Introduction

Lypertek has graced the TechPowerUp audience on a few different occasions now thanks to re-branding in 2021, not only renaming its TWS products but releasing a renewed marketing campaign to go alongside it. We first saw the PurePlay Z3, previously named the TEVI, which was soon replaced by the PurePlay Z3 2.0 and then the even newer PurePlay Z5 that added hybrid ANC support too. One model that somehow got lost in our coverage was the PurePlay Z7 which, per logical naming, would be higher up the product stack than the PurePlay Z5.

As it turns out, the PurePlay Z7 recently got a big price cut to where it’s now costing less than the PurePlay Z5 simply because it is older and missing out on ANC features. Rather, this is arguably the set to go for those who care more about the actual sound experience owing to the use of a hybrid driver configuration—one dynamic driver and two balanced armature drivers—along with all the neat connectivity and charging features we saw on the newer PurePlay Z5 to where it’s a compelling TWS solution today. I opted to do a quick look article mostly because it’s an older product and I have so much here to test, but this is certainly a product that most users will want to know more about. Thanks to Lypertek, via KS Distributions in the UK, for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp!

Packaging and Accessories

As with the PurePlay Z5, Lypertek only seems to offer the PurePlay Z7 in a single black color option and the product box follows that trend. On the front is the Lypertek logo with a render of the TWS earphones below and the product name at the bottom. Salient features are listed, along with a sticker reminding you to use the companion app to make the most of the product. More of this continues on the back and sides with marketing features and technical specifications and we see two magnets hold the box clasped shut to where it opens up sideways revealing the contents. These include a thank-you note for purchasing the PurePlay Z7 while also listing the types of ear tips provided with the PurePlay Z7 and what they are intended for—this will go a long way in identifying them for the average end user. There is also a quick start guide (online copy here) which is worth going over to make the most of the TWS earphones. Lypertek includes the expected short Type-C to Type-C charging cable as well as replacement filters to go on the end of the earphones nozzle in a move I’ve not seen before for TWS sets.

Knowing the TWS earphones come with a set of ear tips pre-installed, I removed them for a group photo of the many ear tips you get with the PurePlay Z7. This collection of three sizes (S/M/L) of thicker silicone « PurePower » tips and five sizes (SS/S/M/L/XL) of thinner silicone « PureSpace » ear tips and two sets (S/M) of high-density foam « PureComfort » tips puts even some more expensive wired IEMs to shame, let alone the average TWS set that is usually very spartan in this regard. Kudos to Lypertek for going beyond expectations here, and the various included options will help achieve that proper seal and fit which is crucial with IEMs.

Closer Look

The case is instrumental to true wireless earphones, providing storage and charging capability, and the Lypertek version is in the familiar shape of a rounded pill that opens in the middle. The case reminds me of what we saw on the PurePlay Z3 2.0, as well as what the likes of Sennheiser use with its Momentum TWS series, in the form of a black + blue color scheme with a fabric lining over the plastic interior making up the case. There is a tiny Lypertek logo on the top and an indicator LED in the middle along the side that goes from red to white to green to show the current case battery level during charging/discharge cycles. The expected Type-C is on the back as part of a flush-mount with a soft cover for added longevity to the hinge. The earbuds fit in nicely with a magnetic connection for charging, and the integrated LED lights up to indicate the charging status of the buds from the case. « Lypertek » is written on the base between the two housings and we see more specifications on the top including the 700 mAh battery inside. The case is rated to provide an additional seven charge cycles to the PurePlay Z7 and it takes ~2 hours to charge the case fully (closer to 3.5 hours with wireless charging).

The Lypertek PurePlay Z7 are in-ear monitors with the bud-shaped section inserted into the ear concha and the ear tips themselves going inside the ear canal. The design itself looks visually quite similar to the vast majority of other TWS products on the market but that’s not a surprise given this is a successful formula that Lypertek itself has also adopted before. The PurePlay Z7 shells gets a mix of satin and matte finish to the black color scheme going on. There is a chrome ring around the tactile button on each bud for accentuation. We see the Lypertek logo and product name as well, and these are small and light enough to where you won’t experience fatigue over even longer listening sessions if they fit well. There are indicator LEDs on the front, and a vent to access the integrated microphone on each bud. L/R markings are seen on the inner side to help indicate the left and right channels, respectively. They come with the medium-sized silicone tips pre-installed—these are a safe default, but I recommend trying the others to be sure. Removing the ear tips reveals a separate steel nozzle that is relatively stubby and has a retaining lip to help secure the ear tips in place. There is a replaceable filter placed at the end to prevent contaminants from entering the acoustic chamber. The shells are also IPX5 rated, so they are fine to use during a workout or while caught in the rain.

Fit, User Experience, and Audio Performance

Seen above is the right side of the Lypertek PurePlay Z7 placed in an anthropomorphic pinna that does well in showing my own experience with these. I have average-sized ears and found the pre-installed size M tips to work best. The relatively small shell size means those with smaller ear conchas will find these to be a good fit. This is why getting the correct tips to seal well is paramount for everyone else. There is enough wiggle room to adjust the buds section of these IEMs to also orient the vent towards your mouth for better voice pickup too. The units weigh ~5 g each making them not physically fatiguing at all, and of course there are no wires to be concerned about, given the TWS concept. Battery life is rated for 10 hours off a single charge which found rather optimistic, given I almost never exceeded eight hours with aptX and ~70% volume on my phone. Indeed, the fine print confirms this number is when using SBC and 50% volume. It’s still on the better side of average for TWS sets today and the additional six to seven charge cycles from the case also helps considerably to where you can easily take a fully charged case/earphones combo on a multi-day trip without worrying about having to charge the case—simply place the IEMs inside at night and have them good to go in the morning. There is no fast charging available for the case but Qi wireless charging helps add to the feature list. The PurePlay Z7 is also one of very, very few TWS earphones on the market to go with a hybrid driver configuration in the form of a 6 mm graphene-coated diaphragm dynamic driver as well as two balanced armature drivers. There isn’t a lot more info on the drivers but it’s promising in terms of providing a more wired IEM-style experience.

We get Bluetooth 5.2 support along with decent codec compatibility in the form of SBC, AAC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive. Given the relatively older nature of the set, I wasn’t expecting to see newer codecs on board and LDAC is a rarity even today on TWS sets. I had no problem getting the PurePlay Z7 to pair with my phone, laptop, and PC alike. There is also a first-party mobile app called Lypertek PureControl, available on both Android and iOS. I’ve covered the app before both here and here, but will call out the LDX mode as well as the 7-band EQ (w/presets) on offer in addition to being able to customize the button controls and the idle time-out to preserve battery life. « Find my earbuds » also works as expected although the app does require access to the phone’s location for it to work. The integrated tactile button on each bud allows for some pre-programmed media playback and volume control based on double and triple clicks as seen above. Single clicks are reserved for play / pause and accepting an incoming call if paired to a phone, in addition to pulling up your device’s smart assistant. The default configuration worked fine for me, although note that it can be a bit jarring initially to find out that you need to press in harder than you think to have the clicks register. Interestingly, Lypertek did add in an ambient sound mode here despite the absence of ANC, and this uses the integrated microphones to effectively pick-up ambient sound and deliver them to your ears so you won’t have to miss out on any important announcements at, say, an airport. The microphones themselves are plenty decent for voice calls too, although I did notice they picked up environmental noise more than I’d have preferred despite the cVc 8.0 support here.

Testing was done similar to all other TWS earphones, such as the Lypertek PurePlay Z5. Seen above is the measured frequency response for both channels of the PurePlay Z7, which can be inspected further here if interested. I’ll first give props to Lypertek for the excellent channel matching achieved here that is already hard to do so with single-driver TWS sets, let alone a hybrid multi-driver configuration such as the one used here! Next, I would classify this sound signature as being mostly V-shaped but executed quite well. Note that you can of course change the tonality with the app-based EQ and I did find decent headroom in the lows and mids especially, to where you could customize the tuning to your desire without getting audible distortion. The treble response is ultimately just too dark to do much with unfortunately, and this is the biggest issue I have whereby the two BA drivers don’t seem to really do much. Indeed, timbre across the board comes off fairly natural-sounding to where I was left wondering where the cross-over point from the DD to the BA drivers even is!

Bass is there is both quantity (~14.5 dB from 500 Hz) and quality here to where I ended up turning things down instead to not drown out the mids much. The default tonality favors a punchy sound although the mid-bass is on the bloated side to affect detail retrieval slightly. Male vocals also come off too thick for me although it’s an easy enough fix with the « Podcast » EQ preset making the PurePlay Z7 a more all-rounder set for general media consumption. It also helps tone down female vocals to an extent but they still can come off shouty and slightly on the nasally-side of things. Note that ambient mode results in a general background hiss so only use it when in need. The upper mids presence combined with the bloated bass/lower-mids affects imaging to an extent and I also found it resulted in some piano keys being weirdly prominent over others. It’s not ideal for most instrumental music if you are a critical listener but then again this is a TWS set at the end of the day!

For context, I have above a few other TWS sets in the price range the Lypertek PurePlay Z7 goes for. This includes Lypertek’s own PurePlay Z5 that sells for $10 more and uses a single DD set with ANC but arguably worse tuning out of the box. The dynamic driver there does seem more technically proficient but still the PurePlay Z7 is the better set for those who simply want a better sound—especially if you are amenable to EQ via the app. The Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ is a bullet-style set of TWS IEMs that goes further down the V-shaped road and has the same weaknesses without the strengths of the PurePlay Z7. There is no day of the week I’d opt for it over the Lypertek offering, and this includes also the technological features that the PurePlay Z7 does better at! Indeed, the only real competition here, except perhaps the 1MORE EVO with newer firmware that is supposed to have updated the stock tuning, would be the MOONDROP Sparks that goes for a more mature tonality and is quite similar in prioritizing sound over features such as ANC. The Lypertek PurePlay Z7 arguably bests it courtesy the app and onboard controls though, and it does look and feel more premium at the same time while also besting the Sparks in battery life. As it stands, the PurePlay Z7 isn’t for everyone but sure is worthy of consideration thanks to its recent price cut to £89/$89/€89 directly from Lypertek as well as from authorized retailers including Amazon in the US as of the date of this article. Indeed, I was just about to complain about the USD to GBP parity here when I realized street pricing in the UK is actually lower at £69 (inc. VAT) from the likes of HiFiHeadphones—not bad at all!