Xqisit XQ BH100 review

Once you go wireless, it’s difficult to go back to wired headphones – the tetherless experience is a convenience that’s difficult to sacrifice, even if you almost always end up paying more for the privilege. The Xqisit XQ BH100 bucks that trend. Available for a very wallet-friendly £24, they are instantly an interesting prospect for those on a tight budget.

Pick them up and it’s immediately obvious that build quality has been a way to keep the cost down, however. They feel incredibly flimsy and light and rattle when you shake them. An adjustable headband uses earcups mounted on a metal rail; the rail itself is metal, but is so poorly finished that the edges are rough to the touch. The grooved edges don’t provide solid enough support meaning the earcups move up and down with very little force so that it’s hard to maintain a comfortable fit.

The headband itself has reasonably decent padding, as do the earpads. Neither proved uncomfortable in terms of pressure exerted but the earpads do little to dispel heat so your ears become uncomfortably warm after extended listening. It’s hard to be too critical considering the price, but the XQ BH100 don’t feel like they will survive many bangs and knocks.

One of the earcups houses the power button and a multifunction jog wheel, letting you skip tracks by rotating it back and forth, or holding it to adjust the volume. We found this unintuitive and would have preferred the track skipping be set to a hold. It was also confusing as scrolling the wheel in one direction will skip forward a track but turn the volume down when held.

The Micro USB port is reserved for charging, while a 3.5mm jack is on hand if you want to connect the headphones to a wired device. The XQ BH100 also has a built-in microphone for hands free calling, which worked fine in our testing.

Sound quality from the 40mm drivers was a surprise. For the money the sound was more than adequate with suitably punchy bass. The headphones did best with Hip Hop and R&B; treble was slightly thin and became harsh at louder volumes, but all things considered there’s not a lot to complain about for the money. In fact, we would say the sound quality was better than we would expect for headphones at this price, especially considering building in wireless connectivity will have raised the price.

It was difficult to criticise the Xqisit XQ BH100 considering their low price. The convenience of wireless connectivity for the price is undeniable but the controls and build quality really let the XQ BH100 down. This makes them difficult to recommend, even though there are few other wireless headphones at the price point. For other options check out our Best headphones to buy.