Boult Z40 Ultra Review: Budget ANC Earbuds that offer Bang for your Buck!

Boult is set to up its game in India's sub-5K true wireless segment with the recent launch of the Boult Z40 Ultra. While the Boult Z40 Ultra earbuds are considered premium offerings by the brand, they come in at an affordable price tag.

With a price tag of Rs 1,999, the Boult Z40 Ultra aims to lure consumers in with the promise of a premium design and a ton of features, including Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). But can Boult deliver? Let's find out in our full Boult Z40 Ultra review.

Design & Build

The Boult Z40 Ultra earbuds comes in three different shades - Black, Beige, and Metallic. While plastic is the pre-dominant material used in the build of all three options, the Beige variant features a rubber finish. On the other hand, the Black version uses a combination of rubber and glossy plastic, while the Metallic variant features brushed metallic finish with a fully plastic build.

The Z40 Ultra's case features a more traditional design as compared to the Boult Z40 Pro. The case comes with LED indicators on the front and a USB Type-C port on the bottom. The earbuds themselves feature a stem design with a plastic build. They are IPX5 rated for resistance to sweat or light rain/mild splashes of water.

Boult offers different sizes of ear tips to give you a comfortable and secure fit. Despite cycling for an hour on the bumpy Bombay roads, the earbuds sat securely in my ear. I'd say the Boult Z40 Ultra earbuds are well built, although they look a lot better than they feel. The Beige and Black models, in particular, defy the typical appearance expected from sub-2K TWS earbuds.

Features

Boult's latest true wireless earbuds are equipped with 10mm drivers with "Boom X" technology to ramp up the bass. It also supports SBC and AAC codecs. One very useful feature on the Z40 Ultra's is dual device connection, which allows you to pair the earbuds to two devices via Bluetooth 5.3 and seamlessly switch between them.

The earbuds also support Google Assistant and Siri that can be accessed by long pressing the left earbud. The Z40 Ultras also come with a large touch sensitive area that allows you to control playback, adjust volume, respond to calls, switch between modes, and much more.

The Prism Voice PLC feature brings AI-power to calling, while 'Zen Mode' enhances call clarity. Both these features combine to provide a surprisingly good calling experience. However, they don't quite live up to expectations when factoring in wind and traffic noises.

In their defence, I have witnessed this with earbuds over three to five times the Z40 Ultra's price. Lastly, these budget true wireless earbuds also feature an ultra-low latency mode for gaming with a response time of 45ms called 'Combat Mode'.

Performance

The Boult Z40 Ultra's combination of hardware accelerated audio processing with Sonic Core Dynamics and 10mm drivers deliver decent sound quality for the price. The Z40 Ultra packs a lot of bass and when listening to tracks like Another Bites the Dust and Hysteria, these affordable earbuds shine.

The bass-dominating sound signature also does a solid job when watching movies. Moreover, there's a Bass Boosted mode to pump-up the bass and a 'Rock' mode to improve instrument separation. However, the solid bass isn't replicated in the mids and treble as these affordable buds tend to fall short in these areas.

Volume levels are also relatively low, although I preferred listening to music at around 80 percent, which is above my normal 60 percent. This wasn't an issue while listening to music, but it does pose somewhat of an issue when listening to audiobooks or podcasts.

While the bass can be a bit much at times, it wasn't that overwhelming, and you can still hear some detail. The sonic signature on the Boult Z40 Ultra will appeal to those who prefer earbuds with aggressive bass. The soundstage did feel a bit narrow and focused on the lows, while vocals aren't drowned out.

The Boult Z40 Ultra TWS earbuds also support active noise cancellation (ANC) up to 32dB. The earbuds can drown out ambient sound from appliances like a fan or a mixer as well as people talking in the background. However, it is very effective when you are smack-dab in the middle of traffic.

The earbuds also come with a transparency mode and the option to shut down both transparency and ANC. I have been testing the Boult Z40 Ultra for a week now and there's a noticeable difference when switching to the OnePlus Buds 3 and Pixel Buds Pro. However, when you factor in the price, I'd say audio quality exceeded my expectations.

Battery

The Boult Z40 Ultra earbuds are touted to deliver up to 100 hours of playback in total, which is impressive to say the least. Despite its affordable price tag, the Z40 Ultras also support fast charging over a USB Type-C port, capable of delivering 100 minutes of playback with a 10-minute charge. Battery life on the Z40 Ultra earbuds is well above the average.

Conclusion

With a price tag of Rs 1,999, the Boult Z40 Ultra earbuds offer a ton of features, above-average sound quality, excellent battery life, and solid build. The earbuds offer powerful bass, while the mids and treble are just about decent. But the overall sound quality definitely punches above the buds' price.

Moreover, the earbuds also bring a ton of features and come with decent active noise cancellation. The design and build quality also give the earbuds a more premium experience. You also get convenient touch controls, although they aren't customizable.

So should you buy the Boult Z40 Ultra? In my view, Yes! The Z40 Ultra earbuds deliver on their promise of offering a premium experience for the price and if you have a budget of Rs 2,000, then these are worth considering.