Noise Airwave Max 5 review: Solid wireless headphones under ₹5,000, but do they stand out?

Homegrown electronics maker Noise has kicked off the new year with a flurry of launches, rolling out a range of products—from smartwatches to audio equipment. I got my hands on their latest headphones in the Indian market, the Noise Airwave Max 5, which pack a 40mm driver, promise 80 hours of battery life, and offers low-latency gaming support—all for a price tag of ₹5,000. But are they worth your time? I tested them for over three weeks to see how they hold up in real-world use. Here’s what I found.

Design and unboxing:

Kudos to Noise for the quality of its packaging, the black coloured box of the Airwave Max 5 looks premium and offers a minimalist yet premium unboxing experience. Inside the box you get the headphones themselves along with a Type C to Type C cable (for wired listening), a Type A to Type C cable (for charging) and some documentation.

I received the white unit for my review, but these headphones are also available in beige (my personal favourite) and black.

In terms of design, the Airwave Max 5 come with a full plastic construction with an adjustable headband, and metal reinforced hinges for durability. The ear cups come with a soft cushion that sat nicely for the ears and I can confidently say that they are good for listening for at least 2-3 hours.

There is a large 'L' and 'R' on the inside of the earcup to indicate the right ear. There are four buttons on the right side, two for volume control (a long press switches to previous/next track), a power button in the middle (a long press activates Google Assistant/Gemini) and a dedicated button for ANC.

The headphones have an IPX5 rating, which means they can withstand the odd splash of water, say during a gym session, and even light rain. And if you're trying to protect the Airwave Max 5 from heavy showers, the earcups are rotatable, which means they won't take up too much space in your bag.

I did find, however, that the Noise Airwave Max 5 tended to get very sweaty during a workout, which resulted in a less secure fit. It's not a major issue, but I hope Noise will address this in a future iteration of the product.

Sound experience:

For the price, the Noise Airwave Max 5 delivers decent audio quality with excellent highs and decent vocals, the bass is a little lacking but that wasn't a major issue for me. Considering this was my first experience with a Noise audio product, I was actually quite impressed with the audio quality but the loudness could have been a little better.

The headphones come with a dedicated gaming mode that can be activated by pressing and holding the noise cancelling button. Noise promises low-latency gaming of up to 30 ms. I tried playing some popular games such as Call of Duty Mobile and Modern Combat 5 with the headphones on and there was no noticeable lag. However, advanced gamers will know that a wireless headset can never compete with a wired alternative in terms of latency.

There was no leakage as far as I could tell, and the microphone quality was decent for taking phone calls, but don't get your hopes up in this department given the asking price.

Hits and misses:

Believe it or not, audio wasn't the Airwave Max 5's standout feature. Instead, it was the adaptive noise cancellation, which Noise claims can block out up to 50dB of sound. The noise cancellation really helped me concentrate on my work or workout sessions without distractions. Of course, extremely loud noises, such as a DJ playing nearby or the sound of horns on the street, will still find their way through, but overall the noise cancellation was quite effective, especially considering that it didn't cause a noticeable drop in audio quality. Ambient mode, on the other hand, isn't as effective if you prefer to be aware of your surroundings.

Another lifesaving feature of the Noise Airwave Max 5 is its battery life, which, according to the company, lasts around 80 hours on a single charge. Now, I can't actually confirm that the headphones will last 80 hours - they'll probably last a little less - but what I can say is that you won't have to worry about battery life with these headphones, even if you're a power user. In my 20-25 days of on and off use with the Airwave Max 5 (ANC turned on), I only needed to charge them two or three times, which should give you a fair idea of the battery life.

Speaking of omissions, there's no support for Hi-Res codecs such as LHDC and LDAC, which is immediately noticeable when listening to high quality music. Another major drawback of the Noise Airwave Max 5 is the lack of a dedicated app, which means there is no way to customise the sound experience.

Verdict:

If you're looking to spend around ₹5,000, it's hard to ignore the Noise Airwave Max 5 with its long battery life, balanced sound, strong ANC, comfortable fit and low-latency gaming support. Sure, they may not be the right choice for bass heads or audiophiles due to the lack of Hi-Res codec support and a dedicated app. However, for most people looking for reliable headphones for studying, working out or casual music sessions, these could be just the right pick - especially if you can snap them up on sale for around ₹4,000-4,500.