It's time take another pair of totally wireless earbuds for a spin. There are tons of these on the market right now from literally every brand in the game, but we're taking a close look at the Mpow X3 earbuds.
It's time take another pair of totally wireless earbuds for a spin. There are tons of these on the market right now from literally every brand in the game, but we're taking a close look at the Mpow X3 earbuds.
Mpow X3 design
One of my biggest gripes with most truly wireless earbuds is bulky cases. There's a good argument to be made for long battery life, especially with headphones, but I personally am not a fan of gigantic cases that make it hard to carry the headphones around in your pocket.
Mpow seems to have struck a good balance here. The X3 headphones deliver 7 hours on a single charge and about 20 hours with the included case, which should be enough for most people, but the case itself isn't too bulky.
It's roughly shaped like Apple's AirPods case, but a bit chunkier to make room for the wider design of the headphones themselves. It is, however, incredibly light and plasticky. I like the size, and the design works, but it feels cheap.
The headphones themselves don't generally have this issue. They're still made of a lightweight plastic, but that's much more forgiveable when they have to sit in your ear for extended periods of time. You want comfort more than anything. I'm actually kind of surprised at how light they are considering the 7 hours of playback, but hey, no complaints here.
Mpow also includes several extra tips in the box so you can customize these headphones for maximum comfort.
Music and movies
At just $70, it's hard to have too high hopes for how a pair of headphones can sound. The Mpow X3 earbuds aren't at the bottom of the bin, but they're priced pretty far below some other flagship earbuds. That doesn't mean they can't compete, though.
For the price point the Mpow X3 you're getting an incredibly well-rounded set of headphones. The fitted tips make for some pretty good bass response and noise isolation so you'll still get some thump to your music and a good rumble from impacts in movies and TV shows, but they manage to maintain a good, if emphasized definition in the mids and highs that other bass-heavy cheap headphones can muddle up.
That means your music is going to sound full, but still maintain its definition even when you crank the volume up, and you won't struggle to make out dialogue in action movies. YouTube videos and podcasts are also great here without having to max out the volume on your phone just to hear people talking.
They're still probably going to be outclassed by Samsung's Galaxy Buds, but at half the price they still hold up exceptionally well. Setting up an EQ on your phone can also squeeze a little extra nuance out of the headphones, and I set mine up with the built-in OnePlus EQ to remove some of the lower-mids to even out the sound a bit.
More simple than smart
For better or worse, the Mpow X3 headphones don't lean too heavily into voice assistants, touch controls, or any of the fancy marketing fluff that's included in just about every pair of headphones on the market these days. There's no companion app, or funky gestures to set up; they're just a straightforward pair of Bluetooth headphones, albeit with some pretty good cancelation. That's probably the smartest thing here, and does work surprisingly well for just using one extra outward-facing microphone. You toggle it on and off with a long-press on your earbuds, and that's it.
You can also tap the earbuds to adjust volume or skip tracks, and you can call up your voice assistant with a long-press. Otherwise, though, that's pretty much it. Mpow is positioning these as no-frills, solid headphones, and they're cramming a feature list to sell them.
That's not to say that there aren't cool features here, too, though. Like we mentioned earlier, the ANC does work very well for a pair of wireless earbuds, and the case charges via USB-C. You IPX7 water resistance if you're looking for some earbuds to work out in, and they use Bluetooth 5.0 for better sound and call quality and less latency, and Mpow says the design will hold up to exercise and a little bit of abuse. Not bad for the price.
Worth it?
For $70 you're flying a bit below Samsung's Galaxy Buds, Apple's AirPods, and most other good wireless earbuds that typically cost upwards of $100. But saving that $30 and going with the Mpow X3 doesn't seem like it comes with many, if any, drawbacks.
The sound quality is there, and you're still getting Bluetooth 5.0, active noise cancelation, and USB-C charging, which is more than what the AirPods can say. They still lack wireless charging like the Galaxy Buds, but is that worth a $60 premium? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.
My only real gripe would be the build quality here. Mpow says they're rated for a good amount of use and exercise, but I can't help but feel like a little better construction on the case would've gone a long way to justify the price, especially we aren't talking about some of the really cheap options on the market.
But with that being said, if you're in the market for a new pair of earbuds and you want to step up from the entry level stuff but can't justify spending as much on headphones as a Moto G7, well, check out the Mpow X3. You'll find a lot to like here.
Buy it now: Amazon
Guess I agree with the article that for the price, as a no frills pair of earbuds, the MpowX3 is alright.
That said there is a fair amount of exaggeration in the advertising for these earbuds that I want to set straight. Bought myself a pair online after reading all the rave reviews.
First off, the MpoW X3 is NOT IPX7 or IPX8 as advertised. It’s not even splash proof. Splashed some water on my face while listening to music on the X3. As soon as water touched the right earbud, it shut off ANC and then powered itself off. Tried turning it back on; all I got was loud static. I quickly tried drying it with a towel and, leaving it out in the sun for a couple of hours. No difference. That was my biggest disappointment as the IPX7 at this price was what made the buy for me.
Second, the ANC; no doubt it feels like there is some reduction of background noise. But if you listen carefully, each time you turn on the ANC, the audio gets louder too.. So not really sure if it’s actually noise cancellation or just sound amplification, or both!
Third, you can’t do “mono” with the left earbud. Only with the right. So if you’re running low on charge, you can’t charge the right bud while listening to a call or music on the left. The audio cuts off automatically when the right bud goes into the box.
Like I said, it’s alright for the price. Wireless earbuds; decent sound. But that’s all.
Well, noticed this review. I’d been using Samsung Galaxy Buds + and pretty happy with them, but heard about these x3’s and for a net price of $50 (coupon reduction from $60 price on Amazon) not much to lose. These are ver 2.0 and ipx rating increased from 7 to 8. Doubt much else changed in design, but these sound MUCH better (play louder with less distortion and deeper more impactful bass) than Galaxy Buds + (or the original G Buds which I’d used earlier). They also afford better call quality. The ANC is a bonus and works surprisingly well with not too much of a power drain — as long as you don’t expect COMPLETE cancellation of background noise. Except for lack of wireless charging (though they do at least charge with usb C) these blow anything costing less than $200 out of the water. Though your review is positive, I feel it doesn’t do an adequate job of recognizing the astounding sound quality for the price.