Bluetooth earbuds used to be a luxury item, one for which you would pay a considerable sum. Quality could be hit and miss too, especially if you veered towards the lower end of the scale on price. But that was before phone makers decided the humble headphone jack was taking up space they would like to use for something else and did away with the simple wired headphones they used to include in the box.
Now Bluetooth headphones and earbuds are everywhere, and you can pick up a decent set for less than €100. Yes, you still have to choose carefully to avoid the ones of questionable quality – and durability – but the established audio brands and newcomers alike have been raising the audio bar while lowering the price, and that is a welcome development.
Mixx may not be a familiar brand to us in Ireland, but the company has been building its range of affordable audio products with a premium sound quality.
One of the newer additions to its product line-up is the Solo range of wireless earbuds, which includes capsule, hybrid and silicone buds. The ones sent in for review were the Solo 2, the hybrid buds that Mixx markets as silicone-free.
There are few frills. They are one-size-fits-most in the style of Apple’s original AirPods, or OneSonic’s Bluetooth buds. You don’t get active noise cancelling, for example, although at the €50 price point, you wouldn’t expect it.
The case is a bit different, though. Although it sticks with the small capsule design, the top is a silicone flip-top that is held in place with a magnet. On first look, I thought it would never last a day in my bag, where it would be jostled around with a wallet, sunglasses, laptop, tablet and who knows what else. But surprisingly, it did.
Speaking of the case, it provides decent battery-life boost on top of the 4.5 hours claimed by the company from a full charge, giving you a total 18 hours of listening.
The Solo 2 won’t rival the highest-end earbuds but they do cover most audio needs more than adequately
More useful than the full battery life is the quick-charge option – you can get a two-hour power boost from 15 minutes in the case, and the whole set-up is USB C, so if you are stuck with a low battery you can get back up and running quickly.
That comes in handy on a number of occasions when I absent-mindedly stick the earbuds in my pocket and forgot about them until I need them – and as you might expect, the battery is dead.
All that is great, but what we really want from our earbuds are good audio and a comfortable fit.
On the former, Mixx does quite well for the price. The Solo 2 won’t rival the highest-end ear buds with their customised sound and more codecs than you could possibly remember but they do cover most audio needs more than adequately, whether you prefer pop to podcasts or vice versa. There are obvious limitations due to their size – bass will never be replicated as much as you would like, for example – but in general, the sound is good.
Comfort wise, this will be a personal thing. In general, the one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t suit my ears but I could wear these for an hour or two without feeling pressure in the wrong places. If you want the silicone seal, though, the other Solo earbuds in the range might be worth looking at.
One other thing: these buds include touch controls so you can keep your phone in your pocket and still access your music controls, or pick up a phone call when you are out and about. The controls aren’t too difficult to master or remember either, which puts them ahead of some other Bluetooth buds.
Good
If you are after a pair of budget earbuds that sound good, then the Streambuds Solo 2 will do the job. Sound for the most part is good, covering everything from music to podcasts reasonably well. Battery life is decent, too, at about four hours for the buds on a full charge and up to 18 hours with the quick-charge case included.
The case design is a little different, too, although I’m not too sure how long it will stay closed in my bag with its flexible magnetic lid.
Bad
The fit won’t be for everyone. It is one-size-fits-most, and there is no way to customise it. After a while they get uncomfortable for me, but that won’t be everyone’s experience. If you can tolerate the original AirPods, for example, you shouldn’t have any problems.
If you are really picky about your audio, you might want to look elsewhere. While these are a good all-rounder, there is no app that allows you to tune the sound to your liking.
Everything else
The price point rules out extras such as wireless charging in the case, or active noise cancelling. There are touch controls on the buds, though, and you can use your phone’s voice assistant through the buds, too.
Verdict
Affordable earbuds that offer the essentials.
