Recently, Haylou has introduced a new compact wireless TWS headset with noise cancellation during calls and a 12mm dynamic driver – Haylou X1 2023. We got the new product for review, so let’s see what it can do and compare it with similar models.
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Given the price, Haylou X1 can be classified as a budget headphone. They cost $27.99 on the official website. But if you look hard enough, you can buy the headset even cheaper. We recommend using the link and discount code at the end of this article.
Haylou already has two similar models – Haylou X1 Pro and Haylou X1 Neo. The difference between the X1 and the Pro version is in the design, in-ear headphones, a battery that has almost twice the capacity, a flagship speaker system, and, of course, the price. Haylou X1 Pro costs about $50. As for the differences with the Neo, it has a 13 mm dynamic driver, a smaller battery, no moisture protection, APP control, and noise cancellation during calls. At the time of writing, the price of Haylou X1 Neo is $19 with a discount and $30 without it. The full list of Haylou TWS headsets is available on the company’s official website.
We are greeted by a rather solid box with the headphones and the company logo on the cover. Inside we see the headphones themselves, a USB-A/USB-C charging cable and a manual in English and Chinese.
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The headphones are housed in a minimalist oval case with a logo on the front. The outer part of the case is made of metal, which makes it scratch-resistant. At the bottom is a port for connecting the charger, which lights up in one of three colours: green, orange, and red when charging. Green indicates that the case has a high percentage of charge, orange indicates that about 50% is left, and red indicates that the case is almost discharged.
As for the headset’s colours, there are three in total: silver, blue and black.
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The Haylou X1 case is really compact and fits easily into any pocket. Thanks to a high-quality magnet, it will not open while running or walking. Inside, the headphones are also securely fixed with a magnet, so they do not fall out even when the case is open.
Haylou X1 connects to devices in a standard way. When connecting for the first time, you need to open the case, press and hold the button for 2 seconds, and then select the headset from the list of Bluetooth devices available for connection. To reconnect to another gadget, you need to disconnect the headset from the current device and repeat the above steps. Both headphones are connected as one Bluetooth device. You can also connect the headset using the Haylou Sound app, but we will talk about it in more detail in the next section of the review.
Controls are made using gestures on the touch panels on each of the headphones – the control area is located slightly above the leg.
The default control scheme is extremely simple and straightforward, although it can be reassigned, which we’ll talk about later. Actions performed by default:
In the Haylou Sound app, you can additionally add and change a couple of functions: volume up, volume down, low latency mode.
As for the sensitivity and accuracy of the touch panels, they are very well tuned in this regard – I did not notice any false alarms during the testing period.
To set up and control Haylou X1, you need to install the Haylou Sound app. It can be downloaded from the Play Market, the APP Store, or a simple browser APK file and installed.
for iOS:
for Android:
In the app, you can see the charge level of both headphones, select a sound mode (default, pop, heavy bass, rock, mellow, and classical), reassign control stiffness, clear pairing records, and update the headset firmware.
You can use the headphones without the app, but I would recommend installing it, especially for switching sound modes.
Haylou X1 has a 12mm dynamic driver, which gives the headphones strong bass, and hydrodynamic air holes provide a more natural sound.
In my opinion, the headphones transmit medium and high frequencies well, and the low frequencies are also very good, especially if you turn on the “heavy bass” mode in the Haylou Sound app. The volume level is sufficient for listening to music, even in the subway at 85% everything is clearly audible. The volume of the headphones allows you to hear the interlocutor perfectly during calls, even in crowded places. The headphones have a highly sensitive noise-cancelling microphone, the ENC algorithm intelligently filters out ambient noise and even if there is a sudden scream on the street, it will definitely attenuate it.
Haylou X1 also supports the “Game Effect Mode”, with which you can play with a low delay of all sound effects (0.06 seconds). In my opinion, the sound and microphone are very good for this price range.
Let’s talk about charging and retaining the charge of Haylou X1. The headphones are equipped with long-lasting 35 mAh batteries. They hold the charge, as stated by the manufacturer, for up to 5.5 hours, so you can definitely count on 4-5 hours of continuous operation. The battery of the case has a capacity of 300 mAh, which is enough for 4 full charges of the headphones, i.e. up to 24 hours of headphone operation when using the case. The case takes up to 1.5 hours to charge. As for the charging speed of the headphones themselves, it is quite fast, about 30 minutes.
Haylou X1 2023 is an excellent budget TWS headset. Among its main features, I would single out good ergonomics, a noise-cancelling microphone, convenient touch controls, the Haylou Sound app, good battery life, good bass, and the sound itself. This is definitely one of the best deals in its price segment. I definitely recommend it!
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