Hands-on: Songri OEM Earphones

I know the manufacturer Songri (Matsunichi) — back in school I was really into Pocket PCs, and there was a company with that name at the time, they made Pocket PCs. The specs were nothing special but the price was cheap, so it stuck with me.

I never actually bought anything from them in the end. Years later, the next time I hear the name, it’s these pack-in earbuds.

Why did I buy these? Because my Xiaomi Piston Hybrid Pro died on me again. I actually like the Piston Hybrid Pro — lately I use it for Discord voice with classmates and WeChat voice with my girlfriend, it’s got an inline remote and a mic, all good. Then out of nowhere only one side would make sound…

So I figured I’d try something else. Saw someone recommend Songri’s pack-in earbuds, said they were ridiculously good. Looked up the price: 9 yuan. I just need something that makes noise, so sure, let’s see.

It arrived and it looks like a normal earbud. Build quality is fine. I listened to it and had some thoughts. At 9 yuan there’s not much to say, so the key points:

1. Sound leans toward the upper range, but the fit is really uncomfortable. Or maybe this flat-head style just doesn’t work for me — always feels like it’s leaking.
2. Because it leaks, it’s actually not bad as a sleep pair, except the sound isn’t all there!
3. The impedance seems fairly high. I tested it — plug it into several tablets with loud hiss and the hiss drops a lot. That’s a genuinely good point.
4. I found a foam cover, and with it the leakage drops a lot and the sound comes out. Overall still a bright-leaning balanced sound. For 9 yuan the sound quality is way better than it has any right to be. Though I get the feeling I’m just not used to flat-heads anymore.
5. Rare long-short cable… your mileage may vary.

Overall, if you can live with the flat-head fit, this is a decent pair for gaming or listening to adult audio. The high impedance is a plus — it kills a lot of noise floor, so at least it doesn’t hurt to listen to, right?

And then it hit me: I bought earphones because I needed a mic for voice chat…

This Songri one doesn’t have a fucking mic!!

Forget it. I’ll just buy another Xiaomi Piston Hybrid Pro.