ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Baseus MC1 Open Ear Clip-On Earbuds are on sale on Amazon for $60.
- They’re some of the most comfortable I’ve worn for exercising, and easily stay put when moving around.
- Although the MC1 earbuds don’t produce the best sound, it’s quite clear and loud enough for you to hear in most situations.
The open-air earbud format was never one that got me terribly excited. Part of the problem is that they always feel cumbersome on my ears and when I run, they tend to bounce in and out, which can get very irritating fast.
When I review earbuds I’m certain would be used for more vigorous activities, I fully understand that sound quality has to take a back seat to other features such as comfort, ability to stay in place, sweat resistance, and ease of use.
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When I’m out pounding the pavement, I don’t really care about soundstage, agile bass, smooth mids, or crisp highs. I just want to hear the music well, be able to hear ambient sounds (so I don’t get run over), and not be bothered with discomfort.
The Basueus MC1 Open-Ear TWS earbuds check all the right boxes.
My experience
Once they were paired, I tapped play on Spotify and immediately tapped pause. Why would I do that?
The initial sound was pretty hollow. I know I said sound quality wasn’t terribly important with earbuds used for exercise, but I do have my limits. Before tapping play again, I opened the Baesus mobile app (Android/iOS), connected the earbuds, and immediately jumped to the EQ section.
Within the app, there are four preset EQs (Baseus Classic, Hi-Fi Live, Jazz, Treble Boost, Acoustic, and Bass Boost. There’s also a Custom EQ option, but I found it to be problematic because when using a Custom EQ the volume was dramatically lowered and the curve wasn’t terribly accurate.
That would have been disappointing but I found the Bass Boost EQ curve to be adequate for most environments. Although it’s the middle of winter (and we just received our 6 weeks of Groundhog-induced bonus time with the cold), I was able to test the earbuds on my treadmill.
The results were impressive. Not only were the earbuds loud enough to drown out the treadmill, but they stayed in place and were quite comfortable. I’m not going to go through my usual individual song test results, mostly because the sound from the MC1 earbuds was pretty average. Fortunately, it’s not the sound that sets this apart, but the comfort and stability.
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Instead of wrapping around your ear, the MC1 earbuds clip to your ear, with the spherical side resting inside, and the rectangular side behind. When I first put the MC1 earbuds on, I thought they would fly off. When I activated my body however, I realized they’ll stay put. Even running hard on the treadmill didn’t compromise the stability.
The MC1 earbuds get a total of 40 hours of playtime (including recharging with the included case).
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
As for waterproofing, the MC1 earbuds enjoy IP57 Waterproof & Dustproof, which means they are protected from rain, sweat, and dust. As long as you don’t go swimming with these earbuds, they should be just fine.
Another really nice feature is the ability to customize the button control. This is done within the app and allows you to customize single-tap, double-tap, triple-tap, and press-hold actions.
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From within the app, there’s also Spatial Acoustics control (for me, keeping this on Normal was the best route), bass boost, low latency mode, and a find headphones option.
During my testing, I found the best settings were as follows:
- Spatial Acoustics – Normal
- Bass Boost – enabled
- Low Latency mode – enabled
- EQ – Rock Classic
The above settings gave me clear sound no matter the environment.
Because the Baesus MC1 earbuds are pretty cost-effective ($69 on Amazon), I found them to be worth every penny. While the sound they produce falls in the low-to-mid-range, the clarity and comfort easily make up for the average sonic production. Lastly, regarding battery life, you’ll get around eight hours of playtime on a single charge with an extra 32 hours from the charging case.
ZDNET’s buying advice
If you’re looking for a comfortable pair of earbuds that won’t break the bank, are stable while active, and you don’t care about audiophile-quality sound, the Baseus MC1 earbuds are a fantastic buy. You can wear these earbuds for hours at a time and won’t feel a bit of discomfort.
No, these will not blow you away with sonic accuracy or a wide-open soundstage, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a pair of earbuds that were more comfortable for your exercise efforts. Thanks to the open-ear design, you’ll also hear the sound around you, so you can exercise outside without missing the necessary audible cues to keep you safe.
Baseus MC1 Open Ear Clip-On Earbuds Specs
- Drivers – tri-magnetic with a nano-polymer triple-layer composite diaphragm.
- Frequency response – 20Hz – 20KHz
- Output -3.8-5V⎓240mA (120mA per port)
- Bluetooth – 5.4
- Noise Reduction – Reverse Sound Field Noise Cancellation and DNN Deep Sense noise reduction algorithm
- Water and dust resistance – IP57
- Weight – case 34g and each earbud is 4.5g.
- Price $69 on Amazon
