review, Tech

Baseus Encok S06 – review

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So, this post is kind of a “sequel” to the previous post, where I went around hunting for a better set of Bluetooth earphones (than the Baseus Encok S06).

Short version – even though the Encok S06 received mostly good reviews, most of them stating that the sound is “good”, but there’s always a follow-up sentence – “… for the price point”. So yes, for such a cheap pair of Bluetooth earphones, the sound is indeed acceptable, some might even go as far as to say good.

For me, all along I had always been using my FREE Sony MH750 wired earphones that came with my phone, for YEARS, so I am used to how music sounds on them. The music sounds different on the Baseus, and I noticed it within seconds.

To describe it visually, let’s say you’re used to watching movies on a 4K TV, at 4K resolution for every movie. Suddenly you go to your grandma’s place and she has a small dinky CRT TV… that’s how stark a difference the music sounded to me on the Baseus, like it’s coming from a set of TV speakers, good TV speakers, but not quite “soundbar” quality.

Before we get to that, let’s go over the various points about the Baseus.

The Good

  • Affordable – usually priced around $20 to $30.
  • Good Bluetooth connection. Hardly any dropouts.
  • Decent, acceptable sound quality.
  • Good In-call quality
  • Good battery life – advertised for 8 hours, I charged it after about 7 hours at 10% battery left.
  • Magnetised earbuds – clips together around your neck when not in use.
  • When the right-sized eartips are fitted, they’re comfortable and don’t fall out. Personally I removed the “fins” from both sides. I’m listening to music on my way to work and home, not for the gym!

The Not-So-Good

  • The wire is a bit too long in my opinion. However there’s a cinch for you to shorten it to your liking. Even so I had to tuck the extra under my collar.
  • Long press on the “-” button brings you to the NEXT song, which is opposite from everyone else’s “-” button. Similarly, a long-press on the “+” button brings you to the PREVIOUS song.
  • The rubber stopper covering the USB charging port is a PAIN IN THE A** to open. Before I found the “trick” to open them, I had to use a thin knife, or cutters, to pry them open.
  • No Siri or Google Assistant function.

Sound Quality

Now we come to the sound quality. As mentioned before, the sound isn’t “bad”, per se. It’s just too different to my “usual” that I felt irritated. To some people, having a lot of “bass” equals “good”. Not to me. Too much bass will drown out the other parts of the music. The bass, like other parts of the music, needs to find a “balance”.

For example, in some music pieces, there’s a low bass “rumble” that pumps out. I could always hear that, and “feel” the rumble. In the Encok S06, while I could hear them, I could not “feel” them. If I increased the volume, then I could almost “feel” the rumble, but the music becomes too loud. When that happens, the highs become very shrill… like someone shrieking in your ear.

My phone (Sony Xperia XZ Premium) has a built-in, system-wide EQUALIZER, so I did not need to hunt for a music player with an equalizer. I started playing around with the equalizer trying to get the Baseus to sound “better”.

After mucking about with the Baseus for a while (couple of weeks now), I finally found an equalizer settting that approximates how music sounds on my Sony MH750 (and Jaybird X4), from the Baseus. As an aside, I always listen to my music with the equalizer OFF (or flat). So these settings are all from “0”, or FLAT starting point.

As you can see, the bass needed a little bit more “oomph”, just a tad, and I had to bring the mids down somewhat. The 6khz setting stops the highs sounding shrill in my ear. The bass boost finally lets me “feel” the low, soft rumbles that are present in some music.

At these settings, the Baseus finally sounded quite close to what I am used to hearing from my Sony and Jaybird earphones.

Verdict

In hindsight, I should not have spent more money on the Jaybird X4.. cuz now I finally found an equalizer setting on the phone that lets me enjoy the music from the Baseus earphones without feeling irritated.

For now I keep the Baseus as a “standby” set of earphones for the day when my Jaybird X4s die/can’t charge/refuse to turn on. The equalizer settings have been saved on the phone so I can turn them on when I use the Baseus.