Mpow X5 Truly Wireless  Headphones Review

The Mpow X5 are conventional-looking truly wireless in-ears. They look fairly similar to the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 Truly Wireless, with a compact, low-profile design made of all-black plastic that shouldn't stand out in any environment.

These are comfortable headphones. They don't exert too much pressure inside your ear canal and don't have an especially deep, intrusive fit. Since their control scheme is touch-sensitive, you can make inputs without forcing them deeper into your ears. Unfortunately, they don't offer as many sizing options for the ear tips compared to alternatives like the Mpow M30 Truly Wireless.

These in-ears have a good control scheme. It's highly responsive and easy to use once you get used to its reliance on multi-touch inputs. Tapping the right earbud once increases volume, tapping it three times skips forward, and a two-second hold activates your phone's voice assistant. You can decrease media volume by tapping the left earbud once, while a triple-tap skips your track backward, and a two-second hold cycles through the ANC on/talk-through/ANC off settings. A double-tap on either bud pauses and plays media. The reliance on single taps for volume adjustment is a little frustrating, since changing the volume at multiple increments could be interpreted as a double or triple tap. There are voice prompts for ANC and talk-through activation, power on and off, and Bluetooth pairing. Unfortunately, you can't put the headphones into pairing mode unless you disconnect them from the last device they were connected to.

The Mpow X5, like most truly wireless headphones, are exceptionally breathable since they trap very little heat and allow for plenty of airflow. You should be able to wear them without your ears sweating or noticing too much of a temperature difference.

These in-ears are very portable. They take up very little room and have a compact charging case that can be stored in a pocket or your bag.

The Mpow X5 Hybrid's charging case is good. It's slightly smaller than that of the Mpow M30 Truly Wireless and feels slightly sturdier overall, though its lid still feels somewhat flimsy. The case features four lights that indicate its remaining battery life.

The Mpow X5 are well-built. They feel quite sturdy overall, with a fairly dense plastic construction that should survive some drops and bumps. The buds are rated IPX5 for water resistance, though we don't currently test for that. There aren't too many obvious weak points, though the silicone buds do feel as though they could tear easily.

These headphones are stable. They shouldn't fall out of your ears even during fairly intense head movements, though repeated high-intensity shakes could cause them to loosen slightly.

• Mpow X5 noise cancelling headphones
• Charging case
• 3x tip options
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• User Guide

The Mpow X5 have a somewhat boomy sound profile. This should suit fans of EDM and hip-hop who prefer a little more thump and rumble, but may be overwhelming and muddy to some listeners. Conversely, if you want even more thump and rumble, consider the Mpow X6 Truly Wireless, which have a heavily overemphasized low-bass response. Unfortunately, there aren't any sound customization features, like audio presets or a graphic EQ, to adjust this.

The frequency response consistency is superb. Once you achieve a proper seal with the included ear tips, audio should be delivered consistently every time you use them.

These in-ears have okay bass accuracy. The overemphasis in the mid through high-bass range can provide extra punch and boominess to EDM and hip-hop music but may muddy other mixes.

The Mpow X5 have good mid accuracy. The overemphasis from the high-bass range carries over into the low-mids, which can clutter lead instruments and vocals. Otherwise, the rest of the range is fairly well-balanced, though a slight dip in the mid-mids can slightly nudge vocals and lead instruments toward the back of the mix.

The Mpow X5 have decent treble accuracy. A bump in the low-treble range can give a slightly harsh quality to vocals and lead instruments while a minor dip in the mid-treble can dull sibilants and make them sound slightly lispy.

The peaks and dips performance is satisfactory. A bump from the high-bass to low-mid range can give a muddy quality to some mixes and clutter vocals and lead instruments, while a dip in the mid-mids can push them toward the back of the mix. A spike in the low-treble can make some vocals and lead instruments sound harsh while a minor dip in the mid-treble can give a lispy quality to some sibilants.

The stereo imaging performance is superb. Their weighted group delay falls beneath the audibility threshold, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble. The L/R drivers are also well-matched in regards to amplitude, frequency, and phase response. This means that objects like voices and footsteps are accurately-placed within the stereo image, generating a more immersive listening experience. However, these results are only valid for our test unit, and yours may perform differently.

Since these are closed-back in-ears, the Mpow X5 have a terrible passive soundstage. It's very small, and since they bypass any sort of interaction with the outer-ear, sound is perceived as coming from inside your head rather than all around you.

These headphones don't have any virtual soundstage features.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance is good. Distortion is kept to a fairly low level at moderate and high listening volumes, so audio reproduction is fairly clean and pure.

These are the settings used to test the Mpow X5. Our results are only valid in this configuration.

The Mpow X5's noise isolation performance is great. Turning on the ANC feature allows them to block out an impressive amount of ambient noise across the frequency spectrum, from the low rumble of bus and plane engines to the high-pitched hum of a nearby AC unit, not to mention the chatter of people nearby.

These in-ears have excellent audio leakage performance. Even when listening to content at high volumes, people nearby shouldn't be annoyed by escaping audio.

The Mpow X5 have an integrated microphone.

The microphone's recording quality is decent. Your voice should sound natural and fairly clear, but also a little thin.

The integrated mic's noise handling capability is poor. People may have a hard time understanding you if you make a call from an even moderately noisy environment, like a subway station or a busy street.

The Mpow X5 have acceptable battery performance. They provide over seven hours of continuous playback time with ANC enabled, which should be more than sufficient for a day at work. Unfortunately, their charging case supplies roughly two extra charges, so their total battery life is far less than the near 100 hours offered by the Anker Soundcore Life Dot 2 Truly Wireless. You can listen to one bud while the other charges in its case, but there are no power-saving measures like an auto-off timer.

These headphones don't have a companion app.

The Mpow X5 have satisfactory Bluetooth connectivity. They support Bluetooth 5.0 but not NFC or multi-device pairing, so you can't stream music off of your phone while remaining connected to your computer. Their latency on PC is quite high, but they perform slightly better on mobile iOS and Android devices, though you still may notice a bit of audio latency while streaming movies or videos. It's worth noting that apps and devices compensate for latency differently, so your experience may vary.

These in-ears are Bluetooth-only.

The Mpow X5 don't support any wired connections. They come with a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging their case.

These headphones aren't compatible with Xbox One or Xbox Series X consoles.

The Mpow X5 come with a charging case that supplies roughly two extra charges. It can only be recharged via USB-C.