QCY Melobuds N70 - xMEMS again
About a year ago, I learned about a relatively new driver type for consumer wireless headphones, the small but mighty xMEMS driver. xMEMS had been used in microphones for many years but putting them in headphones was a relatively new affair. The theoretical advantages are that they are very small and durable with no moving parts, so earphones can be made smaller and lighter but still retain good clarity and fast response for which the drivers are known. The first pair that came on my radar were the Creative Aurvana Ace Mimi and I bought them to try out the new tech. Now, Creative had a couple other pair of earphones with xMEMS drivers, but the Ace Mimi brought Mimi personalization as a new feature and that appealed to me as someone who had used the Mimi app before and liked what it had to offer in terms of hearing personalization. I used the Ace Mimi happily for a while and did a review on them for my YouTube channel. But a couple of months later, I learned about the existence of the SoundPeats Capsule 3 Pro+, which also used xMEMS drivers and had come out around the same time as the Ace Mimi. I had to compare them, so I ordered those and proceeded to test them against the Ace Mimi. The Capsule 3 Pro + came out ahead in my analysis, bolstered by their clearer and fuller midrange and highs and a little less muddy bass.
But now QCY has come on my radar with their Melobuds N70. How will these stand up against their xMEMS predecessors?
Hardware and Comfort
The QCY case is the smallest of the bunch and supports wirelesss charging. There is a USB C port and reset button on the short end of the case. There are three microphones to support active noise cancellation and voice pickup. Like the other two earphones, there is a dynamic driver (for low-end boost, here it's a 10mm driver) and an xMEMS driver in each earphone. They support Bluetooth version 6.0 and for advanced codec and wireless high-resolution support, there is only LDAC. Four sizes of ear tips are included in the box running from XS to XL. A short USB A to USB C cable and the normal paperwork are also included. I like that the case is small and relatively pocketable. It cannot stand up straight upright under most conditions but lays on its flat side. The earphones are comfortable to wear; I was able to wear them for hours at a time without any annoyance or discomfort. They fit without making you feel like you are wearing earplugs and there isn't any sense of the ANC eardrum suck that people sometimes complain about. From a wear perspective, I found them tremendously average without being a standout in any good or bad way and that's OK with me. The one thing I will note here is that they don't list any water or dust protection on the box despite the fact that the website and Amazon product page do. I think that is very strange but will assume for the moment that they do have protection against water at IPX5. The Ace Mimi are IPX5, and the Capsule 3 Pro+ are IPX4.
Battery Life/Connectivity
According to QCY, the earphones can be used with ANC and LDAC turned off for 10 hours and 7 hours with ANC and LDAC turned on. With the case in both scenarios, it can be used 50 hours and 35 hours respectively. Charging time is stated as two hours. I used the earphones with ANC turned on and LDAC enabled and found that I could use them long enough to get a battery warning on the earphones, and it hadn't been 7 hours. I don't normally use earphones during the course of a day long enough to get a low battery warning, so I'd say the battery life here is on the shorter side or perhaps my charging case is defective. Nevertheless, if you are planning on wearing them all day for a normal workday, it may be wise to charge them during your lunch break or use them with ANC and/or LDAC disabled. As for connectivity, I found them to be above average but not stellar. I could wear them to fetch my mail, and I didn't lose connection in my kitchen or bathroom. The connection almost survived a trip to the basement to collect my laundry but stumbled a bit at that. But I'd say that the connection is good enough that I could use these daily and not feel like I was compromising in this area.
App and Controls
You can use the main functions of the app without having to create an account, which I consider a major win. In the app you can modify the touch controls - by default they control playback, previous/next rack, voice assistant, and ANC mode. Volume controls are available as a choice for customization and by default, the setting for one tap is turned off, so you can use that as an option for adding a control you want available. The app has a variety of features you can toggle on and off - find headset, power-off settings, fit detection (I tried this and it said I have a good fit), wear detection, beep volume, disconnection timer, wind noise detection, sleeping mode (disables the touch controls), LDAC, dual device connection, and firmware updates. The app tells me every time that there is a firmware update available, but it crashes whenever I attempt to update the earphones. In the sound section, you can choose between personalized sound, spatial sound effects and a variety of presets including pop, bass, rock, soft, classic, default, and a custom option that lets you play with a 10-band equalizer. You can also set the ANC to be adaptive, indoor, or commuting and you can also switch to transparency or normal modes. Each mode has a volume-control styled slider to increase or decrease the effect. And finally, you can adjust the left/right balance with a slider. These are solid options, and I found that the customized sound profile based on the hearing test is generally good, but the test was annoying to take, and I had to repeat it after I understood what it was doing. I do like that it shows you the results for each ear so you know what it will do to the sound. Too many of these customization features leave you guessing as to what exactly was modified. As with many of these apps, there are also pages to allow to view the manufacturer's website and ostensibly, order more of their products. I think this is annoying but fortunately it's relatively easy to avoid.
Noise Canceling Performance
The noise canceling is about average. It will take the edge of solid repetitive noise like an air conditioner, heater, or other steady-state noise but doesn't do as well with muting the sound of typing or voices, so it might not be best if you want to use it to block out noise in your workplace - unless you do want to be able to hear a bit of noise so you know when people are trying to talk to you. I didn't find that the adaptive mode was dramatically different than the commuting mode with ANC turned on full, but to be fair, I didn't give the earphones much to adapt to since I'm at home almost all the time and it's usually very quiet unless someone is doing landscaping work outside or cars drive by with the booming system... cars drive by....
Sound
For whatever reason, I didn't expect much from the QCY, but they have landed themselves right in the middle of the pack. I find their midrange and high end to have better clarity and a bit more sparkle/air than the Ace Mimi but aren't as clear and delightful to me as the Capsule 3 Pro+. They do pack more of a punch in the low-end than the Capsule 3 Pro+; you get nice impact from bass drops and drums feel tangible, so if you are a bass head looking for an enjoyable pair of earphones with xMEMS drivers, I'd direct you to these over the Ace Mimi or the Capsule 3 Pro+. Despite the heavier bass, male and female vocals sound realistic and detailed and instruments sound as I'd expect them without any muddiness or congestion. The microphones adequately pickup my voice and do a decent job of positioning my voice above background noise but the voice pickup isn't as loud as what you get with the other 2 earphones. And because there are presets and the opportunity to create your own, you have some flexibility in how they will sound for your ears.
I am happy to say I'm pleasantly surprised by the QCY Melobuds N70. Whether you're looking at trying out earphones with xMEMS drivers or just want a good sounding pair of earphones that cost less than $100, these are worth a look.
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