Roseselsa Ceramics Ultra Review: The Best Sound Under $50

THE SCORECARD

How the Roseselsa Ceramics Ultra scored

• Sound quality

  8/10

  EQ cleans up the mid-bass and forward upper mids while keeping the vocals and instrument separation that make these stand out.

• Comfort

  8/10

  The silicone tips gave me the best combination of comfort and seal, though the moderately deep fit has some suction.

• Security of the fit

  8/10

  They stayed secure for my weight training and running, with very little body-borne noise.

• Case and battery life

  8/10

  I measured 7 hours and 22 minutes with noise canceling on; the case works, but its plastic feels cheap.

• Controls

  7.75/10

  Touch controls are highly customizable, but the long hold takes about 3 seconds and is awkward for volume.

• Connectivity

  8.5/10

  The codec selection, mono single-bud use and multipoint takeover make this a strong category.

• Call quality

  7.5/10

  Calls are usable, but clarity is not the best and the microphones struggle somewhat in my windy city test.

• App customization and extra features

  8/10

  The app includes a useful 10-band EQ, gain adjustment, codec options and a find-my-buds beep.

• Noise canceling

  7.25/10

  It handles low-frequency noise well, but struggles more with higher sounds and picks up too much wind outdoors.

• Transparency mode

  7.5/10

  Voices come through fairly clearly, but occlusion and especially wind pickup limit its usefulness.

The Pros and Cons

How good do the Ceramics Ultra sound?

Sound quality is the standout. The stock tuning is dynamic, clear and full, with strong sub-bass and vocals that cut through it. I find the mid-bass a bit bloated, though, and the forward upper mids can make vocals sound shouty. The treble is crisp, but it’s also a little harsh for my ears.

The 10-band EQ makes a real difference. I dialed down the mid-bass, upper mids and treble while keeping the deep bass, clear vocals and impressive instrument separation. Guitars and drums have the direct presentation I like for rock and metal. The treble may still be too forward if you’re particularly sensitive to it, and fit can affect what you hear.

If you try my Picky EQ preset, remember that a new custom EQ’s flat response is not the same as the stock tuning, which is the Pop preset. Soundstage is nothing special, but it doesn’t sound closed-in. At this price, I think the vocal performance is the best you can get from an earbud.

Are they comfortable and secure?

The Ceramics Ultra have a moderately deep fit. There’s a little suction, but the buds are light and compact, with no strong contact points against my outer ear. I could wear them all day if needed. The included silicone tips worked best for my comfort, sound and noise-canceling seal; I couldn’t get a seal with the included memory-foam tips.

That deeper fit kept them secure for my weight training and running, and I noticed very little impact noise while running. This is my experience, not a guarantee for every ear: if deeper-fitting buds usually give you trouble, these may not work as well for you. They have an IP64 dust- and water-resistance rating.

What are battery life and controls like?

Roseselsa advertises 11 hours from the earbuds and 40 hours with the case, with noise canceling off. I tested them with noise canceling on at around 40% volume and got 7 hours and 22 minutes. There’s no advertised fast charging or wireless charging. The case is a little thick and its plastic feels cheap, though it gets the job done.

You can assign single, double and triple taps or a long hold independently on each bud. That gives you room for track, volume and noise-control commands without always opening the app. The long hold takes about 3 seconds to activate, however, and holding it won’t continuously change the volume. I wouldn’t assign volume to that gesture.

Do connectivity and calls hold up?

Connectivity is a strong point for the price: Bluetooth 6.0, SBC, AAC, LDAC and LHDC 5.0 are listed here. A single bud plays both audio channels in mono, and multipoint takeover let me start playback on a second connected device while the first paused.

Call quality is usable rather than a reason to buy them. The microphones aren’t the clearest, and they struggled somewhat in my simulated windy city test. I found the CMF Buds 2 a better call option at this price.

How well do noise canceling and transparency work?

Noise canceling is decent overall. It nearly blocked out the low frequencies in my plane-noise test, but voices came through more, and higher, inconsistent sounds were harder for it to handle. The regular mode worked best for me. You can adjust its strength, while the extreme option didn’t make a difference I could notice.

Wind is the problem. On even a moderately windy day, the microphones pick it up loudly with noise canceling on. Wind reduction helps with that pickup, but gives you only very light noise canceling. Transparency picks up voices fairly well, yet my own voice sounds somewhat muffled, and outdoor wind pickup is worse still. I wouldn’t count on transparency outdoors when there’s wind.

Questions I keep getting