Look round and it’s not exhausting to discover a pair of true wi-fi earbuds. They’re even out within the wild in rising numbers, with Apple’s AirPods being probably the most seen. Similar to what’s already on the market, Pioneer’s C8 are “truly wireless” earbuds that look to current a greater and cheaper different. Unfortunately, nonetheless, Pioneer didn’t veer all the best way all the way down to the underside of the pricing ladder, opting to remain within the mid-range. At $120 (£149, AU$$229), the Pioneer C8 are inexpensive with out feeling overly dear, however the issue is that the cost-cutting damage the C8 in some of the necessary areas: quantity stage.While admirable design efforts and simplified execution are all the time good, if headphones don’t sound good or loud sufficient, it’s exhausting to justify doling out that a lot in a aggressive subject, and that is what occurred right here.DesignPioneer has a repute for making merchandise that look good and sound nice. The firm’s pedigree has transcended every part from residence leisure to the automotive aftermarket, and even within the interior audio circles, the title carries clout. That stated, whereas headphones aren’t new to those guys, true wi-fi earbuds are. And which may clarify a number of issues. Thankfully, no matter how they sound, the C8 are tastefully designed, even when they lack a wow issue, visually talking. Each earpiece has a textured rubber physique for good grip and a softer really feel when nestled into the ear. They’re additionally light-weight and straightforward to placed on or take off. Build high quality is okay, if not uninspiring, however we don’t thoughts that a lot if efficiency is as much as snuff.Pioneer went with a wider gap for the middle of the ear tricks to match the protruding speaker. They is usually a bit robust to swap out for one of many different sizes (there are giant, medium and small measurement suggestions included). Normally, we wouldn’t be aware that besides it implies that third-party suggestions will probably be tougher to make use of, except you get Comply Foam suggestions which have an even bigger gap and might keep in place.Just so that you’re not confused, the official mannequin quantity for these is SE-C8TW, however are higher generally known as C8. A extra apparent function that separates the C8 from the competitors is the charging case, which is greater than many different true wi-fi earbuds in the marketplace. While we appreciated that Pioneer used USB-C for the charging port, we’re undecided why going this massive didn’t include an even bigger battery inside. The case’s inner battery can absolutely recharge the earbuds twice earlier than it wants a recharge of its personal. We would’ve favored to see an additional cost or two for carrying this factor round. It can handle in a jacket pocket, however appears to be like actually awkward in a pant pocket.The case has two magnetic cradles to cost the earbuds. Thankfully, the cradles are recessed sufficient to suit them, no matter what measurement suggestions you employ. We simply wanted to verify the purple charging lights went on for each earlier than sliding the case closed. There’s no sweat or water-resistance right here, in order that’s one thing to contemplate earlier than taking them to the fitness center or out on a run as Pioneer’s guarantee doesn’t cowl sweat-induced injury.As we famous, there are three pairs of ear suggestions, together with a USB-C charging cable and fast begin information, however no different goodies past that.ConnectivityAs you’d anticipate, Bluetooth pairing was comparatively straightforward: Once we took the buds out of the case, they had been routinely positioned into pairing mode. Re-pairing after that wouldn’t be that a lot of a distinction. Putting the buds again within the case lower off audio playback and severed the connection – nonetheless, they don’t routinely activate and pair when eradicating them from the case. We needed to maintain the buttons on each earbuds to manually energy them on.A built-in voice immediate notes that left and proper channels are lively and related, and when the paired machine is able to go. On iOS, the battery indicator exhibits how a lot juice is left when swiping down for Control Center. The left earbud is the extra necessary of the 2 as a result of it appears to take care of the reference to the telephone … however its stability was questionable as dropouts appeared to randomly happen as we moved the telephone from one pocket to the opposite or took it from a desk and pocketed it. We would’ve favored to see a stronger hyperlink all through, particularly at this value level.We did okay with telephone calls, however weren’t impressed, both. Callers knew immediately that we had been utilizing a headset due to the ambient sound leaking by means of, and needed to crank up the amount to listen to them. We can’t dock Pioneer an excessive amount of on this, as outcomes few headphone producers have but to crack the code when involves calling. For iOS customers, AAC codec help means you get the very best Bluetooth audio stream optimized for these units however that’s not the case for Android, the place aptX help is lacking. Non-iOS customers should accept the SBC (Subband Codec), which isn’t nearly as good as aptX, and is without doubt one of the causes that we are able to’t advocate these for devoted Android customers. EfficiencyThe C8’s cozy match was tremendous, however we needed to do battle with the amount ranges to let the music come by means of and fill our ears. We routinely needed to push all of them the best way to full when out in public areas, like transit or on the road. Once they had been in place, passive noise isolation is respectable – and your outcomes could differ, relying on the form of your ears – however we had been left wanting.Pioneer geared up the C8 with 6mm drivers, which ought to be moderately loud in their very own proper, however we solely ever lowered the amount in quiet confines. We tried all three tip sizes to see if our ears had been deceiving us, however we had probably the most success with the big measurement. The different two didn’t create sufficient isolation, forcing an excessive amount of ambient noise to bleed in.It’s additionally evident these weren’t constructed to push the envelope within the audio spectrum. The impartial soundstage isn’t essentially a foul factor — we get that it really works in good methods. It’s simply that we stored twiddling with the match to tighten the seal, and thereby attempt pulling out extra bass. The lack of punch within the 6mm drivers exhibits in these situations. The mids and highs aren’t particularly highly effective or heat, leaving us wanting extra of every part.If you’re a fan of genres that aren’t bass-heavy, chances are you’ll get higher outcomes. Rock, jazz and orchestral instrumentals would possibly come off alright, whereas hip hop and electronica tracks fall slightly flat. We may by no means shake the sensation that we had been ‘further away’ from the music, if that makes any sense. Raising the amount was a technique to not simply make tunes louder, however to additionally really feel the music on the similar time. That’s a fundamental expectation with any pair of headphones.That battle made the C8 tough to love in noisier environments. Whether it was a subway prepare or within the fitness center, we needed to go full blast to drown every part out. Full quantity on these earbuds wasn’t the identical as others we’ve examined, the place approaching such a excessive stage wasn’t mandatory.Battery lifeThe fixed elevated quantity ranges taxed the battery closely. Pioneer rated the C8 at three hours per cost, however the true quantity was two or much less in our testing. Volume is the make-or-break for battery life in true wi-fi earbuds, and that’s the place their true mettle is revealed.Since we had been all the time hovering within the 80-100 % quantity vary, hitting two hours was on day. We normally clocked just below that, which is actually low at this stage of the sport for true wi-fi earbuds. Final verdictSaid merely, there are higher true wi-fi earbuds than the Pioneer C8. Admirable design efforts and decrease costs are all the time good, but when headphones don’t sound good or loud sufficient, it’s exhausting to justify doling out $120 (£149, AU$$229). Pioneer has had a knack for high-caliber audio, and whereas these aren’t an indictment on the corporate’s penchant for high quality, they’re nonetheless disappointing. Need another? The LiteXim Aerobuds are instance of getting extra for much less.
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