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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-18 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
• aigo True — biggest strength: a genuinely distinctive design. A transparent back case that shows the internal circuit layout, a waterdrop-shaped charging case, and a neck lanyard included in the box. Bluetooth 5.4, IPX4 water resistance, touch controls, and up to 24 total hours with the case.
• aigo True — biggest trade-off: the ANC claim sits alongside a 20 ms latency figure and a fairly modest single-charge runtime (5 hours music, 4 hours calls). It's an everyday-lifestyle earbud, not a travel audio system.
• Avantree Relay & Clan — biggest strength: it's two products in one box. A Bluetooth 5.3 AUX transmitter that works with planes, TVs and gym equipment plus a set of hybrid-ANC earbuds rated to cut up to 24 dB of environmental noise, with an Ambient Mode for staying aware.
• Avantree Relay & Clan — biggest trade-off: it's a system, not a grab-and-go pair. If you never fly, never use an AUX jack, and don't care about noise cancellation, you're paying for capability you won't use. The spec sheet also doesn't list driver size, IP rating or battery hours, so it's a harder product to judge from numbers alone.
• Get aigo True if you want one lightweight, expressive set of earbuds for commuting, gym sessions and sharing music with a friend via mono mode.
• Get Avantree Relay & Clan if you fly often, watch in-flight entertainment, or want your own earbuds to work with older AUX-only hardware.
The aigo True (model TK03) is built around one idea: make the case part of the product. The charging case is a translucent waterdrop shape with an ABS shell, roughly 1.83 inches long and 2.5 inches tall, weighing about 22.68 grams. You can see the circuit design through the back panel. A long neck lanyard comes in the box, so the case can hang around your neck or off a bag instead of disappearing into a pocket. That's a real design decision, not a spec-sheet footnote, and it's the main reason someone picks this over a plain black case.
Bluetooth 5.4 handles the connection, with a stated range of 15 meters and automatic pairing when you open the case. Battery life is up to 5 hours of music playback, up to 4 hours of talking, and up to 24 total hours with the case. A 10-minute quick charge gets you about an hour of playback, and a full case charge takes roughly 1.49 hours. The spec sheet also lists active noise cancellation and a 20 ms audio latency figure.
Who should buy it: someone who wants an inexpensive-feeling, expressive daily earbud for the gym, the walk to work, and casual listening, and who values the lanyard and translucent case as part of the appeal. Who should skip it: anyone who flies long-haul and wants serious noise blocking, or anyone who needs their earbuds to interface with an airplane's seat-back entertainment system. The aigo True is a phone-and-tablet product. It has no audio jack and no transmitter, so it only talks to Bluetooth sources.
Avantree Relay & Clan: Who It's For
The Avantree Relay & Clan (model N1) is a different category of purchase entirely. It's a bundle: a Bluetooth 5.3 AUX transmitter called the Relay, plus a set of active noise-canceling wireless earbuds. The transmitter is the headline. It plugs into anything that outputs audio through a 3.5 mm AUX jack, and the sheet specifically names planes, TVs and gym equipment. From there it broadcasts to any Bluetooth headphones or earbuds you already own. A dual 3.5 mm adapter is included so the Relay works on any flight regardless of which connector type the seat has.
The codec situation matters here. The Relay supports aptX-Adaptive, which is designed to transmit high-quality audio at low latency when the listening device supports it too. That's the combination you want for watching a movie on a plane, where audio lag is the difference between watchable and unwatchable. Bluetooth 5.3 keeps the link stable.
The color is orange, and the minimum operating system version listed is iOS 13. The data sheet doesn't give driver size, frequency response, IP rating or battery hours, so I'd treat this as a connectivity-and-noise-cancellation product rather than an audiophile pick.
Who should buy it: frequent flyers, train commuters, people with older TVs or gym machines that only have an AUX output, and anyone who already owns a good pair of Bluetooth headphones and wants to use them with wired sources. Who should skip it: casual listeners who mostly stream from a phone and never touch a 3.5 mm jack. For them, the Relay is dead weight in the box.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for airplane travel → Avantree Relay & Clan. The AUX transmitter plus the dual 3.5 mm adapter is the whole point of the product.
• Best for everyday phone listening → aigo True. Bluetooth 5.4, auto-pair on opening the case, touch controls and a lanyard case you can wear.
• Best for active use → aigo True. IPX4 sweat and water resistance is explicitly listed, which matters for gym and outdoor sessions.
• Best for blocking out engine and cabin noise → Avantree Relay & Clan. Hybrid ANC rated up to 24 dB, with an Ambient Mode when you need to hear what's going on around you.
• Best for sharing audio → aigo True. Mono mode lets two people each wear one earbud from the same pair.
• Best for fast top-ups → aigo True. A 10-minute quick charge is stated to give up to an hour of playback.
• Best for using your own existing headphones → Avantree Relay & Clan. The Relay broadcasts to any Bluetooth headphones or earbuds, including ones you already own.
• Best for people who never fly → aigo True. If you don't have an AUX source in your life, you're paying for hardware you won't touch.
If I were buying for myself and I fly more than a couple of times a year, I'd buy the Avantree Relay & Clan. In my opinion the transmitter is the deciding factor: it solves a problem that no ordinary pair of earbuds can solve, and it keeps working with whatever headphones I already own. The aigo True is the better pick if my listening is 95 percent phone-based, because the lanyard case, IPX4 rating and mono mode are genuinely useful day to day. Two different jobs, two different answers. Check the current price on Amazon before you commit — the value math changes depending on what you already own.
No, not directly. It has no audio jack and no transmitter, so it can only connect to Bluetooth sources. If you want to use earbuds with a plane's seat-back screen, you need something like the Avantree Relay to bridge the AUX output.
Yes. The Relay connects to any Bluetooth headphones or earbuds, so you can pair it with a set you already trust rather than relying on the included earbuds. That's the most flexible way to use the bundle.
Hybrid ANC is rated to block up to 24 dB of environmental noise. That's a solid reduction for engine drone and general cabin hum, and Ambient Mode lets you switch to hearing your surroundings when you need to.
By the numbers, the aigo True is easier to judge: up to 5 hours of music, 4 hours of calls, and up to 24 total hours with the case, plus a 10-minute quick charge for about an hour of playback. The Avantree sheet doesn't publish playback hours, but the earbud case has a battery display so you can monitor charge at a glance.
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