Xiaomi Mi Piston Earphones : Review

After launching a series of successful products in Indian market, Xiaomi also introduced their budget-friendly premium earphones, known as Mi Piston Earphones. The thing which attracted many people towards these earphones is their looks and price tag. Mi Piston Earphones looks attractive, total show-off material and many websites gave a positive review about them. Mi Piston Earphones are available exclusively via Flipkart in India, they are priced at Rs.799

Unboxing & First Impressions

I was really impressed by the packaging of Mi Piston earphones, they came in a tiny brown (recycled paper) box packaging which was compact and simple. I also liked that Xiaomi used the packaging itself to print the Instructions, thus eliminating the need of separate booklets etc. This sure saves paper and also makes the box contents minimal. On opening the box, we see a nice Apple-like plastic box with transparent lid, through which you can see the nice earphones, beautifully arranged in a rubberized, chocolate brown colored mold. The colors Gold and Brown compliments the packaging and also makes the earphones look premium. 

Inside the box, you get Mi Piston Earphones itself, Three Different-Sized Ear tips and a clip for attaching the cable to your shirt. You also get a molded-rubberized arrangement which you can use for storing your earphones when not in use, just like a carry case. The overall packing do looks similar to Apple but this one comes with a pocket-friendly price tag, unlike Apple. 

The Mi Piston Earphones were priced for Rs.999 initially but now the price went down to Rs.799, which is a steal deal. 

Build Quality & Design

The built quality of Mi Earphone is extremely good and durable. The materials used are of high quality and feels premium in hands. They are very light weighted, you won't feel them in ears and once you put them on, they stay there and does not pop out. The Mi Piston earphone cable has Braided-Kevlar coating, which literally makes the cable Anti-tangle. The earphone drivers, remote and the top of jack is made of metal and has premium texture. The metallic design gives it premium feel and I really like that.

Mi Piston Earphones are available in plenty of colors but the one available in India right now is Gold & Chocolate Brown color. The color combination is very soothing and really compliments the design. The backside of earphones has silver mesh design which looks like bass vents but I cannot confirm whether they really help in bass or are just design. 

The remote has three buttons, one is used for picking / ending calls and the other two are for volume up and volume down. The center button can be used for Play/Pause and skipping tracks, depending on the number of presses made.

(When listening to music using Mi Piston Earphones)

1 Tap on the Button = Play/Pause Music -2 Taps on the Button = Next Track -3 Taps on the Button = Previous Track

You can use the volume keys to change the volume when listening to music. I was glad to see the Volume buttons on the Mi Piston remote, many other earphones in this range does not come with Volume keys. The Volume buttons gives you remote freedom, you can control the music without touching your phone. However I found that the buttons on Mi Piston Remote are very small in size and sometimes hard to press. The cable is long enough, it's Anti-Tangle and feels good, thanks to the braided kevlar coating. The L and R indicators are present on the drivers, they are a bit small but can be seen easily under light.

Sound Quality

Apart from the good looks, Mi Piston Earphone also sound amazing, the audio quality is rich and clear. However they require a short Burn-in period before they can jump to full performance. The treble performance is very good and the mids are also nice, I'm not much of an audiophile, so I won't bring in the technical details. Since they use beryllium diaphragms, the bass performance is also good but still I find the bass to be on lower side. If I compare them with my primary earphones (Sennheiser Cx275s), the bass is nowhere near to them. Anyhow I'm not saying that there is no bass or poor bass on Mi Piston earphones, I'm just saying that the bass performance is on lower side as compared to it's treble and mid performance. In short, the earphones sound great if you are not too much into bass, they are good for Rock, R&B, Pop, Jazz etc. but heavy-metal listeners may not like it. One thing which I liked about Mi Piston's is that it catches every beat and background sounds well.

If you still wish to know about the Technical specifications of the earphones then here you go.

Technical Specifications

Here are the technical specifications for Mi Piston v2 Earphones:

Frequency Response : 20 Hz ~ 20 KHz
Impedance : 16 Ohm
Sensitivity : 93 dB
Headphone Type : In-Ear headphones

Weight : 12 grams
Controls : In-line Mic and Remote
Headphone Jack : 3.5 mm Jack
Cord Type: 1.2 meter Braided Kevlar coated

Warranty

Mi Piston Earphones come with 1 Year Warranty which can be availed at your nearest service center (Make sure you have the Invoice). The Warranty will cover your Mi Piston Earphones but not the accessories which came with the earphones, like the Eartips, Box and shirt-clip.

My Review & Thoughts

For the price tag of Rs.799 ($14) these earphones are a great deal. They look premium, come in a stylish molded, rubberized case and with plenty of accessories like 4 different size pairs of Eartips (one is already on earphones) and a metallic shirt-clip which you use to keep the earphones hooked to your shirt. The eartips are easy on your ears, they are light weighted and very comfortable. Overall Mi Piston Earphones delivers Luxurious feel and quality, the Audio quality is great, thanks to beryllium diaphragms, which are said to allow better low bass performance. The Bass on Mi Piston Earphones is good but a bit on lower side, so I wont recommend these to the Bass-Heads who are too much into Metal. The treble and mids on Mi Piston Earphones are very good, the sound is crisp and crystal clear but the bass is a bit low. 

Out-of-the Box the earphones might sound a bit dull but don't worry, these earphones require a short Burn-in time before they can jump to full-performance, a day of listening will do the job. After Burn-in there will be noticeable improvement in performance of Mi Piston Earphones. 

Mi Piston Earphones are good as a fashion accessory, as they come in a luxurious packaging and with premium looks. The combination or metal with kevlar gives it a unique and luxury feel. These earphones are good if you want to show-off, on the other hand they sound amazing, the audio quality is very good (expect for bass, which is a bit low) and they also flaunt a friendly price tag of Rs.799 in India. Just go for it!!! 


I would rate then 3 out of 5
(I would've rated them 4 but since the Bass is not up-to-the-mark, 3 is good)


Read My Previous Earphone Reviews

Skullcandy Ink'd 2 with Mic Review
Sennheiser Cx275s with Mic Review

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About Jimmie Luthra

Jimmie Luthra is a Mariner, Tech enthusiast, Blogger and Gadget reviewer. He is fond of technology and is usually found playing with some piece of tech. He is also a Guitarist, Music lover & fitness freak.