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Xiaomi Pistons

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DubiousMike:
Just picked up a pair of gen3 pistons off tinydeal for $16 to use for phone calls and casual listening on my short walk into work from an offsite garage.  Stock tips are garbage but throw on a pair of sony hybrids and these are really quite decent.  Great ergonomics for cheap iems and more balanced, arguably better sound than nuforce ne7m's, for example, which were around $50-60 when I bought them (I think).  Cord has some microphonics as noted above but look and feel of build quality is very high overall, except for the inner side of the buds themselves which is just matte black plastic.  Mic and remote work well, and the cloth cord is nice and tangle resistant.  Overall a very good budget option for those looking for a cheap headset to throw in their pocket that offers some but not total noise isolation.

Julian67:

--- Quote from: DubiousMike on August 01, 2015, 04:02:12 PM ---Cord has some microphonics as noted above but look and feel of build quality is very high overall, except for the inner side of the buds themselves which is just matte black plastic.  Mic and remote work well, and the cloth cord is nice and tangle resistant.  Overall a very good budget option for those looking for a cheap headset
--- End quote ---

The top Y section of the cable is *just* long enough to allow these to be worn with cable over ear (and then down to the frony - too short for down the back) and this totally fixes the cable noise.  It does look a bit odd though, maybe like bad jewellery from a fleamarket.

Build quality and choice of materials and design of Xiaomi stuff seems to be really very good, way above average.  I have a few Pistons, both plastic and metal 2nd generation, and a couple of different versions of the newest ones.  I also bought some as gifts.  None has failed yet.  So far this makes them more durable than IEMs I have bought by UE/Logitech, Sennheiser, Shure and Klipsch.  My endurance record for IEMs is currently held by a godawful pair of CX300 clones made or marketed by Razer which refuse to die.  I can't bring myself to throw out stuff which still works so currently my hope rest on the Razer's rubberised cable perishing.  Or maybe I will be burgled.


--- Quote from: gurubhai on September 14, 2014, 01:57:50 AM ---... there is an edge to the upper-midrange and vocals were a bit harsh.
..

--- End quote ---

Agreed.  This is the only real criticism I have in terms of the sound it puts out (isolation is also not great but that may not matter depending on environment).  I think "an edge" is a decent description.  There is something a bit hollow and insubstantial with powerful high pitch vocals and similar sounds.  95% of the time it's not really a problem, and if you use these where your music is competing with external sounds then it just doesn't matter.

btw on my Galaxy Note II I've found the mic quality and button functions to be beyond criticism.

This makes an excellent Android good headset and imo a very listenable general purpose IEM.

lm4der:
I'm not sure if this has already been answered, but is version 3 an improvement in SQ over ver 2?

DubiousMike:

--- Quote from: Julian67 on August 06, 2015, 12:33:56 AM ---The top Y section of the cable is *just* long enough to allow these to be worn with cable over ear (and then down to the frony - too short for down the back) and this totally fixes the cable noise.  It does look a bit odd though, maybe like bad jewellery from a fleamarket.

--- End quote ---

Agree that this works - the annoying part is that you have to switch L & R to do it comfortably based on the ergonomics.  If I'm listening to audiobooks, or making calls, I don't care at all about having the channels reversed, but with a lot of my music, it bugs me to hear the wrong instrument come in in the wrong ear.

Afraid I can't comment on gen 2 vs. gen 3, I just read that gen 3 has a slightly more neutral FR and decided to give it a go.  As Julian indicated, sound and build quality are both really impressive for the price.   

Julian67:
The sound is very different from gen 2 to gen 3.

Piston 2 has very obviously boosted bass and a tendency for the highs to occasionally sound a bit hollow and harsh - not nearly so bad as that seems when written down in black and white but apparent nonetheless.  The warm and boosted bass is actually quite welcome imo as it helps deal with external noise in an open IEM with limited isolation ability, and also it is done very well - not a bloated mess, not horribly booming, mostly just extra.

Piston 3 is much more neutral, there's not the high frequency edginess,  and they are very slightly more isolating (though this is a case of "not much" vs "very little").  I'm sure if you measured it you would say "that's the better one" but in real life, used in an urban or otherwise noisy environment, I'm a bit less convinced by it.  I think the materials, design and controls all feel like a higher quality product in the Piston 3 but for commuting or using on the street I'd probably go for the Piston 2 and just crank the volume up till that big bass makes the noise of engines recede.......I'm sorry did you say something?

I also find the Piston 2 a bit more comfortable but of course YMMV.

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