It would seem that when it comes to headphones and earphones, there is a ton of selection on offer. For the average consumer, maybe too much selection to be honest. That said, the market does seem to fall into three distinct categories these days. The first category is the audiophile category and is reserved for those who want the best quality barring no exception. The other way to typically look at this, is the expensive category. Then there is the second distinct category, are those who are more focused on price and to where the quality becomes less of a deciding factor. Then last up, there is the middle ground in-between the two where the offerings slide up one scale and down the other. Finding the right balance between those two is the trick and most likely where the average consumer is looking for their next pair of headphones. Well, if you are the sporty type and looking for a new pair of earphones to match your lifestyle, then here we are taking a quick look at the Mixcder Basso Bluetooth Sport Earbuds.
In the Box
In terms of what you get when you pick up the Mixcder Basso Earbuds, in addition to the main earbuds, the Mixcder Basso Earbuds also comes equipped with a nice and neat travel case. This consists of a textured zip up case which feels rather lightweight and in keeping with the Mixcder Basso Earbuds more portable and lightweight design. Inside, the case comprises of a small netted area which can be used to keep additional tips and so on. Speaking of which, the unit also comes equipped with two sets of additional ear tips in case you lose the original ones. Last, but not least, the Mixcder Basso Earbuds also comes with its own microUSB to USB lead so that you can charge the earbuds when needed.
Design & Comfort
Depending on your stance on audio equipment and what you are looking for will decide what you think of the Mixcder Basso Earbuds. These ones do not come with the expected metal accents or aluminium build and instead on the superficial level, these offer a much more plastic and rubber design. However, the benefit and logic behind the design is that they are extremely lightweight making them ideal for a gym environment. Due to the nature of their design, these are also sweat proof, which again, adds to their more outdoor and active purpose. The earbud tips are rubber and come with rotatable hooks. As such, when being worn and tested, not only are the earbuds extremely light but they are very comfortable too. The ear hooks adds to the use of the earbuds and further lightens the feel of them when being worn. Not to mention, the ear hooks essentially guarantee that they will not fall out when being worn.
As to be expected with this sort of earphones, the Mixcder Basso Earbuds do come with on-board controls. These are your typical play/pause, skip track and volume controls. In all honesty, this is where they highlight their price point the most. The buttons are rubber and do feel a little on the big side. As does the whole junction box. However, the are not too big.
Interestingly, in spite of their lightweight nature, the actual cable is quite thick which seems to offer a more durable protection for the cable. Although thick, these are Bluetooth headphones and this means the cable is not too long. As a result, the thickness of the cable has little-to-no bearing on how intrusive they are when being used. Once on, the cable fits snugly around the front or the back and provides a decent and stable level of usage. These also come with a small clip on attachment so that you can clip them to your clothing for extra stability.
Sound Quality
In terms of the sound quality, there are no major issues with the Mixcder Basso Earbuds. They do provide a nice clean and balanced audio experience. However, if you are an audiophile, then the quality is a little lacking at both the high and low spectrum ends. Most notable, the bass quality is where the Mixcder Basso Earbuds struggle the most. At the more pop and rock side of things, the bass is handled well, but it does start to suffer when plating more deeper bass oriented tracks. Not to any majorly disastrous way, but you won’t be getting the popping with the bass that you might expect or want.
In terms of the mids and highs, thankfully, these are a lot more well balanced and using the Mixcder Basso Earbuds, they do not feel too mid or too heavy. Vocals were clear and the top end was effectively able to be deal with the notes without sounding too tinny.
It is worth remembering that these are Bluetooth earbuds and when combined with the very small drivers, this is partly the reason as to why the bass reproduction is not as good as you may expect. These make use of Bluetooth 4.1 which does mean that the quality is a lot clearer than earphones which make use of earlier Bluetooth tech, but the sound is a rounder side than one which is accentuated at each frequency individually. The other benefit of them being Bluetooth earphones is that they do offer the ability to take hands-free calls too. In this respect, the Mixcder Basso Earbuds had no issues at all. These were very clear hands-free call earbuds and all calls encoded came through clear and most important, without any drop in quality during conversations.
Battery Life & Pairing
As these are Bluetooth earbuds, what is likely to make or break them is battery life. You could have the best sounding earphones in the world, but if battery life is either inconsistent or minimal then there is little point in using them. As these are designed to be solely in a connected state, this is one of the most important aspects to take note of.
In terms of the Mixcder Basso Earbuds, setting up and making use of them via Bluetooth is extremely simple. The earbuds come charged out of the box and as such are good to go straight away. Holding down the play button turns them on, while holding the play button longer activates the pairing function. At which point you are audibly warned that Bluetooth mode is activated. Once paired, the earphones will again prompt you that the connection had been made. During testing, there were no issues noted in maintaining a connection over Bluetooth and while some units can drop on and off, the Mixcder Basso Earbuds were reasonably reliable in this respect.
Moving on to battery life, again, there were no immediate issues noted. The manufacturer claims about 5 hours of usage are offered per charge and this was generally encountered. Although, they were ever used for five straight hours at a time, on a normal daily basis, however long they were used, they remained on without needing to be charged until the evening. In fact, in standby, these offered easily three days worth of battery so deepening on how often you used the earphones will determine how often you need to charge them. For a daily workout, you will certainly be good for a few days at a time.
Wrap Up
These earbuds are not going to be for everyone and if your emphasis is on audiophile qualities then these are probably not for you. However, where these do excel is is the balance they offer between quality, comfort and affordability. The very nature of these earbuds is that they are designed for the more active and sport oriented consumer and for those, and when taking into consideration their price, these are a good quality earphones. Their comfort is excellent, their extremely lightweight and they offer very good hands-free call quality. In term of quality, they are good, not excellent, but good and will certainly keep you motivated when working out. In fact, if you are more into dance or a more upbeat and high tempo music then these would be ideal solution as their frequency make-up is perfect for this style and genre. For those interested, the Mixcder Basso Earbuds are currently available for $25.99 and are available in a jazzy black and green color.