The Mi-branded power banks may have attracted more attention at the last Redmi 1S sale over at Lazada, but honestly it was the Mi In-Ear Headset that had me interested. Thankfully, it didn’t sell quite as fast as the Redmi 1S or the Mi-branded power banks, so I was able to order one before stocks ran out on me. Here it is, freshly delivered and still covered in bubble wrap!
Get the Mi In-Ear Headset on Lazada! Click Here!
Although I don’t often review a lot of audio gear, I’ve benefited from being able to own or try some really good in-ear headsets. I’ve owned a pair of more expensive Sennheisers and urBeats in the past, as well as a couple of affordable yet great-sounding A4Techs and Soundmagic headsets.
The Packaging
Typically speaking, you get what you pay for. But I wasn’t expecting just how much you get for the Mi In-Ear Headset’s Php695 price tag, plus shipping.
The retail packaging alone is quite creative.
And the case it comes in is understated yet gorgeous!
The cable is kept away from view, yet you have quick access to inspect the connector, remote, and drivers.
Let’s take another look at that nifty cable management system. Pretty neat!
Hidden underneath is a set of replacement buds. But what’s that metal thing propped up in the middle?
Surprise, surprise! It’s actually a clip!
Here’s what it looks like when it’s attached. You might not believe it, but it’s a really tight fit so you’re unlikely to lose it.
Sound Quality
The overall quality of the sound is quite balanced across the high tones and mids. Vocals shine through, even when listening to RnB where vocals tend to be drowned out by the bass.
However, the material of the buds was quite thin, resulting in comparatively weak bass. You can tweak the equalizer a bit to get better bass without any distortion though. A better mod is to replace the buds with something a little thicker. In the picture above and below, that’s actually the buds from my old Sennheisers. The material is thicker, hence it tends to hold the bass better.
The Mi In-Ear Headset is impeccably designed, although I do have one gripe. The indicator for the left and right buds is so small and unreadable that it would be hard to tell in a few seconds which one is which. Thankfully, there’s a small bump as seen in the pic above. This makes it easier to just feel which one is left and right. If a commenter hadn’t pointed it out, I would have missed it. And it’s actually in the instructions printed on the box! It doesn’t matter much if you’re listening to music, but if you’re playing games such as first person shooters, you might get confused when the sound comes from the wrong direction if you’re wearing them wrong..
So Should You Buy the Mi In-Ear Headset?
In my opinion, it should be the Mi In-Ear Headset that sold out quicker instead of the power banks. Sure, the 10,400mAh and 5,200mAh power banks were great values, but good sound is so hard to find at under Php1k. Yet here’s a headset that delivers awesomely clean sound for just Php695!
My only gripes are the thin material of the buds and the near-invisible indicators for the left and right buds. The first is easily remedied, while the second actually has a workaround that works better than a visual indicator.
Get the Mi In-Ear Headset on Lazada! Click Here!
At Php695, I’m floored that these deliver near perfect sound with minimal issues. You get award-winning design and sound quality that you would usually only hear from headsets that cost 3 to 4 times as much as the Mi In-Ear Headset does. You’re definitely going to want to include these babies in your checkout cart on the September 12 Redmi 1s sale!
Note: Thanks to Cyril Garay for pointing out the physical indicator in the comments 🙂
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