RedMi Buds 8 Pro - Quite the disappointment.
anyways,
i follow the usual channels, my current TWS set is the Soundpeats H3, the ANC is mid, the battery life is meh but the sound is amazing.
one of the sources i use for TWS reviews is scarbir https://www.scarbir.com/ and he usually gives a balanced review but this time... either he got a review unit that was better then retail or Xiaomi manufacturing quality is hit or miss.
bought them off amazon, 58€
box comes with the usual folded one page manual, a white 30cm usb cable, tips sealed in a plastic bag and the buds inside the case, 2 plastic stickers inside the case to block the buds from charging while inside the box.
pair buds, install app... first issue.
Must have a Xiaomi account to update firmware, i didnt have to create it since i had one from a previous Xiaomi phone. but still annoying that they wont provide firmware updates unless you register.
sound quality: it has detail, they are a bit dark, some treble rolloff that makes female voices slightly hollow, the bass is strong and textured but at the same time sloppy enough to put a slight vail on the midrage. people say they are as good as the H3, the H3 wipe the floor with these sound quality wise. 6/10, Basshead tunning.
ANC: the ANC is good for a 60 buck pair, it reduced and attenuates everything, you can still hear people talk, some higher frequencies become annoying since they are still present enough to be annoying. 6/10.
Connectivity: here is where they fail, using LDAC best effort, when at home they work fine, but as soon as im out walking, constant drops, disconnects. quality drops (that when the bud reconnects it drops the quality to keep connection so music goes from CD quality to FM radio quality), if you´re using them at a desk. fine... but out and about on the street, no go. this is where i stopped testing, theres no point to continue if theres no stability.
I proceeded to factory reset the buds and repair them, 10 second press on the pairing botton to the right of the USB C connector, when i was still they worked fine, when i was walking, constant disconnects, not sure if its the BT connection failing or the wear sensors (which i doubt since it happened in both buds and the wear test in the app said good seal and seating).
I sometimes get those disconnects, when theres too many people with bluetooth devices in a place, or you´re near a intersection and the streetlights are syncronized by 2.4Ghz radio (with my old XM4, i could tell when the light was going to change since the signal would interrupt my music), but i have the H3, the Fiio BTR17 and the Khadas Tea pro all working on LDAC 900KBPS and none of them show the same disconnects. This is a dealbreaker for me and they are going back as soon as i get back home from work.