There’s no shortage of wireless earphones in the crowd-funding realm. And I’ve bought myself a fair number of them over the years.

Atta Gora‘s version, launched in November 2019, surprised me with two things: One, the fact that it promised a first shipment before Christmas. Secondly, with it’s refreshingly hipster palette and Nordic-inspired design.

It promised the following features: Graphene Drivers, Bluetooth 5.0, IPX5 Waterproofing, Passive Noise Cancellation, and a 20-hour Battery Life.

To be honest, none of these are revolutionary, and my reasons were primarily: One, because of the fast delivery (my old ones are failing me). Two, the nifty design. And lastly, the relatively low price point of USD$65 (approx SGD$90).

My order just arrived in the mail this week (unboxing below) and here’s my basic account of the experience thus far. Disclaimer: I’m not an expert audiophile. Just your casual user. Doing it for the Facebook folks in the Atta Gora group! 🙂

The Liberte TWS earphones come in a hefty box. And you slide the packaging out from its sleeve.

The inside promises you “A Better Way to Listen” and their very chic logo. The website states that it is a Gray Fox and Blackcap Bird, and it also reminds me of mountains – so win!

The is hinged on one side and so you flip open the two halves. The inside thanks you for supporting this first release for the brand. You’re welcome!

After opening the flaps, you finally see the items. It wasn’t immediately apparent to me, but those extras on the left were the small and large rubber tips, and the respective “wings” in the middle. The charging cable is in the box, and has a very nice length of about 1 metre (could be 1.5m). And of course, the earpods were in the case on the right, with the middle-sized tips and wings.

The earphones felt a little less premium than I anticipated, but still was decent and solidly made. For your first time, you’ll need to peel off the stickers from the metallic contacts and then pop them back into the case. It will glow and then you can start pairing when you take them out again.

I initially had problem pairing with the right earphone. Once the Atta Gora Liberte appeared as an option on my iPhone XR, I selected it but only the left was linked. I tried popping the right one in and out of its case to no avail, so eventually I returned both to the case before taking them out again. This time it worked.

I had been following the booklet instructions but it was a little spare on details so couldn’t help me troubleshoot this. But after that, every pairing was successful and quick.
(Update 28 Dec: Sometimes one side will not pair but Atta Gora informed me that it could be because I touched the earphones on the controls. That said – because the controls are incredibly sensitive and cover a wide area on the ear phone, it’s almost impossible not to touch it when putting on.)

The light bands on the earphones will glow on standby, but (thankfully) stay off when you are start playing audio. There is also a line of light at the case opening, to indicate battery charge for the case – always helpful. The charging point was very thoughtful – it was tucked beneath a magnetic portion at the strap’s end.

So far the aesthetics are holding up, and quite a few folks also mentioned the same on my Instagram. Atta Gora’s design sense is clearly it’s strength, and its trendy design is catching eyeballs in a market of gimmicky releases. That said, I would have preferred a non-speckled design.

But of course most importantly – how does it sound?

I’m pleased to report – pretty good!

Atta Gora’s first earphones have a very decent range, producing a warm tone throughout it. Clearly, most of the room was made for the bass spectrum, because that end is generous and rich. The Mids in comparison is average, but then the Highs were in great form, capturing a nice crispy effect without tinniness.

I put it through a few games and played different tunes (such as electronic, Chinese pop and Bjork’s orchestoral Utopia), and each delivered the spectrum with ease. When it came to the game, there was no significant latency as well. My Spotify experience was a little less rich, possibly due to the compression, so do factor that in.

My listening was also helped by a very decent seal from the medium ear tips, and when not playing, allowed about 20% of the outside sounds to come through. The Liberte also nicely held on during use and stayed comfortable through the hours I used it.

A few things that can be improved upon are:

• Certain Mid to Bass play comes across a little stifled and muddy.
• The microphone needs better pick-up. I made a call at a standard outdoor environment scenario and the caller couldn’t hear me until I cupped my mouth to the earpiece.
  Update 28 Dec: This has been reported by quite a few users.
• The touch points cover too much of an area and are incredibly sensitive, which is great during use, but not so much when you put them on or off and it activates.

For the price, Atta Gora’s Liberte is a fine buy, and holds plenty of promise for their future line-up. The biggest strength of the company has to be their savvy in creating a hip and attractive design. This is also supported by a mid-to-high audio experience, which handled various scenarios well.

Atta Gora fulfills the most important promises they gave from the crowd-funding, including a pre-Christmas delivery , so I stay impressed. It’s a clear stand-out if you are looking at TWS earphones in that price range.

To get the Atta Gora Liberte TWS earphone, head over to their official site or through the Indiegogo campaign page.

As a general disclaimer, I’m a paying contributor. I have not been sponsored or paid by Atta Gora in any form. I will also not receive any referral rewards when you click through my links.

For my IGTV review, head over to my Instagram account.