Review of Xiaomi Pistons 2 headphones with Android in-line remote w/lots of pics!!!

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vectron

Senior Member
Apr 23, 2011
3,407
2,636
This is a review of Xiaomi Pistons 2 in-ear headphones with a full featured android in-line remote. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L92CU24/ or http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321443604850 (manufacturer website: http://www.xiaomi.com/huosai)

Once again I'm speechless, sitting down with a pair of $24.90 headphones that look and sound better than a number of other popular brand name IEMs that cost 4x-5x that much. How is it possible? For a lot of us who live in US and EU, there is a whole world of great headphone brands from Asia we never even heard of. After reading and participating in a number of discussions on head-fi, I decided to look into much talked about Xiaomi Pistons currently on their 2nd generation release.

I know the price of under $25 sounds ridiculous for anything of a high quality, but you have to trust me - these headphones are simply amazing! I know a lot of you see the name and the model and quickly get on Google to search for the best deals. Here is a thing, when it comes to these particular in-ear headphones, any search will yield a lot of results with fake models. And because those often cost almost as much or a few dollars less than original, it's really hard to find a trusted seller of Pistons. That is a reason I'm providing you Amazon link of a trusted seller who has real Pistons v2 in stock. Be very careful when placing an order even with amazon where you have multiple sellers, and make sure its with Zhengnan'shop. Apparently there used to be other sellers under the same listing which turned out to be fake ones. The one I received came from Zhengnan'shop, I confirmed it to be the real deal!

OK, since I got that explanation out of the way, let's take a closer look at the headphones itself. The small carton box they arrived in turned out to be a one piece design which unfolded with instructions and other info. Unfortunately, everything was in Chinese, but I can certainly appreciate the originality of this design. Once you take the actual box out, you are presented with a gorgeous view of golden in-ear headphones inside of jewelry-like box. When you lift the cover, the first thing you notice is... a smell. I know what you might think, probably a smell of toxic plastic? Absolutely not, you are getting a smell of a chocolate. Yes, I did say "chocolate". There is a lot of thought that went into design of these headphones and their packaging, including one of the most original presentation with a piece of molded rubber insert that houses earphones, inline remote, a plug, a cord which gets wrapped around, and also made out of material with a sweet smell of chocolate. Underneath on the bottom of the box you will find 3 bonus sets of eartips and a really cool shirt clip (a very original design). Once you take the headphones out, you can't help but notice how super lightweight these are and how detailed is their design. Everything from headphone housing to in-line remote (which also serves as cable y-splitter) and 3.5mm connector is made out of lightweight aluminum alloy material with a gold finish and laser etched circular lines. Everything feels solid, durable, and very premium quality. The cord itself is tangle free, and the portion between splitter-remote and 3.5mm plug has a threaded coating which almost looks like a shoelace. The part of the cable from the splitter-remote up to headphones has a durable rubbery coating attached to earpieces with a decent strain relief.

There is no doubt, Pistons have a very luxurious look and feel, but how about the sound quality? Once you put these in your ears, get ready for a very pleasant surprise!!! Featuring a patented beryllium diaphragm, I found these dynamic drivers to cover quite an extended frequency range. The first thing you will notice a rich deep bass which extends quite nicely down to a powerful sub-bass layer while still having a well controlled punchy mid-bass. The selection of a proper eartip size to create the best seal with your earcanal will play a significant role in the amount of bass you will hear. With my selection of medium eartips, I found the bass quantity to be definitely boosted. Not quite at basshead level, but enough to feel it. At the other side of the spectrum, treble was very clear and smooth, hardly any hint of sibilance. Mids were detailed, a bit recessed, but still leveled enough to enjoy vocals. Overall the sound was bright and balanced with a little bit of v-shaped eq, a nice low end enhancement, and in general very airy and smooth. Of course, as great as they sound, it will not replace $500 multi-driver IEMs with a fuller body sound and better separation, but the fact I'm even bringing up a comparison of $25 to $500 in-ear headphones can tell you how highly I think of these. The soundstage was above average thanks to semi-open design with a port on the back of these headphones. Despite that, they actually had a decent passive noise isolation, but as I mentioned above a good seal with a proper eartip is very important to achieve that.

Usually I don't spend too much time talking about in-line remote, but in case of Pistons it deserves a special mentioning. Every pair of headphones I reviewed so far with in-line remote never had a set of volume controls that works with Android phones. Typically you have multi-function button which is universal between android and apple devices, mic for taking calls, and up/down volume for iPhones. Well, Xiaomi is actually a very well known Chinese android smartphone maker, and that is why their headphones were designed specifically for android phones. Though I only tested it with my Galaxy Note 2, the volume control worked perfectly!!!!! Furthermore, multi-function button worked great for play/pause/call with a single click, skip next with a double click, and skip prev with a triple click, and long-press for Google Now. No additional software was necessary, everything worked by default. Also, phone calls were loud and clear.

Overall, I found Xiaomi Pistons 2 to be one of the best value headphones I have tested in a very long time!!! The combination of a sexy design, durable construction, amazing sound quality with a great bass, and full remote control compatibility with android phones makes this a MUST have accessory which gets my high recommendation.

Here are the pictures.

xiaomi_pistons_2-01_zps8d250b4d.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-02_zpsd0099010.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-03_zps9d285b1c.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-04_zps067db5cd.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-05_zpse33c23ff.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-06_zps59c4eda8.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-07_zpsf97bfb16.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-08_zpsbfe72082.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-09_zps5a60c069.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-10_zpsebd9eedd.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-11_zpsfe31dc02.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-12_zpsbf69c6e3.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-13_zps2e366d50.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-14_zps835d2107.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-15_zpsf1f6aad1.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-16_zps553f28ff.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-17_zpsdffe2d9f.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-18_zps9ec4b66d.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-19_zpsc4104267.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-20_zps2bd14507.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-21_zps513b548b.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-22_zps368b8b0e.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-23_zpsb976db01.jpg


xiaomi_pistons_2-24_zpsb63d9b76.jpg
 
Last edited:

vectron

Senior Member
Apr 23, 2011
3,407
2,636
Apparently these Pistons 2 just won a prestigious IF 2014 design award, and even going to be re-leased in a limited edition white box. For $25 with their sound quality and full android controls, it's a no-brainer.
 

Rsmin

Senior Member
Feb 22, 2012
225
42
Vectron,

Thanks for the great review. Just ordered them using your provided link. Question.
How long did it take to get them?

Rusty

Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
 

vectron

Senior Member
Apr 23, 2011
3,407
2,636
Vectron,

Thanks for the great review. Just ordered them using your provided link. Question.
How long did it take to get them?

Rusty

Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app

About 10 days.

Make sure to come back with your impressions :) Sound quality is very subjective, so I'm always curious to find out what others think about it.
 

Rsmin

Senior Member
Feb 22, 2012
225
42
Apparently these Pistons 2 just won a prestigious IF 2014 design award, and even going to be re-leased in a limited edition white box. For $25 with their sound quality and full android controls, it's a no-brainer.

Vectron,

Thanks for letting us know about these headphones. Just received them yesterday and the sound is fantastic. These are going to be my go to headphones for now. Now mind you I am no music guru but for me these are crisp, and super clear through the entire spectrum. I have had Sony's, V-moda, Panasonic, Skull Candy's (all which are good) but there is just something about these that seem a little better than the others I have had, plus the Android controls just make it that much better.

And the price just puts the icing on the cake.

Rusty

Sent from my GT-N5110 using xda app-developers app
 
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Eleo

Senior Member
Apr 16, 2012
16,404
14,772
Essen, Germany
Google Pixel 3a XL
Google Pixel 6
May I ask about the length of the wire between the controller and the in-ear headphone? Because I've seen in some reviews that people say the distance is long, thus it is hard to either reach for the controller, or talk in a call while walking or standing outside
 

vectron

Senior Member
Apr 23, 2011
3,407
2,636
May I ask about the length of the wire between the controller and the in-ear headphone? Because I've seen in some reviews that people say the distance is long, thus it is hard to either reach for the controller, or talk in a call while walking or standing outside

It's about 10.5 inches. There is no problem to reach the buttons, it's actually very convenient since the in-line remote is also y-splitter for the wires. But sometime when I make a call the mic is too far away and I have to lift it up to speak. For those occasions the included metal shirt clip is a lifesaver ;) Just attach it to the cable underneath of the remote and place it closer to your face. Problem solved! This headphone has the highest price/performance ratio at the current moment from everything I have tested. For $25 it's an amazing value, great sound quality, sexy design, and full android integration including volume up/down.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tomi_Ohl and Eleo

honeybunchie

Senior Member
Nov 3, 2013
80
8
I want to buy this, I don't live in the US, I'm assuming the ones on eBay are mostly fake
? :(

Faux - Cataclysm Nexus 5
 

steamb0x

Member
May 4, 2013
17
1
Just ordered a pair, and awaiting shipment!

Be very careful when placing an order even with amazon where you have multiple sellers, and make sure its with Zhengnan'shop. Apparently there used to be other sellers under the same listing which turned out to be fake ones. The one I received came from Zhengnan'shop, I confirmed it to be the real deal!

Thanks for the heads up.

Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 

gunrunner25

Member
Dec 27, 2008
32
1
You mean volume control, right? The multifunction middle button should work for play/pause/call. I have no idea why Moto had to be different with volume control :(

Right. the middle button works fine. On my wife's HTC DNA, the volume controls function as the next/previous track. I assume it's software dependent.
 

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  • 43
    This is a review of Xiaomi Pistons 2 in-ear headphones with a full featured android in-line remote. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L92CU24/ or http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321443604850 (manufacturer website: http://www.xiaomi.com/huosai)

    Once again I'm speechless, sitting down with a pair of $24.90 headphones that look and sound better than a number of other popular brand name IEMs that cost 4x-5x that much. How is it possible? For a lot of us who live in US and EU, there is a whole world of great headphone brands from Asia we never even heard of. After reading and participating in a number of discussions on head-fi, I decided to look into much talked about Xiaomi Pistons currently on their 2nd generation release.

    I know the price of under $25 sounds ridiculous for anything of a high quality, but you have to trust me - these headphones are simply amazing! I know a lot of you see the name and the model and quickly get on Google to search for the best deals. Here is a thing, when it comes to these particular in-ear headphones, any search will yield a lot of results with fake models. And because those often cost almost as much or a few dollars less than original, it's really hard to find a trusted seller of Pistons. That is a reason I'm providing you Amazon link of a trusted seller who has real Pistons v2 in stock. Be very careful when placing an order even with amazon where you have multiple sellers, and make sure its with Zhengnan'shop. Apparently there used to be other sellers under the same listing which turned out to be fake ones. The one I received came from Zhengnan'shop, I confirmed it to be the real deal!

    OK, since I got that explanation out of the way, let's take a closer look at the headphones itself. The small carton box they arrived in turned out to be a one piece design which unfolded with instructions and other info. Unfortunately, everything was in Chinese, but I can certainly appreciate the originality of this design. Once you take the actual box out, you are presented with a gorgeous view of golden in-ear headphones inside of jewelry-like box. When you lift the cover, the first thing you notice is... a smell. I know what you might think, probably a smell of toxic plastic? Absolutely not, you are getting a smell of a chocolate. Yes, I did say "chocolate". There is a lot of thought that went into design of these headphones and their packaging, including one of the most original presentation with a piece of molded rubber insert that houses earphones, inline remote, a plug, a cord which gets wrapped around, and also made out of material with a sweet smell of chocolate. Underneath on the bottom of the box you will find 3 bonus sets of eartips and a really cool shirt clip (a very original design). Once you take the headphones out, you can't help but notice how super lightweight these are and how detailed is their design. Everything from headphone housing to in-line remote (which also serves as cable y-splitter) and 3.5mm connector is made out of lightweight aluminum alloy material with a gold finish and laser etched circular lines. Everything feels solid, durable, and very premium quality. The cord itself is tangle free, and the portion between splitter-remote and 3.5mm plug has a threaded coating which almost looks like a shoelace. The part of the cable from the splitter-remote up to headphones has a durable rubbery coating attached to earpieces with a decent strain relief.

    There is no doubt, Pistons have a very luxurious look and feel, but how about the sound quality? Once you put these in your ears, get ready for a very pleasant surprise!!! Featuring a patented beryllium diaphragm, I found these dynamic drivers to cover quite an extended frequency range. The first thing you will notice a rich deep bass which extends quite nicely down to a powerful sub-bass layer while still having a well controlled punchy mid-bass. The selection of a proper eartip size to create the best seal with your earcanal will play a significant role in the amount of bass you will hear. With my selection of medium eartips, I found the bass quantity to be definitely boosted. Not quite at basshead level, but enough to feel it. At the other side of the spectrum, treble was very clear and smooth, hardly any hint of sibilance. Mids were detailed, a bit recessed, but still leveled enough to enjoy vocals. Overall the sound was bright and balanced with a little bit of v-shaped eq, a nice low end enhancement, and in general very airy and smooth. Of course, as great as they sound, it will not replace $500 multi-driver IEMs with a fuller body sound and better separation, but the fact I'm even bringing up a comparison of $25 to $500 in-ear headphones can tell you how highly I think of these. The soundstage was above average thanks to semi-open design with a port on the back of these headphones. Despite that, they actually had a decent passive noise isolation, but as I mentioned above a good seal with a proper eartip is very important to achieve that.

    Usually I don't spend too much time talking about in-line remote, but in case of Pistons it deserves a special mentioning. Every pair of headphones I reviewed so far with in-line remote never had a set of volume controls that works with Android phones. Typically you have multi-function button which is universal between android and apple devices, mic for taking calls, and up/down volume for iPhones. Well, Xiaomi is actually a very well known Chinese android smartphone maker, and that is why their headphones were designed specifically for android phones. Though I only tested it with my Galaxy Note 2, the volume control worked perfectly!!!!! Furthermore, multi-function button worked great for play/pause/call with a single click, skip next with a double click, and skip prev with a triple click, and long-press for Google Now. No additional software was necessary, everything worked by default. Also, phone calls were loud and clear.

    Overall, I found Xiaomi Pistons 2 to be one of the best value headphones I have tested in a very long time!!! The combination of a sexy design, durable construction, amazing sound quality with a great bass, and full remote control compatibility with android phones makes this a MUST have accessory which gets my high recommendation.

    Here are the pictures.

    xiaomi_pistons_2-01_zps8d250b4d.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-02_zpsd0099010.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-03_zps9d285b1c.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-04_zps067db5cd.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-05_zpse33c23ff.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-06_zps59c4eda8.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-07_zpsf97bfb16.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-08_zpsbfe72082.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-09_zps5a60c069.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-10_zpsebd9eedd.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-11_zpsfe31dc02.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-12_zpsbf69c6e3.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-13_zps2e366d50.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-14_zps835d2107.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-15_zpsf1f6aad1.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-16_zps553f28ff.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-17_zpsdffe2d9f.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-18_zps9ec4b66d.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-19_zpsc4104267.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-20_zps2bd14507.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-21_zps513b548b.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-22_zps368b8b0e.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-23_zpsb976db01.jpg


    xiaomi_pistons_2-24_zpsb63d9b76.jpg
    4
    Just an update: my Commemorative Edition Xiaomi Pistons 2 came today. I ordered on Amazon from Booolo Estore. I guess they only had one in stock seeing as they only carry a few items from China: http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&me=A2G4ALMQGE8I9K. They just launched on Amazon along with a few others that sell the Commemorative Edition model. From the videos I have seen online, these definitely look to be real. They came with a special felt pouch. Inside that is a white premium looking box that has the official product id numbers etc. The regular versions come in a cardboard box. The fake versions don't have a box period and come in some plastic wrap. I'll post my review and pics by tonight or tomorrow. :)

    REVIEW:

    Ok, so these headphones are solid! They are definitely real. Upon opening the package, there is a weird (almost chocolate like) smell from the pouch/the rubber that holds the headphones/the silicone earbud tips. I'm sure this will go away eventually. I tried, all the earbud tips that were included and the ones that worked the best were the standard ones that come on it, which I show in my pictures. The largest one created too much bass for me while the smaller ones lost sound the smaller I went, so obviously fitment is a must. The treble/mids are quite good, and the bass is not overpowering. It can be heard in the background, but thankfully doesn't overpower the vocals. I tested other earbud tips including my Sony MDR ones: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007BY3OU6/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and my SoundMagic ES18 ones: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00789JJEE/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1. The Sony earbuds made the bass go away and made the vocals more apparent. They have a smaller hole closest to the ear side, so that's a given. The ES18 earbuds were the best out of them because the vocals became clearer (like the Sony), but you could still hear the bass in a good way - it wasn't gone nor was it overpowering - just perfect for me because I like clarity for vocals/high to mid ranges to be heard with enough background thump when it's needed for movies, dubstep remixes, etc. The reason I stuck with the ES18s is because they are closer to the ear and the material is much softer/feels better inside the ear as well. I also read a review in the head-fi forums where someone took his girlfriends ES10M earbud tips and put them on the Xiaomi Pistons 2 and was very happy with this setup. Overall, these are the real deal for such a low budget IEM, and I'm very satisfied. Thanks vectron for pointing me to these. The special edition looks very nice, has a soft cord from the MIC down, and rubber cord from the mic to the headphones. I've never seen this setup, but that's also because my headphone knowledge/experience is no where near vectron's or other audiophiles'.

    Pictures: The last two pictures are of the ES18 earbud tips.


























    3
    In order to know that these are original piston 2 headphones check the following:

    Right out of its transport packing you should see the following:

    1/ The cardboard box unopened should have only the MI logo on the top right.
    It should be closed with a transparent circular sticker easily cut with a knife.
    There should be a sticker on the back of this box with the weight at 12g. Check the pictures from the first post.

    Now open this box and lift out the headphones in their plastic box.

    Flip it over so that the label on the underside is visible.

    2/ The weight should be at 12g - if this shows up as 11g you're looking at a piston v1 box.
    Again see the picture in the first post.

    Open the box and lift out the whole headphone and carrier assembly.
    3/ This should smell of chocolate.

    4/ You should immediatly see a small metal clip in there normally sitting on a support made for it. If you see three musical symbols instead of S, M and L and no means of holding a clip in place you're looking at a box for the piston 1. In that case the headphones should be silver. not gold.

    Unwrap the headphones from the silicone holder and inspect closely.

    4/ The right headphone should have a slightly thicker ring formed in the rubber in order to be able to insert the right headphone in the right ear without looking.

    5/ The metalwork on the headphones themselves should be without defects and perfectly chamfered.

    6/ The letters L on the left and R on the right headphone should be perfectly readable.

    7/ There should be a small gas hole on the underside of the tube that holds the silicone ear piece on each headphone. again see the pictures. That gas hole is to prevent damage to the speaker when pushing the headphones in the ear. They should not "crinkle" when being placed in the ear.

    Now for the remote.

    8/ The buttons on the remote should curve with the remote control tube and not be concave at all.

    Oh and the sound. Although that is highly subjective. Normally the sound should impress the user.

    Good luck with your purchases.
    2
    Has anyone got these earphones with Nexus 4? Are the buttons working?

    Heard before Nexus 4 doesn't support the volume controls, just like HTC One (M7), HTC One M8, Asus Padfone Infinity etc with stock firmware. MIUI ROMs for these devices may support volume controls though.
    Typical Apple, almost everything is proprietary, this means all iDevices doesn't support volume controls...

    Most Sony Mobile devices, Samsung Electronics devices and Xiaomi devices support all these functions with stock firmwares.

    Sent from my MI 3W using XDA Free mobile app
    2
    May I ask about the length of the wire between the controller and the in-ear headphone? Because I've seen in some reviews that people say the distance is long, thus it is hard to either reach for the controller, or talk in a call while walking or standing outside

    It's about 10.5 inches. There is no problem to reach the buttons, it's actually very convenient since the in-line remote is also y-splitter for the wires. But sometime when I make a call the mic is too far away and I have to lift it up to speak. For those occasions the included metal shirt clip is a lifesaver ;) Just attach it to the cable underneath of the remote and place it closer to your face. Problem solved! This headphone has the highest price/performance ratio at the current moment from everything I have tested. For $25 it's an amazing value, great sound quality, sexy design, and full android integration including volume up/down.