Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro: Great Value, But Not Quite A Sound Masterpiece
Xiaomi’s Redmi brand is known for its value-for-money offerings, and the recently launched Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro true wireless earphones are no exception. Priced at an attractive Rs. 2,999, they pack a punch with features like a dual-driver setup, support for the Qualcomm aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec, and a promise of exceptional battery life. But while the specifications are impressive, does the sound quality live up to the expectations? This review dives deep into the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro to see if they can truly deliver a top-notch audio experience.
Design and Features: A Familiar Form Factor With Notable Upgrades
The Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro sport a unique, pill-like shape, similar to the Redmi Earbuds S, launched in 2020. This design offers a secure in-canal fit with silicone ear tips, ensuring a comfortable and stable wear. The earpieces themselves feature a combination of glossy and dull finishes, with the pink colour option being a sleek addition. Although the fit may seem a bit awkward initially, it’s comfortable and becomes familiar with prolonged use. The touch-sensitive areas on each earpiece are generously sized, enabling accurate gesture controls, though the controls themselves require a bit of getting used to.
The charging case, following the design of the Redmi Earbuds S, has a sleek look with the Redmi logo etched on the top and a matte finish overall. An indicator light at the front and a USB Type-C port at the back take care of charging duties. The case houses a large 600mAh battery, capable of providing over four full charges to the 43mAh earpieces each, achieving a total battery life of close to 28 hours per charge cycle. This is quite impressive for a budget headset with this feature set. However, the absence of fast charging means a full recharge of the case takes around three hours.
Beyond the attractive design, the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro boasts a compelling set of features. Each earpiece boasts a dual-driver setup with one dynamic driver and one balanced armature driver, delivering superior separation and detail. The Qualcomm QCC3040 chipset ensures reliable connectivity, coupled with Bluetooth 5.2 and support for the SBC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codecs. Notably, the lack of AAC support might result in a noticeable difference in sound quality between Android and iOS devices, highlighting the earphones’ Android-friendly design. Other worthy features include IPX4 water resistance, in-ear detection, one-step pairing with MIUI 12, and a low-latency gaming mode.
Sound Quality: A Mixed Bag of Impressive Features and Untapped Potential
The dual-driver setup and impressive specifications on paper promise a top-notch audio experience. The Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro do offer decent sound quality, with the hardware delivering on its potential. However, there’s a sense that the tuning is a bit unfinished, hindering the headset from reaching its full potential.
Listening to "Something Stupid" by Jonas Blue, the benefits of the dual-driver setup are apparent: superior separation and clearly defined differences between the lower and higher frequencies. The soundstage feels detailed, with even faint elements in the track, like the synthesized beats, having a sense of space and character. While the mid-range feels slightly restrained, the lows and highs deliver powerful sound for a budget pair of true wireless earphones.
The Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro adopts a classic V-shaped sonic signature, a perfect match for popular genres like electronic music and bass-heavy tracks. "Purple Hat" by Sofi Tukker, a peppy and punchy track, showcases the dynamic drivers’ focus on the low-end, providing a decent, calculated bass response with a satisfying amount of grunt. Although not as aggressive as some competing products in this price range, the bass is refined, with enough attack and drive without sacrificing other aspects of the sound.
The Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro hold their own in terms of detail levels, imaging, and the overall soundstage, offering an enjoyable listening experience for the price. On these parameters, they rival the sound quality of the Lypertek Levi, the main difference being their sonic signatures and tuning.
Connectivity and Call Quality: The Ups and Downs of Bluetooth Performance
During testing, the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro encountered some connectivity stability issues, with occasional lag and drop-offs when utilizing the aptX Adaptive codec. This wasn’t observed when switching to the aptX codec, which, while not having the same sound quality improvement as aptX Adaptive, offered a practically similar listening experience. While this issue can be easily fixed, it’s disappointing considering that aptX Adaptive is designed to ensure connection stability alongside enhanced sound quality.
The call quality on the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro is adequate for a budget headset. However, frequent Bluetooth connection issues were experienced when the earphones were out of direct line of sight with the paired device. With a clear path between devices, the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro achieved a range of up to 3.5 meters, but moving between rooms immediately caused disruptions. The low-latency gaming mode, though included, lacks a dedicated gesture to enable or disable it, making it difficult to determine its functional state during gameplay.
Verdict: A Solid Value Choice With Some Notable Shortcomings
The Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro are true to the Redmi brand’s value-for-money proposition, offering a lot for a reasonable price. While missing features like active noise cancellation, they boast a dual-driver setup, aptX and aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec support, and decent battery life. The sound quality, though not as impressive as the specifications might suggest, is still good enough to be worth the price, positioning them among the better-sounding true wireless headsets available for under Rs. 3,000 in India.
Despite its strengths, the absence of active noise cancellation and app support hold the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro back. The focus on the music listening experience is apparent, leaving other aspects feeling slightly unfinished. The connection stability issues and less-than-intuitive controls are two areas that need improvement.
While the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro are recommended for budget-conscious music lovers, it’s worth considering other options like the Realme Buds Q2. The Realme Buds Q2, while even more affordable, offers active noise cancellation along with app support, making it a strong contender for those seeking a more comprehensive feature set.
Overall, the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro deliver a solid audio experience for their price. However, their flaws in connectivity and user-friendliness could be dealbreakers for those looking for a truly seamless and feature-rich true wireless experience.
