Cleer Audio may be a company you haven’t heard of before but they do offer some pretty premium high-end audio headsets for users. Our site has reviewed them in the past and all have some awesome ratings. The company is in the true wireless market and are now offering the Cleer Ally True Wireless In-Ear Headphones that have great sound quality, a small form factor, easy to use, and at a nice price. Continue below to read our full review.
Specifications
- Bluetooth version: 5.0
- Bluetooth transmission power: <9.5dBm
- Bluetooth transmission frequency: 2.402-2.480GHz
- Bluetooth range: 30ft (10 meters)
- Profile support: A2DP v1.3, AVRCP v1.6, HFP v1.7, HSP v1.2
- Audio CODEC support: SBC, AAC, aptX
- Voice assistant support: Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Siri
- Battery size: Lithium-ion 3.7V, 85mA (per earbud); Lithium-ion polymer 3.7V 545mA (case)
- Battery life: up to 10 hours, up to an additional 20 hours with charging case
- Battery charging: Quick Charge: a 5-minute charge delivers up to 1-hour playback; less than 2 hours for a full charge (when charging the unit via micro-USB cable and charging case)
- Driver unit: 5.8mm, Dynamic Driver
- Frequency response: 20-20,000Hz
- Water resistance rating: IPX5 (for earbuds only)
- Dimensions (case): approximately 72.5×28.7x39mm
- Weight: 6g (per earpiece), 62.5g (both earpieces and case)
What’s in the box
- Cleer Ally True Wireless In-Ear Headphones
- Charging case
- Micro USB cable
- XS, S, M, and L ear-tips
- XS, S, M, and L Wing-tips
- Carrying pouch
- Manual
Design
Cleer has made the design of the Ally pretty unique. The outside of the earpiece has the Cleer logo dead center on what is the touchpad for device operations. Branching out more from the touchpad is the rest of the earpiece leading from the gunmetal colored piece to a silver part that points out from the unit for the microphone. On the inside of earpiece is an “L” or “R” for left and right earpiece. You’ll notice the wing-tip to give you more security while sitting in your ear and you have the option of using the earbuds with or without them. There’s also a gel ear-tip to sit in your ear along with two gold metal pieces for letting the headphones charge in the case. In between those two contact plates is a sensor piece designed to auto pause playback when taking out both earpieces or resume when placed back in ears.
The case may seem too big to some but others may think it’s small enough and it won’t be an issue. It’s definitely bigger than the cradle that comes with the Tribit X1 True Wireless Headphones or the 1More Stylish True Wireless Headphones, but it’s small enough to fit in your backpack or purse or even a small clutch bag if you’re into those. The top of the case has a transparent plastic screen with the Cleer logo in the top left and the name of the units in the top right. The front of the case has a small slit allowing you to lift up the top to gain access to the headphones and a battery indicator LED. Looking at the sides of the case, the right side is blank while the left side has a micro USB charging port. The back is also blank.
Moving on to the inside of the case, it’s shaped to fit the headphone eartips inside it with the wing-tips at the top and the three magnetic pins for charging.
I may be nitpicking here, but the case does close on its own if you angle it down a little bit. An example is you’re trying to take the headphones out of the case, but if you angle the opened case towards you, it’ll close on its own making you reopen the case and taking out the headphones. This may be the case for me, but not for everyone else. It doesn’t take away from how the case looks or affect the headphones.
Ease of Use
Upon opening the Cleer Ally charging cradle, take the in-ear headphones out, place them in your ear, and they’re automatically ready to be paired. Go to your device’s Bluetooth settings and tap on “Cleer Ally” for the two devices to pair. After the device and headphones have been paired, the left unit will “beep” and the right earpiece will say “connected.” From there, you can begin to use the headphones.
Operating the headphones isn’t difficult at all and the sides of the headphones are touch-based. Both earpieces have a touchpad, so you can use either one for each action. To play/pause music or a video, double tap on the touchpad and the playback will pause. However, if you take one (or both) of the earpieces out and accidentally press on the touchpad twice, what you are listening to will resume.
Answering incoming calls will require you to double-tap the touchpad as well as ending the call. If you’re looking to reject an incoming call, tap on the touchpad twice and on the second tap, hold your finger down for two seconds. You can activate the voice assistant on your phone by tapping once and holding down for 2 seconds. Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa are supported on Android devices and Siri will work for iPhones. You are unable to use this feature during a phone call though.
Do keep in mind that there are no controls on the headphones other than the touchpad actions. If you’re looking to control the volume, you will have to do it manually from the device it’s connected to. On the plus side, if you pause your music and take out either the left or right headphone, for a bit and then place it back in your ear, it will playback where you paused.
Sound
Everyone who is looking into getting a new headset always questions how good that specific headset will sound. It’s just how we are as humans. Cleer has made sure that the Ally’s sound their best for every user out there and all audio I listened to came out clear (no pun intended) no matter if music or video was playing on my phone or laptop.
As previously mentioned, the sound was clear with no distortions or form of sounding muffled. There was more than enough bass in the headset to the point where it wasn’t over killing the sound. When it came to lows, mids, and highs, they all sounded balanced too.
If you’re looking for clear sound with good lows, mids, and highs with some bass that isn’t overbearing, then these are going to be a wireless earbuds for you.
Reception/Call Quality
As far as reception goes, the Cleer Ally True Wireless In-Ear Headphones worked perfectly within the standard 30-35 foot Bluetooth range. Even between rooms, I had no issues with reception until I walked past that range from my smartphone.
The Cleer Ally’s come with built-in microphones allowing you to take calls while using the wireless earbuds and the call quality is good. The call volume through the headset is a bit too loud for my taste but turning down the call volume is easy. It’s great having the loud enough for people to hear for anyone who has quiet talking friends.
When on phone calls, I was able to hear people on the other end and others were able to hear me. No one was really able to pick up any background noise unless a train was going past or music playing in the background was a little too loud. Either way, no one complained about being able to hear background noise.
Battery Life
Battery life on the Cleer Ally is up to 10 hours on one charge with the earbuds and offer an additional 20 hours of charge with the case. Out of listening to music and being on phone calls, I was able to get around 8 hours which was expected with how I was using the earbuds. After charging the earbuds with the case, I was able to get a little over two charges with the case being at 100%.
The case is Quick Charge compatible and 5 minutes of charging through the Micro-USB cable will give you one hour of playback. It’s enough of a charge for people to use at the gym if they forgot to charge the headphones back up. To fully charge the case and earbuds, it takes just shy of two hours giving you up to 30 hours altogether of playback.
Price
Cleer Ally has a price tag of US$149.99 and while that may seem on the expensive side for some people out there, the price is pretty competitive compared to other companies who also offer true wireless headphones that offer a long battery life, clear sound, and minimal design.
Wrap Up
Overall, I’m pleased with how well the Cleer Ally True Wireless In-Ear Headphones are. The battery life is better than expected and offer more hours of a charge in a single use with the earbuds and the case than other competitors. I like the small design that doesn’t make it look like the earbuds are huge in my ears. If you can get past the price tag, you’ll be happy with the Cleer Ally true wireless headphones.
We received a sample of the Clear Ally True Wireless In-Ear Headphones for the purposes of this review.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
