Home Reviews ,,,,, Apple's Airpods are the Airpods: intelligent, iconic and of above average quality and versatility for the type of configuration and form factor that is now characteristic. But if we wanted to experience the thrill of “true wireless” headphones with a very low entry price, how low should we go down? In our opinion, to maintain a good musical quality not under these Muzili TWS-X9 which, let's face it immediately, have a very good quality / price ratio Interesting.
True wireless headphones are those earphones that, although they can be connected wirelessly like other similar products, do not have a physical connection between the right and left transducer which are also wirelessly connected to each other. In practice, the master transducer has two tasks: to connect with the other transducer and then with the device that will send it the music and with which it will communicate, thanks to Bluetooth also the functions of playback / pause, advancement of the piece and, in some models, volume.
Packaging and features
In the package we find the headphones, the 400 mAh charging case, a USB / microUSB cable, adapters for the ear cups and manuals. They are very light since they weigh only 9 grams and at first glance, once extracted from their case able to recharge them up to 4 times they seem impossible to turn on since there is no visible button.
The supplied manual does not have the Italian translation but a QR code to download the translated version in our language.
The resin body, on the other hand, has two buttons on the side walls with a touch surface that will activate them: an elegant solution which, however, has wear residues even when you remove them from your ear. The touch surface in fact must work in the waiting state with a small current consumption and it is therefore not recommended to leave them out of their case, certainly in order not to lose them and in addition to prevent them from discharging by themselves.
Obviously, if you use them to receive phone calls while not listening to music, you must leave them out of their box.
The side touch surfaces perform the following functions: pairing of the other transducer, play / pause, track advance, answer the phone call and hang up. There is no volume adjustment and this must be managed by the sound source.
The version we received is the one produced from September 2018 with a very stable and effective bluetooth 5.0 connection and the audio is also superior in quality to the old models that have the same aesthetics.
The charging box is a bit squared off and not very easy to carry in the jeans pockets, on the other hand it is very easy to use and the charge status is easily visible. Convenient insertion of the headphones inside the sliding drawer that locks with a magnet at the end.
THE packaging The charging case The headphones extracted – note the contact pins for the recharge the micro-usb socket and the recharge indicator LEDs all the equipment in the package detail of the cap without rubber pads
The pairing
The headphones turn on with a nice light effect on the circular crown that surrounds the touch part: at this point they are ready for the first pairing of both the other transducer and the smartphone or smartwatch or computer to be connected. The pulsating light alternates from one element to another to confirm the connection
The pairing in this recent version with Bluetooth is very fast and we did not notice any instability even between the two transducers. The listening distance, which is normally 9 meters here, must be taken a little with the springs … let's say that up to about 6 meters there are no major problems.
The perhaps a bit inconvenient thing, if you do not want to attract attention, is the fact that when switched on the headphones “pulsate” their green light every 6 / seconds for about a second and in a dark room they can even illuminate a wall half a meter away. If you are on an airplane and your neighbor is sensitive to light stimuli and wants to sleep, you may be asked to turn them off … ..
Tested with Apple Watch
Thanks to the memory available on Apple Watch left free by the operating system, we are able to transform the Apple smartphone into a convenient direct-control wireless player capable of sending music directly to bluetooth headphones such as our TWS-X9 under test. Thanks to the circular crown and the screen at your fingertips, it will be very easy to advance in our playlist, load another one and, with the crown, quickly adjust the volume of our headphones.
In addition, Apple Watch is always within Bluetooth reach from your headphones wherever you go around the house or to the gym and since the headphones have no volume control, its direct control with crown is very convenient.
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How they sound
We come to the litmus test: the sound. Being headphones in ear, the sound of low frequencies strongly depends on the positioning in the ear and on the shape of the rubber adapter that must be inserted in the ear canal. Normally we must always use the smallest of the 3 present in the packs of headphones in ear but here, thanks to the particular shape of the earphones, the intermediate “rubber” already allowed to have a good response in the mid-bass.
The sound is that of a “wired” headphone in the 40-50 euro range, with a good response on the highs, very well defined and a body that is lacking on medium species on saxophones and pianos, good voices and bass detail : in general a very defined sound with a good dynamics.
In our tests we often use highly curated 80s-90s productions such as Steely Dan, Prefab Sprout, Led Zeppelin, Herbie Hancok (from remastered Apple Music CDs and archives) along with much more recent stuff like DPG, Sfera ebbasta, Coez, Lorde…
The judgment is certainly positive for the price range with maximum volume under control and sound that is generally distinguished by detail. Some full ones like “Bring The Boys Back Home” by Pink Floyd from “The Wall” send them in chriso but on that song we have also seen headphones even triple prices of these Muzili TWS-X9 go into confusion.
The microphone
If you plan to use them, perhaps even individually, as “telephone” headphones, you shouldn't expect the impossible: the microphone remains embedded in your ear and you have to work hard to make your voice heard: the only way to use them profitably if you are perhaps on the train is to put both hands “on the receiver” to convey the voice to the ear and at the same time prevent others from hearing you scream to make you understand. Obviously if you use them at home alone you can do what you want but these are definitely not optimal headphones for conducting long telephone conversations.
Are they really stable in the ear?
With this type of design and form factor a lot depends on how your ear canal and pinna are shaped. The writer often has difficulty using in-ear headphones with wire due to stability problems and not infrequently even in the train cannot hold both Apple headphones and good quality wireless headphones in place, especially because the wire itself drags them towards the low. These headphones work somewhat in reverse: it is the “excess” part behind the transducer is turned upwards and helps, once the half turn at the moment of insertion is completed, to block both rotation and falling to the side.
We do not feel like recommending them for jogging outside but they are still good for running on a cardio platform (the protection is IP 65 and obviously they also resist sweat) or for light workouts in the gym and definitely stable to use on a train or plane or comfortably seated on the sofa at home or at work even if obviously the level of isolation is not absolute.
How long does the charge last?
We have done several tests both on the road and at home and found that the stated duration of 3-4 hours is quite true as the first round at 100% volume lasted exactly 3 hours, in the following rounds with 80% and 100 volume. % (we like to isolate ourselves when we are on a train or plane and these headphones are not “tiring” to listen to) we have reached 3.5 hours.
With an easier use for background music with a room control you can reach the maximum promised at least with the first series of charging the headphones themselves.
Conclusions
Do we feel like recommending them? If your budget for full wireless headphones is around 40 euros for a personal purchase or a gift, and you think a playtime of 3.5 hours is sufficient, the Muzili TWS-X9 are a must buy. The quality / price ratio is absolutely interesting given the cleanliness of the sound that they can reproduce on all frequencies. The sound is never distorted, it is very defined, it lacks a bit of body in the low mids but it is absolutely above the headphones of this price which are neither wireless nor true wireless.
Pro
Good quality sound in relation to the price, comfortable and never tiring listening over the whole range, excellent stability in the ear. Immediate checks and absence of mechanical parts.
Cons
The microphone, also given its position, is by no means sufficient to sustain long-lasting and quality conversations. Volume adjustment is missing.
Retail price
The retail price is 43 Euros including VAT on Amazon . The colors available for the case are 4 with a slight surcharge for the red model. Cyber Layman readers can have a discount of 15% on the Amazon price of the black model by entering this code when ordering: 922PUBMQ . The offer is valid until November 30th 2018.
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