Tech Review: Mixcder E10 Active Noise Cancelling Headphones
The past year or so has been a hellish nightmare full of anxiety and uncertainty – and admittedly some things have fallen through the cracks as a result. As a song says, “I’m only human after all.”
Throughout the history of this site, I’ve experimented with a number of different features and ideas. Some things seem to stick. Others not so much. Occasionally, things get released into a gaping void with little response and you don’t know what to do with that. Such is the life of a writer.
Late last year, I received a pair of Mixcder E10 Active Noise Cancelling Headphones for review on this site. I had been meaning to do this for a while – but 2020, y’all. But as I’ve often joked to people on Twitter, who I somehow hadn’t followed for some reason: Better to be late to the party, than to never show up!
Specs:
Support Profile: HSP, HFP, AZDP, AVRCP
Transmission Distance: 33 feet outdoors/49 feet indoors
Speaker Driver: 40mm
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20KHz
Sensitivity: 120db +/- 3db
Battery Type: Built-in 500mah rechargeable lithium battery
Playtime: About 30 hours without active noise cancelling/About 24 hours with active noise cancelling.
Accessories:
- Mixcder E10 headphones (of course!)
- Hard carrying case
- 3.5mm audio cable
- Micro USB charging cable
- Airplane adapter
- Instruction Guide
Pros: The pros are impressive considering that you’re getting noise cancelling headphones for about half the price of the cheapest Bose model.
- 30 hours of play time on a fully charged battery without active noise cancelling.
- 24 hours with active noise cancelling.
- There’s a rapid charge function, where if you charge the headphones for about 8-10 minutes, you can get 2-3 hours of play time. In a music listening emergency, the quick charge is helpful, especially if you’ve forgotten to charge your headphones before use.
- They have a slightly longer connective range than most wireless headphones – 49 feet indoors and 33 feet outdoors.
- The headphones are very sturdily built. I’m a bit klutzy and I’ve managed to find a way to drop them several times – while they’ve been on my head. Don’t ask! And much like the old Timex commercials, they take a licking and keep on ticking.
- Honestly, I’ve rarely have had to use the noise cancelling function because the enormous, padded earcups have offered an exceptional seal from most outside noises. Before the pandemic, I would use the Mxcder E10 while commuting back and forth between shows and home, running errands, visiting friends and all of that. We’re talking about listening to music on New York City streets, buses, and subways – and most of that background noise disappears.
- Unlike some of the Bose wireless headphones, Mixcder gives you a hard case, which much like the headphones can take a licking – while really giving your purchase that necessary protection while in a backpack or a purse.
- The 40mm driver in the headphones gives the listening experience an added bit of muscle and punch without distorting tone or sacrificing clarity. Granted, it’s not as clean as Bose, but you can listen to an eclectic array of music and have a rather enjoyable listening experience. Some genres and styles of music just sound better with these headphones though – in particular, bass heavy hip-hop, electronic dance music, Afrobeat and motorik groove-driven shoegaze. Sadly, I hadn’t listened to much jazz with these headphones but I had listened to quieter, more contemplative material and it was pretty good.
- You can comfortably listen to music at loud volumes – for hours at a time. Like most people, I’m typically listening to music through Spotify and Apple Music and while I have my complaints about the sound quality of both streaming services, Mxcder E10 makes up a good deal of the difference.
- The price: Earlier this year, they were selling on Amazon.com for $89.99. They’re currently selling the headphones on their website for $139.99. (At the moment, they’re unavailable on Amazon. So you should continue to check back.)
Cons: Most of the cons with the Mixcder E10 headphones are design-based – and kind of vexing to me as a user.
- While the case is protective, it’s a bit bulky and awkward. Worse yet, it doesn’t have a pocket to hold the cables and airplane adapter. I actually lost my airplane adapter because of that.
- The airplane adapter seems kind of odd. But uh, okay.
- As a longtime Bose user, I’ve long been familiar with their exceedingly polite voice prompt informing me of what percentage my headphone batteries are at every time I turn them on. And while the Mixcder’s batteries give you an amazing 30 hours without ANC and 24 hours with ANC, not knowing your battery level is at as you’re about to use them is profoundly annoying.
- The newest Bose noise cancelling headphones have an app in which you can control the amount of noise cancelling – depending on what your surroundings are. Something like that would have been helpful.
- Because the headphones are a bit more bass heavy than others, I’d love to have an equalizer – either for the headphones or for my phone. Without an equalizer, sometimes you have to turn your music down to compensate for the bass.
- The power button is located in an awkward position. You can’t turn it off and on without taking the headphones off your head.
- It took a while to get used to phone calls while on the headphones. Initially, callers sounded as though they were far away and in a tunnel. I’m not sure if it was my perception of it or an actual technical issue; but it was weird. Additionally, sometimes lengthy phone calls seem to take out quite a bit of battery power.
- Lately, while walking, I’ve had signal issues in which streaming music breaks up mid-play – and the phone has been in my pocket. I’m not sure if that’s a headphone issue, a phone issue or a Verizon issue. But it’s awfully strange.
Overall: The Mixcder E10 active noise cancelling headphones are a sturdily built pair of headphones that offer great sound quality and noise cancelling for an affordable price point. They’re not Bose; but they offer something pretty damn close. There are of course some vexing complaints in terms of design and tech that if they improved, it would make it a serious competitor to the other wireless headphone brands.
You can purchase here:
