Recently, Xiaomi made its official entry into the realm of Open-Back Headphones (OWS) with the release of their first product in this category - the Xiaomi Open-Back Headphones. Priced at 649 CNY, it stands competitively among the array of OWS headphones currently available. Let's delve into the experience to see how it fares.
Currently, headphones on the market are generally divided into two main categories: TWS, bone conduction, and OWS. However, for daily wear, TWS and OWS are the more mainstream options.
TWS (True Wireless Stereo) earphones are very familiar to us. Their advantages include individual separation and good sound isolation. However, they have the disadvantage of being prone to falling off during vigorous exercise and outdoor activities, and they are not very good at perceiving the surrounding environment.
On the other hand, open-ear wireless headphones place the sound-producing units outside the ear canal. They generate sound signals by driving the diaphragm unit to produce sound through air vibration, somewhat similar to the overhead headphones we usually wear. The benefit of this design is that it allows for a full awareness of the external environment while also providing a more comfortable and louder listening experience.
The Xiaomi open-back earphones feature a carrying case designed to fit the shape of the earphones, resembling the popular snowflake biscuits. While slightly larger in size compared to traditional TWS earphones, their flat design makes them easier to store, fitting conveniently even in a pocket during the summer without feeling bulky.
The headphones themselves feature a semi-in-ear design, with Xiaomi integrating the battery into the rear to ensure balanced weight distribution. Weighing just 9.6g per earbud, prolonged wear is comfortable without causing much discomfort.
The inner side of the silicone ear hook is wrapped with flexible nickel-titanium wire, ensuring both the softness of the ear hook's shape and the material strength for long-term bending.
The exterior of the headphones is covered with high-gloss mirror decorations, which exhibit a strong metallic texture under different lighting conditions. Especially when worn, the radiance emitted can definitely make it the most eye-catching accessory.
On the inner side and on the top and bottom, we can see a total of three speaker apertures. Inside the headphones lies a 17x12mm elliptical sound unit, which is designed to better fit the open-back headphone's structural form. Compared to traditional circular designs, this elongated shape effectively radiates larger volumes and delivers a stronger sense of power.
The Xiaomi open-back earphones feature PU polyurethane flexible suspensions with central quasi-diamond carbon ball tops. This configuration aims to reduce distortion while effectively enhancing transient response and sound tolerance, resulting in a clearer, more transparent sound quality.
In addition, Xiaomi's open-back earphones also support bass enhancement algorithms, DRC dynamic sound quality adjustment, LHDC encoding, and QQ Music's 96KHz premium master certification, providing high-fidelity sound quality from both software technology and device connectivity perspectives.
In terms of actual sound experience, Xiaomi's open-back earphones deliver ample volume, allowing clear audio even in complex outdoor environments. As for sound quality, the earphones produce noticeable low-frequency impact without muddiness. The mid-range vocals are clear with high sound separation, distinct from other background instruments. However, the high-frequency range is somewhat limited by the unit, lacking significant extension, but still sufficient for daily listening.
For open-back earphones, besides ensuring the wearer can hear sound clearly, it's also important to prevent others from hearing the sound leaking from the earphones. Therefore, Xiaomi has introduced a new directional sound leakage prevention technology, using a newly added 10mm leakage prevention unit to give the sound emitted by the earphones strong directional characteristics. At the same time, it can counteract the sound emitted by the earphones to the outside world, making the sound seem to surround the wearer's ears, preventing outsiders from hearing it.
When worn, even at 50% volume, the sound feels noticeably loud. However, to nearby colleagues, the sound from my headphones is inaudible, making it worry-free to make phone calls even in extremely quiet environments like elevators.
Additionally, Xiaomi's open-style earphones boast an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance, ensuring performance remains unaffected even during sweaty workouts. Leveraging Xiaomi's robust ecosystem, these earphones seamlessly connect and stream sound with any device. With a single earbud offering 7.5 hours and a total of 38.5 hours of combined battery life, there's no need to fret about running out of power during daily use or even over multiple days.
According to the January 2024 "Monthly Sales Report of the Chinese Bluetooth Earphone Market" released by IDC, the wireless earphone market in China saw a 7.5% year-on-year growth in 2023. However, the growth rate of open-style earphones far exceeded this figure. IDC data reveals that sales of open-style earphones in China reached 6.52 million units in 2023, marking a staggering 130.2% year-on-year increase, a growth rate unseen in the consumer electronics industry for many years.
So this time, Xiaomi is venturing into the open-back headphones field with its exquisite design, pleasing sound performance, and rich ecosystem connectivity. Judging by the actual user experience and the affordable price, Xiaomi's open-back headphones are poised to become a popular choice among countless consumers.
