“The Mivi Collar Bluetooth earphones are extremely lightweight and don’t feel cumbersome even after wearing for extended number of hours”
If you are in the market looking for Bluetooth earphones that don’t cost a bomb and offer good overall quality, there are only limited options available. While every other brand claims to offer better value for money than the other, there are some key departments that need to be checked before spending your hard earned bucks on an audible. After introducing Thunder Beats and Conquer in the Indian audio market, Mivi’s Collar is a new option from the brand that promises just that. As Mivi Collar are currently available for as low as Rs 2,999 and fall in the same price range as the other two, let’s figure out if the new offering is just as good or even better.
Table of Contents
Design
As truly wireless earphones are still quite expensive, the around-the-neck design currently seems to be a popular choice when it comes to budget wireless earphones. However, that’s not a bad thing. Having just reviewed Sony’s WI-C400, I found the design on Mivi Collar to be a delightful change. Instead of the rigid design offered by Sony’s offering, the Collar come with a flexible cord that connects the two earpieces. The company has made excellent use of magnets, which keeps the earpieces together when not in use and help them get attached to the plastic casing (placed at both ends) while carrying around. While this is not a remarkable piece of innovation and has been implemented earlier, these small bits work towards improving the overall user experience.
Mivi Collar Bluetooth earphones are extremely lightweight and don’t feel cumbersome even after wearing for extended number of hours. The left plastic stick houses the volume controls, while the right stick features the power button as well as the micro-USB port for charging. The placement of the buttons is convenient and I never struggled while accessing any button in particular. Interestingly, Mivi Collar offers a sweat-proof design and can therefore be used while running, jogging, or at the gym, at least in theory. Unfortunately, the only issue with the design shows up most prominently while using these earphones during these same activities. The earpieces don’t stay put inside your ears as you move swiftly. If you are planning to take these earphones to the gym or for a run, bear in mind that you might face some discomfort due to this. On the brighter side, you can throw these earphones inside your bag without much thought as the flexible design ensures that Mivi Collar is not prone to easy breakage. Here’s a closer look at the earphones.
Audio Quality
Unfortunately, this is the department that particularly ends up giving away that Mivi Collar is a set of budget earphones. As is the case with a majority of other earphones in this price segment, the Mivi Collar is heavy on bass and struggles when it comes to mids as the vocals get subdued most of the times. If we talk about the highs, the earphones perform well until multiple instruments get into play. The poor performance in terms of instrument separation results in a muddy output that might be fine for many users but a turn off for audiophiles. However, we must point out that Mivi Collar are able to reach reasonably high volume levels, which can be deemed an impressive aspect of the audio performance.
Connectivity
Talking about connectivity, the wireless earphones from Mivi provide seamless connectivity and easy pairing. The connectivity range offered by Mivi Collar, which comes with Bluetooth 4.1 support and is said to offer a 10m range in open spaces, in real day usage is pretty standard and nothing out of the ordinary. Interestingly, the wireless earphones from Mivi come with support for Qualcomm’s aptX technology, which has been claimed to deliver superior sound quality with devices that support the same tech. The earphones vibrate to notify users about incoming calls as well as while powering on or off. Mivi Collar offers users dual pairing (simultaneous connection with two devices at once) that adds to the utility of the product.
Battery life
Mivi Collar offers a battery life of around 8.5-9 hours on a single charge and although there are some wireless earphones that offer drastically better battery life, this aspect of the earphones never feels like a major drawback. In short, battery life is not one of the strongest points for the Collar but definitely not its weakest either. If you want better battery life, Sony’s WI-C400 will offer you roughly double the battery life offered by Mivi’s offering but are also more expensive.
Verdict
Overall, thanks to the design and good bass performance, Mivi Collar is a great option for those who are looking for earphones in a budget price segment. However, one of the caveats is that the earphones notably struggle while handling mids at louder volumes. If you can look past this, the Collar would be your ideal all-rounder for everyday usage and multimedia consumption.
Editor’s rating: 3.5 / 5
Pros
- Utilitarian design
- Good bass performance
- Affordable price
Cons
- Mid-range performance at higher volumes
- Earphones notably struggle in instrument separation
