True wireless headphones are getting cheaper. We recently reviewed the new $50 Linpa World T2 headphones, and found that they offered excellent value for money and a high quality design. Now, it’s time for another pair of $50 true wireless headphones — the xFyro xS2 headphones.
But do these headphones compete with the Linpa World T2 headphones? Or should you avoid them altogether? We put the xFyro xS2 headphones to the test to find out.
Updated on June 25, 2019: Xfyro has released an updated version of these headphones, and we’ve updated our review to reflect that.
Design
The xFyro xS2 headphones aren’t bad-looking headphones, but there are a few quirks to their overall design that we think should have been changed. The earbuds themselves are pretty unassuming — they feature an all-black design with left and right indicators and a power button on each bud. Apart from that, they’re nice looking buds, and pretty light too.
The charging case isn’t bad-looking either — but the way it’s designed to hold the headphones is a little strange. Instead of the headphones being covered in any way, they simply snap into the ends of the case — meaning that it’s possible they could fall out of the case in a bag or something. That’s not helpful — the buds should have been more secured in the case than with a simple magnet.
Apart from the space for the earbuds, the charging case has a MicroUSB input for charging the case and headphones, and it’s very disappointing to see. The company should have adopted a USB-C port here. The case also has a power button to control the charging mode. The case can actually charge other accessories too — through a full-sized USB-A port. The power button is used to control whether the case is charging the earbuds or not. It’s a slightly strange addition, but one some might find helpful anyway.
Ultimately, neither the headphones nor the charging case feel very premium, though they don’t feel terribly cheap. In the box, you’ll get the charging case and headphones, a MicroUSB cable, and a total of three pairs of ear tips.
Comfort
The xFyro xS2 headphones may look fine, but the way they’re built makes them almost impossible to keep in your ears. There is a way to kind of hook them into your ears so that they stay in decently well, but it’s a bit more work than it should be. Not only that, but when the headphones are in your ears like that, it makes it harder to press the buttons.
Speaking of the buttons, it takes some work to push them in — and when you do, it means pressing the earbuds deeper into your ears, which can be uncomfortable.
The xFyro xS2 true wireless headphones are uncomfortable and difficult to wear. With enough trial and error, you may be able to get them in your ears for a while — but if you move around too much, they’ll fall out eventually.
Sound
So how do the xFyro xS2 headphones sound? Well, while the first iteration of the headphones was pretty dull, the updated headphones don’t sound all that bad.
The bass response on the headphones is probably the best thing about them. They offer enough bass to give kick drums a nice punch, while bass guitars are relatively smooth and heavy. In fact, we quite like the bass response.
The mid range isn’t terrible. The low miss are relatively warm and present, while the high mids, despite being cut a little, sound fine.
The biggest change that xFyro has made to the headphones comes in the form of the high end, which is much more detailed and clear than it used to be. It’s still not amazing — but it’s passable for a pair of headphones in this price range.
Performance
The headphones connect to your listening device through Bluetooth 5.0, and as such you’ll get a listening range of 10 meters, or 33 feet. We found that the headphones did jump and skip pretty regularly, despite the upgraded Bluetooth 5.0 connection.
While the battery life of the original headphones wasn’t great, xFyro says that the second iteration of these headphones will last an impressive eight hours on a single charge. That’s far better than the majority of true wireless headphones out there
Conclusions
Are the xFyro xS2 headphones the ones to get if you want budget true wireless headphones? Well, that depends. The fact is that the headphones look fine and sound decent, but they’re not very comfortable to wear and seem to have some issues with their wireless connection.
Ultimately, if you’re looking for a pair of $50 true wireless headphones, then we recommend the Linpa World T2 headphones, or look into the new JLab Audio JBuds range. If you’re still interested in buying the xFyro xS2 headphones, then you can get them from the xFyro website.