Xiaomi remains one of the biggest consumer electronics manufacturer out of the Asian region, no doubts. And with varying products ranging from gadgets (smartphones, tablets, laptops), to household electronics and audio tech, Xiaomi is creating more relevance for itself and rigging its foot deeper in the tech ecosystem.
I have had experiences with a number of products from Xiaomi (the latest being the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 smartband) and recently, I got my hands on another; this time, an audio-focused product —the Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid Dual Drivers Earphones.
Being a lover of music and a not-so-big fan of headsets, I have used up to a thousand (if not more) earpiece and I pretty much can tell the good one from the bad, and if one is worth the price it sells for…or not.
Is the Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid Dual Drivers Earphones worth it? Find out below.
Packaging
The Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid Dual Drivers Earphones comes in a compact all-white rectangular box. The box has a large cut-out on the front covered by a transparent film; exposing parts of the earphone’s buds and control unit. Putting up an image of the accessory on the package is good, but allowing (potential) buyers see what they are actually buying, even before opening the package, is way better.
Details about the Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid Dual Drivers Earphones are on the rear of the package (in Chinese) and on the sides (in English). You would, however, notice the flaw on the product labelling in the product details. The earphone is labelled as “Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro” but identified as the “Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid Dual Drivers Earphones” on many online retail stores.
This fault from the packaging and marketing team of Xiaomi should be corrected in future units as this may confuse potential customers.
Moving on, on the top of the package, Xiaomi has something to brag about. The Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid Dual Drivers Earphones won a certain product design award (I think).
Let’s rip the box apart.
Upon opening the box, Xiaomi immediately gives a heads up that the volume adjustment on the control unit of the Mi IV earphones won’t work with iOS devices: iPhones, iPads, iPods, and the likes.
There you go; another box within the main package. Leaves us with another box to open.
The box contains the dual language (mix of Chinese and English) instruction manual, the Mi IV earphones itself, and additional sets of earbuds in a sealed clear bag.
There are three pairs of extra earbuds sized small, medium and large as a backup for accidental loss of the medium-sized buds that comes default with the earphones. Or perhaps the default buds on the earphones don’t fit tightly in your ears as you’d love it to.
To the real deal? — the Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid Dual Drivers Earphones in itself.
Braided cable that doesn’t rumple
One thing that caught my attention was how moderately lengthy the earphones’ cable was and also, the design. The cable is braided right from the 3.5mm connector, to the point where the cable splits into their individual left (L) and right (R) buds.
The braided design is a good one as it prevents the earpiece from rumpling when you keep it in your pockets.
After the split, the left and right cable connecting to the earbuds aren’t braided.
Gold-plated 3.5mm connector
The Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid Dual Drivers Earphone comes with a gold-coated 3.5mm connector. Nothing is special about the gold plating as it has no effect on sound quality — it’s more of an aesthetic gimmick.
Tight fitting buds
The buds of the earphone are uniquely engineered to fit perfectly into the earlobes. The default medium-sized bud was a perfect fit in my ears and it really did well enough to lock out background noise to a very reasonable extent.
Wiggling my head vigorously didn’t get the earbuds off my ears; they are super tight.
There is an “HD Audio” inscription scribbled neatly on the metal part of the wired earbuds; an indication of what to expect as regards audio and sound quality.
However, I noticed the earbuds fall off when lying on one side.
Control Unit
The control is made of smooth textured metal and is placed on the right bud’s cable. The microphone, as expected, is embedded on the rear of the control and the clarity of voice when during voice and video calls is top-notch. The mic is close to the mouth and picks up voices real good.
The volume adjustment keys and pause/play buttons are on the front, separated by ridges, and unlabeled but you pretty much know the default arrangements on all earphones — volume up at the top, pause/play button in the middle, and volume down at the bottom.
I used the earphones on an Android device (Infinix Note 4) and all buttons worked just as they should. Single click on the volume up or volume down button increases music volume by a level respectively. Clicking the middle button pauses or plays a song, two clicks changes the song to the next one on the playlist.
Audio Quality
Listening to a song for the first time on this earphones made me cringe a little bit (due to the loudness of sounds). The clarity and separation of sounds was so good that I had this facial expression that made my friends ask if I was alright — eyes wide open than usual…and got wider as I increased the volume; I was shocked.
The treble quality is good, same can be said for the bass. However, the bass was not thumping enough when compared to other earphones I’ve used in the past. But overall, it’s a good one.
Verdict
Serious talk — the tech Xiaomi tried on Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid Dual Drivers Earphones is next level. I have used these earphones for more than 5 days and I experienced a completely different listening experience I’ve had only on few earphones before. Sound isolation is good, it doesn’t come with noise cancellation but it shuts out background noise to a level where you may actually think it does. The dual drivers earphones come in a metal-plastic mix and at an affordable price point. For $16.99, I’d say this piece of tech is worth it.
Buy the Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid Dual Drivers Earphones on GearBest
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