AG TWS04K & WHP01K review

TWS04K design + usability

Final’s input feels evident from the get-go when unboxing the TWS04K, which has a quality packaging and accessory fit-out that belies its relatively modest price point. Inside the sturdy magnetised ‘flip’ box, AG has included the TWS04K’s product documentation, a USB-C charging cable, five sets of Final Audio’s excellent ‘Type E’ silicone ear tips, and the two TWS04K IEMs themselves inside their excellent hard storage and charging case. The case, whilst slightly large compared to, say, that of the Apple Airpods, feels very solid and extremely premium.

AG TWS04K

It’s wrapped in a soft-touch plastic that has a leather-like feel, and gives you the impression that something expensive lives inside. The case’s hinged lid is magnetised, and closes shut with a satisfying thud. Charging is performed via a USB-C connection, and a single LED light changes colour to advise you of battery charge (red, orange, green). There’s no wireless charging feature here unfortunately, but the fact that you can charge your phone off the sizable battery is pretty cool.

AG TWS04K

As for the TWS04K shells themselves, they’re remarkably small to behold when first removed from their snugly-seated position inside their case, which holds them firmly in place via magnets. The last TWS IEMs that I reviewed, the Sennheiser TW2, look and feel relatively chunky by comparison. The TWS04K is made from a dark, smooth plastic, with round metallic physical push buttons on their surface, rather than touch controls. They feel light, sturdy, and well made in the hand, and supremely comfortable when worn. Unlike the bulging Sennheiser TW2 which protrudes well beyond the outside of your ears, the TWS04K fitted into my ears nice and neatly, with no sharp edges or discomfort whatsoever.

AG TWS04K

While readers might be dismayed by the lack of noise cancellation in the TWS04K, it’s worth noting here that they have genuinely excellent passive noise attenuation, blocking out much ambient background noise even when no music is playing. I find that Final’s Type-E are among the best quality and most agreeable ear tips to my ears, and the ‘default’ size was a perfect match for me, providing a secure enough fit for some intense running with only the occasional need to resecure them from time to time.

Pairing is a pretty simple process – out of the TWS04K is ‘visible’ to devices, and my S9+ happily paired with them the first time around. Bluetooth pairing distance was pretty reasonable around my place, with understandable dropouts happening with a wall or two placed between the IEMs and a source device. I did experience some occasional glitching when my phone was kept my pocket from time to time, but that could be attributed to my (somewhat aging) Samsung rather than the TWS04K itself. As previously mentioned, the buttons require physical pressure to activate functions like play/pause and volume control, and this can be a little cumbersome at times as feels like you’re ‘squishing’ them into your ears when doing so. Using the TWS04K for phone calls was a pretty unremarkable experience, I had no complaints about call quality, and neither did the people at the other end.

AG TWS04K

All in all, it’s pretty simple to operate and live with the TWS04K – they’re straightforward, no-nonsense true wireless IEMs that are well-made, entirely competent and fit-for-purpose. My only real complaint is that the nice ‘English lady’ that lives inside the TWS04K is VERY LOUD when she says “Power On” when you take them out of the case. Maybe I’m just overly sensitive, but I have to keep them out of my ears until I’m sure she’s stopped talking.

WHP01K design + usability

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the product experience of the WHP01K is much like its smaller sibling. But, despite being a substantially larger product, it’s actually $50 AUD cheaper, and it does feel like a slightly more ‘budget-focused’ product overall. Rather than getting a fancy hard storage case like the TWS04K, the WHP01K is forced to settle for a white fabric carrying bag which I can see lasting white for all of about two days if it were to live in my work bag. Pretty much every wireless/noise-cancelling headphone that I’ve come across features a stock-standard hard or semi-hard storage case, so the absence of one is conspicuous here. As well as its carrying bag, the WHP01K is shipped with a USB-C charging cable, as well as a 3.5mm aux cable, which allows it to be used as a passive headphone when not using the battery.

AG WHP01K

The WHP01K is on the smaller side of as far as full-size, over-ear headphones go, and fitted onto my head snugly without a hint of wobble. There was just enough room for my ears to fit fully inside the earcups, which make a slight ‘whistling’ noise as air is displaced while fitting them. The WHP01K has a nice, secure fit – I daresay that they’d also stand up to the rigours of exercise, but probably best avoided in Sydney’s climate. However, I could say that they’d be perfect for falling asleep with your head tipped back in a seat at the airport lounge – they’ll definitely stay put, alright. Adding to their already compact size, the WHP01K is able to be collapsed thanks to hinges above the earcups that fold inward. The earcups can also be folded flat, but only in one direction. I’m used to earcups folding ‘inward’ so that you can rest the pads on your chest when your headphone is worn around your neck, but it’s the opposite case here. I guess it’s because they’re designed to be taken off your head and placed on the table in front of you in that fashion…maybe?

AG WHP01K

In terms of build, the WHP01K is mainly made from matte-finished plastic which is light, and fairly utilitarian to the touch. I’d say that ‘utilitarian’ also describes the overall aesthetic of the WHP01K, which basically looks like a stock library image of ‘generic headphone’. That’s not a complaint – while it’s fairly sober-looking, it’s certainly not bad-looking, and it’s certainly not ostentatious-looking. This WHP01K review unit is black, but the WHP01K is also available in grey and cream-coloured schemes, which also have similar 1990 Toyota vibes. In a good way.

The WHP01K feels pretty well built, but it’s certainly on the lighter side – it just feels a bit less substantial compared to some of the more expensive options that you’d find at the Duty-free store – but then again, it is much cheaper. Let’s just say that it’s probably worth grabbing a hard case for them if you’re planning on doing some serious travelling with them. On the subject of travelling, how do they stack up in terms of their noise-cancellation? Let’s just say it’s ok. The WHP01K feels a good generation or two behind the industry leaders, Sony and Bose, when it comes to blocking out the outside world, but they do a decent job of attenuating the drone of steady, low-frequency background noises like air-conditioning and engine noises. Don’t expect to magically block-out the conversations of nearby people. One handy feature of the WHP01K is that you can switch on active noise-cancellation via the switch on the left earcup rather than turning on the headphone itself via the power button on the right earcup – this might be of use to you if you need a nap somewhere noisy. I wouldn’t recommend buying the WHP01K solely for its ability to block out the outside world, but rather it’s more of a ‘nice to have’ feature in an otherwise extremely competent Bluetooth headphone.

AG WHP01K

Using the WHP01K is pretty simple, and doesn’t have any real learning curve – it’s a simple push-button affair, with buttons for power (which also does play/pause + call management); volume up/down; and the ANC on/off button. Google Assistant or Siri can be summoned with a double-press of the power button. Unlike the ‘posh’ accent of the TWS04K, the friendly female voice in the WHP01K has a nice Japanese accent, which is fun (she’s also far less shouty). Bluetooth pairing and connectivity are a breeze with the WHP01K, and I didn’t experience a single drop-out under normal around-the-house circumstances during my review time with it. The battery life is astonishingly long, as promised – I think I’ve charged it only once in the month or so that I’ve been spending time with the WHP01K. We’ll get onto how it performs with music in a moment, but I did find that I reached for the WHP01K all the time to watch videos around the house while cooking in the kitchen with a laptop, or with my TV late at night. With its long battery life, stable connection, all-day comfort and coherent, balanced tuning it’s great-value multimedia ‘all-rounder’, and can make for quite the productivity workhorse as well – I had no problems with the built-in mics when using the WHP01K for phone calls or Zoom for work.

Click over to page 3 to continue the review.