. That's why we're always fans of large case batteries. At this price, you'd expect 500 mAh at most. QCY has exceeded all our expectations here. Nice!
QCY says you can charge these earbuds from 0% to 100% 8 times with 1 fully charged case. That might suddenly not sound like much, but it is. Think about it: you often use your earbuds for no more than 2 hours at a time. They're still half charged at that point, so the charging case only needs to top up the other half. That means you can listen to music for 2 hours 16 times. That's a lot for this price!
Buttons, not touch controls
We're fans of touch controls on earbuds. Why? With touch controls you only need to tap the earbud sitting in your ear canal. A button requires a little pressure, which you feel right inside your ear canal. That's not pleasant. Perhaps it just takes some practice. In any case, the QCY qs2 (or t2c) have buttons. Update: as is often the case with wireless earbuds, it really does take a little practice. If you press the button with just one finger, you'll feel the pressure described above. If you hold the earbud while pressing it, you counter that pressure. Put your index finger on the side nearest your head and press the button with your thumb. That solves the problem.
QCY earbud comparisons
QCY T4 vs T5
What are the differences between the QCY T4 and T5? The T4 are lighter and have buttons, while the T5 have touch controls. The buttons work better and respond more directly, so the T4 win there. In terms of sound, the 2 models are fairly close. We prefer the T4.
The QCY T4 (left) are slightly newer than the QCY T5 (right)
Sound: T5 slightly better
The T5's sound has slightly more depth. The mids in particular come through a little better. But holding both earbuds in your hand, you'd expect a much bigger difference, especially because the T5 are a little heavier and larger. It's impressive that the 4-gram T4 deliver such full sound.
Weight: T4 win
The T4 are exceptionally light, which makes them comfortable to wear. With earbuds like the T5 and T4, the only point of contact is inside your ear canal. There's no supporting ear hook like on the T6. That's why weight matters. The lower the weight, the more comfortable the fit. The T4 are much better in this respect.
Controls: T4 buttons work beautifully
Part of the T5's price goes toward touch controls. And touch controls are often something people look for. We don't think that's justified here. The T4, on the other hand, have buttons. QCY made a good choice there. The buttons work so much better than the T5's touch controls. Buttons never let you down. And we'd give the finish of these buttons a 10! Because they cover the entire earbud, you hardly notice they're there. They're also easy to press.
Design: T4 look more modern than T5
The T4 definitely win on design. They're much smaller, and the case is nicely rounded with a more modern look.
Verdict: the best QCY earbuds to buy
Want good earbuds without spending much? QCY earbuds are a good choice. We found 2 models particularly good for everyday use:
These two models had the best sound.
We found the QCY T5 (see the review above) and QCY T4 (see the review above) the best wireless earbuds of all these QCY tws models. Good sound and a good microphone. The T5 are a little larger than the T4. The T4 have a compact case and a very sleek design. The T5 have touch controls. The T4 have buttons that work very well.
We don't recommend the QCY T3 because the bass comes through even less clearly. It's almost as if the sound is coming from a soda can. In that respect, you're much better off with the QCY T5.
Workouts
Use your earbuds a lot for workouts? The T6 are an excellent choice. They sound very good and stay firmly in place. Still, we understand if you don't like the look. In that case, the T5 or T4 would be a better choice.
QCY earbuds are also available from Bol.com.
Others also viewed:
- Browse all our wireless earbud blog posts
- Still prefer earbuds that look like AirPods, despite our advice? Check out our buying tips for AirPods alternatives
- Want to know which earbuds have the best microphone? We put together a comparison with all the audio samples.
