MobileTechTalk With so many consumer electronic devices nowadays there seems to be a bit of a plateau effect in operation in the headphone market and a race to the bottom has ensued. We take a look at one of the contenders to that crown, the Mixcder Drip headphones.
Let me clarify. By race to the bottom I’m talking purely about cost; rock bottom cost. These units come in at just £22.99 on Amazon UK for example and have to be some of the cheapest Bluetooth 4.x headphones available. It’s with that caveat in mind that we look at these cans and discover their sound quality.
Specifications
- Bluetooth version:4.0+EDR ( profile:HSP/HFP/A2DP/AVRCP)
- Battery type: 400mah rechargeable lithium battery
- Standby time:More than 250 hours
- Running time:/About 20 hours music playing time
- Speaker diameter: 40mm
- Rated power:20mW
Package:
- 1 x Mixcder Drip Bluetooth Headphones
- 1 x Micro USB Cable
- 1 x Audio Cable 3.5mm
- 1 x Manual
Teenage Kicks
Let’s take a second to look at the box aesthetic as it says a lot about the demographic that this product is aimed at. The box’s front has a large picture of the unit and it’s branding, with a nice blue/white theme going on. The units could, at a short distance, be mistaken for some Beats by Dre headphones. I’m sure that’s no mistake, and lifting the outer box flap, the unit is shown front and centre in the inner box – just like the aforementioned Beats.
These headphones are definitely looking to appeal to a younger audience; those who like wearing their headphones everywhere and like making a fashion statement with their tech also. These aren’t Beats By Dre headphones though. They have the striking colours, sure, but the build quality is certainly a corner that’s been cut to hit the price point. Matte, rubbery plastic coats the Mixcder Drip headphones all over, with only the artificial leather ear cups and padding, as well as the metal reinforced head band utilising different materials.
Plastic, Plastic Everywhere
Let’s take a look around the product. On the ear cups are red accented left and right tags, which whilst always nice to see, could be a little less prominent to maintain the aesthetic. On the left ear cup are the main controls with a Power On/Off button, as well as a Volume rocker. As is now the norm, both buttons deliver dual functionality, with the Power button doubling as a play/pause button and the volume buttons being utilised for skip/rewind track buttons when long pressed. The microUSB charging port is at the bottom of the left ear cup with the 3.5mm audio in jack for wired usage on the right ear cup.
Despite the cheap cost of this device, by hook or by crook they have gotten some things spot on. The buttons are easily reached and are intuitively reached for. There are many similar devices that tend to use rotational dials on the ear cup sides, which just doesn’t feel quite as familiar. On to the cups themselves and the faux-leather cushions provide adequate padding but they can cause sweating over prolonged periods of listening. Nothing too bad, but they can get hot. Likewise, the padding on the top of the head rest is merely adequate as well. Nothing outstanding but rather functional instead here.
The headrest padding can be quite slippery also, moving front and back on top of the head when moving around. You’d have to be head banging rather strongly to lose the units from the head completely however. The few degrees of pivot the ear cups have to them help to deal with slight movement changes also.
Audio Achievement Unlocked
So now we’ve established you can actually wear them with relative ease, what do they sound like? So, this is an interesting question as it’s not what we were expecting here. The lower down the price point you get, you’re used to seeing saturating bass to drown out the inadequacies of the mids and high performance. No, not here. This has quite a balanced sound stage, and if anything they favour the high-end slightly. Acoustic music (anything with acoustic guitar solos in specifically) are an absolute pleasure to listen to on these. Switching to some Hip-Hop shows just how clear the bass from the 40mm drivers is. Gone is the muddiness from the likes of the bass-heavy Bluedio T2S or even the more balanced August EP650, and instead a clear crisp bass is presented with bold mids and highs. Now, they don’t produce the most amazing deep immersive audio tonally, and no, we’re not saying these are the best headphones on the market, but for the price, they do an excellent job of clearly presenting all facets of the song. The likes of Stevie Wonder and any Motown-esque music is eloquently represented, but that doesn’t mean the Top 40 crowd won’t get their fill of Skrillex-esque drops either. There’s something for any casual listener here.
Let’s just go back to that price shall we? £22.99 gets you these units. They fold up for portability, and their isolation both to the outside world and from it, when listening to music at modest volumes is great. The taking and receiving of calls on the device is adequate and the battery life from the 400mAh unit is considerable with us managing 16 hours of use so far without any hint that they are on the wane. Our only concern relates to the potential durability of the device due to the materials used. Again….£22.99 people.
Unfortunately they aren’t available in any other colour schemes as I’m sure that aesthetically they aren’t going to be many people’s cup of tea (or beverage of choice) but as a set of vacation cans, or, as we did, use them whilst gardening or doing odd jobs around the house, we’re not sure they can be beaten.
Mixcder Drip
£22.99
Pros
- Excellent price
- Great battery life
- Brilliant crisp audio
- Not too bass heavy
Cons
- No colour options
- Aesthetic is polarising
- No carry case
