Affordable is no longer synonymous with low-tier. Nowadays, there are several earbuds that pack hybrid ANC technology and many amazing features for a fraction of the price of premium buds. Such a pair of gaming earbuds are the PXN Sense Buds X2 – for this price you’re getting hybrid ANC, Bluetooth 5.1, and ultra-low latency. We recently got our hands on these pair of earbuds and we are going to be doing an in-depth review of the PXN Sense Buds X2. So, read on to get the full scoop!
Unboxing
After opening the box and removing the plastic film, you will be greeted with the earbuds, charging case, and the user manual. Putting aside the manual, you will find additional earbud tips and the USB-C charging cable. As for the dongle, it comes in a separate little box of its own.
Design
There’s a lot going on in the design department. But first, let’s talk about the charging case, it might seem like a massive unit, but that’s not how it is. It’s slightly taller than the average AirPods case but about the same width. So, it will fit perfectly in your pocket. With that out of the way, let’s talk about the build quality. We must say, the matte rubber finish gives it a premium feel to the otherwise plasticky build. There’s also a groove on the sides to improve grip.
You will notice that there are four battery indicators on the case. This is a great feature to have that other manufacturers miss out on. Thanks to this, now you will know when your earbuds are out of juice. Now, let’s take a look at the earbuds themselves. These buds feature a short stem design reminiscent of the Soundcore Life P2. These come with touch control on both buds. The touch sensitivity is great and you can play/pause, skip forward/backward, and circle through the ANC modes pretty easily. So now, you don’t need to keep jamming the buds into your ear to play and pause the music.
Speaking of jamming, comfort can make or break even great headphones. Fortunately for the Sense Buds X2, the ear tips fit very nicely. They have comfortable ear tips that fit snugly and offer decent noise isolation. Also, if the stock ear tips don’t fit you well, you can switch them out with the included two pairs of tips.
Touch control and comfort are great and all, but what else do these earbuds have to offer? For the price you’re paying, these buds offer Hybrid ANC, and surprisingly, it’s very good! The 35dB of noise reduction cancels out most outside noises. It uses bidirectional mics placed internally and externally to combat the ambiance noise and cancel out any outside noise. You can switch between Normal or ANC off, ANC on, and Passthrough modes with very intuitive controls.
On top of that, these buds are also IPX4 rated. So, even if you accidentally spill some water on them, the buds will survive. Lastly, these buds pack Bluetooth 5.1, which means little to no latency while gaming. There’s one more thing, the dongle. What does it do? Well, if you’re going to use it with any console or your PC, plugging up the dongle and pairing through it will let you use the ANC features. Usually, the buds’ ANC features work perfectly with mobile devices, but if you want the same experience on your PC or PS5, you need this dongle.
Gaming Performance
One of the most annoying problems with any Bluetooth peripheral is the issue of latency. You click now, and it registers laters; this annoys every gamer. The Sense Buds X2 deals with all these problems. Firstly, the buds come with Bluetooth 5.1, which alone means better stability and latency. On top of that, there’s “Game Mode”; switching to that further drops latency to just 45-60ms.
Of course, the lower the latency, the better. But for the price, getting such lower latency is fantastic. Besides improved latency and stable connection, the game mode tweaks the sounds too. It emphasizes bass and makes the overall audio much louder. Now, you can hear the footsteps and surrounding sounds more clearly. To sum it up, the game mode is great and it doesn’t feel gimmicky. The lower latency and boost in sound are much appreciated.
Music Performance
You might not prefer gaming earbuds for listening to your favorite tracks as the bass overpowers everything, and it becomes a muddy mess. But that’s far from the truth with the Sense Buds X2. The overall performance is great. The vocals are clear and the bass is punchy without overpowering everything else. These earbuds are most suitable for pop music, but you can tune into some classical music here and there too.
More interestingly, inside its dedicated app, there are 3 modes – close, surround 1, and surround 2. Close, as you guessed, is the average listening mode, where everything feels confined within the earbuds. Surround 1 takes it a step further and mimics an open-back type of sound; it’s not perfect, but the music sounds much more spacious. Surround 2 makes it better. Instead of making the music more open, the sound has a spatial effect but feels more grounded. Hence, if you want the feel of surround sound, then definitely go for surround sound 2.
PXN Audio App
The PXN Sense Buds X2 has its own dedicated app called the PXN Audio App. Jumping into the app, it first tries to search and pair with the buds, but if you’re already paired, click on “Go” to enter the app.
Once you enter the app, there’s a lot to unpack. There’s the Music mode and the Gaming Mode, the surround sound effects, and the ANC modes. You can switch between 6 presets or make your own under the DIY section. You can also massively change the touch setting for each earbud. It’s cool to have such customization capabilities. Aside from these, you can also update the firmware through it. All in all, the PXN Audio App is pretty capable with its handy controls.
Battery Performace
It seems like these buds put out a fantastic performance in every category; so what about the battery life? With ANC on, these buds will last you for 4.5 hours, and without it, 5 hours which is a pretty good run time. The charging case can juice up these buds 3.5 times, giving you a total of 22 hours of playtime. So, when you consider the price of these buds, you’re getting great runtime. But the amazement doesn’t stop there. On top of USB-C charging, these earbuds also support wireless charging! Overall, these buds offer you more value than what you’re paying for.
Ending Thoughts
If you have read up to this point, then you should have a pretty good idea about how amazing the PXN Sense Buds X2 is. Although these buds have been designed with gamers in mind, they can also be a great companion while doing your everyday chores as well. And with the number of features present, you won’t be disappointed at all. However, the biggest selling point of these earbuds is how affordable they are. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the PXN Sense Buds X2 become a lot more popular in the future.
