Kudu
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2012
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Xiaomi Pistons review
The headphone world is a strange place. There are devices for every kind of consumer: the casual listener, the fashionista, the tinkerer, the audiophile... Every device has its strengths, its flaws, and only a certain kind of buyer will want to make the specific tradeoffs that are chosen by a manufacturer for each model.
At lower price levels, a choice is often made to forego a certain level of premium features in order to maximize sound quality. For example, the Sony MH1C, which is pretty much universally loved by audiophiles and is very unique for its cost, is also well known for its iffy build quality and distasteful cabling. Other brands, which are more "fashionable", place a greater emphasis on the look of their headphones, while sacrificing sound quality and even build quality.
However, there is a third kind of earphone. It is a unique kind: few companies have the prestige required to offer it convincingly. Xiaomi, which goes far beyond mere earphone manufacturing, is a lifestyle brand, and the Xiaomi Pistons are a lifestyle device. No other device of which I'm aware will provide such classy and premium aesthetics, such impeccable sound quality and such an irreproachable choice of materials and overall quality of build assembly, at such a low price point. Let's take a look at what the Xiaomi Pistons, priced at $18.99 [Mod Edit: Company blacklisted] have to offer.
Please click on images to expand them.
Packaging
As soon as I received my Pistons, I laid in front of time the small cardboard box which carries Xiaomi's distinctive mark, in the form of large, stylized letters representing the "MI" brand. Although the box itself is not excessively adorned or particularly well finished, it fits nicely into Xiaomi's minimalist dynamic, and the nature of the box is excusable when taking the price point and overall tier of the product into account. It is interesting to note that almost all of the inscriptions on the package are in Chinese: although the overall design of this product is most reminiscent of a certain American company based in Cupertino, as Xiaomi's reputation goes, this is one of the few reminders that the product at hand was created by a Chinese corporation-- this detail is closely tied to the achievement of such an impressively aggressive pricing structure.
As soon as I opened the package, I was greeted with a beautiful demonstration of thoughtful and well-executed industrial design. There are only two pieces in the design of the packaging: the carton box itself, which doubles as a carrier for important but mostly unnecessary instructions, and what is perhaps the real showpiece of this product, the molded rubber container which doubles as a carrying tool. This piece of nicely constructed material features a shallow but sufficient insertion all around its frame in order to wrap the earphones, as well as specific slots for each earphone, the controls, and the headphone jack. While I didn’t use this too much in day-to-day usage due to the time it takes to wrap the cord cleanly, it’s a nice option to have for conveniently storing the product. This entire rubber piece is stored inside a generic plastic box with an acrylic top. At the bottom, a selection of small, medium and large earphone tips, as well as a shirt clip, are provided.
Build quality and appearance
The quality of these earphones is simply amazing, even without taking the price point into account. The Pistons are mostly built out of beryllium alloy, which, from my impressions with this product, seems like an amazing choice of material. The feeling of the hard elements of the earphones can only be described as “solid”: this is the most pervasive feeling throughout the user experience. Each element is coated in a golden finish, which is much less distracting and flashy than it may seem. In my experience, the fine micrometric ridges of the metal tended to attract more dirt than it is ideal, but this is but a minor gripe. The cable itself is sheathed up until the y-split, which is, in my opinion, the right way to do it: the clothed cable adds a very premium feel to the user experience, while the regular rubberized cable for each driver assures that the cables will not tangle unnecessarily. My only complaint would be regarding the L/R markings, which are absurdly difficult to see for my state, and usually require some moving around to hit them with light at the right angle. I’d also like to mention the sound controls in this section, which felt relatively satisfactory to click, with adequate travel. The inline microphone also performed well with my Android device, up to the standards of any other earphone of its class.
Sound quality
The sound quality of the Pistons is in a league of its own for its low price. However, I’d first like to warn any prospective purchasers who are more sensitive to sound balance that the Pistons are predominantly bass-heavy: for me, this is not a flaw, but rather a choice of product development. It is not what I would prefer, but it is a valid choice nonetheless and it will definitely appeal to certain users, especially the basshead types. I would not describe the sound as particularly crisp, but it was more than clear enough to easily distinguish the different instruments in a given song. However, it became apparent in certain more vocal-heavy songs that clarity could be an issue with certain lyrics: it was not an issue big enough to make or break the experience for me. Also, there was perhaps a tiny bit too much tightness at certain frequencies, which impacted the mood of some songs, but this is a minor issue that can easily be forgiven.
Isolation and fit
Choosing the right tips for the earphones seemed to have an even greater impact on the entire listening experience than it usually does with in-ear earphones, and it is with the Medium tips that the earphones fit best for me. The monitors remained snugly in my ears and I almost never had issues with them sliding out while walking. Although I didn’t use the shirt clip, it seems like a tremendously useful addition. The isolation properties of the headset were only average, being enough to drown out ambient sound in a calm yet screechy bus, but not a turbulent subway.
Conclusion
Few products can combine build quality, fashion, buying experience, sound quality, and fit in a way as great as the Xiaomi Pistons do. At the low price of $18.99 on iBuyGou as well as on certain other resellers’ websites, it is nothing but an easy recommendation, whether for an audiophile as a beater convenience pair or for a casual listener with a limited budget.
Disclaimer: A sample of the Xiaomi Pistons was provided to me by iBuyGou for review purposes. This did not affect my judgement in any way.
The headphone world is a strange place. There are devices for every kind of consumer: the casual listener, the fashionista, the tinkerer, the audiophile... Every device has its strengths, its flaws, and only a certain kind of buyer will want to make the specific tradeoffs that are chosen by a manufacturer for each model.
At lower price levels, a choice is often made to forego a certain level of premium features in order to maximize sound quality. For example, the Sony MH1C, which is pretty much universally loved by audiophiles and is very unique for its cost, is also well known for its iffy build quality and distasteful cabling. Other brands, which are more "fashionable", place a greater emphasis on the look of their headphones, while sacrificing sound quality and even build quality.
However, there is a third kind of earphone. It is a unique kind: few companies have the prestige required to offer it convincingly. Xiaomi, which goes far beyond mere earphone manufacturing, is a lifestyle brand, and the Xiaomi Pistons are a lifestyle device. No other device of which I'm aware will provide such classy and premium aesthetics, such impeccable sound quality and such an irreproachable choice of materials and overall quality of build assembly, at such a low price point. Let's take a look at what the Xiaomi Pistons, priced at $18.99 [Mod Edit: Company blacklisted] have to offer.
Please click on images to expand them.
Packaging
As soon as I received my Pistons, I laid in front of time the small cardboard box which carries Xiaomi's distinctive mark, in the form of large, stylized letters representing the "MI" brand. Although the box itself is not excessively adorned or particularly well finished, it fits nicely into Xiaomi's minimalist dynamic, and the nature of the box is excusable when taking the price point and overall tier of the product into account. It is interesting to note that almost all of the inscriptions on the package are in Chinese: although the overall design of this product is most reminiscent of a certain American company based in Cupertino, as Xiaomi's reputation goes, this is one of the few reminders that the product at hand was created by a Chinese corporation-- this detail is closely tied to the achievement of such an impressively aggressive pricing structure.
As soon as I opened the package, I was greeted with a beautiful demonstration of thoughtful and well-executed industrial design. There are only two pieces in the design of the packaging: the carton box itself, which doubles as a carrier for important but mostly unnecessary instructions, and what is perhaps the real showpiece of this product, the molded rubber container which doubles as a carrying tool. This piece of nicely constructed material features a shallow but sufficient insertion all around its frame in order to wrap the earphones, as well as specific slots for each earphone, the controls, and the headphone jack. While I didn’t use this too much in day-to-day usage due to the time it takes to wrap the cord cleanly, it’s a nice option to have for conveniently storing the product. This entire rubber piece is stored inside a generic plastic box with an acrylic top. At the bottom, a selection of small, medium and large earphone tips, as well as a shirt clip, are provided.
Build quality and appearance
The quality of these earphones is simply amazing, even without taking the price point into account. The Pistons are mostly built out of beryllium alloy, which, from my impressions with this product, seems like an amazing choice of material. The feeling of the hard elements of the earphones can only be described as “solid”: this is the most pervasive feeling throughout the user experience. Each element is coated in a golden finish, which is much less distracting and flashy than it may seem. In my experience, the fine micrometric ridges of the metal tended to attract more dirt than it is ideal, but this is but a minor gripe. The cable itself is sheathed up until the y-split, which is, in my opinion, the right way to do it: the clothed cable adds a very premium feel to the user experience, while the regular rubberized cable for each driver assures that the cables will not tangle unnecessarily. My only complaint would be regarding the L/R markings, which are absurdly difficult to see for my state, and usually require some moving around to hit them with light at the right angle. I’d also like to mention the sound controls in this section, which felt relatively satisfactory to click, with adequate travel. The inline microphone also performed well with my Android device, up to the standards of any other earphone of its class.
Sound quality
The sound quality of the Pistons is in a league of its own for its low price. However, I’d first like to warn any prospective purchasers who are more sensitive to sound balance that the Pistons are predominantly bass-heavy: for me, this is not a flaw, but rather a choice of product development. It is not what I would prefer, but it is a valid choice nonetheless and it will definitely appeal to certain users, especially the basshead types. I would not describe the sound as particularly crisp, but it was more than clear enough to easily distinguish the different instruments in a given song. However, it became apparent in certain more vocal-heavy songs that clarity could be an issue with certain lyrics: it was not an issue big enough to make or break the experience for me. Also, there was perhaps a tiny bit too much tightness at certain frequencies, which impacted the mood of some songs, but this is a minor issue that can easily be forgiven.
Isolation and fit
Choosing the right tips for the earphones seemed to have an even greater impact on the entire listening experience than it usually does with in-ear earphones, and it is with the Medium tips that the earphones fit best for me. The monitors remained snugly in my ears and I almost never had issues with them sliding out while walking. Although I didn’t use the shirt clip, it seems like a tremendously useful addition. The isolation properties of the headset were only average, being enough to drown out ambient sound in a calm yet screechy bus, but not a turbulent subway.
Conclusion
Few products can combine build quality, fashion, buying experience, sound quality, and fit in a way as great as the Xiaomi Pistons do. At the low price of $18.99 on iBuyGou as well as on certain other resellers’ websites, it is nothing but an easy recommendation, whether for an audiophile as a beater convenience pair or for a casual listener with a limited budget.
Disclaimer: A sample of the Xiaomi Pistons was provided to me by iBuyGou for review purposes. This did not affect my judgement in any way.
