Xiaomi’s USB-C, noise-cancelling earphones are a budget dream
Chinese gadget-makers Xiaomi have dropped some tasty earphones for a price that will keep your wallet smiling through Christmas.
Xiaomi are back with some awesome new earphones that bring quality build to extremely affordable buds, selling for just $45. The Asian company have been making their towards the Western world and with their new noise-cancelling headphones they may make a enough impact to stay.
The new earphones provide a solution to the somehow growing issue of headphone jacks disappearing from smartphones, laptops and other devices. With a USB-C connection no 3.5mm mini-jack is required, and with it’s affordable price these earphones could be the answer to many modern music-lovers on a tight budget.
Beyond being powered by USB-C the earphones offer a pretty standard product. The buds come with regular noise-cancelling shells to stick in your ears. There’s a remote where the earphones split where you can control playback, volume, and even a button to switch noise-cancellation on and off.
The cable from your mobile to the remote is made from Kevlar fibre, creating a solid build that is less easily damaged or tangled. Unfortunately that quality wiring doesn’t extend beyond the remote to the individual ear wires.
The noise-cancelling system on the phones has been designed to eliminate ambient noise between 50 and 2,000 Hz that are over 25dB. They work by picking up the noise through a mic and playing an audio signal with an inverse polarity, essentially cancelling out the noise. Reportedly the feature works great on general ambience however struggles more with higher frequencies.
The sound quality isn’t monumental and, being budget earphones, struggle when it comes to truly doing the low-end justice. However reports note that it’s higher frequencies are crisp and performs brilliantly playing brighter music like R&B and pop. If you’re a total metal-head however you might want to look elsewhere.
They aren’t going to revolutionise the world of audio equipment in anyway, but for a pair of budget earphones Xiaomi have done well. In particular, the USB-C connection should please a lot of listeners with an up-to-date smartphone.