boAt Nirvana Ivy Pro and Zenith Pro review: These Affordable Earbuds Punch Above Their Weight

boAt is a household name in the realm of affordable wireless audio. boAt’s products aren’t the most spec'd out, and neither are they aiming to be. They have a loyal fan base and flashy products that sell due to their highly aggressive pricing. The game absolutely doesn’t change with the Nirvana Ivy Pro and Nirvana Zenith Pro. That’s at least, when you look at it on a surface level.

Unbox these products, and that’s where the magic begins. With features like spatial audio, Dolby Atmos head tracking, and extremely long battery life, you might start to wonder just how affordable these products are. No matter how you look at it, boAt is everywhere (yes, I don’t have market share numbers with me).

I haven’t looked kindly upon boAt in the past, and with the Ivy Pro and Zenith Pro (which I’ll refer to henceforth), I wanted to take my time and truly understand these products before sharing my verdict with all of you.

The Zenith Pro is priced at Rs 2,999, while the Ivy Pro will retail for Rs 4,999. OnePlus and OPPO have the best products in this price range, but it’s high time another company comes along and takes the lead.

Design and comfort

It’s the Zenith Pro that’ll immediately catch your eye. It features a unique and eye-pleasing half-transparent charging case. It may be bulkier than the Ivy Pro, which features a pill-shaped case with a matte finish on the stem; however, it doesn’t feel heavy at all. The Zenith Pro has an IPX4 rating, which is suitable for workouts. Despite being bulkier, they comfortably fit in any pocket, and I never felt the need to remove them from my ear canal during extended listening sessions. The case, though, isn’t the best out there. Yes, taking them out and thereafter putting them back in is a pain in the butt. Oftentimes, they didn’t sit right.

It’s the Ivy Pro, out of the two, which stands out with Mist Blue and Crystal Black colour options. The case size is almost perfect, and the earbuds have a snug fit, leaving you feeling soft like cotton candy. The Ivy Pro has an IPX5 rating, which means it can even be worn during light rainy days outside of the house.

How’s the sound quality?

The earbuds aren’t for nothing if they don’t provide good sound output. With 12mm drivers, it’s the Zenith Pro that surprised me. It sounds much better than its price suggests. The bass is very much noticeable but isn’t overwhelming. It’s punchy, but nothing overdone. Those Punjabi songs from Badshah and AP Dhillon shine bright. Vocals are crystal clear, and these earbuds are perfect for bingeing on podcasts. When it comes to heavy metal or jazz, though, that’s when these earbuds started to lose me. Instrument separation was a problem, and the soundstage just isn’t wide enough. It has Hybrid Adaptive ANC (up to 50db), and this does a decent job of drowning out my neighbours’ (yes, I’m at a cafe typing this up) loud voices. It effectively cancels out traffic noise.

The Ivy Pro is one step higher as it comes with a dual-driver setup (11mm + 6mm), and much better instrument separation. Furthermore, the Ivy Pro features Dolby Head Tracking (though I didn’t really care for this feature). There’s Adaptive EQ by Mimi here as well. One thing I liked is that you can customise the sound based on your hearing profile. Pretty nifty if you ask me, and it worked as advertised. Finally, there is 52db ANC here, so that’s also been given a boost and works much better at cancelling out the sharper noises.

Is there an app?

Yes, there is a boAt Hearables app. Even though it’s barebones, it still seems cluttered. Maybe it’s the constant mention of JioSaavn and Kuku FM integrations, even though that is limited to a very small number of tracks. The app, however, ultimately gets the job done. You can adjust the touch controls, tinker with the EQ, and update the firmware.

How’s the battery life?

The Ivy Pro comes with a 400mAh battery in the charging case and a 43mAh battery in each earbud. The Zenith Pro features a 60mAh battery in each of the buds and a much larger 600mAh battery in the case.

The Ivy Pro is rated for a total of 50 hours, while the Zenith Pro comes with a frankly ridiculous 80 hours of battery life. I wasn’t able to fully test these claims, but I didn’t have to charge them once during my review period.

It’ll take you about 1.5 hours or more to charge each bud once it is empty.

Which one is for you?

None of these earbuds will blow you away. They are affordable earbuds, and for the price, they are very good. But go up the chain a little, and you’ll get something that’s dramatically better. Nonetheless, they are some of the best earbuds boAt has ever released.

If your priority is comfort and battery life, then get the Zenith Pro. It’s very good for the price, and punches above its weight. If you need the bells and whistles, including dual drivers, Dolby Atmos head tracking, and tuning tailored to your hearing profile, then the Ivy Pro is the one for you. It also boasts slightly better ANC and a richer and wider soundstage,

Either way, for the price, you really can’t go wrong with either of these earbuds.