When it comes to budget TWS, we can't ignore the fact that Redmi’s AirDots reigned as a public favorite in Nepal for quite some time. However, the same can not be said now as budget earphones from other brands have flooded the market. Now, Redmi is also focusing on the neckband style earphones. The new Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphones is the company’s first neckband style earphone in Nepal. It is also the first Redmi product to have launched in Nepal before anywhere else. Read this review till the end to know what I think of the Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphones.While Redmi has not revealed the true specs of the Redmi Sonic Wireless Earphones, let’s check out the features that the company has included in the Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphones.

Key Features:

• Superior Sound with Pro Bass
• 21.3 grams
• Neckband design
• Bluetooth 5.0
• Voice Control
• Environmental Noise Cancellation
• IPX4 Certification
• Six months Warranty
• Price in Nepal: Rs.2,099

Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphones Review

Design and Comfort

• Neckband style headphone with plastic + rubber material
• Earpieces attach magnetically

From a distance, the new Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphones may look similar to the Mi Wireless Neckband. But, the former has a slimmer curve. The curve looks to be made of up rubber. The surface of the neckband that rests on the neck is rounded while the other side is plain flat. Redmi has used plastic for the end of the curve. The plastic has a matte finish and it is where all the buttons and ports are located. The earpiece looks to be made up of hardened plastic. The part that faces the inside of your ear has a glossy finish to it. Similarly, the earpiece has a soft tip that goes into the ear. The box offers three different sizes of tips for users to choose from.The back of the earpiece is made of a magnetic substance and it binds the two earpieces together when not in use. Unfortunately, it doesn’t turn on or off the earphones automatically. The wire does not feel like a premium one but that's okay considering the price of the earphones. The spot where the wire meets the earpiece is reinforced with hard material for durability. The earphone weighs around 21.3 grams and most of the time, you won't notice the band around your neck. Unless you decide to wear it during your workout sessions. I don’t recommend going out jumping with these earphones on. That being said, this earphone is IPX4 rated and thus it will be able to withstand sweat and minor splashes, in case you decide to use it during workouts.

Pairing

• Bluetooth 5.0 Wireless Connection
• Dual-Connection

Being a wireless earphone, the SonicBass Wireless connects to your music player using a Bluetooth connection. It supports Bluetooth 5.0 transmission with a theoretical range of 10m. To pair it, first, you need to turn on the headphone by pressing the power button for a second. Once you hear the voice prompt, go to the Bluetooth section of your device, search for Redmi SonicBass Earphones, and hit connect. It supports automatic connection with a previously paired device.The best part is the earphone can connect to two devices simultaneously. If it recognizes a sound being played on the second device, it automatically switches devices. At times, it can get annoying as a notification on the secondary device can disturb your music experience.

Control

• Dedicated buttons: Multifunction button, Volume up, Volume down

The controls reside on the right side of the neckband. There is a volume up, a volume down and a multi-function button. The multi-function button can play or pause the content. Upon long pressing, it acts as a power button as well. The volume buttons can also be used to skip tracks. When Redmi Nepal first introduced the SonicBass Wireless Earphones, it mentioned that the earphones had Voice Control. It provides a way to summon your phone's default voice assistant remotely when the phone isn't in reach. If the device is connected to the earphone, double licking the multi-function button will summon the voice assistant.

Performance

Redmi has been tight-lipped about the technical specs that can help potential customers compare it with other wireless earbuds. The only thing mentioned is the Pro Bass, but besides this, there is no detail on what it is and what it does.Still, the bass on the SonicBass earphones is a decent experience. However, at times you will wish the bass were a little punchier. Such was the case when listening to "Bandish" by YoungStunners. There were times when the instruments would be overshadowed the vocal. I experienced it when listening to "She Couldn’t" by Linkin Park. Similarly, I found some part of the vocal at the end of Our Last Night’s cover of "hot girl bummer" inaudible. Low-pitched vocals sound better than the high-pitched ones. However, if you like listening to pop songs, the earphones won’t disappoint you. I could not find anything significant to complain about the earphone while listening to songs like Monsters, Ice Cream, and my ex’s bestfriend.As far as the quality of the calls goes, it is satisfactory at best. You will have to make sure you are speaking with the mic facing towards you. The person at the receiving end will certainly complain about all the external noise that the microphone catches. There was one instance where I had to change the earphones when my friends on Discord complained about my sound being a little inaudible.

Battery

• 120 mAh battery

The Redmi SonicBass Earphones feature a 120mAh battery. The company claims that it can last up to 12 hours of continuous playback. While I wanted to test the claim, 12 hours is a lot of time. For my review of Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphones, I tested it for six hours straight. Even then it had a significant amount of juice left to use for another session. Redmi says it takes about 2 hours to charge the headphones, that is, with the 2.5W charger (5V, 0.5A). But Redmi doesn’t ship charger with the earphones in the first place. I used a 5W charger (5V, 1A) and it charged the earphones in around 100 minutes.

Conclusion

Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphone is one of the cheapest wireless neckbands in the market. And sound-wise, it is on-par with other similarly priced TWS earbuds. The bass is decent for the price, and the instruments are clear for the most part. However, the earphones suffer a little while reproducing high tones. The main selling point of the earphone is its long-lasting battery. Calls are not that great but get the job done. The IPX4 certification and the warranty just add to the sweetness of the deal that Redmi is offering.Some songs referenced in the Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphones review:

• Jokhay, Shareh, YoungStunners – Bandish
• Tones And I – Dance Monkey (stripped back)
• Linkin Park – She Couldn’t
• Our Last Night – hot girl bummer (Cover)
• All Time Low – Monsters (feat. blackbear)
• Black Pink – Ice Cream (with Selena Gomez)
• Machine Gun Kelly – my ex’s best friend (with blackbear)
• Tom MacDonald – Everybody Hates ME

Spotify Setting during the test:

• Streaming Quality: Very High
• Normalization: Off
• Volume Level: Quiet

Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphones Review: Pros & Cons

Pros: 

• Long-lasting battery life
• Lightweight
• Decent performance for a budget earphones
• Dual Bluetooth connection
• IPX4 rating
• Six months warranty

Cons:

• The neckband gets displaced on heavy movement.
• The mic is not that great
• No charger in the box
• Micro USB charging connection