tkin
Adept
Hi Guys, I recently bought the Xiaomi Piston 3.0 from Mi.com, as a replacement for the Piston 2.0, whose eartips went bust and the others are not fitting well.
First impressions:
Packaging: Exactly same as the Piston 2.0, however the rubber holder does not have the chocolate smell (very faint now). Now we have 3 eartips inside the case, large, small, extra small. Medium tips come pre installed. The rubber holder is not practical at all for carrying around, it would take a lot of time to wind and unwind the wires around it. I'd have preferred a pouch instead.
-7/10
Build quality: Wire is the same Kevlar coated lightweight stuff. The housing is now a hybrid of plastic and metal. The plastic feels cheap and you can see joints in them. Not the best plastic housing I'd seen, however the metal is brushed. Overall design is good and bit more modern. The sets do not look like pistons any more, wonder why they still call it piston. The eartips are at best mediocre in quality. They are the same old cheap thin piece of rubber that came with the Piston 2.0. They provide very little friction, and takes time settling into the ear. Something I had taken granted while using my Soundmagic E10. Also they are very similar to the Piston 2.0 eartips, which broke within one year.
-7.5/10
Mic+Buttons: The mic works really good, its clear but doesn't provide much noise cancellation. The buttons work well with my phone but probably does not work in some phones like HTC, Motorola (like Piston 2.0, need to test). Isolation is poor and sound leaks a bit. The controller+mic bit is now placed on the right wire, its more difficult to reach compared to the Piston 2.0, not sure whey took such a decision.
-7.5/10
Sound quality: Before beginning this section I'd like to iterate that I do not believe in burn in. I believe in our minds getting used to the sound therefore making us feel that it is improving. With this in mind I'd dive into the sound quality. First of all the bass is loud, it’s a bit too much. Mids and Highs are okay. However there is always the shadow of the lows hanging over the entire soundstage. Every time the base kicks in, it feels as if the soundstage is lacking a bit of clarity. The vocals are clear but at sometimes, especially during the bass heavy sections they lose focus. Compared to the previous model the soundstage is wider and more neutral, but the lows feel a bit muffled.
-7/10
Overall: 7.5/10 (taking price as a factor)
My Overall impression: Undoubtedly the best headset+mic under 1k, probably one of the best earphone for that price too. But it loses out to 2k+ earphones like Soundmagic E10, PL30 etc in terms of fit, comfort, isolation, clarity and separation. If you have the Piston 2.0 then here is no reason to upgrade unless you prefer the new looks. For others with a limited budget this is the best option.
Note:
1. My audio setup consists of LG G2, Laptop + FiiO Olympus 2 USB DAC.
2. For comparisons I have used – Soundmagic E10 and Audio Technica M50x.
3. For testing I have listened to – Daft punk (Digital love, One more time), Kraftwerk (The man machine), SHato & Paul Rockseek (Wonderfooled), Miho Fukuhara (Let it out), Fly Project (Toca Toca), Yiruma (A river flows in you) and some Daughtry tracks.
First impressions:
Packaging: Exactly same as the Piston 2.0, however the rubber holder does not have the chocolate smell (very faint now). Now we have 3 eartips inside the case, large, small, extra small. Medium tips come pre installed. The rubber holder is not practical at all for carrying around, it would take a lot of time to wind and unwind the wires around it. I'd have preferred a pouch instead.
-7/10
Build quality: Wire is the same Kevlar coated lightweight stuff. The housing is now a hybrid of plastic and metal. The plastic feels cheap and you can see joints in them. Not the best plastic housing I'd seen, however the metal is brushed. Overall design is good and bit more modern. The sets do not look like pistons any more, wonder why they still call it piston. The eartips are at best mediocre in quality. They are the same old cheap thin piece of rubber that came with the Piston 2.0. They provide very little friction, and takes time settling into the ear. Something I had taken granted while using my Soundmagic E10. Also they are very similar to the Piston 2.0 eartips, which broke within one year.
-7.5/10
Mic+Buttons: The mic works really good, its clear but doesn't provide much noise cancellation. The buttons work well with my phone but probably does not work in some phones like HTC, Motorola (like Piston 2.0, need to test). Isolation is poor and sound leaks a bit. The controller+mic bit is now placed on the right wire, its more difficult to reach compared to the Piston 2.0, not sure whey took such a decision.
-7.5/10
Sound quality: Before beginning this section I'd like to iterate that I do not believe in burn in. I believe in our minds getting used to the sound therefore making us feel that it is improving. With this in mind I'd dive into the sound quality. First of all the bass is loud, it’s a bit too much. Mids and Highs are okay. However there is always the shadow of the lows hanging over the entire soundstage. Every time the base kicks in, it feels as if the soundstage is lacking a bit of clarity. The vocals are clear but at sometimes, especially during the bass heavy sections they lose focus. Compared to the previous model the soundstage is wider and more neutral, but the lows feel a bit muffled.
-7/10
Overall: 7.5/10 (taking price as a factor)
My Overall impression: Undoubtedly the best headset+mic under 1k, probably one of the best earphone for that price too. But it loses out to 2k+ earphones like Soundmagic E10, PL30 etc in terms of fit, comfort, isolation, clarity and separation. If you have the Piston 2.0 then here is no reason to upgrade unless you prefer the new looks. For others with a limited budget this is the best option.
Note:
1. My audio setup consists of LG G2, Laptop + FiiO Olympus 2 USB DAC.
2. For comparisons I have used – Soundmagic E10 and Audio Technica M50x.
3. For testing I have listened to – Daft punk (Digital love, One more time), Kraftwerk (The man machine), SHato & Paul Rockseek (Wonderfooled), Miho Fukuhara (Let it out), Fly Project (Toca Toca), Yiruma (A river flows in you) and some Daughtry tracks.