Hello!
I haven't written anything for a long time. There were reasons for that – I allowed myself to relax a little, flew to hot countries for two weeks, but this does not excuse me. We continue to review the sound. Nice and not so expensive and affordable.
Since everything that I review in my articles is bought with my own money, I try to choose devices with the optimal combination of price and sound quality, which is why, often these are relatively inexpensive products that almost any reader can afford.
In this regard, I decided to write all my articles about sound under one general heading: “Sounds from the Moscow Ring Road”.
In the comments I will be glad for feedback from you, do I need such a series of articles, or am I just fooling around and no one needs it? ?
Today we are reviewing an entry-level headset that claims to be laurels of decent sound for almost free.
This is Xiaomi Piston Youth.
The company Xiaomi can be treated as you like. Dislike because of the number of references to this manufacturer on the case and without any news about any product from another manufacturer.
You can idolize them for giving everyone the opportunity to touch the world of high technologies for relatively little money.
You can treat them in different ways, but ignoring them will not work with all your desire.
And if other companies urge you to think differently (Think different), or promise to make dreams come true (make.believe), then the guys from China, from their very appearance, year after year, silently and methodically change the electronics market, and they succeed!
To begin with, so that the rest of the text is perceived correctly, I will voice the cost of the hero of today's review. So, at the moment, on Chinese sites such as Aliexpress, TaoBao, GearBest, etc., you can buy this headset for 350-450 rubles.
Yes, 350-450 rubles.
Go!
Packaging, delivery set
If you're very lucky, you might find this headset in a small, plain cardboard box, divided into two compartments for headphones and for replacement ear pads.
In other cases (as it was in mine), the packaging is a transparent bag. ?
The headset comes with a set of interchangeable ear pads in three sizes. All. That's the whole kit.
Not rich and somehow too Spartan, many will think. In response to this, you can ask a reasonable question from a well-known anecdote – are you checkers or go?
Appearance
The headset is made of black plastic, it looks unassuming and quite simple. It can be seen that the product is inexpensive. At the same time, there are other colors – white, pink, blue, purple. All colors are matte and muted. Apparently the choice of colors of the headset is dictated by the colors of the company's smartphones, they match, which looks logical. 
The less careful, in some places careless processing of the ends and stamping seams also speaks about the cost of the product. And rather cumbersome elements of the case than in more expensive solutions from other manufacturers, and even Xiaomi in other more expensive products, much more attention is paid to details.
However, before we had time to say “phi”, we immediately return to the beginning of the article and look at the price – 350-450 rubles?
The remote is large and angular. On the remote control there is a microphone hole and a single button for receiving / rejecting a call.
Unlike the remote control, the shape of the headphones is not simple. They tried to make the case ergonomic for a more comfortable fit in the ear. The sound guide is located at an angle to the body. The body is rounded, without sharp edges.
Judging by the fact that the headphones were not rubbed or pressed during wearing, the manufacturer did it. However, it is difficult to trust my ears in these matters, since in them almost all headphones get along well and without discomfort. For the purity of the experiment, I let a friend with more capricious ears wear this headset. A friend also had no complaints about convenience. We put a plus for the form.
The manufacturer's logo is embossed on the leg of the case from the outside. On the inside of the case, rather large left / right (L / R) markings are squeezed out, however, due to the fact that the markings are made in a circle and at the same time are not highlighted in color, it is rather problematic to read them in low light.
A metal element in the form of an anodized aluminum washer with a pattern in the form of concentric circles stands out on the case of the headphones themselves. At the beginning it seemed to me that this is just a decorative element, and it does not carry any practical sense, but then after reading the description of the headset on the manufacturer's website, I realized that the washer is the base of the inner capsule containing the main elements of the earphone.
By tradition, the site has written a lot about technology, design solutions and crystal sound. Some of this is true, some is pure marketing, alas.
The sound guide is covered with sulfur filters, which can be replaced if dirty, however, I doubt that someone will bother with this issue and look for replaceable filters – it is easier to replace the headset itself. Although, who knows. Be that as it may, the presence of such a possibility is encouraging.
If we talk about case materials, the plastic is cheap and hard. However sturdy. Small, but still a plus.
The cable is flat. This means that it does not get tangled in your pocket like a regular round one. However, a small fly in the ointment is added by the fact that the material itself is quite cheap, and it feels. I tried to press the cable with my fingernail – there was a dent, which is still there (in the picture below). The cable is quite tough with a memory effect, and therefore, if it has been twisted in one position for a long time, then it is in no hurry to straighten out for some time.
The cable has a microphone effect. He is not voiced, but deaf, which is a weak consolation, but still.
In the cold (thanks to one Korean company for an excellent refrigerator with a quick freeze function), the cable, as expected, dubs and bends poorly. It is inconvenient to use – with amplitude movements of the head, the cable strives to unscrew the headphones from the ears.
However, during wearing (I took it with me on vacation as an inexpensive solution, which is not scary to forget, tear or lose) the headset proved to be excellent. The cable is not stretched, deformed or worn out. Apparently, the lines in the description about the Kevlar fibers in the cable turned out to be true.
The plug is straight, with a small flat grip, which the manufacturer is very proud of, calling it an ergonomic element that gives new sensations of comfort.
Noise isolation
Personally, I do not have enough sound insulation in this model. In a noisy environment, the supplied ear cushions do not effectively cut out extraneous sounds. Not so that the music or speech of the interlocutor was not heard, but I would like a more effective struggle for silence.
But the nozzles themselves are standard and can be replaced with nozzles, for example, from Sony with additional foam at the base.
Remote controller
Again, there is one button on the remote control and a microphone hole on the back. The button is made of glossy plastic, it looks interesting and slightly refreshes the boring appearance. No more design delights.
Answering / ending calls works flawlessly (tested on Nexus 6 and iPhone 6).
In some applications for playing music and video, it can work to change the track forward / backward (double or triple click). Apparently, it depends on the implementation of the function in the application itself that you use to play audio / video and on the specific device.
On the website, the manufacturer honestly warns that the button may work partially or not work at all, depending on where and how the headset will be used. It also says about the piezo microphone used in this headset for speech transmission, which, according to the manufacturer, allows you to achieve crystal-clear speech transmission. And also about the noise reduction system.
I don't understand how one can achieve noise cancellation when using a single microphone solution. Perhaps programmatically, but the headset hardly has its own processor for processing sound. Marketing. ?
The bottom line is that the voice quality is not the best. The interlocutors hear me clearly, but they periodically complained about the humming sound. The microphone lacks transparency, purity. The wind is also perfectly audible and is not filtered in any way. However, it was possible to make out the speech in all cases – in the process of talking on the headset, I was never asked again.
Sound
specifications
- Resistance 16 Ohm
- Frequency response 20 Hz – 20k Hz
- Rated power 5 mW
- Headphone sensitivity 98 dB
- 3.5 mini Jack, nickel
- Headphone type in-ear
- There is a remote control, one-button
- Cable length 1.25 meters
- Weight 15 grams
The sound was tested on Nexus 6, and iPhone 6. I did not consciously use any special devices and expensive players in this case, in order to get an actual picture of the sound, taking into account where and how this headset will most likely be used.
The first thing I would like to say – if you consider yourself an audiophile, rather close the review and do not read further! ?
But the sound surprised me in an amicable way.
For that kind of money, I expected the horror that happens in headphones from a set of cheap dialers. But no, the sound is generally clear, fairly clean for its price, but lacks depth and clarity.
There is a stereo panorama, and that's all that can be said about it.
The main complaint is that the sound has no depth. When listening, it seems that all the instruments are not lined up in front of you at the very edge of the stage, and at the same time some overlap each other. The only thing that stands out from this row is the vocals. The voice is heard separately, slightly behind the instruments. An interesting effect. How it was achieved, I do not understand.
High frequencies
Flat, poorly defined. They appear mainly on bowed instruments, but at the same time, due to the low dynamic range, they do not hurt the ear. If more than one source appears at high frequencies, it becomes problematic to distinguish between them – porridge.
At high volume, sand and a small amount of sibilants appear.
Mid frequencies
As with most inexpensive headsets and headphones, this one focuses on the midrange. Well, as an emphasis, what happened to abut)
Mids are the main way of transmitting sound. They lack clarity, depth, and transparency, but overall pretty good. If, again, to remember the price again, then it’s great!
Low frequencies
They are. And it's all.
The woofers are very flat, lacking depth and volume. Tanke feeling that the engineers Xiaomi decided that the bass should just be there, but it doesn't matter what quality it is.
When listening to bass compositions, you can hear that there is bass here, here it also seems to be bass. At high volume, the bass becomes hum. If you don't turn up the volume to maximum, then you can listen.
IMPORTANT: all sound characteristics are described in terms of “if you find fault and approach the headset by the standards for expensive, famous products”.
If you perceive the sound in the headset in accordance with the cost, then Xiaomi once again surprised. For that kind of money, they sell us a very good quality sound.
For my part, I can say that I do not regret a single ruble spent on this headset (when I bought it, I went to a sale and managed to order for 265 rubles (!))
Comparison
For a long time I could not understand what this headset reminds me of, until it dawned on me – Jays.
I remembered that such headphones had long been lying among other trash in the lower drawer of the table. Came, retrieved, compared. Yes, in terms of cable materials, the cases are very similar. By sound, no. In Jays, the emphasis is on low frequencies, of which there are a lot, but at the same time they are somehow cottony, not elastic, plus Jays sin of dumping the sound into mush at high volume. In Xiaomi, there is still a much more balanced and clear sound, despite the fact that at one time (2.5 years ago) I bought Jays for 1100 rubles, having read reviews and did not listen to them in the store.
From what I've listened to, by the overall sound quality I can compare:
- Sony MDR-EX15AP (Xiaomi liked it better),
- JBL T280A (for my taste the sound is comparable, but the price …)
- Jays A-one (Xiaomi are better balanced and sound cleaner).
Conclusion (aka afterword)
I often witness how people in various electronics stores buy outright slag of nameless Chinese factories with the nameplates of Russian companies pasted on them that once produced phone cases, and now, for some reason, they decided that headphones can. At the same time, the buyer gives much more money than the headset costs from Xiaomi, and gets much worse sound. It is sad.
I don’t presume to compare this headset with expensive products of famous manufacturers, since it’s useless, but in the fight against such spontaneous purchases “on the advice of a consultant who doesn’t care about your ears” Xiaomi is an unconditional leader.
If you need a headset for every day, and you are not an ardent fan of sound, then this is the best choice in terms of price and quality.
In Russian retail, the headset is sold for 990 rubles.
Take your time, order via the Internet, or in extreme cases find, for example, this headset on Avito (let it be a little more expensive – about 500 rubles), and the money will not be thrown away.
Again, if you are good at sound, then this article is not for you and the headset is unlikely to interest you. If you don't know what to choose and super-quality sound you don't need, because you are not ready to spend a lot of money on sound, or, like me in my time, look for an inexpensive temporary solution, be sure to take a closer look at this headset.
The Chinese from Xiaomi managed to accomplish another small miracle – to ask for about 350 rubles for the sound, for which other manufacturers ask from 800 rubles or more.
The choice is yours, but when choosing, choose, and do not grab the first thing that the sales assistant will offer in the nearest electronics store.
Good sound to everyone.
P.s. after writing a review, I went to the Aliexpress website and found this headset on sale for 226 rubles. So that.