Baseus Bowie M2 headphones fell into my hands, I tested them and now I’m telling you. In short, the headphones are quite good: good smooth sound without enhancements, really working noise reduction, really working transparency mode, working with the application, decent autonomy and a comfortable fit in the ears. In addition, the price tag for these headphones is quite adequate, and during the sales period this model can be ordered even cheaper, about $30-32, which is very good for headphones with such a set of functions.

As expected, I’ll start with the characteristics of the reviewed headphones:

• Model: Baseus Bowie M2
• Material: ABS, PC
• Version: V5.2
• Signal transmission distance: 10m
• Music time: up to 5 hours (at 70% volume)
• Working time with charging case: 25-30 hours
• Battery capacity: 40 mAh / 0.148 Wh (headphones), 400 mAh / 1.48 Wh (charging case)
• Headphone rated input power: 5V=80mA DC current
• Rated input power of the charging case: 5V=600mA DC current
• Headphone rated current consumption: 10 mA
• Rated current consumption of the charging case: 160 mA
• Full charge time: about 1 hour
• Frequency response: 20Hz – 20kHz
• Charging connector: Type-C

Headphones are delivered in a rather beautiful and not small box:

The package includes the headphones themselves in the case, a Type-C charging cable, instructions, spare ear tips, and the usual stickers with a cool baseus lion cub:

I was very pleased that the instructions are very detailed and have Russian. This is very useful, since it is from the instructions that you can learn how to control the headphones through touch and taps, and there is also a QR code for downloading the application for working with headphones:

Before considering the headphones, I’ll tell you about the charging case. It is made of plastic and has a standard shape. On the front side there is an LED indicator, which should show the charge level, but in fact it is not very informative. On the back of the case there is a reset button and the manufacturer’s logo. And at the bottom is a Type-C port for recharging the case.

Having opened the case, we can see the headphones themselves, they are in the boxes:

Consider the headphones themselves. They are made of plastic and have a fairly small size. Only 3 centimeters long. There are two charging pins on the bottom leg, and the entire back has a glossy overlay that houses the touchpad. Also on the overlay there is a hole for the built-in microphone, which is additionally used for noise reduction mode.

From the inside, the earphones on the leg are designated L and R. The headphone case itself is also made of plastic, and judging by the characteristics, it hides 10mm speakers and other stuffing inside:

Also on the body are two compensation holes.

And under the compensation holes are sensors responsible for turning on / off the sound when you pull the headphones out of your ears. If you remove any earpiece from your ear, the player is immediately paused. This function works very well and accurately. I checked many times.

The sound guide of the headphones is standard, there will be no problems with replacing the tips. The sound guide itself has a protective mesh, most likely made of plastic:

In general, the headphones are assembled well. But not perfect. There are seams visible to the eye, but, fortunately, they are processed and are not tactilely felt in any way. No ears, no fingers.

Now let’s move on to connecting headphones . I have a Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro smartphone as a sound source. Headphones connect without any problems. To pair them, you need to get them out of the case, and in this state they are ready to connect:

By default, the headphones work via the SBC codec, but if desired, they can also be connected via the AAC codec:

Also, the headphones can work through the proprietary Baseus application, which is available on Google Play. The application is quite good, and even completely in Russian with high-quality translation.

But in order to fully use the application and change the settings of the headphones, you need to create a Baseus account, which is actually quite strange:

After registration, we have the opportunity to connect headphones, as well as manage the settings:

In the application, one of 12 preset equalizers is available to us, and we can also select the operating mode: normal, noise reduction, transparency mode:

I have listened to all 12 types of EQ, and I can honestly say that the difference between them is minimal. As a result, I left the Hi-Fi mode ( by default, the Baseus Classic mode is set in the headphones from the factory). As for the noise reduction mode , it pleased me. Noises are cut off quite qualitatively, and by the way, through the settings in the application, you can also adjust which frequencies to cut off. I have not seen anything like this in any model of headphones. I tested the headphones next to a humming microwave, a loud machine, and a TV. I can’t check in the metro, since the nearest metro is 1300 km away from me, but due to well-known events, planes almost never fly here either, so I used the usual background household noise sources to check. And everywhere the headphones performed well. Noise is cut off, especially monotonous. True, bursts of sound sometimes leak out, but given that the headphones are vacuum, extraneous noise does not interfere, as it is also physically cut off due to the thickness of the headphones in the ear canals.

I was also pleased with the transparency mode . Sounds from the outside are transmitted qualitatively to the ears, without embellishment or adding volume. However, if in this mode we use music, transparency does not work very well. The sound of music is superimposed on external sounds and they are not heard very well. But if you quickly pause the music, you can, for example, answer a person without having to remove the headphones from your ears. Which is quite convenient.

Well, in normal mode , the headphones work just like vacuum headphones. That is, the sounds from the outside are extinguished exactly as much as the earplugs themselves, let’s say, are enough. And here the headphones dampen external sounds like any other vacuum headphones.

By the way, you can switch between operating modes not only through the application, but also by double taps on the left or right earpiece. Switching modes is accompanied by sound effects that I find it difficult to describe in words. But it’s better than a female voice in English or worse in Chinese. True, I noticed one unpleasant feature, I don’t know whether it is common or only in my copy. With a double tap, something rattles in the headphones, as if speakers or other elements are not fixed inside the case. And it is observed in both ears.

Well, since I started talking about control, here in this picture you can see what else you can do with the help of sensors on the headphones:

In general, the operation of the sensors is adequate, but sometimes there are false clicks, and sometimes, on the contrary, failures are observed. This is especially noticeable on the tapas, you see, either I touched it in the wrong place, or the sensor is slightly recessed.

Well, now it’s time to talk about the sound of the headphones.

In general, the sound here is not bad. Detailing is good. But the overall picture seemed flat and even boring to me. That is, the headphones play well, but without any drive. Well, I didn’t have enough volume, I would like to have a margin of a few more points when I listen to some compositions. If you divide the sound into high, medium and low, then I have no complaints about the headphones. Everything is present, everything is enough. And the basses are worked out as they should, and the mids give a total volume and the highs here are exactly such as to give volume, but not to cut the brain. Unless there is some boominess in the sound, as if the listener is in a closed space. Well, the sound itself is somewhat shifted back, that is, when listening, the sound is not inside the listener’s head, but, as it were, a little behind. This gives the same boom and a slight distortion of space.

But I repeat. In general, the headphones sound good, and are quite suitable for the average listener, all my nit-picking about the sound is most likely really just nit-picking, and this is due to the use of more expensive and high-quality headphones that I use. In addition, many, on the contrary, will be happy with an even sound without embellishment, and simply adjust the sound for themselves through the equalizer. Or maybe they won’t set it up, here, in fact, it’s a matter of taste.

As for the operating time and autonomy , then everything is quite adequate. At a volume level of about 90%, the headphones lasted 4.5 hours. Then I put the headphones on charge. A full charge from the case takes about 20 minutes, which is very good. By the way, the manufacturer also says that after keeping the headphones in the case for only 10 minutes, we get up to 2 hours of work. It really is.

A fully charged case allows you to charge the headphones up to 5 times, but in fact 4 full charges and the fifth incomplete. And the manufacturer lied about the declared 30 hours of work. Since 30 hours are available only if we remove the case with the headphones from charging and start using the fully charged headphones and case. Then yes, 30 hours, maybe there will be. Well, plus at this time, you still need to lay down the time spent on charging. Charging is on, so the headphones are working. Everything is logical.

Conclusion:

To summarize, I liked the Baseus Bowie M2 headphones. Of course, I have nitpicks about the sound, but at $39, the headphones don’t have many competitors. To have a working high-quality noise reduction ( configurable through the application ), an adequate transparency mode, an adequate operating time. Moreover, there should be an application for a smartphone. There are few candidates for competition. We can say that the Baseus Bowie M2 headphones are a worthy candidate in their price category. And if you consider that there are sales and they ask for only $30-31 for this model, I can say that the headphones are excellent. Therefore, I can safely recommend these headphones for purchase if you do not have specific tastes for sound shades, and there is no thick wallet that allows you to spend $ 100-200 on headphones.

Buy BASEUS BOWIE M2