Mobile devices are a staple in everyone’s lives right now and people that want to listen to music or watch videos on the go privately require a headphone and for the most part, anything really will do ranging from large cans to totally wireless in-ears and we’ve taken a look at a lot of these products in our audio peripheral section and in today’s review we have another wireless headset for review this time around it is from QCY, a relatively new name in the scene and we’ll be taking a closer look at the QY12 Bluetooth headset for those looking for a little less tangle in their headsets with this wireless pair.
QCY is a brand specializing in mobile peripheral solutions particularly headsets and earphones and they’ve been around for a while now but only recently did they start making waves by producing some relatively affordable products that are able to compete with the more popular brands.
Features
- Magnetic absorption design- It allows user to play/pause the music, answer/ end phone calls by attaching and separating the earbuds.
- It uses CSR8645+Bluetooth 4.1+apy-X. More energy efficiency and less delay,
- It is sweatproof and weatherproof
- Noise reduction- With CVC Noise Cancellation 6.0 technology, it reduces background noise, so the user can get high quality & hands-free phone conversation even on the street or inside shopping mall.
- Long battery life- upto 8 hours of continuous play time and upto 180 hours of standby time on full charge.
Closer Look
The QY12 comes packaged in a simple cardboard box with a seal with a small stamped logo of QCY in the front. Very conservative and non-flashy, given their mostly online sales presence this does make sense to reduce cost on flashy boxes for shelf displays.
Inside the package are two smaller boxes, one holding the QCY QY12 headset and the other containing the accessories as pictured above together with a manual. The accessories include replacement eartips, rubber mounts and a USB cable.
The actual QY12 bluetooth headset is comprised of a pair of earbuds linked by a thin cable with an inline controller close to the right-earpiece. Out of the box the QY12 is pre-charged and has mounts and eartips already installed.
The inline controller is oriented to the right-earbud for easy access. The controller features a Pause/Play/Answer button as well as a Vol+ and Vol- buttons that serve as Next Track and Previous Track buttons when held down. The microphone is located in this module also.
There are no power buttons on the QCY QY12 and powering on the device only requires splitting the magnetically linked earbuds and the device will activate immediately with a confirmation light from the inline module confirming status.
The QCY QY12 has built-in batteries that is rated for a continuous 8-hour usage time. To charge, remove the rubber sleeve to reveal a microUSB port to plug-in the included cable or any compatible cable.
Depending on how you wear your QY12, you can use the included cable link to shorten the cables for a cleaner look.
The QY12 is oriented to be worn with the cable behind the neck but you can let it hang freely in front and just rotate when not in use. The magnetic buds link and make a necklace of sorts when not in use.
User Experience & Conclusion
We burned in the QY12 for 100 hours and noticed no significant difference in audio quality. We used an LG V10 smartphone for the testing in this review.
Having tested a lot of self-powered Bluetooth devices, we’ve had a good idea of what to expect and given the price point of the QCY QY12, I was already making my pre-judgment. Ultimately, I was correct in anticipating a relatively good-performing product and despite the rather conservative packaging of the QCY QY12, it does belie a very decent product.
Starting off with audio performance, the most notable characteristic of the audio is that is quite bass-oriented and basslines are very present giving the QY12 a warm feel. Sound stage is quite small and the mids are average with vocal imaging nothing spectacular but are nice enough for casual listening with clear rendering. Highs are also quite clean and decent and don’t distort even on max gain which is common in cheaper IEMs. Ultimately, the QY12 has a relatively clean sound signature that favors bass so that is something to note for those that are particularly fond of hiphop that love good basslines. The kick itself isn’t that strong and doesn’t have that gut-busting rumble we love from the likes of Ajays Two or Sonys but is enough to really give any basshead just the right punch they look for.
Moving on to build quality, the earbuds on the QY12 are decently made but the overall quality might be a bit lacking for those that want something rugged. Still, average sports activity shouldn’t be much of a challenger for the QY12. If you’re worried about sweat, the rubber mounts also seal-off the seams of the QY12 and while it won’t fully waterproof it for underwater action, its enough prevent sweat droplets from getting in the buds. The cables are quite thin and a dual-loop cable link would’ve been a better idea to sort the cable behind the neck.
Battery life is hard to gauge but the rated 8 hours is pretty much on the spot as we’ve used monitored the QY12 lasting around that range in our burn-in test. Charging time is rather quick with a single full-charge only taking 1 hour. Slower 1A chargers would take longer but most phone chargers have 2.1A nowadays and those work well with the QY12.
While the QCY QY12 may be oriented towards active lifestyles, its a decent daily headphones if you don’t like the extra length cables of normal in-ears. Overall at only $26 or Php1,460 locally, the QCY QY12s are an excellent choice for a first dive into a pair or wireless headset. Its easy-to-use, great-sounding and highly affordable pair of headphones and its now readily available in the Philippines. See the link below for buying options.
Midace backs the QCY QY12 with a 1-year warranty for PH customers. We give the QCY QY12 our B2G Recommended Seal!
Price/Where to Buy
- http://www.lazada.com.ph/midace/?searchredirect=midace
- https://m.olx.ph/ads/user/14216168
- https://www.facebook.com/midaceinc/
1 Comment
In my experience the cons are:
1) The buttons are too stiff and you have to hold down the +/- buttons for too long to skip songs so it becomes a drag.
2) The usb port cover is near impossible to open with just your finger.
3) It’s very annoying to have to listen to the voice “welcome to qcy, device one connected” every time you start your earphones.
Other than these it’s decent.