Mixcder HD601

ngoshawk

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Inexpensive. Easy to connect. BT 4.2. apt-X Low Latency. Comfortable. Decent enough sound. Nice looking. Worth a look for those who like bass.
Cons: Bass Boost adds TOO much. Not the overall sound of the MS301. Bass does tend to overwhelm sound signature.
They say the third time is the charm. Well, this is the third Mixcder product I have reviewed, and while good for those wishing for more bass than the MS-301 I reviewed awhile back; these might in fact be a good bet for those looking at a better bass response and Bluetooth to boot. Having reviewed the fine X5 IEM, this brings back around the review circle so-to-speak.

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I want to thank @Mixcder for this gracious opportunity, as well as apologize for the lengthy delay in my review. My hope is that the company is doing well, and all they ask is for an honest review, one in which they can use to constructively build upon this product.


To be honest, the 601’s were a nice surprise from Denise at Mixcder. Through the HeadFi page, several of us showed a good bit of interest in the product and signed up (https://www.head-fi.org/threads/loo...uetooth-headphone-with-apt-x-ll.856288/page-2). Ten lucky participants were chosen, and I felt very lucky to be included.

Obligations other than reviews shoved these to the back shelf for far too long. Collecting dust, I would look at them, and in my mind state, “Another day perhaps.” I felt guilty. I felt like I was abandoning a once well-used toy. A toy, which was at one time played with quite a bit, but then cast to that shelf…you know the one…the one with the toys missing a button, or wheel, or just for newer “brighter” toys…sigh. Two things happened to rekindle my interest (OK, three…). My son took an affinity to the Mixcder MS-301’s, Denise politely asked me how it was going, and strangely; I saw dust marks left from where the headphone USED to be…but was moved slightly. Sometimes using all four of my eyes, I do notice details…not often enough from my wife’s perception…

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Upon investigation, I had caught my daughter using the 601’s…almost sheepishly; she asked if it was OK, she really liked the sound. I of course acquiesced to her repose, stating that since big bro liked the 301’s, that the 601’s were hers after I was done. As BOTH kids want the BT-enabled headphones NOW, I decided enough was enough. I owe it to the fine Mixcder people not only a fine review, but a fine story, too. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I do like to weave tales into my reviews. And, this is no exception. I say this, as I listen to Los Lonely Boys on Tidal Hi-Fi, through my iPhone X. And quite a pleasant sound it is, too. That said, duty calls, as my daughter “politely” gives me the look, darn near every day…It isn’t pleasant. It is like she learned that from her mother. I love her mother very much, but it scares me to be outnumbered whenst the boy returns to College…I genuinely fear that…



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Specs from the Mixcder site:


Mixcder HD601 Specification

Mic. Spec

Microphone Unit: Φ4*1.5mm

S.P.L: -42±3dB S.P.L at 1KHz

Impedance: ≤2.2kΩ

Frequency Response: 100Hz-10,000Hz

Operating Voltage: 1-10V

Directivity: Omni-directional


Speaker Spec

Speaker Diameter: Φ 40mm

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20,000Hz

Impedance: 32Ω

THD: <3%

S.P.L: 96±3dB S.P.L at 1KHz

Bluetooth Spec

Transmission Format: SBC, apt-X, apt-X Low Latency

Bluetooth Version: BT 4.2

Support Profile: HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP

Transmission Frequency: 2.402GHz-2.48GHz

Transmission Distance: 33 feet (about 10 meters)

Pairing Name: Mixcder HD601

Battery Spec

Charging Port: Micro USB 5V/1A

Standby Time: More than 1800 hours

Talking Time: About 15 hours

Playing Time: About 15 hours

Charging Time: About 2 hours

Battery Type: Built-in 360mAh rechargeable lithium battery

Environment

Operating Temperature: -10℃~ 45℃

Storage Temperature: -25℃~ 60℃

Dynamics:

Sporting the latest iteration of Bluetooth (BT), 4.2 apt-x-LL, the 601 paired easily with everything I had. Better in fact than the 301. With the 601, I rarely had to “forget” the device and reconnect. With the 301, it was quite often. I say this, and this has subsequently been rectified, so one need not worry.

Something I noticed right off the bat upon the first full cycle use, was the longevity of the battery. I could and did attain the 15 hours. And, subsequently, I achieved near-15 hours the majority of time. Factors such as source, distance to device, and other considerations did lower the time, but none of my “tests” showed less than 12 hours. Quite nice. And I can verify that the “Standby Time,” was indeed LOOOONNNGGG! As stated above the unit can sit idly by on that dusty shelf, errrr while not using for greater than 75 days. That is an outstanding time, and one where I pretty much didn’t worry about charging, because there always seemed to be a charge. One could easily go a full week of using the 601 for a couple of hours a day. You can also fall back upon the charging cable and still use the 601’s. But, you will lose the “Bass Boost” function as others have noted.

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Gear used:

iPhone X/iPhone 6+

Shanling M3s

Shanling M1

MacBook Pro


Compared to:

Mixcder MS-301

thinksound ON-2



The vast majority of testing was done using BT, only using the cable for sound, when charging (which was rare!).



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Aptandum et consummare:


Made of formed plastic, metal, rubber, and synthetic leather; there is nothing revolutionary, or extraordinary about the fit and finish. I say this in a good way. The unit does not draw attention to itself save the red highlight stripes on the driver housing and ear cup edge. This is a tasteful design, which underlies how a lack of ostentatiousness can be a good thing. Not drawing attention to oneself can be a good thing, on a commute, or again in office.


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The thinksound and 301’s on the other hand do their best to respectfully draw attention to themselves. Understated is a nice change in this regard and much appreciated by the Mixcder designers. I will say that the shape of the band lends itself to being more prominent than others, but this is not a bad thing. Clamp pressure is a bit above the 301, but definitely less than the ON2’s. Those are almost like a vice grip after a bit.


Microphonics do come into play, when touching the 601, due to the plastic, but…just keep your hands off, and it will be fine! Adjustability of the headband is good, with me finding a comfortable position both with and sans hat. A nice addition is the marking on the band to ensure you are of equal height. Although I have found myself using different heights on some bands, this is not the case on the 601. I equate this to my “lopsided head,” which my Mother stated happened from dropping me as a baby…sometimes even by accident, she tells me...(I jest, and I hope you understand that…)


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What this drivel boils down to is that I could find a comfortable position, with which I could listen for a good long time. Not as long or comfortably as the 301, but I could go much longer than the ON2. Headband padding is sufficient enough for long listens, too. And a big step up from others I have, or have auditioned (nameless here to protect the less than innocent). Controls were easy to use, and not the least bit confusing to this old dodder, a definite plus. Pushing the power button 2x, while on BT activated the Bass Boost, giving slightly “more” rumble to the mid-bass region. And while it gave (me) a more powerful punch, on some songs I noticed a definite loss of clarity. As @wiljen noted, Bass+, and Bass+++. I would concur. A somewhat congested sound resulted from complicated songs, due to the rumble. This did not happen but a couple of times, and when bass boost was off it did not happen to my ears. And I might add, probably not discernable when on a commute. This is a definite warm sounding headphone made more so, with bass boost.


The one fault I think Mixcder made with the construction of the 601 is not making them completely portable and foldable. One must be careful if you take them along for the ride (and not be listening…), as they are a full size headphone and take up that space in one’s backpack or briefcase. The plastic/metal construction does lend itself to abuse of said packs, but a better solution would have been a more foldable design. Overall, not bad and better than many at this price point, but behind more “refined” headphones, too.


A nice touch on the power/volume button side (right) is a light, which shows at what level BT is connected. From blue (powered on and in SBC), to red (a purple) for aptX, to green (aqua) denoting aptx LL. Thanks to @turbobb for noticing this. I was able to verify the slight change in colors as a result. Low Latency is the latest iteration of BT (as well as the 4.2 system), and it works quite well. I was unable to discern a delay in YouTube videos watched from my X. Not that I probably would have otherwise, but good to note regardless.


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Altius aldite:

Upon reacquainting myself with the HD601, some things had not changed. The bass was still very prominent in the scene, as was an intimate sound stage. As a result, separation of instruments suffered, as each fought for space in the sound signature. Mind you, this is critical based upon the very good setting of the MS-301’s. The two are tuned VERY differently. I find that the bass, while overly present and forward, do provide the necessary cover for noisy situations. And, based upon the looks “my” girls give me, that is indeed comforting. But compared to the 301’s, that slight airiness is definitely missing. The two are most definitely oriented for differing purposes and types of people.



I found myself quite enjoying the 301 again when compared. But, that lack of bass coming from the 601 did take time to get used to again. Where the 601 shines is in that isolating sound, with a good decent bass rumble. If you desire that in your sound, one would be silly not to consider this for your commute, or office setting. I do find the isolation better on the 601, as a result of the pads, and that bass. I confirmed this from the outside, too as I had each child-unit don a pair (the respective ones they will “inherit/steal” from me) and listen. The 601 had the leg up on isolating from the outside, too as it was near silent to my old ears. Call it a “near-bass-lovers” dream commuter pair, for an extremely reasonable price.



Bass can be defined as VERY present. This is for bass lovers, and I do believe those who favor large amounts of bass would like this sound. Think of being in a smaller room (soundstage), but having a 15” subwoofer going. Then when you tap into the bass boost, you effectively add a second 15” sub. It can be disconcerting, but a nice change from those headphones, which have what we will call “polite” bass, especially those who promote themselves as having bass…Ummm, no you don’t when compared to the 601. The thinksound ON-2 does have better bass to me, and more controlled, too. Defining them selves as a bass headphone, the ON2 has better expressed and precise bass than the 601. But for a headphone, which is well less than ½ the price, the 601 accords itself well. And as a nice compliment to its cousin the 301, which I would call that “polite” bass, but in a good way; not as described above.



As a result of the bass push, the mids do suffer. Vocals are pushed to the back, and can get lost in the shuffle. Turning off the bass boost helps, but this is not what you would purchase for a vocal-oriented headphone. That said, EQing the bass push down, did help solve this a bit, and male vocals became pretty decent. But, what is the point of taming the bass, if that is the critters intent? Mids were presented clean and clearly, and helped with separation and instrumentation. While behind the 301, the mids do help pull the aforementioned into a good acceptable range.



Treble as expected paid the price for the bass/mid “agreement.” Rolled off (even to my old ears), this is where the 301’s shine well ahead. While not meant to be a treble-lovers dream, the 301 is quite good at presenting the highs, especially when one considers that you are listening to a BT phone. And yes, technology has made this to where BT headphones are no longer the butt of jokes. To the point where I considered betting the excellent BT Focal Listen recently. I didn’t, but considered it deep into the decision. And, I would respectfully add, that it is because “budget” companies such as Mixcder have embraced BT, pushing the latest versions that we have to thank. I am glad, and can see several excellent examples since the release of the 601/301.



Soundstage does suffer as a result of being closed-back, which is a shame. I was hoping for a more open airy sound, but pretty much knew better going in…That said, this can be an advantage for those wanting a more personal listening environment. Sometimes, we just want to be left alone, and here the 601 does provide us that avenue.



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Separation suffers as a result of this small soundstage, and some music can be hard to discern and isolate as a result. But, we are talking about a budget BT headphone, which caters to bass loving people. Instrumentation is not the forte of the 601, either. But again…see the comment two sentences ago…


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Sana consummavi:



Throughout this review, I have been drawn into the negativity of the 601. And, I do apologize. That is not my intent, nor conclusion. I think a good part of that stems from how the bar was set from the MS-301. An extremely competent 4.2 BT headphone with a very good overall sound signature. One I could and would gladly listen to for a good long time. Eminently comfortable to wear and listen to, the 301 set a high standard for Mixcder, on the heels of the well-received x5 IEM to boot. When a company has many hits in a row, there is bound to be a miss. And based upon that last statement, one could rightfully conclude I will say the 601 are a miss. Well, guess what, I won’t.



When a company has hits (in a row as mentioned), this can embolden said company to try different things. Some even out of their comfort zone, or to fill a niche in which they did not have an offering. Think of where we would be if Mazda did not continue the convertible in the form of the excellent Miata (MX-5), in 1990. While I do believe we would still have an affordable convertible; Mazda single-handedly kept the passion for small affordable convertibles alive. Plus ours was EXCEEDINGLY more reliable than my old Triumph Spitfire. The Miata was and is back to being a fabulous example of that passion, when a company sets their site on something, which might go missing.



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I liken this to what Mixcder has done with the 601. They have stepped into a realm, where they saw fit to compliment the offerings they already had. Maybe not on Mazda-level, but the connection reverberates the same, especially with bass boost on…and largely they did succeed. Turning on bass boost, then playing your favorite old rock-n-roll song, or bass heavy genre can indeed make you relish that time in the small room. And getting at their roots, Mixcder has developed a quite competent bass BT headphone. One, I did enjoy and do appreciate.



I thank Mixcder for this tremendous honor, and do again apologize for the delay. Plus, my kids will be happy to steal, errr…”inherit” both Mixcdr’s. In fact, they are waiting like vultures above me right now…aaaaahhhhh, gufpobnlef! Wait, I’m not done!.....

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And in that Mixcder has succeeded

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turbobb

500+ Head-Fier
Pros: aptX Low Latency and great range delivers where it counts with non-fatiguing treble
Cons: Bass can be a bit overwhelming even with extra bass feature off


I’ve been an early adopter of Bluetooth head/earphones dating back to the original Jaybirds Bluebuds X as I simply couldn’t deal with the constant snagging of my earphones on the bus seats or fellow passengers limbs, bags, etc. on my daily commute. Given the decent sound quality (I’m not an audiophile by any means) I was quite content. However, as I expanded BT applications beyond just listening to music, I found the lag was a bit distracting at times while watching videos.

Once apt-X LL was released, I was intent on testing the reduced latency feature. My first foray into this was Avantree’s Audition Pro paired with their Priya II and there was definitely a noticeable improvement latency-wise, however the sound profile wasn’t totally to my liking so next up was Plantronic’s Back Beat Pro which I liked quite a bit. Based on memory, it had everything I liked about the original Backbeat and this time around, they are circumauraul (albeit just barely).

Not long after I purchased the BB Pro, Mixcder offered an opportunity to review their newly released HD601 of which this review covers with a focus on the Low Latency aspect.


PACKAGING & ACCESSORIES
The HD601 comes in pretty typical packaging; it arrived nestled in a plastic inner shell for protection with an outer cardboard sleeve:

Accessories include: User’s Manual (which is well written in decent English, no “Engrish” here), micro USB cable, 3.5mm audio cable, registration card (for extended warranty).

SPECIFICATIONS
Here are the specs as published by Mixcder:



DESIGN & FEATURES
The HD601 follows a pretty typical cookie cutter template as it comes to styling; that is, it should be instantly familiar to anyone who has ever used a Bluetooth headphone.

All the controls are on the right cup with each button serving multi-functions:

- power button (also used for pairing and play/pause, answer/hang-up, extra bass toggle)
- Vol + (or next track by pressing and holding)
- Vol – (or prev track by pressing and holding)

The microphone, 3.5mm jack and LED indicator are also housed on the right side. This particular LED is used to indicate pairing and codec in use.

Of note is that when connected to my iPhone, the volume controls are direct (you will see the volume change up and down on your screen with each button press). This isn’t the case with my Asus Zenfone (Android) in that the volume controls run independent of the one shown on the device. One will need to remember to set the volume on the HD601 to max and then control the volume on the device or vice versa. When paired with a BT Tx like Mixcder’s TR008 and using an analog source, I generally like to keep the headphone volume lower and the Tx source louder to prevent drop outs during quiet passages (this won’t occur with a digital source but I digress…).

The left cup features the micro-USB charging port and an LED dedicated solely as the charging indicator:

Both LED’s are well positioned so that they are well recessed within the hole and aren’t obnoxiously bright. I recall there was an old BT headphone I had (forgot which) but the LED was positioned to face forward and was really annoying with dark adapted eyes.

Each cup can be extended a total of 25mm length as indicated in 5mm increments on the steel bands:

However, the detents are actually at about 3.5mm intervals for a total of seven positions. They are solid enough and won’t accidentally slip between detents even when walking briskly.

The cups can be folded flat so that they face up towards your face when hung around the neck.

They can also swivel about 20 degrees the other way (with the front of the cups angled towards the nose when worn) for additional adjustment:

However, I feel that it’s far more important for cups to be able to swivel to follow the natural taper towards the rear of ones’ head. I’ve never understood why certain headphones don’t allow this.

Last but not least, the cups can also be articulated roughly 3 degrees on the Y-axis when worn to provide further adjustability.

Extra Bass (via Power button)
The extra bass feature is “hidden” given it’s activated by the power button and there is no label to indicate its multi-functionality capability. A quick double-press will either activate or deactivate it with no audio or visual cues save for the sudden and pronounced increase / decrease in bass and will retain this setting even after shut-off or when you pair it with another device.


COMFORT
Sadly, I’ve sold some great sounding BT cans due to the lack of comfort. Amongst those were Pendulumic’s Stance S1+ and ME’s Matrix 2 (which by memory are two of the best sounding BT cans I’ve owned). Subjectively, the HD601’s offer a great, comfortable fit overall as the cups can fully accommodate my ears (with lobes). The inner dimensions of the pads are 58.5mm x 38mm (2.3” x 1.49”):

As mentioned in the Design section, the ability for the cups to swivel towards the rear of ones’ head allows it to form a good seal around my ears that contributes to pretty decent noise isolation as well as reduced sound leakage.

The angled driver provides even more space for the helix so that it doesn’t touch the felt within the cup but due to some weird condition, I find that my left lobe has a problem with a few headphones without enough clearance:

I did experience discomfort with the HD601 as well in this regard but the great thing is that if I adjust the swivel properly the problem goes away.

The clamping force is decent without being overbearing. They stayed in position even when I shook my head vigorously sideways or while tilted fore/aft and also remained in place while doing burpees.

The light weight and decent foam cushions in the pads create a good level of comfort during long listening sessions though heat can be an issue especially in higher ambient temps. I do anticipate them to make great ear muffs which I look forward to testing with the cooling weather here.


BATTERY LIFE / CHARGING
In spurts of listening at moderate volume over the course of a few days, I do find the 15hrs quoted by the manufacturer to be about right. Once battery is sufficiently low, the red LED indicator in right cup will start flashing; furthermore a multi-note tone will sound a few times at roughly 5 minute intervals before the HD601 would just completely shut down.

A charge from fully empty takes a little over 1.5hrs. While charging the red LED charging indicator in the left cup will remain on and shut off once charging is complete. The great news is that when the battery runs down, you have two choices to continue listening to your jams but with the caveat that both involve the use of a wire:

The first is that the HD601 can actually be used while charging in which case you just need to simply plug-in the supplied charging cable to a power source of your choice with the added bonus that you’ll be able to continue to use the extra bass feature. It however cannot be used as an USB headphone as the port is strictly for charging even if you use a proper data capable cable. Of course, charging time will increase slightly (I haven’t measured exactly how long) but at least the tunes won’t have to stop.

The second is to use the supplied headphone cable and listen in passive mode (powered off albeit extra bass won’t be available this way).


PAIRING / CONNECTIVITY / RANGE
Pairing is easily achieved by pressing and holding the power button from an off state for about 5 seconds. An audio cue is provided by a female voice: “Ready to pair, turn on Bluetooth. Pin code is 0000”. The LED indicator in the right cup will alternatively flash blue and red. You should see Mixcder HD601 on your smart device:

Once pairing is completed, the voice prompt states “Pairing complete, connected.” and the LED indicator stays on solid blue (if this LED is ever flashing blue then it means it’s not connected to a device).

Though not documented, in my time spent with the HD601, I’ve determined that there are additional LED’s (in right cup) that indicates the codec being used but since the Blue LED is constantly on the color is more like what’s in parentheses:

- Blue – SBC
- Red (purple) - aptX
- Green (aqua) – aptX LL

The HD601 features BT v4.2 via the CSR 64215 module and a key benefit over v4.1 is that there’s reduced interference with 4G LTE. I am able to roam to a little over the claimed max range of 10m (even though not line of sight) before it’ll start dropping out while connected to my Asus ZenFone Laser and with a door in between. This ranks as one of the best in terms of range but just slightly behind a Class 1 device like the Backbeat Pro 2.

In my testing, I deduced that the antenna is likely in the right cup since standing right at the point before it starts cutting out, if I turned so that the right cup was further away from my phone, the interference was much stronger.

The only major feature that I wish the HD601 had was multi-point support as I do switch often between my phone and their TR008 which I use with my PC in Tx mode. As a result, I’ve had to re-pair between it and my phone each time I switch between them.

However, there is a semi-workaround if you really need to use two sources, jut that it’ll involve using the headphone cable. Unlike most BT cans, the HD601’s BT circuity will continue to function even if the headphone cable is plugged in. So the trick is to connect to your first source via BT, then to connect to your second source via the headphone cable. You can actually play both sources at the same time but if the BT stream is on, the headphone line will be much lower in volume. Once the BT stream is paused/stopped, after about 23 seconds, the headphone line will return back to full volume (again with caveat that the extra bass feature isn’t available in passive mode despite the HD601 being powered on). It’s a hack to use it this way but at least it’s possible and hopefully a future version will support this.

I don't currently have any devices that support NFC so can't comment on that feature.


aptX Low Latency
I’m currently using their TR008 with my PC with the following routing: PC (via USB) > Soundblaster E5 (via headphone) > TR008 and Priva II (via Monoprice splitter):

I’ve connected the second headphone line from the SB E5 to my speakers so I’m actually able to listen to both at the same time. This allows me to clearly distinguish any latency between BT cans and the speakers. While watching videos, the latency was negligible. It’s only because of my setup that I was able to discern an ever so slight delay as opposed to listening to my speakers. Without the speakers playing as well, I can barely discern any mismatches as spoken words are matched to their actor’s voices perfectly and not once did I feel I was watching a badly dubbed kung-fu movie. A quick test in an FPS like Overwatch yielded the same results of just about no discernable lag. This was about par when compared to BB Pro 2 as well as the Audition Pro.

Beyond this, another application is to utilize the TR008 in Tx mode hooked to headphone output of my DSLR so I can monitor my recordings using BT cans:

This gives me great freedom to roam away from the camera without fear of accidentally yanking it to its destruction on a tripod while filming.


SOUND
At first listen, one wouldn’t be wrong to call the HD601 a dark headphone but upon a more extended listening session, it becomes obvious why. Even with the extra bass feature off, there is no denying its presence or impact which unfortunately does bleed a bit into the mids and somewhat obscures the treble. Though I’m not a basshead, I’d imagine that the extra bass feature should delight those who are. On “Brothers” (by Tanline), the crisp finger snaps are dull and the pulsing bass line that starts @ :20 sounds bloated. The bass also features prominently at the start of Chris Tomlin’s/Phil Wickham’s track “Thank you God for saving me”, the guitar strums which are normally very crisp take on a dullish sound.

The mids are a bit forward and should delight those into female vocals provided the track doesn’t have a heavy bass line. To wit, Lauren Daigle’s voice comes through prominently on “Once and for all” but only to be slightly overpowered whenever the piano chords strike.

The treble is what I’d call polite given I’m sensitive to overly bright headphones. This is where it shines over Avantree’s Audition Pro in that I’m able to listen to Miles for miles without cringing at the sharpness of his trumpet. I felt that the Audition Pro’s had a bit too much energy in the 2-4K range that really hampered my ability to listen to them for long. However, due to the excessive bass, I wouldn't blame anyone for calling this a dark sounding headphone.

Sound stage
One word: claustrophobic – there is very little in the way of spaciousness. I realize most people reading this may retort “Well of course it’s closed in, it’s a closed back headphone after all!”. However, there are definitely different degrees of spaciousness between closed back headphones; Sony’s MDR-100AAP offers a reasonably spacious feel to the soundstage despite also being closed back and on the opposite end of the spectrum, based on memory, V-Moda’s M100 is as closed as they get and the HD601 slots into this category. In my experience, the sound stage and isolation go hand in hand; that is the better the sound isolation, the worse the sound stage would be and the HD601 doesn’t break this trend.

Passive listening
The HD601 is one of the rare cans that sounds just as good wired. I definitely can’t say the same for Sony’s MDR-100ABN which definitely sounds better wireless. Though my Asus ZenFone’s headphone port offers an anemic listening experience, the HD601 is relatively easy to drive (@32 ohm) and my Asus was able to get it to an uncomfortable listening volume:



FIT & FINISH
There’s no escaping the plasticky feel overall for the HD601 but the construction does feel solid enough. It does however suffer from some creaking at the swivel points which is a problem that features prominently on Sony’s ZX770BN & 100ABN but unlike those two, I can’t actually induce creaking even with vigorous shaking once the HD601’s are worn. It’s only as I’m actually adjusting the swivel while worn that I hear the creaking.

The detents offer solid clicks and won’t slip from set points even after a session doing burpees. The buttons provide nice tactile feedback from the electronic switches and in the weeks I’ve been using them, I’ve not experienced any electronic glitches.



INITIAL CONCLUSION
While headphones (and devices) featuring Low Latency are slowly on the rise, there still are only but a handful as of the time of this review. Towards that end, the closest competitor to the HD601 is Avantree’s Audition Pro both in terms of features and price. I’d give the edge to the HD601 due to its cheaper price ($59.99 vs $79.99 on Amazon currently), the better build quality and passive noise isolation and last but most certainly not least, the less piercing high’s.

The Audition Pro does however have one major feature I wish the HD601 had and that is Multi-point support given I had intended to use it with both my PC and via my phone, however I have learned to live with the hack I listed in the Connectivity / Range section.

For those interested, here are the respective product pages for Mixcder’s HD601 & TR008:

HD 601: https://mixcder.com/Product/Qualcom...ep-Bass-Over-Ear-Wireless-Headphone-g068.html

TR008: https://mixcder.com/product_show.aspx?id=5

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FTC DISCLOSURE
The HD601 was provided by Mixcder for review.
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Army-Firedawg

1000+ Head-Fier
Pros: Lightweight, great isolation, superb battery life, comfortable, impressive imaging, strong price/quality ratio, impressive bass impact.
Cons: Severely rolled off highs, long bass decay.


Over the last 2ish years I’ve really enjoyed being a personal audio reviewer and that only continues to grow every month. Having the honor and opportunity to listed to products and brands that otherwise seems strongly unlikely, if not impossible, is incredible. A really cool aspect that I personally think doesn’t get enough credit is the ability to be introduced to new companies I’ve never heard of, such as Mixcder (pronounced Mix-c-der). A couple weeks ago I seen a forum on here that they were looking for reviewers for their new HD601 (not to be confused with Sennheisers lineup) headphones. After reading up on them a little bit, and also interested in trying out a new product, I put my application in and was fortunate enough to be accepted. So to Mixcder, I say thank you for allowing to be a reviewer for you and share my opinion with any who like to hear it. But without further adieu, allow me to now share my feelings towards the Mixcder HD601 wireless heapdhones.

A little about me

I would like to say that first and foremost I am NOT an “audiophile” but rather an audio enthusiast. I listen to music to enjoy it. Do I prefer a lossless source? Yes, of course. But I can still be very happy streaming from Pandora or even YouTube's “My Mix” playlist. I also prefer equipment that sounds the best to me personally regardless of what frequency response it has or rather or not it's “sonically accurate” and I always have and shall continue to encourage others to do the same.

I'm a 26 year old firefighter, for the City of Concord, North Carolina as well as the U.S. Army, North Carolina National Guard. The cliché of wanting to do this since I was born couldn't be more present with me. I've worked hard over the last several years to earn this position and now it's time for me to work even harder to keep it.

My interests/hobbies are fishing and relaxing to audio products and reviewing them to help other decide on what products would work for them. Few things make me as an audio enthusiast/reviewer feel more accomplished than when someone tells me that I helped them find the type of sound they've always been looking for.

Now, the sound signature I personally favor is a relaxing, warm and sensual sound that just drifts me away in the emotional experience of the music being performed. Yes, accuracy is still important but I will happily sacrifice some of that if I'm presented with a clean, warm sound that can wisp me away into an experience that makes me yearn for more.

My ideal signature is that of respectably forward mids and upper bass range with the bass being controlled but with some slight decay. I like my treble to have nice extension and detail reveal with a smooth roll off up top as to not become harsh in the least. Examples of products that have given me chills and keep giving me the yearning for more feels are the (in no particular order) Bowers & Wilkins P7, Oppo PM-1/2, Empire Ears Hermes VI & Zeus XIV, Audeze LCD-XC, Meze Headphones 99 Classics.
Equipment used at least some point during the review

-Sources

-LG V20

-Playing Tidal Hifi, Pandora, YouTube, and various lossless, FLAC, etc... music

Disclaimer

I am by no means sponsored by this company or any of its affiliates. They were kind enough to send me a product for an arranged amount of time in exchange for my honest opinion. I am making no monetary compensation for this review.

The following is my take on the product being reviewed. It is to be taken “with a grain of salt” per say and as I always tell people, it is YOUR opinion that matters. So regardless of my take or view on said product, I highly recommend you listen to it yourself and gauge your own opinion.



The Opening Experience

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Why I feel so strongly about the initial unboxing experience

Please allow me to explain why I feel so strongly about the initial unboxing experience with a product. Maybe it’s due to my southern roots in the hills of eastern Kentucky, but I’ve always been raised under the pretense of when you introduce yourself to someone for the first time you present yourself with confidence, class, character, pride, and competence. You greet the other person with a true warm smile, eye contact and a firm handshake. Anything less or short implies to other person that you either don’t care about them, are too full of yourself, too busy to be bothered by the likes of them, or worse, just generally disrespectful.

As a consumer, I take this same belief to when I open a new product. Why? Because think about it this way. How else can a company introduce themselves to their customers? How do they present their products? Are they packaged with pride and presented in such a way that makes the listener eager to listen to them? Or maybe they’re just wrapped up and placed in an available space. How about the box itself? Is it bogged down with jargon that says look at this, look what I can do. I’m better than anything on the market and here’s why read this and check out that. Or, is the package clean, simplistic and classy? As if saying to the customer ‘Good day, pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Please give me a listen and allow me to show you what I can do and allow my actions to speak louder than my words.’

This is why I feel so strongly about the initial presentation of a product, and I feel it’s truly a shame more people don’t. But with all that aside, let’s discuss how this products introduced itself shall we?



I must be upfront, I didn’t have much hopes for enjoying the unboxing of the HD601 headphones. The vast majority of products in this price range (<100) are absolutely cluttered down with showoffy jargon and claims that are designed to make the given product look more interesting than the competition that’ll be sitting directly next to them on the shelf. Now, as for the Mixder HD601’s they pretty much followed suite. I really like what they did with the front (even though bright colors are also a ploy to bring in more attention) with keeping it pretty simple and a nice bright vs the dull, all black look that dominates the high end market. The sides show off most key features that the HD601 have and the back contains a cluster *bleep* of the specs written in 7 different languages that completely cover the back. Again, this is completely common and was pretty much spot on with what I expected.

Now, as we open up the box the headphones are placing inside of a grey plastic cutout of the headphones with a small black box in the middle (which hold the micro usb charging cable and 3.5mm-3.5mm aux cable) and the warranty info. behind the plastic. A REALLY cool thing that Mixcder includes is a generic thank you note that though it’s generic, I personally like seeing those. To me, it’s a small token of appreciation the company shows their new customer and I don’t think many people realise how far the small things can go in making a lasting impression.

As far as my overall thoughts on the unboxing experience of the Mixcder HD601 is it’s average. I liked the box being brighter vs a boring dark color and I really liked the thank you note, but everything else was pretty much exactly like every other company would do with a product of this price point. I’m aware that I’m one of the rare few people that really care about the unboxing of a product which is why it’s weighted very low on my scale, but it’s something I look at regardless.



Construction

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Something that products rarely in the sub $100 impresses me for usually the focus will be on featured and cosmetics. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Mixcder HD601’s are built, at least to me, very nicely. In fact they’re built pretty much to the same quality as my Sony MDR-10RNCip’s, which is rather disappointing on the Sony’s because they’re between 4-5x more expensive.

But anywho’s, the headphone itself is primarily all black (woohoo) with a few red and white accents for the name and edges. The frame is made of a quite firm but lightweight aluminum with ample padding (to be talked about more in the comfort section), the top of which has the “mixcder” logo stamped into it. As we move down the earcups are made of a, very likely, cheap plastic but it feels like a moderate grade (again just like my more expensive Sony headphones) that have the ability to swivel 90 degrees (it’s not a smooth rotation for you can hear and feel the plastic rubbing against plastic). The cups are plenty large enough so the majority of the population shouldn’t have any issues with fit (even my big ears were fine),

On the right ear cup is where you’ll find all the controls for the headphone condenses into 3 buttons, V+ which controls the volume up if pressed and track forward if held, V- which controls the volume down if pressed and track back if held, and Φ which control the play/pause if pressed, power if held, and if continuously held upon startup will enter the headphones into sync mode. Also on the right ear cup is the NFC pad so NFC enabled devices merely have to tap the pad for the devices to pair. The drivers themselves are also angled which thankfully I’m finding to be more and more common in headphones but rarely in lower priced products such as he HD601. This says quite a bit and IMO does a great job at improving the imaging capabilities.

The aux cable that comes with the headphones are a standard, cheap cable that will do the job when the battery dies but it does have notable microphonics and most likely less than superb durability because it does feel rather cheap and flimsy.

I feel like Mixcder did a great job in the construction of their HD601 headphone. They’re seemingly built very sturdy (I say seemingly because I didn’t throw them against the wall, step on them, or any other durability test) while remaining lightweight for extended use. The HD601 is definitely built better than many products I’ve tried and/or reviewed in this price range, that’s for sure.



Comfort

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Though this area is quite subjective, with respect to the price of the HD601’s I personally found them to be quite comfortable. The HD601’s have a nice goldilox amount of clamping force and both the head and earpads, though cheap feeling, provide excellent amount of cushion. These headphones are very lightweight and I have comfortably worn these for several hours on end both relaxing and even doing yard work. Also, on the note of yard work, these isolate impressively well. I was able to comfortably listen to my Destiny lore videos on youtube and easily understand the words of the commentator.


Sound

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I’ve gotta start this section by kinda jumping the gun but I gotta say I really enjoyed how these sounded. They’re definitely made to be more on the fun sound vs sonic accuracy but they don’t do it in the over common V shape. The Mixcder HD601 is most certainly a bass focused circumaural headphone that I honestly think will make most bass heads happy. The imaging is something that I was most impressed with. When I am listening to these headphones they do a surprisingly impressive job at allowing me to visualize the performance that far exceeds the asking price.

Soundstage though is what I expected, which is quite small personal. When I’m listening to the HD601 I never forgot that I was listening to headphones. When I discuss the individual aspects I believe you’ll be able to understand why better, but these never made me want to close my eyes to just take in the experience, they’re just headphones.

But allow me to now talk about the individual aspects of the Mixcder HD601 so that you may better understand how I feel the headphones perform.



Treble



The highs on the HD601 are quite lackluster. I was honestly expecting a prominently V shape to the sound as most products (especially in the >$100 price range) are but that definitely isn’t true with these. When listening to more higher pitches songs/artists such as Lindsey Stirling, Maxence Cyrin, or The Piano Guys, none of the higher notes really got me excited or gave me the energy or excitement that the artist was expressing. The treble peaked really early and just sorta, dove off.



Mids



Oh the mids, how I critique thee. Will the Mixcder HD601 make me happy and give me the soul and emotion the artist is expressing? Or, will I just hear what’s being played and nothing else? Well, if I had to choose it’d honestly have to lie smack dab in the middle. The mids on the HD601 are actually quite nice and impressive and make listening to Cellos, Guitars, etc… very enjoyable but just the limitations of the driver prevent it from expressing to me the feelings of the music.

Check out the song “The Last of the Mohicans” by Luca Stricagnoli. This song is beautiful to listen to and hear the reverb of the guitars. Rather the bow going across the strings or his own fingers making the guitar sing, it’s all a wonderful piece. And though the H601 makes this an enjoyable song to listen to, I never close my eyes to experience it. I just hear it and say ‘man that’s a nice piece.’


Bass



Oh Lawdy the bass on these cats. The first song you play you’ll likely get a pretty good idea of what I’m talking about but the bass on the HD601’s is quite impressive. From the upper to the sub you’ll get a nice punchiness that will satisfy but won’t overwhelm you, it’s like it teases you like it’s going to be overkill bass heavy but then backs off just before.

There’s a large amount of decay as well which on some songs bleeds over the details. There’s a few songs that show what I’m talking about but one that I’m listening to right now that’s a fairly decent example is “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten (yes I linked to a Naruto AMV, it’s a beautiful NaruHina and you’ll love it but anywho’s back to the review). The bass feels overpowered and the decay lingers on into the following notes which eats up some of the vocals.

To contradict myself a little bit, though all this talk seems to be like I wouldn’t like the headphones, for I rather don’t like over bassy cans, the entire sound signature of these headphones flowed really well and I honestly really enjoyed my time with them.



Conclusion

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What can I say about the Mixcder HD601’s that I haven’t already? I usually don’t particularly enjoy headphones that are as bass heavy as these but them not subduing the mids into oblivion probably helped. They’re surprisingly comfortable and have great isolation, even when mowing the yard, and something I forgot to mention but they have a superb battery life (I’ve been listening to them well over 15hours this week and have yet needed to charge them).

I’m really glad I got to learn about this rather young company and despite having an interesting name they have produced a rather impressive and inexpensive wireless headphone.




Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

Nadham

Head-Fier
Pros: Lightweight and comfortable
Deep Bass sound
Excellent Battery life
Value for money
apt-X Low Latency support
Cons: Not fully foldable design
Acknowledgement:
I want to thank Mixcder for sending me a free sample of Mixcder Qualcomm aptX Low Latency Deep Bass Over-Ear Wireless Headphone HD 601 and giving me a chance to review the headphones. I assure that this is an honest review based on my experience with the headphones past 2 weeks.

General:
Mixcder is a company founded in America. There current product line-up includes headphones, speakers and audio accessories. Company, as per their website (https://mixcder.com/about.html) claim to sell their products in over 200 countries. Mixcder HD601 was made in China.


Features:
· Bluetooth V4.2 support
· Qualcomm apt-X Low Latency support
· NFC wireless support
· 40 mm stereo speaker drivers with two sound modes – Normal and Deep Bass sound.
· Supports both wireless and wired (3.5mm jack) connection
· Built-in Microphone included
· 360 mAh rechargeable battery with 15 hours playtime
· Works with both Apple and Android devices

Mixcder HD601 was packaged in a basic compact cardboard box. Inside the box, you will find a plastic clamshell containing wireless headphones, 3.5mm audio cable, Micro USB charging cable and a User manual. Mixcder HD601 comes with 1 year warranty and for those who register their purchase within 30 days, Mixcder is offering extra 1 year warranty.


Looks and Comfort:

I like simple but elegant looks of Mixcder HD601. It is available only in one colour – black with red lines. Headphone’s right cup has volume, power and 3.5 line-in for wired connection while left cup has micro USB port for charging. Headphones comes with extendable arms that can be extended by 25mm on each side, comfortable padded headband and soft Earmuffs.

What I like most about these headphones is comfort. The headband is padded with soft cushion, Earmuffs are made with very soft material and they provide right clamp over your head and ears. Headphones are light and I have used it for extended period of time without any fatigue or heaviness. Only issue with the headphone design is that it cannot be folded completely like other headphones from Mixcder, I wonder why they did not make it foldable.

I have been using these headphones during my 2 hours daily commute to work for past 2 weeks and I really like the comfort it provides. Construction is sturdy for the price as it took some beating during London bus commutes but nothing happened to the headphones. I think I will stick with these as my commute companion.

Sound Quality:
I have been using Mixcder HD601 for atleast 3-4 hours daily, listening to various genres – Vocal, Instruments, Rock, Audio books, Vernacular popular tracks and normal phone calls. I am overall happy with the sound reproduced by the Mixcder HD601, Mids are clear, highs are decent and bass is not bad. However when you activate Deep Bass setting by double-click of power button, the headphones produce decent amount of bass that some may like including me.

Wireless connectivity:
Connecting Mixcder HD601 to your source using Bluetooth is a breeze. However you need to manually repair them when you are moving from one source to another, say for eg., Laptop to Mobile as they don’t automatically connect.

I used my Oneplus mobile and Windows 10 laptop to connect to the headphones but both of them had no Bluetooth apt-X drivers. Thankfully, I was able to locate apt-X drivers on Dell website and was able to install it. Call it placebo effect, I did find it sound better when connected through apt-X than without it. My sources were Amazon music, YouTube, tracks in mp3 and FLAC loseless formats played from my mobile or laptop.

Overall I am happy with sound quality over Bluetooth at this price point.

Battery life:
Battery life of Mixcder HD601 headphones is excellent, they provided me with enough juice to last for a week. Mixcder advertise that they provide 15 hours of playtime but in my usage they gave around 17 hours of playtime. I would put battery life as one of the strengths of Mixcder HD601

Conclusion:
At the time of this review, Mixcder HD601 was selling at GBP 45.99 on Amazon UK. I think at this price point, the headphones are solid offering from Mixcder. I definitely like the deep bass sound and clear vocal it produces. While it may not replace my top headphones, they are good for daily commute and casual listening.

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Colin Elder

New Head-Fier
Pros: lightweight, cheap, better wired
Cons: very bassy, rolled off high frequencies
Disclaimer: I was part of the initial tour for this product and got a pair of these headphones free in exchange for writing a review:

background
Since this is my first review on the site I'll give a bit of background. I'm in my early fifties and listen to music every day. I wouldn't class myself as an audiophile as I tend to listen to music whilst commuting (walking and train) or working (either at home or in my open plan office). I have the following gear that I move between as required:

iPhone 7 plus with ALAC music and tidal hifi
Fiio x5 ii and iii. ALAC, FLAC and high bitrate MP3 plus tidal hifi
Chord mojo
dragonfly red
shure 846, etymotic er4xr, sennheiser ie80, rha t20i, etc
Jaybird x3 and freedoms, Bose sound sport wireless
Sony mdr1000x and Bose qc35
Audio technica msr7 and shure 1540
Apple AirPods

The headphones come in a very basic package with the headphones themselves, an audio cable and a charging cable. However they are currently selling for £46 on Amazon uk so the level of accessories reflect that price.

The headphones feel really light and the ear pads are small and thin. I've never had an issue getting my ears into the pads for any other headphone but feel my ears are touching the pads here. They are made of soft memory foam so they are still comfortable for an hour or so's listening

The pads swivel but creak and don't give the impression they will last too long but there is a slip in the box which allows you to register and get a second year of warranty free so that should ensure they last for a reasonable period of time given their cost.

The headphones paired easily with my iPhone, iPad and x5 iii (aptX) although I sometimes had to unpair from one to get an other to connect to the headphones

The sound from the headphones depends on whether you listen wired or over Bluetooth. The Bluetooth bass is really boomy and you only hear one bass note. Any bass heavy music causes the bass to overload every other frequency e.g. history song by the Good, the bad and the Queen.

The high frequencies seem rolled off and the sound is very unbalanced. The bass boost is added by pressing the power button twice. There is no indicator to show something had happened except the bass becomes even more overpowering.

The headphones fair better when used wired. The bass is tamed back a little and, while the highs still seem rolled off, the headphones are much more listenable. However, it seems a shame to buy a pair of Bluetooth headphones and then have to wear them wired to get the best out of them

I tried watching videos and there does not appear to be any lag when using the headphones in Bluetooth mode. Isolation is ok but not as good as the msr7s or the 1540s so probably not good for travel or an noisy environments

I don't have any other wireless headphones at this price point to compare them with but they fair badly when compared to the headphones I paid around the £100 mark for e.g. RHA T20i, Jaybird x3, even a pair of beats solo i bought before i knew better!

TL;DR version:
very bassy and boomy when used wirelessly.
Better when wired but still pretty bassy with rolled off treble
If you are paying anything like the RRP for these headphones then i would recommend you look elsewhere but at £46 they would be ok for uncritical listening of music and videos.

Wiljen

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Good bass and sub-bass extension, very responsive to EQ, Lightweight and good battery life, APtX really helps with bluetooth sound quality, latency, and range
Cons: A bit rolled off in the treble, needs EQ to do its best work, bass boost could use an audible announcement.
I would like to thank Mixcder for sending me the HD601 in exchange for reviewing them. I thoroughly enjoy getting to try new gear and review samples have made it possible for me to do more of that so I am appreciative of the opportunity. That having been said, I will give an honest and fair review.

Review Proper:

The HD601 was offered to me by Mixcder after reviewing a handful of other Mixcder products. I have been impressed with most of their offerings as they have done a good job at creating products I think consumers will want. This is not an easy task in any field and less so in audio than some others. Having been impressed with their last Bluetooth offering the MS301, I jumped at the chance to try this new one. The HD601 is targeted squarely at the Beats crowd as it has a bass boost circuit and very Beats-esque styling cues. MSRP is $100 with a street price of roughly $65 US.

The Hd601 arrived in a brown box with the smiley face on the side only this one looked like it had been sat on by a 1000lb gorilla. The contents made the journey intact but you can see evidence of their travel misfortunes in the box front and box side photos.

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Inside the box are the headphones, the manual, two cables (one Usb and one 3.5mm male to male about 1 meter in length), and a coupon reminding me to register my Mixcder product online to double the warranty. Luckily I haven’t had to use warranty service on a Mixcder product yet, but the added coverage is certainly welcome. The cardboard and plastic is pretty utilitarian and a pouch to protect these would be a nice add-on as many of the other sets I will compare the HD601 to later in the review do come with some form of case.

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Accessories:

All the Bluetooth headphones I have tested have come with basically the same kit. A 3.5mm cable for using them as wired phones, a charging cable, a manual, and some have come with a carrying case of varying quality. When going back through my notes I found it telling that the models with $75+ price points came with carrying cases, below that point it isn’t offered so shouldn’t be expected.

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Build Quality

The HD601 is predominantly plastic with steel reinforcing the band and the adjustments. The HD601 do not fold up as some others do. The cups on the Hd601 swivel 90 degrees in one direction and about 15 degrees in the other to allow for better fit. The pad and driver has about 15 degrees of movement on the horizontal axis inside the outer cups to allow for better comfort and fit. These should fit most people with a little adjustment of the band. The headband and pads are pseudo-leather and are well executed. The headband provides enough padding without being oversized and the cups are fairly shallow without feeling like they are suction cupped to one’s head due to excessive clamping force.

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Controls


Controls are simple. On the left cup we have the USB connection for charging at the bottom and then a red LED toward the rear of the unit to show charging and completion. On the right cup, we have three buttons and a 3.5mm jack. At the very bottom is the 3.5mm jack, then as you travel up the rear face you come to the power/pairing/bass switch (yes that is all 1 button), then up to the volume decrease and finally to the volume increase button. The LED that shows blue when powered on or blinks for pairing is located immediately above the multipurpose button. There are no external hints that the microphone exists.

The multi-function button deserves some discussion as it is unique to this headset. A quick push of the button turns the power on or off and is announced in the headphones as power on or power off. When off, a long press of the button will turn on the phones and place them in pairing mode. Again, both the power on and the ready to pair are announced. The other function is a double tap of the button switches modes between normal and bass boost. This can be a bit tricky as too slow and it is interpreted as on or off. Unfortunately, this is the only function that is unannounced so you have to listen to something to know which mode the phone is currently in.

One complaint I did have at this point, because of the materials used, every button push is translated into the right earpiece and it is impossible to adjust the volume or bass boost on the unit without hearing it inside the cups. Any touch of the cups is translated into the earpiece so it seems no damping was used in the cups.

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Battery

Mixcder lists these as charging to full in 2 hours from drained and working for 22 hours. The battery is listed as a 500mAh lithium ion cell. I tested the cell in mine and it measured 462mAh which is not atypical for a cell nominally rated at 500. I was able to average about 9 hours of use before the HD601 needed recharging but it should be noted that heavy use of the bass boost does reduce that substantially, and the bass boost works less well as the battery drains (more on that in the sound segment). While a 2.1 Amp charger would charge the headphone in 2 hours, it would be wise to use a slower charger and preserve the battery as quick charging will result in shortened usable life.

Bluetooth

The Hd601 is one of a very few headphones on the market that supports the latest Bluetooth standard (4.2) with AptX. Pairing is made even simpler with NFC. I was able to use my HTC phone with NFC to touch the hd601 and instantly pair them. I was able to use the headphones within 50 feet of the Cayin N3 or HTC source without a single hiccup and no interference from other devices. I can say openly that I have not had this kind of coverage with any of the non-4.2/AptX Bluetooth models. Some are better than others but none have performed as well as those using AptX. Mixcder has done a good job on the Bluetooth implementation and I suspect that they have re-used the excellent design from the ms301 as it worked exactly the same way during pairing and use.


Isolation


The Hd601 is a closed back design and isolation is as good as expected in such a design. It should be noted that some advertising material states that the hd601 has a noise cancelling microphone and some will misread this as the headphone has active noise cancelling. It does not have any active noise cancelling for the drivers. The microphone does resist wind better than some but again I suspect the noise cancelling mentioned is passive and due to the fact, the microphone is not exposed.

Sound

I paired the hd601 to my HTC m9 with USB Audio Player Pro, my Dell laptop using Foobar, and to a Cayin N3 with current firmware (Huge N3 fan, if you haven’t tried one, you should). Listening was done with mostly Flac with a few 320bit Mp3s thrown in for good measure. Once I had done my Bluetooth testing, I tried both devices with the provided 3.5mm cable to see if the sound was different when wired than when on Bluetooth.

I am a lover of blues, blues/rock, classic rock, and anything with good guitar work in it. For that reason, I chose the following as my test tracks. (artist, album, track, thoughts)

Stevie Ray Vaughan – Texas Flood – Lenny. (Guitar to die for but the thing I look for is the percussion.)

Lindsey Buckingham – Fleetwood Mac, Best of - Go Insane, Live (Probably the most complicated simple song you’ll ever hear, all about nuance and subtleties with this track).

Johny Lang – Lie to me – Lie to Me. (Looking for tight bass, bleed over into the mids, and controlled sub-bass)

Tedeschi Trucks – Let me get by – I want more. (Female Vocals, backing brass band)

The Blasters - Testament – Blue Shadows (Saxophone and piano with male vocals)

Vintage Trouble – The Bomb shelter sessions - Blues hand me down (Looking at attack speed and decay especially in bass and sub-bass. This track gets muddy quick if the equipment can’t handle it.)

Steve Earle – Copperhead Road – Title track. (I added this one as it builds more and more bass into each successive verse and seemed appropriate to headphone specializing in bass and sub-bass).

2 Unlimited – Get Ready - Get Ready for this. (When testing a bass cannon, why would you not?)

New Order – Blade Soundtrack – Confusion (Again, this is the music these were designed for and it is just fun).

The sound without the bass boost is a Deep V shape that is solidly on the warm side. I had hoped these would be a more neutral tuning of the ms301 with a switch to add back the V shape if you wanted a more consumer sound profile. Instead these have a solidly V shaped signature with bass boost off and an absolutely cavernous bass with the boost enabled. The first time I put the Hd601s on, I thought I had mistakenly enabled the bass boost. Then when I did hit the button twice to enable it, it absolutely boomed.

Bass: This is certainly the target of these headphones, and they annihilated the target. These can be thought of as Bass+ and Bass+++ depending on the boost circuit. Good bass extension and lots of sub-bass make these as close to a wearable subwoofer as anything I have tried. The bad news is, the bass isn’t perfect. It has a fairly large mid-bass hump and bleed into the mids is prominent. With the bass boost enabled, bass gets very loose and muddy. I found that they do react well to equalizer, and was able to tighten up the bass quite a bit without losing much of the low bass or sub-bass impact. These definitely are not a neutral tuning, nor can they be made into one. If you are looking for something close to neutral the ms301 comes a lot closer. For something fun to listen to with lots of bass push, these are a more consumer friendly tuning.

Mids: Even with the mid-bass hump and the bass bleed are well presented. I found them better when wired than when in Bluetooth mode. With a little EQ, to remove bass one is able to focus on the mids. Once EQ’d to my liking, vocals and instrument separation are good but I kept having an issue with female vocals being veiled. This is partially due to a pronounced 5k spike that I EQ’d out. Without the eq, the vocals were less veiled but the 5k spike was annoying. With the spike eq’d down, upper range vocals took a hit commensurately.

Treble: is rolled off pretty substantially. This profile makes long listening sessions easy as they cannot be classified as bright or sibilant. I tried a few vocals that are often piercing and the laid-back sound on these had no problems with sibilance or strident treble. I found myself using the EQ to push the treble a up a bit to get a bit more life and air in the sound. It does respond to EQ to a point, but at the upper end the driver just doesn’t have the extension to do much. I didn’t find a lot of sparkle and cymbals were not as well rendered as on the Ms301.

Soundstage is pretty typical of a closed back design and can feel a little claustrophobic.


Call Quality

The headphones worked well for making and receiving calls. The microphone was less sensitive to wind and outside noise than some others I have tried.

Comparisons:

With an asking price of <$60 on Amazon and an MSRP of $99, I decided to compare the hd601s to other Bluetooth headphones I have in my stable of similar pricing. I ended up with the Edifier W855BT ($100), The Cowin E-7 ($79), the Meelectronics Matrix 3 ($109), the Mixcder ms301 ($99), the Syllable G700 ($84), the Bluedio T4 Turbine ($50) and my daughters Zealot B5 ($36) as my sampling to compare the Hd601 with.

Let’s start with the Zealot B5 and get it out of the way. Other than having a built in Micro-sd card slot so you don’t need an external player the B5 has nothing going for it. The sound quality was poor as was the battery life. They were uncomfortable as they overheated my ears very quickly. I tried to play Flac files directly from the player but it does not support them or any card over 16gb so really is not a viable option. If you like your music to sound like it is coming from the bottom of a pit, grab the B5, otherwise look elsewhere. (In fairness, I knew this going in but some will buy the cheapest thing they can find and these are it.)

On to the Bluedio T4. Unlike the Hd601 the T4 does not have AptX and showed extreme issues with latency. They were ok for music with a similar Deep V profile but were unusable for gaming or theater due to latency. I also found the on-ear style of the T4 to be less comfortable and overly hot on ear and extended listening sessions were simply not possible. Bluedio does advertise the T4 as having active noise cancelling but isolation was not noticeably better than the Hd601. Again, the Hd601 easily outclassed the T4.

The Syllable G700 was a very similar experience to the T4. Deep V shaped profile, poor battery life, uncomfortably hot pads and excessive clamping force. The lack of AptX again showed its ugly head in the form of latency and gaming or theater use would be problematic. They do sport ANC but with it enabled, there was an audible hiss which made it less than usable.

Next up was the Cowin E-7. These have good active noise cancelling. For the first time, I can say I could tell a positive difference with the ANC enabled when compared to without it. The bad news is that was the only positive on these. They have a large mid-bass hump and no treble at all. These made me rethink some of my initial comments on the Hd601 as the 601 is definitely bass heavy and treble light but the Cowin is bass heavy and treble non-existent. The E-7 also weighs more than double the Hd601 but only offered comparable battery life. Again, I’d easily take the Hd601 instead of the E-7 given the option.

Next up is the Meelectronics Matrix 3. As the most expensive headphone in the comparison, you would expect them to do well and in many ways, they are similar to the Hd601. Both have AptX, both have 40mm drivers, both are bass heavy, both sport good isolation, both have similar construction. The Matrix 3 has a sound profile that can best be described as a \ shape. The V with the treble half cut off. To me, the matrix suffers the same issue as the E-7 and didn’t respond as well to EQ as the Hd601 did. While the two share many similarities, the Matrix has less treble and costs twice as much – I give the win to the Hd601 on those two points.

Next up is the Edifier W855Bt. To me, this is the biggest competitor to Mixcder with good bass and a shallow V profile. They ship with a nice carrying case, they run Bluetooth 4.1 with AptX so latency isn’t comparatively different. The w855bt tuning is definitely a shallower V than the hd601 and I found it does not respond as well to EQ in the lower range. The Hd601 can be tuned to be either an absolute cannon or a milder V with a very consumer friendly profile. The W855bt could not be made into the cannon as it lacks the extension in the low registers and doesn’t have the bass punch even with EQ maxed out. The other issue I found with the W855 was weight. The hd601 was more comfortable to wear for extended periods due to its lighter construction.

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Conclusion: Mixcder now has two solid offerings. While my tastes lean to the sound profile of the Ms301, I can see the market for both products. The Ms301 is the more balanced premium market product and the construction and price reflect that. The Hd601 is the more consumer market product and when compared with the products in the Beats line, it should compete well. The 601 has similar styling cues with the red and black design, a similar sound with the Bass forward tuning, and a price tag of a little less than half of most Beats products. If you are in the market for a wearable subwoofer that reacts well to EQ in the low and middle registers and has very ear friendly treble, these are certainly worth a look. For me, they won’t replace my top picks, but when the EDM or Techno stuff comes out, boy are they a fun listen.

ostewart

Reviewer at Sound Perfection Reviews
Formerly affiliated with HiFi Headphones
Pros: Big bass, isolation
Cons: Bloated and a little muffled.
Firstly I would like to thank Mixcder for selecting me to review their HD601 bluetooth headphones. These have had over 100hrs of burn-in, no differences were noted.

Gear Used: Audio Opus #2 > HD601 in wired and wireless mode



Tech Specs:
https://www.mixcder.com/Product/Qua...ep-Bass-Over-Ear-Wireless-Headphone-g068.html

Packaging, Build quality and Accessories:
The Mixcder HD601 come in a simple card box, the box has a picture of the headphones on the front, and info with specs on the back. Once you open this box you can slide out a plastic insert which has the headphones in. It is a simple box that looks fine for the price.

Build quality is actually quite good, they are mainly made out of plastic but they feel well put together. The extender arms are reinforced with metal, and all the buttons feel of good quality. The jack input to the headphones wiggles a little, but I have not had any connection issues. The earpads are fairly plush and are easily replaceable.

Accessory wise all you get is a USB charging cable, jack to jack cable for wired use, that is it but also for the price you cannot really complain. A small soft carry pouch would have been nice though.



Comfort, Isolation and Ease of use:
The HD601 are an over-ear headphone but the cups are relatively small and compact, this means that some people will have slight comfort issues. For me they fit quite snugly but are not uncomfortable, the clamping force is fairly tight but this allows them to stay in place during daily activities. I wouldn’t want to wear these for periods of more than a couple of hours, but they are not uncomfortable, the headband is well padded and distributes the weight quite well.

Isolation is good on these, they block out a lot of background noise which is good for daily commutes. I would even think these would be fine on the London underground.

I had no issues pairing the HD601 with my Opus #2, these support pairing via NFC but unfortunately I have no devices that support this. The HD601 are intuitive to use, standard volume up and down, however holding them skips tracks instead of double or triple tapping the main button. The main button is for powering them on/off, play/pause and if you tap it twice it changes from balanced to bass heavy sound and vice versa. These modes are easy to distinguish in use.



Sound:

First off let’s start with them being played over Bluetooth, as this is their main use, these impressions are with them in balanced mode:

Lows: The lows are very full but slightly one-toned; they really fill out the sound but do have a bit of boom to them. They are not the most controlled or tight, so they work better with slightly bass heavy genres, not being able to quite keep up with faster rock tracks. The extension is good however digging fairly deep, but they do warm up the lower mids a little.

Mids: The midrange is slightly recessed compared to the upfront lows, and as stated previously the lows do bleed into the midrange slightly making them sound a little fuller than a fully neutral pair of headphones. Saying this though the midrange does have fairly good detail and linearity without harshness or sibilance.

Highs: The highs are lacking in presence and sparkle taking a back seat in the mix, there is no real shimmer or sparkle up top. They really lack energy in the treble and end up sounding like quite a dull and dark sounding headphone. There is a bit of a peak somewhere that gives you a glimmer of hope, hearing the initial tap of cymbal crashes, but ultimately they do not have the air and openness needed to really excite.

Separation and soundstage are fairly average, nothing too special here.
Bass boost mode: This is something I do not advise turning on, the sub-bass becomes more present but muddies up the overall balanced making them sound like a bloated mess.

Wired mode:
In wired mode they still retain a warmer sound, the lows are slightly tighter and more controlled, the mids a little less warm and there is some shimmer up top, they become a little better balanced overall. In wired mode they actually come off as a fairly good budget over-ear headphone.



Conclusion: For their current price on Amazon of £45.99 they are not actually bad value for money, yes you can get better wired only headphones for the price, but as a whole package the HD601 actually offers fairly good sound quality for non-critical on the go use. They offer a full and fun sound, that is lacking in treble presence but ultimately is very easy to listen to and non fatiguing.


Sound Perfection Rating: 6.5/10 (Fairly good value as a whole package, but the sound is not for everyone)

Mark Up

1000+ Head-Fier
Pros: Lightweight, Good Quality For Price, Full Midrange
Cons: Off Highs, Bluetooth Bass Issues, Also Too Small
Mixcder V4.2
This is my second review. I was part of the review tour. Mixcder was very kind to let me retain the headphones and very friendly and responsive to emails.

Background
I'm a lifelong musician, live and studio sound engineer, always with heavy duty earplugs. Often the only one in my band wearing them, but then, I've retained my unusually sensitive hearing because of it. I've tried too many headphones and in ears to list. I'll refer to what I've tried where it's relevant in the review, to keep it simple. I've got some I'm happy with now, but I'm never tired of trying new things, so that brought me to these.

What I Look For
I prefer warmer headphones, full lower mids, flat mids, reduced high mids. More than a moderate mid bass bump bothers me, and sub bass rarely extends low enough in most quality cans I'll try. I'll say "quality" since there are plenty that are explosive down there, but often at the expense of everything else. Some have said you can't have all frequencies well represented, but enough come close to this, so I know this can be done.

Common Issues
Fit has had me reject 80% of what I've tried. I much prefer over-ear. It's hard enough to get over-ear to go over everyone's ears (Senn. Momentum 1 for example, Momentum 2 isn't much better). My ears fairly flat and proportional to being 6'5". My head is also, with Triple X hat size (few of those fit either). Most companies could fit larger heads, with an inch more band extension, but only some seem to take that into consideration.

Design and Comfort
These arrived well packaged and designed given how inexpensive they are at retail. Definitely built better than most under $50 USD cans. No case and it is not expected. They fold flat and you can find plenty of nice inexpensive hard cases for fold flat headphones. I won't post pictures, there are a ton of other pictures already posted in the reviews for this.

They don't extend far enough. I tried bending the headband at the center but it didn't help. A half an inch to an inch more extension on each side is all that would be needed. The extra cost for a bit more metal to slide out is negligible and many companies are penny wise and pound foolish to save money in cutting costs for important ergonomics.

If you can't get them fully down to your ears comfortably, you can't wear them and there has never been a mod that has been done that can work around it. The pads are a little too small and shallow, though soft. They have that fake smell too. Bose QC35 also fold flat and are portable, yet have ear cups that are deep enough and fully surround large ears.

The Bose also extend plenty far to easily reach my ears and are very light, and sturdy. I wish more would emulate their design. The angled drivers in these tell me there may be an effort to do that. Also, I prefer the cable entry to be on the left side, not the right as they are with the Mixcder headphones. This brings me to another macro evaluation.

I can't expect these to sound as good as Bose given their are a fraction of the price. The same amount of plastic, and 10-20 cents more metal for a longer headband reach, and a dollar more for better, larger, deeper ear pads could launch these into a higher territory of value. The better ear depth of the Bose doesn't make them any less portable.

Thin ear pads for portability is pure nonsense. It's cutting corners in an important area. It's not the material you're using, it's using just a bit more (which would add little to the cost of manufacture) and how you use it. It seems like these companies have small, flat eared midgets with tiny heads testing their headphones.

Sound Quality and Ideas
The sound with the wire is far better than wireless. The wireless range and connection is fast and works fine. No complaints there. The wired sound has perhaps the best midrange and bass for a moderate bass head who is not fond of the scooped V shape and prefers flat with extra bass and a bit less treble. The treble has issues here.

Wired bass is great, reaches low, moderate mid bass bump, bleeds just a bit up into the low mids but I don't mind that if it's just a little. The mids are solid without any ringing issues (like the Sony MDR-Z7 can have). Due to the very close proximity to the ear, that may be why. Literally called "proximity effect" in audio engineer speak.

That builds up the lower and middle mids nicely. Also being so close, there is no extra reflective space for sound to resonate from, and also there is less of a space to the ear itself for some sound deflection between that and the driver and the likely comb filtering and resonance that could result. It's possible to work around this though.

The Bose QC35 does this with DSP / EQ obviously. When NR is off it has that EQ off and they sound horrible in terms of ringy reflective sound (boxiness). It is rather stupid of Bose since their latest Sound True generation is nearly the same in build and drivers compared to the QC35. It has no EQ or DSP and if run flat, there is no boxiness.

Back to the Mixcder. Wired sound is good up to the treble, which is weird. I'll detail that more. It gets worse with BT and mainly in the bass that blows up to a ridiculous mid bass bump. It's so bad it's not useable. The idea of big bass bumps for "walking around outside" is also wrong, unless the headphones are bass light to begin with.

The weirdness of the treble is in both wired and wireless. Both are dark and dull, especially wireless. The actual detail level is worse, beyond just mere brightness. They still manage to have what appears to be at least one if not two narrow peaks just under 10 kHz that aren't always noticed, but when they are it's brutal. Dull yet peaky.

How They Make This Better
There you have it. Arguably among the best midrange quality of any cans at any price in wired mode. The bass quality and quantity there is also great. It suffers also from lack of soundstage due to proximity to the drivers, but that said, even in that way, the space is surprisingly good for cans without much space to let it develop that are also closed.

Put out a version with a $10-$20 higher price tag. $30 to include a cheap hard case for fold flat cans if you so desire. The core $10-$20 is to cover $5 in new and extra and better material and $5 in labor putting it in there. You still get a big return on your investment and put these in another category of quality that will rival cans that cost a lot more than that.

Longer reaching sliders for tall heads. Longer, wider, deeper ear cups. Getting wireless to at least sound similar (even if not as good) as wired. One should expect the same general sound, not to have remarkable mids and bass turn into a massive mid bass bump rendering them unusable. It will take some more research and trial and error to get it.

I'm glad they are listening. With all due respect to Meze, a competitor with great products including headphones that I tested, their newer headphones, from the reviews I've read of them, are nearly the same as the older line it was meant to be an alternative to in size, they suffer the same fate that these and many cans will suffer with needlessly.

Their ear cups were a bit too small, they made them a bit bigger but the headband design didn't change which was again too small. Bose gets it, trying on their latest generation of cans (go to Best Buy if you haven't, they're on display there) you feel like they really paid attention to comfort and being able to fit various heads and ears. It can be done.

genclaymore

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Light weight
Easy to drive
NFC
Analog 3.5 sounds good
Cons: Bass is one noted and muddy
ear-pads/Cups are not deep or wide enough
Bluetooth audio performance isn't that good
I wanna thank Mixcder for giving me the chance to review the Mixcder HD 601.

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Upon opening up the box for the HD 601, you will see that it's sitting in a clam-shell, with the usually box of accessories in the middle. Inside the small box you will find an USB charging cable and a 3.5mm audio cable. The charging cable is for charging the headphones when there charge runs out, the 3.5mm cable will allow you to use them wired either when the charge is out, or when you are using devices that are not Bluetooth ready.

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I put the headphones quickly to see how they feel, the headband padding is the same exact one used on there other HD301 model, which what I liked about it. It still feel comfortable on the top of my head. Sadly the ear-pads are not comfortable at all and right off the back they annoyed my ears due to how small they are in width, while the height of the ear-pads fits around my ears. The cup is also not deep enough as my ears touch the base of the cup, if the ear pads was a little more wider at the same time being more deeper inside the cup, it would be much more comfortable. The headphone weight is very good as I did not find it to be heavy but to be very light.


Unlike the HD301’s the HD 601’s do not fold, but there cups do still rotate flat. Which means you can still store them in suit case, carrying bags and your pocket if there wide enough. Folding would had made them easier to carry in smaller pockets, but not really a con, since you can still bring them with you on the go.


Lets talk about the connections and buttons, on the bottom of the right cup, you will find the 3.5mm jack, I didn’t have any issues at all plugging in the including cable and using the headphones. The volume buttons are a nice size, I didn’t make any mistakes at all lowering or raising the volume.


Pairing the headphones to my iPod worked without any problems. But nothing is perfect, when I went to plug in the charger cable into the mini USB port on the left cup, I had a hard time getting it in. It was like the port on the headphone was a little too small, evidently I got it in but I had to use force. I don’t seeing the connection holding up long due to the amount of force needed to plug the cable in, evidently the port will get damage from all of the force.

Pressing the power button and holding it down will enable the pairing mode, pressing it once will cause songs to stop playing, doing it again will cause them to play. Double tapping it will allow you to switch between EQ modes, one is balanced and the others Extra bass, which works instantly and without any issues as I can easily tell when you switch between the modes. The EQ mode only works with Bluetooth as I tried to see if it would work in 3.5mm mode, it doesn’t.


Moving the EQ setting to its own button or slider will make it easier to have access to, as you can mistakenly stop your song or in rare cases turn your volume down by mistake as the buttons are close to each other.


They added something new with this model in the form of NFC, which allows you to simply touch your NFC supported device to the headphones them self and connect them instantly. Unfortunately I do not have any devices with this functionally to see how well it works.

Noise isolation was OK, it was not that good as I was still able to hear my house fan, but it did block out most of the noses in my room. It wont block all of the noses if they are very loud. Just the medium to low noises.



Gear

Here how the HD 601 will be used in this review. For the Bluetooth functionally, I will be using an Ipod. While with analog, I will be using my sound BlasterX AE-5 directly using the headphone jack.




Bluetooth

In balanced EQ mode the highs didn’t stick out to me that much, other then some details heard with hit hats. But I did not have any problems with brightness as there was none. There was some tiny sound here and there but that's about it. Even the singer voices didn’t stick out to me either.



With the mids it was almost neutral aside from the bass which stuck out to me. Which was the problem on the HD601. The bass is too one noted with the way it is produced. You can not hear each bass note. It’s a single boom boom boom, even the low bass produced the same effect. Neither of them sounded good. When I tried songs with a lot of bass action, I heard the bass distort. Besides that there was times where it would overlap another instrument to the point, it was hard to even hear it. Extra bass made it even worst as it made it much worst, due to the highs being effected to the point of it becoming too smooth with some of the freq being removed. Extra bass made the lows and mid bass more in your face like then before.



Sound separation I would say it was avg as there are times where they merged into each other. While the sound imaging have a 2D type of feel to it, while at same time the sound stage is small, as it’s like the music is slightly outside my ears in width but inside my head in height if that make sense.







Analog



With my Sound blaster AE-5 there was improvements as I could hear where the instruments was in the songs, The separation is better, I now able to hear the instruments better then before. The sound image is better as well since the feeling of it being inside my head is less now. The low bass is still a problem as it distorts and is not clear and even muddy with it’s one note style bass it also still bleeds into the other channels. Highs are more neutral sounding then before with the hit hats having less of an shhh type of sound with the right amount of detail. There was no distortion in the bass or the highs so that was better.


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While I did try the Ipod analog plug, the sound was too flat with the exception of the bass, as it was still one noted, and the separation was avg with the sound being inside of my head. I over all dislike it with the Ipod gen 7’s analog output.





Conclusion



While I did like the headphone, the major issues with it is the bass, if it wasn’t one noted and had more controlled to it and impact without the muddy sound it would be good. Next including the cup and ear-pad sizes will make wearing the HD601 a more enjoyable. Maybe making the Extra bass work some how while not using Bluetooth.

musicday

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Price,design ,sound ,good Bluetooth connectivity.
Cons: Extra bass not suitable for all music genres
I would like to say a big thank you, to the Mixcder team for sending me the HD601 model sample, free of charge to try out for review purposes.
At the time of writing this review, the Mixcder HD601 Bluetooth headphone can be had from Amazon UK on sale for £45.99 down from £79.99 making them a real bargain, if this is the type of headphone you are after.
Purchase link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Headphones-Mixcder-Retractable-Microphone-Technology/dp/B073Z7GG9T/

Specifications:

Speaker driver : 40 mm
Impedance: 32 ohm
Frequency response : 20 Hz-20 KHz
Sensitivity : 96+-3 dB
Talk time : 15 hours
Playing time: 15 hours
Support Profile : HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP
Transmission Format : SBG, Apt-X, Apt-X low latency
Transmission Distance : 10 M


As we can see the headphones have lots of features for the asking price.

Box and presentation:

They come in a rather simple modern looking white and blue box.
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On the back of the box we can see the specifications in few different languages and on the side of the box we are presented with some of the features this headphone packs.
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Build quality:

The build quality is quite good and they feel very sturdy even if they are made of plastic.Being a light headphone adds to the good comfort for this type of on ear headphone. Also the new modern design doesn't betray the real cost.


Accessories :

Is not much included, but there is a usb charging cable and a 3.5 mm stereo jack cable in case your battery dies, or you just want to use it with your music player.
Also an extra year warranty is a nice bonus to have when you register your headphone online.

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I think the cups are normal size for this type of headphone and people with big ears may have problems with the comfort, but there is not much clamp force so you should be fine, especially as they are quite light weight.


On side of the cup we find the usb port to charge the battery and on the other cup is the on/off button, microphone hole, volume control and the jack for the 3.5 mm headphones.

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Sound quality:

Is not too much to complain because of the relatively low price, but there is a bit extra bass for my taste that may work well with rap, hip hop music.
The heights is find them rolled off but the mids are good for this design.
Voices in music and instrument separation are the strongest point of this headphone in my opinion.
Instrument separation works better then expected.
You can sense where each instrument in placed in the band, on classical music and you can tell the distance between them. Mixcder HD601 is one of the best headphones I have heard at this price point and above for instrument separation and voices.
The soundstage is not wide, but is ok for a closed back headphone, that has Bluetooth connectivity.
I used LG Flex mobile phone, Samsung S6+ Edge, Zishan Z2, Tera Player, Shanling M2s and they all sounded above average.

Bluetooth connectivity works really well as advertised and Mixcder HD601 did a wonderful job in keeping the phone connected to the headphone up to 10 m range, with above average call quality, both for caller and receiver.
NFC function is something that I didn't test but I am quite sure others who are will really enjoy this extra feature on Mixcder HD601.

Conclusion:

At the sale price they are at the moment on Amazon, I do recommend this headphone to anyone who is on budget looking for a Bluetooth headphone,that looks, feels and sound above their asking price point.

Final word: I wasn't aware of this company before but a bit of research show they have quite few models of headphones one can choose from.
Looking forward to see other headphones made by Mixcder in the future.

LNuneek

500+ Head-Fier
Pros: very comfortable, good sound for the price, packed with features, nice visual design, excellent Bluetooth performance, extra year of warranty through on-line registration
Cons: Would have preferred a collapsible design for more compact storage, Extra Bass feature only adds a few decibels of mid bass, not much sub bass at all
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Overview: Mixcder HD601 wireless headphone with Bluetooth V.4.2, apt-X, NFC, and Extra Bass mode.

Specifications from the packaging:

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Review

Design: This is a very nice looking headphone! Black with circular red accents on the back of the ear cups. Mixcder branding is in silver/grey on the ear cups in an unobtrusive font size. There is also Mixcder branding on top of the headband.There is plenty of cushion on the headband. This is a very comfortable headphone! Mixcder excels in designing headphones that are comfortable, and it's great to see they have continued that tradition with the HD601!

For storage, the cups rotate so the headphones lay flat. I would have preferred a collapsible design for storage. When rotating the cups there is quite a bit of friction between the plastic pieces on the headband and arms that stretch out of the cups. When rotating the cups there is a hollow cheap grinding sound, which I didn't quite like.

The cups themselves do swivel up & down, very slightly, to secure a better fit. Overall adjusting for fit is rather stiff, but once the HD601 is situated, it's a very comfortable headphone!

The stiffness that you may notice initially, and the above mentioned grinding when rotating the cups, are things that may relax and loosen up over time and with repeated use. I'm already finding this is the case with my HD601!

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There is numbered sizing on the headphone adjustments with a satisfying click for each notch. The numbers don't correspond exactly with the notches, but it still gives a visual point of reference to remember your sizing.

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The ear cushions are nicely padded, made of a very soft synthetic leather, and are very comfortable. They are over-ear, but snugly so. Those with large ears may find them too snug. They were just right in size for me. I have average to slightly smaller than average sized ears.

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Overall build seems pretty durable! No obvious weak points where I can see things potentially breaking easy. The plastics used seem cheap, but still seem reasonably durable.

Sound:

***I tested the HD601 with just an iPhone, both wired and wirelessly, as I believe these headphones will mostly be used in a similar fashion by the general public.***

Highs
are a bit rolled off. There is enough detail to hear what's going on in your music and media. Slightly veiled, but very pleasant. Good for long listening stretches.

Mids are good as well, and pretty much the focus of the sound of the HD601 when wired and when the Extra Bass feature is off when in Bluetooth mode. Voices and instruments in music come through with good clarity and separation. I do find the mids to be slightly veiled or "closed in" sounding, but in general the mids are pleasant. Voices in video content come across reasonably well.

The presentation of the highs and mids are pretty much what is to be expected of a headphone in this price range and in a headphone marketed more as a "lifestyle" product. I would say that these aspects of the sound out performs or is at least on par with the competition.

Bass is where I was a little disappointed. The HD601 is marketed as a bass forward headphone, and even has an Extra Bass feature that can be activated only in Bluetooth mode by pressing the power button twice. When that feature is off, or the HD601 is being used in wired mode, the overall sound presentation is mid forward, lacks bass, punch, and sub bass is almost non-existent.

When the Extra Bass feature is turned on, it does warm up the overall sound and provide more punch, but it does not add much or even any sub bass. If I were to guess, the Extra Bass feature adds just a few decibels (not much at all) in the mid bass range, maybe from 50-60+hz to somewhere in the low mids. Basically the bass boost is right in the kick drum range, so the HD601 will be knocking about, but not provide much satisfying sub "boom" and "feel."

Anyone listening to electronic or urban music, as an example, will have the kicks hit pretty hard in their music with the Extra Bass on, but any of that 808 sub bass, or basslines with really low sub frequencies, you won't hear/feel as much of that as you'd like. Anyone wanting these for action movies or games won't hear/feel much of that low rumble of explosions and similar impacts. There is some rumble going on, but it's just not that deep sub rumble you'd expect from an Extra Bass feature.

Sound stage is narrow, but there is good separation. I would still say the HD601 out performs most similar offerings in this price range by a slight margin in this particular category.

Sound leakage and isolation are pretty much par for the course. Some sound will leak, some sound will get in.

***Despite some disappointments with the sound (would have liked more sub bass and an overall more expansive sound), overall the HD601 is a very pleasant headphone to listen to. There is nothing off-putting or obnoxious about the sound. As a casual budget headphone, the overall sound definitely fits the bill and then some. These should please most people looking for a wireless headphone packed with features, and who are looking in this particular price range.***

Bluetooth: The Bluetooth performance and range of the HD601 is fantastic, and probably the strongest aspect/feature of the headphone, besides overall value & comfort! Pairing went very smooth, and automatic reconnecting afterwards is very fast!

While having the HD601 paired to a device I left in a bedroom in my home, I didn't experience any drop outs or crackle until I was out my front door! By comparison, most Bluetooth headphones I have tried crackle and have audio drop outs a few feet away from my front door while I'm still inside my house. Forget about even making it outside with those. Signal is usually completely lost by that point. Not with the HD601.

I tried watching some Netflix and YouTube while the HD601 was paired to my iPhone. No video/audio sync issues at all. Audio matched up with on-screen action pretty well!

I'm very pleased with the Bluetooth performance on this device.

Bluetooth control buttons all work fine and as expected. I just wish the buttons were raised a little more for a more tactile feel.

Call quality is decent. I could hear the other end fine. However, I had reports that my voice was a little low in volume. Still was able to have conversations with no real issue.

***I don't own an NFC compatible device, so was unable to test that functionality.***

Accessories: Pretty basic offering. Just a micro USB cable for charging and a basic 3.5mm headphone cable with no microphone or control box.

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Warranty Bonus: Mixcder includes a welcome pamphlet with instructions on how to obtain an extra year of warranty by registering the device on their website or contacting them through e-mail.

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Conclusion: Despite some *criticism, the Mixcder HD601 is a solid purchase! When considering the price, there really isn't much to complain about. I would personally be happy with the purchase if I was in the market for something like this!

The sound is good even if not all I hoped for. The extra features, and extra warranty are good to have. The design and overall looks of the headphone are visually pleasing. Mixcder makes some of the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn and the HD601 is no exception!

*The criticism is for the sake of being thorough, setting proper expectations for the product, letting the manufacturer know how their product is coming across, and for prospective customers of all types to see and evaluate. Please place the criticism in proper perspective and consider the point of view is meant to bridge both audiophile types and the general public just looking for some information on a product.

Thanks to Mixcder for giving me a free sample to test and review!
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