The Sens Hendriks 1 is a brand new pair of TWS earbuds from a brand new wearables company. (Image credit: News9/Aditya Madanapalle)

Sens, a brand new wearables company has entered the market with a slew of products, including neckbands, smartwatches and truly wireless (TWS) earbuds. The TWS range is named after musicians, with four devices currently in the lineup. These are the Cnatra 1 and 2, and the Hendriks 1 and 2. The Cnatras have ceramic antennas for better connectivity, while the Hendriks 2 priced at Rs 1,599 boasts active noise cancellation (ANC), but with a lower ingress protection rating than the Hendriks 1. The Hendriks 1 is available at an introductory price of Rs 1,699, which is pretty affordable. This is a brand new device, with no audio heritage behind it, but looks like a solid new entry that checks all the boxes when it comes to the expectations from such a device. The devices are designed in the US, but are manufactured in India.

The case is one of the highlights of the device. It is a small and pocketable zinc alloy metal case, that just feels so solid. It feels heavy even though it weighs 70 grams with the earbuds inserted. The case is square shaped and measures 55 mm on a side, with a thickness of 25 mm. This is one of the sleekest cases for a TWS around, and is comfortably pocketable. The bottom of the case has a USB-C charging port, with an indicator towards the bottom edge. There is nothing else on the case apart from the Sens branding. Inside the lid is a soft foam padding to protect the earbuds, which is another nice touch and prevents the device from looking like an entry level contender, even though that is exactly what it is. The hinge of the case is a solid metal block, which looks like it can take a lot of rough use. The lid closes with a pretty satisfying snap.

The eartips extend slightly into the ear, so this is an in-ear design. There are two sets of soft silicone tips included for a better fit. The earbuds have semicylindrical stems, which might look like a strange design choice, but it has sensible ergonomics and allows for precise controls. There are two charging points at the base of the stems, as well as the microphone. A series of glossy circles of decreasing size run down along either stem. The stems are touch controls.

Each earbud has a charging and pairing indicator, which are nearly invisible when not indicating anything. Under direct light, a faint grey spot is just about discernable. The earbuds are lightweight at 3.5 grams each and fit very comfortably. It is easy to forget that these are in your ears, and they do not fall out easily. They are suitable for listening to four hours at an end. Despite the light weight, they do not feel fragile or cheap. The device does not look or feel like what it is priced at, but the case is something else, it feels particularly solid and heavy.

The device is very sparse in terms of features. There is no app to control the device, as there is nothing much to control. The plus side is that the devices work straight out of the box, the setup process is straightforward and short. A triple tap on either earbud triggers the voice assistant of your smartphone, either Google or Siri. The device does not support multi-device connectivity, which cannot yet be expected from earbuds in this price segment. There is no in-ear detection either. The device has an ingress protection rating of IPX5, which means that it is not rated for dust, but the water protection is really good. The devices can easily withstand even if you get really sweaty and in a light drizzle. For the price point, we would be happy with an IPX4 rating as well, so we would consider the water protection a definite bonus.

The device has 10 mm graphene composite drivers, which is just about the standard size for such devices. Generally, but not always, a larger driver translates better sound quality, and we have seen devices that go to 12 and 13 mm in this range. The sound signature is slightly coloured or a verry shallow U shape, which is a pretty safe bet for most consumers. It is still balanced enough to be comfortable for long listening sessions. The bass is tight and well defined, but not particularly pronounced, which some consumers may prefer, but we actually like the more balanced sound.

Most of the competition in the segment has a more thumpy bass, but we would not consider the lack of beefy bass a negative. The mids are just a bit muted, but the highs are crystal clear, without being too bright. The sound quality as well as the dynamic range are adequate, especially considering the price point. One place where the device really shines is when it comes to listening to binaural beats. The sounds seem to be emerging from beyond the headset itself, with the challenging hisses, crackles and pops surprisingly well represented. The movie watching experience is good too, with the soft, low volume sounds coming through with clarity. The maximum loudness we measured the headphones was at 81 db, which is within the safe limits.

Another aspect in which the device really shines is the connectivity. Pairing with a laptop or smartphone is seamless, and once paired, the earpods seem to want to reconnect aggressively. Typically the connections are established even before you can pop them into your ears. There was not a single connectivity problem over a two week review period. The connectivity works great even when you are using only one of the earpods, and either one at that. The claimed range is 10 metres on the website and 12 metres in the user manual, and the latter is just about the exact distance at which the connectivity is lost.

However, there are some slight connectivity issues that begin at 2 metres itself, with the sound going out of sync in the two earpods. These typically fix themselves within a couple of seconds, and are not a major irritation. Most earpods have this particular problem, with a mismatch in the sound coming through one or both of the channels, or a slight interruption where either earpod goes silent before springing back to life. You can easily keep them connected while going about household tasks, without a problem. There was no rattling or distortion in the lower frequencies, even with challenging test tones.

The voice quality itself is actually pretty great, but the microphones are sensitive enough to pick up a lot of the ambient sound, so these headsets are not ideal for talking while travelling, or in other noisy environments. Despite the circles on the stems looking like directions for swiping, all the controls are through taps and presses, there are no swipes. The controls are different for the left and right earpods. On the right earpod, a single tap increases the volume, and a long touch goes to the next track. The left earpod has the mirrored controls for decreasing the volume and navigating to the previous tracks.

A double tap on either earpod is for pausing and resuming playback. When receiving a call the controls are the same for both the earpods; a single tap for answering, a double tap for ending and a long press for rejecting the call. The semicylindrical design of the stems, and the choice for splitting them up between the two earbuds really helps with the precision of the touch controls. In two weeks of use we never experienced a single mistap, or a wrong interpretation of the controls. The controls are precise, and work as intended every single time.

When it comes to battery life, each earbud has a 30 mAh battery, which Sens claims lasts for six hours, but it came out to about five and a half hours at 50 per cent volume. Even at max volume though, the headphones lasted for an admirable four and a half hours. Recharging using the case allowed us to go all the way to about 32 hours, which is a little beyond the rated time of 30 hours. Charging up the case to full capacity takes about one and a half hours.

Even if you find yourself struggling, charging for about 20 minutes on each earpod when the battery reaches 20 per cent, and then alternating the earpods should get you through those neverending office zoom calls or Dungeons and Dragons sessions. The real question when it comes to the batteries of TWS is how long they will last before deteriorating, and the capacity for holding charge reducing. This is something that can only be found out after long term use.

Now the Hendriks 1 is available at the special launch price of Rs 1,699, which positively makes it a steal. It easily offers value for devices twice the price, so it is an easy recommendation. The price listed on the box is Rs 3,999. At the higher price point though, there are a bunch of alternatives including the Sony WF-C500, and the bass heavy Oppo Enco Air 2.

At this price point it makes sense to push the budget a bit and look for deals, there are more feature rich and capable devices on the market. The devices are typically available for cheaper than the prices on the box though, so that is a value evaluation to be made at the time of purchase. At present though, the headsets are indeed priced at Rs 1,699, which is just incredible value for money. The case, the connectivity and the controls are all rock solid. The Hendriks 1 is reliable and sturdy, does not have any bells and whistles, but works in only the essential ways.

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