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Xiaomi [Mi] Piston Headset V2.0 Review
Hi Guys, I bought a pair of Xiaomi (Mi) Piston V2.0 Headsets last week. So after trying them out for a few days here’s my review.
First let’s get one thing straight, these are genuine and they are definitely V2.0 from flipkart. Some people might argue that these do not match completely with the version available at aliexpress which comes in brown packaging instead of white and looks slightly different. After hours of scouring through head fi and mi forums I’m certain about these being genuine. I’ll not bother with details.
Specs straight from the packaging:
Frequency range: 20-20,000Hz
Impedance: 16ohm
Sensitivity: 93dB
Features straight from Flipkart:
Anti-tangle Cable Made of Braided Kevlar Cord
Beryllium Alloy Diaphragm
Boosts Sound Performance and Stabilizing High and Low Frequency Effects
Double Damping System
Filters Unwanted Sound Waves for Purest Sound
Pics:
The packaging:
*i.imgur.com/RisOsGO.jpg
Unboxed:
*i.imgur.com/hnNpfJ5.jpg
What's inside?
*i.imgur.com/saFq7eM.jpg
1MoreDesign, sounds funky, but the design is good:
*i.imgur.com/CYPpikH.jpg
Volume control and shirt clip:
*i.imgur.com/woZQ5Bx.jpg
Extra 3 pair of tips, no biflange though:
*i.imgur.com/jF7l19R.jpg
Kevlar? I guess so, didn't try to tear it apart:
*i.imgur.com/TZUGT4Y.jpg
The buds:
*i.imgur.com/8TnhdGt.jpg
This is version 2.0 if I'm not wrong, the back grills are there as I'd expected:
*i.imgur.com/ggrSMfU.jpg
Review:
1.Packaging:
a. The packaging is excellent, the best I’d ever seen on any product. It’s flashy and you’ll instantly love it. The box has a transparent panel on top and be very careful because its extremely scratchprone, don’t even try to touch it if you can.
b. Inside you’ll get a rubber case smelling of dark chocolate or burnt rubber based on what your senses are like. It’s soft and carries the headphones.
c. Take out the tray and take a look at the three pairs of replacement tips and a metal shirt clip.
Score: 9.5/10... Would have given 10 if it came with a pouch like the iF version.
2. Product quality:
a. The headphones are built sturdily, the earpiece and the remote are made of metal and the cold touch feels good.
b. The buttons on the remote are sturdy but has a positioning issue. When using it your thumb will be on the central control button and index and middle finger will be on the volume buttons. So when pressing either, pressure will be automatically applied by your fingers on the reverse buttons causing some unwanted presses. It’s like squeezing a straw using the three fingers. It takes some time to get used to.
c. From the remote to the connector the wire is covered with Kevlar. It says bulletproof but haven’t tried it, lack of bullets or the gun etc... But from the remote to the earpieces the wire is basic rubber. That means its weak and you’ll instantly feel some discomfort about it. Remember a chain is as strong as its weakest link. A strong pull or twisting can damage this part of the wire easily. Would it have been too difficult for Xiaomi to include covering on these parts? I’d have not minded paying some extra.
d. The headset is extremely light and doesn’t tangle much.
Score: 8/10.. Would have given more if the entire wire had Kevlar covering.
3. Sound quality:
I’m not very fluent about audio terminologies and I’m writing this review in layman’s terms. So I’ll try to explain this as simply as possible.
a. Bass: The bass is heavy and resonating, sort of booming but clear. If you us an equalizer then make sure the lower frequencies i.e the left most bands are kept low.
b. Mids: Mids are clear but a bit recessed, the bass and treble are heavy but voices will remain clear. It will help to push the medium frequencies a bit. Most users will like it, some will hate it, it’s a hit or miss thing.
c. Treble: Treble is high and clear. It’s not as dominant as bass but it’ll work for most of you. You can hear the sharp strings easily and this part needs no help from an equalizer.
d. Overall: The sound frequency signature is V Shaped. Unless you’re overly hell bent on flat signature you’ll like this. Most instruments come clear and vocals are crisp.
Score: 8.5/10.. Wouldn’t have mind a bit more overall balanced sound, the warm notes will please a lot of you but I tend to prefer flat signature so I can tweak it better on my own.
4. Mic quality: Mic quality is good, audio is clear as I’d received feedback from clients listening over 1000s of mile away and they would have complained about any voice issues. Since they haven’t, I’d say its fine. Won’t give a score here.
5. Isolation: It’s poor. The vents are the culprit. Putting the finger on the vents causes isolation to increase greatly but completely destroys the bass. So that mod is out of the question. Don’t expect much use in noisy places like bus or road.
Score: 6.5/10
6. Miscellaneous: The eartips are not very comfortable as they tend to slip a bit. The controls work with Android out of the box.
Conclusion: These earphones will go toe to toe with most mid range models like Soundmagic E10 and PL30 and the extra added mic helps to bridge the gap. The price however destroys all barriers. I’m a bit worried about the strength of the product given the fact I use them hastily. But again, for 999/-even if these work for 1yr its full profit. I’d say go for it, eyes closed, the next best things are SM E10M costing 3k, so get the Pistons eyes closed.
Final Grade: A-
N:B:
1. A sample of the list of songs I used for testing:
*i.imgur.com/GylVPUI.jpg
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Update:
Connector Issue: The Piston has TRRS connector, but its worked absolutely fine with my Dell Inspiron N5520 laptop, I plugged it into the audio jack and it played absolutely fine. No issues.
Tonight I'll try it with my Steelseries Siberia USB Soundcard and report.
Eartips used: Medium, but all off them are slippery, but gets better with use.
Apps used to Test: I used the following apps to test the headset:
Android
1. Poweramp: My default media player, the equalizer helped with the overwhelming bass, when using E10 I use a bass boost profile. But with the Piston I had to pull down the lower frequencies a bit.
2. MXPlayer: Watched few episodes of Cosmos: A Spacetime Legacy. It played really well, voices were crisp, and the sound was clear. The instruments came alive and were better distinguishable than E10 by a slight margin.
3. TuneIn Online Radio: Worked fine, the lack of equalizer bothered only by a slight margin.
Windows
1. WMP: Played a bunch of music and a few videos, played well without any issues regarding the TRRS connector.
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Volume control compatibility list:
Works with: LG G2
Does not work: Moto G, Lava Iris X1, Htc desire 816
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