Baseus Inspire XH1 Headphones Review: Affordable Excellence

Comfy. Great sound. Good sound canceling. Massive battery.

ANC modes impact dependable signature. Dissappointing Dolby audio.

Buying budget-friendly wireless headphones volition ever impact compromises. But acknowledgment to a large summation successful contention among lesser-known Chinese brands, these compromises are rapidly shrinking. Baseus’ Inspire XH1 ($150 from Baseus, $100 connected Amazon) are a large example.

These noise-canceling headphones present a level of dependable prime and isolation that comes impressively adjacent to what you’ll find successful a overmuch much costly pair. They look good, they consciousness good, and their artillery beingness is up to 4 times longer than galore different options. They adjacent travel with a protective question lawsuit that is conscionable arsenic bully arsenic the ones that vessel with pricier models.

Bose-ish

The Inspire household of Baseus products, which includes the XH1, the true-wireless noise-canceling XP1, and the open-ear XC1, each diagnostic “Sound by Bose,” which means that Bose had a manus successful tuning the audio. Baseus’ plan connection is besides Bose-inspired: the 2 main colour options (Cosmic Black and Starlight Off-White) are akin to Bose’s superior hues, and the XH1’s blending of metallic and integrative components mirrors Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Headphones.

The XH1’s hinges fold up and fold flat, thing the headphone marketplace is leaning into aft a play of lone offering the fold-flat option. In the lawsuit of the XH1, it doesn’t rather present the abstraction savings achieved by different cans with a akin articulation. I’m a spot uneasy astir the hinge itself. It’s made of metal, which bodes good for durability, but it’s besides highly loose, letting the receptor cupful yokes rotation and swivel with nary absorption astatine all. I person nary grounds that this volition beryllium a problem; for now, it’s much of a signal, similar closing a car doorway and proceeding a cheap-sounding clank alternatively of a confidence-inspiring thunk.

Baseus has besides taken styling cues from Bose’s flagship cans for the XH1’s receptor cushions, which tin beryllium replaced erstwhile worn out, headband, and sliders. They’re precise comfortable, though I had to beryllium cautious with the receptor cupful placement. Baseus uses ample interior mics for its hybrid ANC, which are placed connected apical of the operator cavity. They instrumentality up country successful the front/bottom information of the receptor cup, and connected the near receptor cup, I noticed that the mic bumped into my ear’s antitragus, causing unit aft an hour. I could debar this by shifting the receptor cupful somewhat forward.

Small Compromises

Some compromises person been made (there are nary escaped lunches), and yet nary consciousness similar deal-breakers. There are nary deterioration sensors to auto-pause your tunes erstwhile you region the headphones. Switching betwixt ANC and transparency mode requires you to walk done mean mode (unless you usage the Baseus app). And you can’t usage transparency mode portion connected a call.

They whitethorn not beryllium a large prime for gym-goers oregon runners. The clamping unit is comparatively gentle, which is cleanable for agelong listening sessions, but little adept astatine keeping the cans from shifting astir during progressive workouts. Could you usage them astatine the gym? Absolutely. They adjacent person an IP66 rating, acold much h2o and particulate extortion than you’d usually find connected wireless headphones, which seldom connection immoderate authoritative level of ingress protection.

The controls are casual to use—all are good placed and don’t trust connected interaction sensitivity, though I’m inactive scratching my caput implicit Baseus’ track-skipping scheme. Normally, erstwhile a measurement fastener doubles arsenic a way skipper (usually via a long-press), the volume-up fastener skips guardant and the volume-down skips back. On the XH1, it’s reversed, which I find unintuitive. Still, you get utilized to it.

Great Sound

The Inspire XH1’s dependable signature has wide signs of Bose DNA. Out of the box, the cans are acceptable to the Sound By Bose EQ preset, a robust premix that injects other vigor into the upper-mids and highs. In this mode, the cans present beardown midrange detail, with neutral levels of bass. It’s snappy, with bully resonance; if you privation much kick, an disposable Powerful Bass preset volition oblige, providing a overmuch stronger bass response. Should that inactive not scratch your bass itch, you tin furniture an optional Bass Boost mode connected apical of immoderate EQ mix. If Powerful Bass + Bass Boost doesn’t loosen your fillings, you whitethorn not person teeth. Should the 7 disposable EQ presets halt abbreviated of what you’re looking for, you tin rotation your ain via an eight-band equalizer.

The caveat present is that the XH1’s ANC mode acts arsenic its ain signifier of integer awesome processing. Transparency mode imparts precise small resonance; Normal mode brings bass guardant a wee bit, and Noise Canceling turns everything up to 11.

I’m delighted that you tin usage the analog input erstwhile the powerfulness is off, but with nary interior amplification oregon integer processing, the XH1 dependable bladed and a spot tinny. Best to deliberation of that arsenic an exigency enactment only. Still, with sound canceling engaged, these cans are a large listen. “Birds,” by Dominique Fils-Aimé, is simply a large trial way for vocals, bass, and soundstage, and I recovered the XH1 comparable successful each 3 to Sennheiser’s Accentum Plus ($250).

For adjacent much item and nuance, crook connected the optional LDAC codec successful the Baseus app; you’ll apt perceive the much relaxed dependable that comes from reducing Bluetooth compression. Baseus’ Sound Personalization listening trial is worthy trying. It accurately assessed my flimsy high-frequency proceeding loss, and I enjoyed the personalized EQ the trial generated.

The XH1 besides has 2 optional Dolby Audio modes, Music and Cinema. They’re intended arsenic immersive, spatial experiences that instrumentality immoderate root and marque it dependable much similar Dolby Atmos. They’re some terrible. Music sounds similar you’re trapped successful a nationalist bathroom, portion Cinema puts you successful a cave. Baseus should ditch this diagnostic and licence Bose’s Immersive Audio technology, 1 of the champion spatializers I’ve heard truthful far.

Noise cancellation is acold amended than I would person expected astatine this price. The Inspire XH1 are astir arsenic effectual astatine dealing with unwanted sounds arsenic the Sennheiser Accentum Plus and Sony’s ULT Wear (both $250). They fto successful a tiny spot much than these pricier models, but unless you tested them broadside by broadside (as I have), I uncertainty you’d perceive the difference. For engaged streets, crowded cafés, and your regular transit commute, they bash a large job.

I deliberation I’m adjacent much impressed with their transparency mode. This is the broadside of sound cancellation that fund headphones often neglect to master. The XH1 not lone made the extracurricular satellite audible, they besides fto maine perceive myself intelligibly portion talking.

Transparency is truthful good, I’m truly bummed that it doesn’t enactment erstwhile connected a call. If it did, these cans would beryllium large for agelong calls and meetings. The mics are remarkably adept astatine keeping inheritance sound invisible to callers. When those noises were peculiarly loud, my dependable faded somewhat, but lone the high-pitched wail of a siren managed to pierce through. When my situation was quieter, the XH1 kept my dependable much unchangeable and wide than the Soundcore Space One Pro ($200).

Daily Drivers

I’m not definite there’s immoderate statement connected however overmuch artillery beingness is “enough” for a acceptable of wireless headphones, but I’m consenting to stake nary 1 has ever said, “My headphones past excessively agelong betwixt charges.” So I’m going to spell mode retired connected a limb and accidental astir folks volition beryllium thrilled with Baseus’ assertion of up to 100 hours for the Inspire XH1.

To get that level of stamina, you’ll request to support measurement nary higher than 50 percent, crook disconnected some ANC and transparency, debar utilizing Dolby Audio, and lone link via AAC (as opposed to LDAC). Still, adjacent with ANC on, the institution says you’ll get up to 65 hours—more than immoderate flagship wireless headphones from Bose, Sony, Apple, oregon Sennheiser. Should a fewer weeks spell by and you hide to complaint them, a fast-charge of 10 minutes provides an further 12 hours of play time.

It’s tempting to bring up the Inspire XH1’s deficiency of USB Audio and Bluetooth Auracast enactment arsenic negatives, but astatine immoderate point, you person to beryllium realistic: These headphones whitethorn not beryllium perfect, but erstwhile you see what they get close (and what Baseus charges for them), they’re undoubtedly an exceptional value. If you're aft a brace of headphones that present large sound, bully sound canceling, and top-tier transparency connected a budget, each Baseus exemplary deserves a look.