Xiaomi Buds 5 has exquisite design and recording function – compared with Xiaomi Buds 4, it has been upgraded in terms of sound quality, function and wearing experience. It is also jointly tuned with HARMAN AudioEFX and provides 5 preset sound effects.
- $85 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon Germany or Banggood
Appearance Design & Comfort Fit
The Xiaomi Buds 5 charging case continues the design style of Xiaomi Buds 4 Pro, adopting an open magnetic absorption design, making it easier to take out the earbuds. There is also a HARMAN logo on the back of the charging case, which increases recognition. The pairing button and TYPE-C port are at the bottom of the case, and the button feedback is good.
There is a clear feedback when opening the lid, and it can be easily opened and closed with one hand. The surface treatment of the lid also helps to prevent slipping. It is very easy to take out the earbuds, and the magnetic suction strength is moderate.
Xiaomi Buds 5 earbuds adopt a semi-in-ear design, and the earbud cavity is larger than AirPods 3. The wearing comfort is quite satisfactory among semi-in-ear TWS earbuds with similar structure. The fit inside the cavity is still relatively high. A single earbud weighs 4.2g, and there is no problem with the center of gravity design when wearing it.
The wear recognition sensor does exist, but the logic is a bit strange at present. If ANC was turned on when you wore it last time, ANC will be turned on by default when you wear a single earphone again. The ANC is turned off by default when no single earbud is wear detected. For each wear, it will perform an ear canal detection for noise cancelling and sound adaptation, and the detection speed is about two seconds.
Connection & App Support
The earbuds use Bluetooth 5.4 technology and support SBC/AAC/aptX Lossless/aptX Adaptive/LC3 codec. Plus, they also support dual-device connection and do not conflict with aptX Adaptive.
Xiaomi Buds 5 supports the Xiaomi Headphones App for Android and iOS – once you install and open the app, it will automatically connect to the earbuds. The app provides noise cancelling control, sound mode switching, recording, custom controls, firmware updates, and more.
Recording – Battery Life
Xiaomi Buds 5 is also a business meeting assistant – you can start recording through gesture control without the help of the mobile phone. It is sufficient for phone recording, on-site recording, and video recording. It is still very practical for participating in online meetings, interviews, and press conferences.
In the app, you can see that the left and right earbuds each have 90 minutes of recording time, which means that the recording function of Xiaomi Buds 5 can work completely independently of the app. In fact, the switch is also located on the earbuds (it can be turned on in the app after the firmware upgrade), and each earbud is responsible for its own 90 minutes of storage and switch operation. The two earbuds cannot work together on this function and cannot record in stereo.
After the recording is completed, you can transfer the recording from the earbud storage to the mobile phone storage and export the recording in audio or TXT format. After converting the recording to text, the user can also edit and modify the text.
After actual testing, the recording file specifications are mono m4a files with a sampling rate of 48kHz and a bit rate between 20 and 23kbps. After actual listening, the recording quality can only be said to be good enough for recording mobile phone calls, but it is impossible to go further. The low bit rate and the limitation of the microphone’s pickup ability make its recording performance only at the call level.
The battery capacity of the charging case is 480mAh, and the earbuds is 35mAh. The single battery life with ANC mode turned off is up to 6.5 hours, and the total battery life is up to 39 hours. The battery life with ANC mode turned on is up to 3.5 hours. The battery life is the music playback time. The test conditions are: Bluetooth AAC connection, 50% volume, and other functions are in default state.
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) – Calls
As a semi-in-ear anc earbuds, its passive sound isolation ability is very poor and is highly dependent on the performance of the microphone and the ability of the noise cancelling algorithm.
Turn on the ANC mode and adjust it to deep noise cancelling, they only have a very limited suppression effect on low-frequency noise and will produce a certain sense of ear pressure. However, the noise of vehicles driving will be reduced. In a noisy environment, it will not have a very useful effect, but will make the ambient noise you hear a little muffled. If you turn on the desktop fan at this time, it will also introduce some weak wind noise.
After turning on the comfort ANC mode, the wind noise problem is basically solved and the ear pressure is also reduced. In a cafe or library, if you don’t pay special attention, it is difficult to notice the actual difference in the depth of noise cancelling between the two modes. If you are in a noisy subway or supermarket, it is difficult to tell whether this comfort ANC mode is actually effective.
It should be noted that Xiaomi Buds 5 does not supports transparency mode and vocal mode.
As an integrated device of the Snapdragon Sound solution, the Buds 5 also supports aptX Voice. Its actual call stability and call noise cancelling are quite good, and it is at the top level in the same price range. However, the impact of call noise cancelling on voice can also be felt.
Spatial Audio & Controls
First of all, it should be emphasized that spatial audio cannot coexist with aptX Adaptive or aptX Lossless. I tried several devices and needed to adjust the codec to AAC before turning it on.
The soundstage of spatial audio is relatively large, presenting a wide, high, and unclearly bordered space. The sound has severe reverberation, unclear imaging, and reduced head effect. The drum and bass sounds will have a certain “delay”. The follow speed of head tracking is still relatively good, and it can basically achieve relatively accurate follow-up.
Overall, the Dolby Atmos listening experience of Xiaomi Buds 5 is far behind that of AirPods Pro 2, SONY WF-1000XM5, and iQOO TWS 2. The head movement detection performs well, but although this function is available, it is not recommended to turn it on.
The Buds 5 relies on pinching the touch area of the earbud-stem – there is groove in the recognition area for blind operation. However, pinching is not very comfortable, and continuous operation will make your fingertips feel uncomfortable. The control feedback prompt tone is relatively clear and the response is relatively fast. It can recognize single-press, double-press, triple-press and long press, and you can also customize the controls in the app.
The default control scheme is single-press for audio/call control, double-press for next track and reject call, triple-press to turn on/off recording, long press for 2s to switch to noise cancelling mode, and swipe up and down to control volume. The recognition accuracy of triple-press needs to be improved.
Sound Description & Preset Sound Effects
Xiaomi Buds 5 supports SBC/AAC/aptX/aptX Adaptive/aptX Lossless/LC3 codecs, and also supports LE Audio and Snapdragon Sound technologies. On a small number of mobile phones, you can enable aptX Lossless 2.1Mbps bitrate. In addition, on most mobile phones that support aptX Lossless, only 1.2Mbps bitrate can be unlocked for the time being. On other models that support Snapdragon Sound, only aptX Adaptive 96kHz can be used.
The low-frequency quantity is relatively high, the thickness is moderate but relatively full. The elasticity is average, and the low-frequency extension is deep. The speed of expansion and contraction is slow, leaving a lot of reverberation.
The distance of the mid-frequency vocals is relatively close, and the mouth size is larger than the standard. When expressing the vocals, more emphasis is placed on texture rather than line depiction, and the tendency between male and female voices is not obvious.
The high frequency brightness is moderate, the energy is not strong, and there is no particularly prominent high-frequency peak. The extension performance of the ultra-high-frequency is not very good.
The texture of the instruments is also emphasized. The overtones of the instruments are not few, but they are not prominent enough. The lines of the violin, viola, and guitar are thicker, but the cohesion is poor and the details are not prominent enough. The thickness of the cello is also relatively high, but the shape is not clear enough. Among the percussion instruments, the Kick has a strong presence, and the Snare is a little dragged.
The soundstage is good, not too crowded, and there is still a sense of diffusion at the edge of the space. There is a certain distance horizontally and vertically, but not too far. The separation between vocals and instruments is quite satisfactory. The dynamic performance is acceptable, but the transient is weak.
Xiaomi Buds 5 earubds is equipped with an 11mm dual magnetic unit, and the 0.5mm amplitude makes the sound more powerful and the bass more surging. The Buds 5 is jointly tuned with HARMAN, and there are 5 preset sound effects to choose from. The default sound effect of the earbuds is HARMAN AudioEFX.
Vocal Boost: It sounds like the vocals are slightly more prominent. The naturalness of the vocals is reduced and the distance is slightly closer.
Bass: The thickness of the low frequency is weakened, but it still sounds like the transients are insufficient and the atmosphere is strong.
Treble Boost: This is the only option I recommend turning on. It does compensate for the mid-high frequencies, adding some transparency and not weakening the lines too much. Of course, the low-frequency are not weakened.
Classic: This can be understood as the default state with slightly normal low-frequency, with no obvious difference.
Plus, the custom equalizer supports ±6dB adjustment of 10 frequency points. The adaptive hearing adjustment compensation is different for each person.
Conclusion & Specs
Xiaomi Buds 5 has obvious shortcomings, both the comfort noise cancelling and recording functions are not satisfactory. The spatial audio and operation experience are not advantageous. Although the support of aptX Lossless codec is commendable, the sound itself does not match the high-configuration codec. Perhaps the only thing that can be praised is the good workmanship and appearance – if you can tolerate it getting fingerprints.
Xiaomi Buds 5 specs and features:
- Bluetooth 5.4 with AAC/aptX Lossless/aptX Adaptive codec
- 3.5 – 6.5 hours playback of per charge (AAC+ANC on/off)
- Charging case can charge earbuds fully 4 times
- IPX4 waterproof rating (rain and sweat resistant)
- Wear detection & Multipoint connection
- $85 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon Germany or Banggood