Audio Brand Cleer has released the update to the Ally Plus that we reviewed back in November 2020. The Cleer Ally Plus II are still a pair of true wireless earbuds that now offer wireless charging and also offer a hybrid noise cancellation feature. It also comes with the Clear+ app used to adjust the EQ and change other settings that I will go into later in this review.
The Cleer Ally Plus II has made small changes to offer premium buds with an affordable price tag. They currently cost £129 from Amazon which is surprisingly cheaper than the original pair.
The Cleer Ally Plus II comes in two colours Midnight Blue or Stone and this review have the Midnight Blue option.
Who is Cleer?
American brand Cleer originated in San Diego back in 2012 and have years in the audio industry creating products that offer a passion for the ultimate listening experience. They design products that deliver uncompromising performance and exceed expectations. Over the last few months, we have reviewed the Cleer Flow II, Cleer Goal, Cleer Enduro ANC and of course the Ally Plus.
Design
Design-wise the Ally Plus II look identical to that of the original pair the only real changes are in the colours available in this review we had the midnight blue version you can see cleer have now coloured the aluminium around the bud to the same blue as the rest of the bud.
The surroundings change to the design comes with the case of the Ally Plus II this case is smaller and also allows you to charge them wirelessly something the original offering did not have. The Ally Plus II case still have the glass front on the case but now the case is made of plastic instead of aluminium previously.
You can see apart from a few small changes the design is very similar. The Ally Plus II are on the right.
In terms of the buds, the Cleer Ally Plus II come with 10mm graphene drivers that offer up to 34db of noise cancellation ideal when your on the train and want to cancel out some of that outside noise. You also get an ambient function for you to want to listen to your music but at the same time be aware of your surroundings.
Cleer has also considered the comfort and the fit and they do this by the inclusion of multiple ear tips and Cleer offer both round and angled tips. You get 8 pairs of tips allowing you to get a good fit and perfect seal.
The Buds also have touch controls that can be customized via the Cleer+ app. The controls are via making a series of taps on the buds. For example, tap once for play/pause, two taps to skip a track or 3 taps to move back a track. You can also customise how to turn on the ANC/Ambient mode. Setting the controls like this was convenient and once you learn what each tap does it’s very simple to use.
The Buds also come IPX4 rated meaning they offer a good level of water, sweat and dust resistance. Meaning these are ideal for the gym as well as everyday use.
Battery wise the new Ally Plus II offers a slight increase now with 11 hours compared to 10 hours on the original pair. You also get an additional 2 hours battery life from the charging case. I found the battery life within both the case and the buds lasted me a good few days on my commute to the office.
As in total, you’re getting 33 hours of battery life. The improvement Cleer has done here is they have given you the chance to use your wireless charging pad as the case is Qi Compatible.
Audio Quality
The sound quality of the Ally Plus II is still excellent you get a warm sound that is not muddy and offers a moderate sound profile that gives a good level of bass.
The vocals remain nice and crisp and clear regardless of the type of music you listen to. The Mids and highs work well and did not offer any issues with distortion even when the volume near max. The Ally Plus II also allow for making calls as you would expect and the sound was really clear and the built-in microphone quality was very good.
Active Noise Cancelling
The Cleer Ally Plus II have the upgraded feature in the shape of ANC something that was not available in the original offering. When using the ANC you will be impressed they are not the best I have ever tried but still reduce the majority of unwanted noise.
You will notice a difference of about 50% when ANC is on compared to off the main difference means when ANC is on you will not notice much background noise it creates what you could call a bubble of silence
Cleer+ App
The Ally Plus II also offer the chance to use the Cleer+ app which allows you to adjust the EQ so you can personalise the sound. The negative with this app is the lack of preset options instead it just allows you to adjust the bass, mids and highs and if you do not know what you’re doing you could affect the overall sound quality. This is not an issue you have with the Jabra or Sennheiser apps so it might be something Cleer can look at and offer a software update.
The Cleer+ app not only offers control over the EQ, the level of ambient sound and even customising the controls such as:
- Playback
- Track control
- ANC/Ambient modes
- Call controls
- Volume controls
- Smart Assistant
Verdict
The Cleer Ally Plus II offers everything you expect in terms of design they have made small changes to the size of the buds and the charging case. The main change is the fact you can now charge the buds wirelessly. The buds just like the original model are reliable and offer a good fit meaning very little to no dropouts.
The Sound profile was pleasing and can be adjusted if you want a little more bass than the cleer+ app allows you to adjust the EQ to give you the taste of audio you require.
Other improvements are slightly longer battery life, a wireless charging case and now noise cancellation. These buds are lovely to use and sound great my only negative lies with the Cleer+ app. It’s just a little basic and lacks presets and some other features you get from the likes of the Jabra Sound+ app.
Apart from that, they are for sure an improvement on the original offering and when you consider the budget price mark the ANC inclusion and that wireless charging adds to a very good pair of buds and well worth the money.
Product Rating:
- Design: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
- Features: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
- Battery Life: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
- Value for Money : 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars 4.5 Stars
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