Pocket Insider Latest Technology Review
With the upcoming trend of true wireless headphones, Swedish start-up, Earin, released their first product, the M1. The Earin M1 combines high-end style with industry-leading audio quality to provide users with the best possible wireless listening experience. But will it live up to the expectation? Let’s take an in-depth look.
Features:-
- Smallest & Lightest True Wireless Earbuds
- Incredible Audio Experience
- 12hrs of Cable-Free Listening (3hrs Playblack per Charge + 3 Charges in the Capsule)
- Nordic Design, iF Design Award 2016
Review
Hardware
Design & Build Quality
The Earin M1 comes with a charging capsule and both left and right earbuds. The charging capsule weighs 1.5 oz and has a dimension of 0.83″ x 3.74″. Its all aluminum construction gives it a premium look while showing off a simple yet elegant design. Picking it up for the first time, it felt really solid in the palm of our hand.
The Earin M1 earbuds contain no cables or wires, making them true wireless earbuds; the left earbud is the master while the right is the slave. Taking a closer look at the earbuds, users will notice that every component was designed to reduce its size and weight to the absolute minimum, with each earbud weighing in at only 0.12 oz.
The Earin M1 has no built-in microphone on the earbuds, which means users will not be able to use it for calls. This did not bother us much but we can foresee that this might be inconvenient to call-heavy users.
Overall, we really love the design and build quality of the Earin M1. Earin’s attention to detail definitely deserves some praises here.
Battery Life
Powered by a 600 mAh rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, the Earin M1 charging capsule charges and houses the earbuds when not in use. Earin claims that a fully charged capsule will be able to charge both earbuds up to three times before needing a recharge which we found to be fairly accurate. Recharging the capsule is simple and took us an average of an hour. All the user need is a standard micro-USB cable.
There is a light indicator by the charging port to indicate the charging status; red for charging and green for fully charged.
The fully charged Earin M1 earbuds will be able to provide its user up to 3 hours of continuous use. Throughout our usage, we had it ranging anywhere from 2.5 to 3 hours of usage before we have to recharge them. Recharging the fully depleted earbuds took us about 70 minutes on average.
Audio Quality
The Earin M1 boasts two dedicated amps driving the high-precision balanced armature speakers. We ran our usual in-house audio quality test, in which we tested for bass, mids and highs.
First off, we tested the bass with the song Bad by David Guetta ft. Showtek and right off the bat, we can tell the bass is lacking. We boosted the bass with the app but still find it a little lacking. Next up, we played the song Sugar by Maroon 5 to test out the mids of Earin M1. We find that the overall audio in this range generally detailed, and well balanced. Lastly, for the highs, we played All By Myself by Celion Dion. The highs are well balanced as well, though it does not sound as crisp as we would expect from the singer.
One major issue we experienced throughout our test is the irregular drops between the earbuds. The right earbud would just lose its connection for a couple second before reconnecting. We’re not sure what’s causing the issue here but it is an annoyance when that happens.
Software
The Earin M1 comes with an app, compatible with both Android and iOS. The Earin app allows users to control audio bass and balance, monitors battery levels and assigns a unique name to each set of earbuds.
One feature that caught our attention is the ability for the user to control the volume and timbre of each of the earbuds separately. For users who prefer a more stereophonic sound, the app has a base booster but even so, we find that the bass is a little lacking.
Final Thoughts
The Earin M1 is a great true wireless earbuds. The earbuds are incredibly lightweight and comes with an all aluminium charging capsule, which is really well-designed. The audio is very well balanced overall thanks to the two dedicated amps. There will undoubtedly be improvements to come, especially on the irregular drops issue, but the Earin M1 is a step in the right direction and will be looked at as a product ahead of its time.
