Haylou Moripods QCC3040 AptX TWS Semi-in-ear BT 5.2 buds

How I review: (See Previous Reviews)

Model: Haylou Moripods
Price: MSRP $34.99
Distributor: TomTop
Vendor Website: Haylou
Review Reference: RC035

Manufacturer Info:

• Brand: Haylou
• Model: Moripods T33
• Chipset: Qualcomm QCC3040
• Microphones: 10502 2211 MEMS 4 mic-array, CVC8.0
• Driver: 12mm dynamic moving coils
• Codecs: AptX adaptive, AAC, SBC
• ANC: No
• Power Management: LP6260
• Operation Range: 10m
• Battery Capacity: 40 mAh
• Charging Time: Approx. 1.5 h
• Single Playtime: 3-6 hours
• Standby time: approx. 105 h
• Charge Case Input : 5V ( 500 mA)
• Charge Case Output: 5V (150 mA)
• Battery Capacity: 310 mAh
• Charging Time: Approx. 2.5 h
• Standby time: Approx. 5 months
• App Support: No
• Bluetooth Range: 10m advertised
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 5.2
• Bluetooth Protocols: HSP/ HFP/ A2DP/ AVRCP
• Water Resistance: IPX4

Includes:

1 x Pair wireless headphones
1 x USB Type-C Charge Case (no wireless charging)
1 x USB Type-C Charge Cable
1 x User manual (Chinese only EDIT - English too)
1 x Quick Guide (Chinese and English)



Real Life Experience

Haylou are a brand that have been prominent in the Chifi market for some time, and have had some popular releases within the TWS community, notably their last stem-based, the T19, but also the GT1 and GT2 which received good independent reviews. Many of Haylou's releases look 'familiar' - an example would be the T16, which are essentially a less-glam version of the QCY HT01, and a deeper look into their background gives you a clearer picture of how the TWS market works in China.

Haylou is a brand belonging to Dongguan Liesheng Electronic Technology, a subsidiary of Dongguan Hele Electronics. Dongguan Liesheng Electronic Co., Ltd. was established in May 2015, securing Series A funding from Xiaomi and thus becoming an early member of the Xiaomi Ecological Chain. Hele Electronics and Liesheng Electronic are the OEM for Xiaomi's Mi / Redmi Airdots. ODM is a big part of their business - i.e. you may have already tried their buds without a Haylou logo on, or based on their design, so to cut to the chase - that's why their buds often look generic or familiar.

This is the first time I've tested a set of Haylou buds. I purchased these - they have had no contact with me at all regarding this review. The buds were purchased through Tomtop - my first time ordering there, no issues!

The Unboxing - 6/10



There is nothing glam about the Moripods unboxing. The front clearly demonstrates their key feature - aptX adaptive, and whilst my instagram review shows the unboxing clearer there's a hint of 'QCY' about the presentation, with a flimsy cardboard box and the basic parameters listed on the back and key features - the chip, the mics, IPX4, usb-C and smart touch control - listed on the side, along with a QR code for their site.



The manual is in Chinese and English, but a quick guide adds a (bizarrely) repeated procedure for powering the buds on!! First time around I didn't notice you have to unfold the user guide to reveal the English translation.

First impressions are not exactly exciting - very budget stuff, and a small, white USB-C cable chucked inside, but if you have to cut corners - the box is where I'd rather it done. And that is exactly what Haylou have done.

The Case - 7/10



As with their sister company QCY, the case is not where the development goes. The material is lightweight, matte and actually quite nice looking in the blue model, but after a few weeks marks have started to show and whilst the hinge is easy enough to operate with one hand, even with a pretty fierce magnet.



Getting the buds back into the case is, as with many cigarette-box style cases, often a PITA, but fine once you get used to it. There are lights on the top of the buds, and they glow when powered on, and flash twice when powered off. Otherwise they remain off, thankfully.



It has a nice little Haylou logo on the side and takes around 2 hours to charge the case and buds fully, which is fairly efficient, but there is no quick charge and no wireless charging.



Charging is only via the USB-C at the bottom, this and gives a solid 25 hours worth of charge with around 3-4 extra charges. The case uses the Saixin Micro XB5335A battery protection IC to prevent against overcharge and overdischarge, and this provides the prolonged standby time they outline in their marketing material, and is a common component used by the likes of Edifier, Honor and Anker in many of their products.



The case is essentially 46x46x24mm, which makes it one of the smallest cases of this type. Measuring in smaller than the FIIL CC2, and adding a lid which is always useful, and similar in dimensions, if not design, to the SoundPEATS TrueAir2, only the 1More Comfobuds out-size it by some distance.




The portability is further enhanced by its weight. At 39g, this is one of the lightest cases I've tested, although there is a compromise - the hinge is extremely flimsy and it doesn't seem like it would pass the toddler test - so if you have kids, keep them away from it.

The case also lacks the 'green, amber, red' charging scheme of the 1More Comfobuds, for example, with only a single red light appearing from within the case when battery is low but charging.


The Ergonomics - 7/10

There are lots of good points about the design of the Moripods. Firstly, whilst they seem a little 'cuboid' compared to the rounded edges of the likes of the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 92/95, actually this works in their favour, as adjustments are easier to make without initiating the touch controls.

However there are also some negatives. The bit that goes in your ear is glossy rather than the matte finish of the rest of the bud. This should really be the other way around - they can feel a bit 'slidey' in your ear - the matte finish of something like the SoundPEATS TrueAir2 would have given them a bit more traction.



At 37mm they are one of the shortest buds around.



Coming in 0.5mm shorter than the TrueAir2, 2mm shorter than the 1More Comfobuds, and 3mm shorter than the FIIL CC2, although we are talking semantics here - alongside the Comfobuds, the difference is so academic that at certain angles they look longer.



Note above that like the others, there is a small filter for pressure reduction, and like the FIIL, the battery connectors reside on the base of the bud. This is handy for those with Nickel allergies as it makes them less likely to make direct contact with your skin.



At 4.24g, the Moripods are one of the heavier of their ilk, weighing in heavier than the TrueAir2, Comfobuds and even the FIIL CC2, although again, this is academic and makes little difference in their comfort or ability to remain in your ears. In fact, if anything, it makes them slightly more secure.



More pertinently, they have reduced the lip size around the edge of the mesh over models such as the Edifier TWS200 and TaoTronics SoundLiberty 95. This makes them actually rather comfy once you get the right fit, but the left bud was not well finished so I had to give the edge a very light sanding with 6000 grit sandpaper. Now it's perfect. The rough edges are not just metaphoric when it comes to the Moripods - there are plenty, and it's something you have to accept at this price point.



The lacklustre QC can be noticed throughout when you look closely, with the mesh and holes all seemingly badly finished, as you would expect at this price point, although from a distance they actually look quite nice - certainly not as divisive as the CC2 or Taotronics Soundliberty 80.



The length is well proportioned for calls, and they perform OK (see mic for further elaboration) in this respect. They also passed the shake test well (see my instagram video for more details) and feature IPX4 water resistance. This is mainly achieved with a lot of glue, like many buds of this type, but getting caught in the rain won't render them ready for the knackers yard.

Call Quality - Indoors - 7/10, Outdoors - 6/10

There are a limited pool of MEMS mics around, and the QCC3040 chip uses Qualcomm's cVc 8.0 echo cancellation and noise suppression technology to try to separate your voice and other noises. Generally this is something Qualcomm are not particularly outstanding at, and this is more a limitation of the chip rather than the components, but Haylou have done their best to try to remediate this by covering the MEMS modules with protective silicone covering.

Indoors your voice sounds OK on cell calls, but on Zoom or Teams it can sound compressed and pretty hollow. Calls are clear, but lack the naturalness of many of their competitors. That said, minor disruptions around you are handled really well. I had my daughter clapping repeatedly for a minute and that was inaudible on the recorded call at the other end.

Outdoors it struggles a little with the usual problems - passing traffic and wind come through pretty loud, and your voice becomes thin and robotic as the buds try to compensate.



There is little earbud vendors can do to combat this. Positioning of the ambient mics helps, but accelerometers or AI engines such as the elevoc voc plus used in the TaoTronics Soundliberty 80 just add layers of cost, when for most people, the mic will be more than adequate for basic tasks.

Audio - 7.5/10 (for the price paid), 7/10 (raw score)

The sound profile out of the box is a bit too bright for my liking. The treble is far too 'raspy', and this was especially evident on 'I was born on Christmas Day' by St Etienne, where Sarah Cracknell's vocals sounded extra lispy.

As expected, the lows are toned down a little, but this doesn't really bother me too much. If you're a basshead, these buds are probably not for you, with subbass rumbles of the Jabra 75t I was listening to earlier in the day the polar opposite, and yet the mid-bass is still reasonably well represented and permits an airy soundstage that is clean, without managing the detail you would expect on IEM's - but that's a Bluetooth problem, not specifically a Haylou issue. That said, listening to techno wasn't a disappointment after tweaking the EQ, and typical tracks that trouble cheap earbuds from John Legend, Bruno Mars and Leona Lewis all performed OK.

Fortunately, they respond pretty well to EQ, both on Android and Windows, with no degradation in performance as a result. I tweaked the subbass up a notch, lifted the low mids and reduced the highs, and noticed no distortion.

Note - the Moripods are extremely loud. They also defaulted to Aptx-adaptive on several Android devices I tested. Bravo!

Connectivity, Controls and Other Features - 7/10

Connectivity is excellent, possibly the best I've tested so far. I can listen to conference calls on my PC whilst lying in the bath, which is around 10m away, but not line of sight - usually a challenge for most buds. The Moripods QCC3040 SoC supports True Wireless Mirroring, but also balances out the power distribution between the buds, and it definitely feels like a huge upgrade on the QCC3020 chip, which did not support this feature. Single mode is possible, simply by putting the other bud in the case, and role-swapping/bud-to-bud handover is seamless.

Latency is also very good, coming in at around 175ms on Windows, and unquestionably lower on Android, where aptX-adaptive is supported. This is really noticeable on videos - I tested on VLC for Android and lipsync is pretty close.

Controls are straightforward enough - a short press of either bud will play/pause or answer call. A long touch rejects the call. Double tap left plays the previous track, double tap right goes forward a track. Triple tap is voice assistant. There is no volume control, alas. Unfortunately, the touches often result in a loud beep, which can't be turned off.

There is no ANC - pointless anyway in this form factor - no wake word voice assistant (a blessing IMO) and no app support (an even bigger blessing)

Battery Life - 7/10

Battery life is pretty good by semi-in-ear standards, coming in at around 3.5-5 hours, but realistically closer to 5 if you keep the volume low, and you should as they are very loud.

120 minutes for a full charge is a little inconvenient, but it gives the buds 25 hours total charge - one of the best in its class. Testing showed the charging power at just below the documented 1.15Wh, and the battery capacity of 310mAh may not seem amazing, but it is more than sufficient to charge the buds at least twice.

Final Comments

The MoriPods are my first Haylou buds, and I went for the blue, rather than the white, pink or black. They look pleasant and make a nice change from the usual. That Haylou have made the jump into using the new Qualcomm chip relatively soon compared to their competitors is reflective of their status in China, and its perhaps unfair to score them lower for not having a fancy box and international manual like 1More or Honor.

The operation of the buds is easy thanks to the shape, and they have some good features - the sound is decent for the money, the battery life is very good, the latency is excellent, the connectivity is out of this world, and they're reasonably comfortable.

That said, there are more tangible reasons why they fall slightly short of some of the competition. Aside from the build quality, which under the loupe clearly lacks some finesse, they aren't quite in the same league as the FIIL CC2, 1More Comfobuds or SoundPEATS TrueAir 2 for calls, the sound signature is a bit fatiguing unless you have access to a 5 band minimum EQ, and the case could do with better indication of battery life.

That said, at just £23 the Moripods are great value - given their aptx-adaptive and bt5.2 support, they represent a solid, if somewhat 'mass-produced' feeling option, and for US/EU/UK customers, if you find the TrueAir2 uncomfortable but are dead set on semi-in-ear buds, the MoriPods might just be worth a try.

Over the last few days I've grown to really like them - the fact I can still be brushing my teeth at 9.03am whilst pretending to be on a conference call due to the amazing connectivity might be the driver for this, but I'm sure I won't be the only one that will welcome that!

Price Weighted Score: 77%
Raw Score: 71%

ig: @regancipher
About Haylou

Haylou's product portfolio ranges from wireless audio, smart wearables, to IoT and other categories. And its business has covered more than 100 countries and regions, serving tens of millions of users around the world. We are committed to establishing a digital health ecology by integrating a "user-device-data" scenario via technological innovation. Embracing the values of "Empowering & Awakening", Haylou aims to inspire you to keep challenge, explore your potential and find a better self.

Other Haylou Reviews:

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Moripods