Mi Dual Driver In-Ear earphones review: Worth buying for Rs 799?

Mi Dual Driver In-Ear earphones review: ‘What’s in a name’ - asked William Shakespeare. A lot of of detail, answered Xiaomi! Its recently launched pair of earphones - Mi Dual Driver In-Ear earphones – are named what they are, literally! In-Ear earphones. It is a pair of in-ear earphones with dual drivers – a feature not-so-common in this segment. Priced at Rs 799, the earphones feature a tangle-free braided cable, magnetic suction design and voice assistant support. We have been using the earphones for a week now and here is our Mi Dual Driver In-Ear earphones review.

Mi Dual Driver In-Ear earphones review: Design and Build

The Mi Dual Driver earphones have an usual design with a Y-shaped cable which comes with a braided design for a tangle-free experience. The cable is fairly long at 1.25 metres with a 'splitter' joining the braided part to rubber cords that lead up to each of the buds. The cable is awkwardly long but handy at the same time. 

While I have always preferred the rubber cords, it is a personal choice and an increasing popularity of braided cables show that they do make a difference in user experience. The design certainly prevents the cable from tangling. 

The rubber cord comes with a remote that features three control buttons and a mic. Two of these are volume buttons while the middle button can be used to play or pause music. It also doubles as voice assistant activation button through long press. The buttons are reachable and responsive. 

The earphones have been launched in two colour options – Black and Blue, the latter we had for review purposes. 

The ear buds have a compact design with anodized aluminum body. The overall build quality is sturdy and impressive for a product that costs less than Rs 1,000. The ear cups are joined by magnetic backs. Xiaomi calls it a magnetic suction design and claims that it also makes the storage process convenient. The feature is very useful on neckbands or wireless earphones as they usually hand around your neck even when not in use. However, in this case, you are likely to put the earphones in pocket or a case – making the feature largely useless.

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Also, there is no play or pause function on the magnetic cups. 

Mi Dual Driver In-Ear earphones review: Performance and Audio Output

The Mi Dual Driver in-ear earphones offer value for your money. They come with 10mm and 8mm dynamic drivers for rich bass and crisp treble. Just like the most earphones in this segment, the Mi Dual driver earphones are also on the bass-heavy side. The tracks with heavier bass are far more enjoyable on this device.

For example, ‘Blinding Lights’ by The Weekend sounds a lot better than ‘Memories’ by Maroon 5. The vocals on the latter were almost echoing because of the enhanced bass. Billie Ellish’s ‘Bad Guy’, on the other hand, was more pleasant. 

The audio on podcasts was crystal clear with almost no distortion even at higher levels. I listened to an entire episode of 22 Yarns on the Mi Dual driver earphones without any fatigue. 

The other features of the earphone include voice assistant support and passive noise cancellation. Both these are rare at the price point and good to have. They clearly make a difference in your listening experience. 

Mi Dual Driver In-Ear earphones review: Worth Your Money?

Even with some smartphone makers ditching the headphone jack and increasing popularity of the truly wireless headphones industry, a majority of audiophiles in India continue to use wired in-ear earphones. Let’s be honest, the Mi earphones may not seduce the demanding music enthusiasts but there is a general lack of good products in the sub-Rs 1,000 segment – a void Mi Dual Drive in-ear earphones are capable of filing. They come with a premium look, tangle free design, decent audio output and great value for money.