The gaming market is more competitive than ever, with high-end offerings from big names like Bose, Sony and Apple taking center stage. Although there are many cheaper alternative products, it is easy to be disappointed by the value for money.
What if I told you that you can enjoy the warm sound of Sony, the comfort of Bose and the noise reduction of Apple in the same pair of headphones… for less than 50 euros? The good news is that this formula exists, it is materialized by the 1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 headphones. I spent two weeks using these PistonBuds Pro Q30 in-ears. So let me explain why I think they are my best choice in the entry-level category.
The main takeaways from the 1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 earbuds
- These headphones are a great buy for a budget purchase: they cost €45.
- These headphones stand out for their sound quality, noise reduction and all-day comfort.
- But for this price, expect compromises like painful-to-use touch controls and no spatial audio technology.
Good bass, good ANC
First of all, the sound out of the box is impressive for a $45 pair of headphones. These headphones reproduce bass-rich sound. If you like sound that is never garbled or excessive, you will be very happy with these headphones.
The 1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 earphones feature 10mm Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) dynamic drivers, and the DLC material on the driver membrane is said to ensure a smooth audio experience. better quality. DLC drivers are typically found in much more expensive headsets, so I’m convinced that the internal audio materials are responsible for the sound quality experienced.
When I listened Infinity from Eminem, I found the bass, mids and highs to be well balanced, clear and crisp. You can easily feel the deep bass while enjoying the high frequencies, which are crystal clear. Although you only have access to the standard SBC and AAC codecs for Android and iOS, and not the AptX and LDAC codecs (higher bitrate for better quality), most users probably won’t hear or notice the difference.
The ANC of the 1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 is comparable to that of the AirPods Pro 2
The PistonBuds Pro Q30 earbuds are highly customizable and come with a host of audio features, including different ANC (Active Noise Control) modes, a wide range of EQ settings, a low latency mode, and spatial audio.
ANC, or active noise reduction, is a process for reducing annoying noise by using auxiliary sounds.
And after testing in the soundscape of a coffee shop, the ANC on the 1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 is comparable to more expensive headphones, like my AirPods Pro 2.
You can choose between powerful ANC for noisy environments, light ANC for indoor listening, wind noise reduction mode, and adaptive ANC. You can hear the difference between the ANC modes. And the effectiveness of each of them is equally impressive.
Jada Jones/ZDNET
Limited spatial sound
As for the controls, you can switch between audio modes, play and pause music, and decline and reject calls by tapping the earbud stem. I just wish the tap set wasn’t so complex, as it sometimes took me a while to perform the functions I wanted.
The spatial audio on these headphones is another weak point for me, as the feel of the soundstage doesn’t extend as widely as I’d like and doesn’t provide a remarkably immersive experience.
But where the headphones lack in immersion, they make up for in comfort. PistonBuds Pro Q30 come with three sizes of soft tips to help you find the best fit. Once you do, comfort, passive noise isolation, ANC, and sound quality all increase significantly again. I wore these PistonBuds Pro Q30 earbuds for about four hours before removing them and didn’t experience any ear fatigue.
If you prefer stem in-ear headphones over round earbuds, know that these are incredibly comfortable, lightweight and stay in place, even if you take them to the gym. Thanks to their IPX5 rating, these 1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 don’t mind sweaty workouts. You can therefore count on these headphones to accompany you throughout your daily activities.
Source: “ZDNet.com”