Redmi released the Buds 5 Pro alongside the Redmi K70 series on November 29. The Buds 5 Pro features an 11mm dynamic coil + 10mm piezoelectric ceramic coaxial dual unit, supports LHDC 5.0, offers a maximum noise reduction depth of 52dB, and comes with a price tag of 399 yuan ($55).
Redmi Buds 5 Pro:
- The headphone body boasts IP54 protection.
- The coaxial dual unit includes an 11mm dynamic coil and a 10mm piezoelectric ceramic tweeter.
- They support Bluetooth 5.3, LHDC 5.0, and LE Audio, and have Hi-Res certification. The claimed lowest latency across the entire link is just 49ms.
- Noise reduction capability reaches up to 52dB with a 4kHz noise reduction bandwidth, marking a 50% improvement.
- Battery life lasts up to 10 hours with single-unit noise reduction and 38 hours with the charging box.
- The price is set at 399 yuan.
Design
The packaging adopts a minimalist design, including a charging cable, large and small ear caps, and a manual as accessories. Among the four colors available for the Redmi Buds 5 Pro, the obsidian black and gaming versions feature imitation leather casings. The ice porcelain blue (matte) and clear snow white (glossy) are highly recommended.
The eSports version, with its colorful color scheme, includes a 2.4G receiver, supports more protocols and costs 100 yuan more. The glossy pure white surface appears more refined but tends to attract fingerprints and scratches. Therefore, buying the matte ice porcelain blue is a better choice.
The Redmi Buds 5 Pro’s charging box is moderately heavy with a small lid gap. The damping experienced when opening the cover and the feel during closure approach those of domestic flagship headphones that are twice as expensive, except for the parting line at the bottom and the gap control of the bottom button.
The earphone body of the Redmi Buds 5 Pro hasn’t changed much in appearance, with the main difference being the openings. The touch decorative strip on the side now features a marble pattern similar to the K70 series, which looks decent.
The charging box now sports a long and bright strip indicator light, and the opening has a beveled design for easier earphone retrieval.
Experience:
With the increase in diaphragm specifications, the Redmi Buds 5 Pro’s headphone body is slightly larger, resulting in a bit of tightness when worn in the ears. However, they are stable to wear and offer physical noise reduction (ear shape varies, for reference only).
The earphone handle remains the touch control interface, offering precise response without any pressure sensation. Customizable controls include single click/double click/triple click/long press for adjusting volume, switching songs, and starting/stopping. However, the factory default leaves the click function unassigned due to its ease of accidental activation.
The logic for dual-device connection pauses the previously playing device before automatically switching. This solution prevents accidental switches, although a forced switch option is preferred by some.
Sound Quality and Noise Reduction
Excluding wireless charging and handle pressure sensitivity, the Redmi Buds 5 Pro encompasses all common flagship headphone features: spatial audio (of limited use to average users), ear canal scanning, personalized noise reduction, and LHDC 5.0 with LC3 protocol. It boasts large-sized dual units and a flagship-level maximum noise reduction depth and bandwidth of 52dB+4kHz.
As of December 6, the “Xiaomi Headphones” APP still offers more functions than the integrated management page of the ThePaper OS system. Important features like the personalized noise reduction switch and EQ adjustment are in the APP, but switching between LHDC/LC3 and adjusting the bitrate is only possible in the system management page (low-latency LC3 requires cooperation with LC3 supporting devices like the K70 series, with the official minimum latency claimed to be 49ms).
Therefore, even for “original” devices like the K70 series, using the APP is recommended. Despite minor bugs like “turning on deep noise reduction sometimes causes background noise,” the APP is user-friendly and competes well with those from other mobile phone manufacturers. Redmi Buds 5 Pro offers custom tuning by Wangyiyun, Kugou, and QQ Music↑.
The tweeter unit in the Redmi Buds 5 Pro has been upgraded from the 6mm titanium diaphragm of the previous generation to a 10mm piezoelectric ceramic, complemented by an 11mm dynamic coil. This hardware is indeed robust (the previous generation was Redmi’s first coaxial dual unit, 6mm +10mm).
Metaphysical evaluation reveals clear high frequencies (like guitars) and increased volume in low frequencies (like drums). However, human voices, particularly female voices, are less pronounced. The overall tuning of the Redmi Buds 5 Pro is relatively average, but users can adjust the EQ to their preference.
For audio products, personal offline testing is recommended over-relying on reviews, as this offers a more effective assessment.
In terms of noise reduction (with ear canal scanning), the performance is quite impressive. Although not as extreme as the TWS 3, it seems slightly stronger than the flagship noise reduction of the Green Factory series in environments like subways or buses. The transparent mode is not comparable to that of the Apple camp, however.
Verdict
The Redmi Buds 5 Pro, compared to its predecessor, features LHDC5.0, spatial audio, stronger units, and improved sound quality and noise reduction performance. It stands apart from the Redmi Buds 5 (199 yuan on the official website) and Redmi Buds 4 Pro (319 yuan on the official website), effectively replacing the Xiaomi Buds 4 Pro (899 yuan on the official website) except for the lack of pressure sensing and wireless charging.
However, the old flagships of rival manufacturers, now significantly reduced in price, also pose strong competition. The future competitiveness of the Redmi Buds 5 Pro will largely depend on the efforts of Pinxixi and its team. Right now Banggood has coupon code: BG9479b5 at $79.99
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