CHIC FANS

Introduction

Recently, for my rubric on the YouTube channel “Another Ketai”, Chinese manufacturers began to send more and more different gadgets. For example, this time the Padmate Pamu Slide mini headphones flew to me.

Initially, he was very skeptical about the brand – he talked about this in the video, for which he received a portion of the negative, they say, the headphones are good, and you criticize them. However, it is worthwhile to understand that the heading comic and complete review of devices comes out already in the usual serious presentation.

With Pamu headphones, things are not so simple. They are manufactured by Padmate tech, founded in 2010. They have over 70 designers and engineers who specialize in creating wireless devices. In turn, Padmate is managed by the Harda Group, which has been successfully working with 500 companies for almost 20 years.

Headphones Pamu Slide mini is advertised by Spencer Dinwiddy, an American basketball player who plays for the Brooklyn Nets NBA club. By the way, if you look at the list of Pamu devices, you will notice that almost every one of them has an ambassador: NBA star Di Jay Augustine, musician Julian Quandorra, basketball player Tracy Lamar and so on.

In addition, the Pamu brand has a large number of awards: K-Design Award’19, Design Award, reddot winner 2020, IF Design Award 2020, Inet best industry innovation …

Pamu Slide mini earphones stand out with the following features:

• Long battery life
• Qualcomm QCC3020 chip
• IPX6 protection
• AptX support
• The ability to charge via USB-C cable and wirelessly using Qi technology

Now headphones cost about $59.

Specifications

• Speaker Diameter: 6mm
• Impedance: 16 ohms
• Microphone: yes, in both headphones
• Chip: Qualcomm QCC3020
• Codecs: aptX, AAC, SBC
• Bluetooth: version 5.0
• Headphone Battery Capacity: 85 mAh
• Case Battery Capacity: 400 mAh
• Waterproof: IPX6
• Wireless charging: yes, Qi
• Wired charging: USB-C, fast charging (5 minutes = 1 hour of play)
• Touch control: is
• Case Size: 70.2x33x30.5 mm
• Case weight: 38 grams
• Headphone size: 37.5x26x19.5 mm
• Earphone weight: 7 grams

Contents of delivery

• Earphones
• Instruction manual
• Ear pads
• USB-C cable
• Case

Case design

Despite the weighty description, the Pamu Slide mini case cannot boast of an unusual appearance. Here is a small “casket” of oblong shape. You can see the size and weight in the “speck” above.

The Moldac website says that it can be black, white, pink and green. However, on sale I saw only black and white versions of devices.

The case is made of durable semi-gloss plastic. Fingerprints on it appear in seconds. Moreover, over time, these tracks turn into an unsightly mess. At least this happens on a black gadget. Therefore, it is advisable to buy a different color.

There are 4 charge indicators on the front, on the back there is a USB Type-C connector for charging.

To open the case, you need to make a little effort, since the lid is held on magnets. There is no clear fixation here, that is, the lid can be opened in any position.

Open the cover with a sharp movement forward and up will not work. The reverse action is performed without difficulty.

Headphone design

They are very well held in a case with magnets, so they do not fall out even with strong shaking. It is not very convenient to take out the headphones, since there is very little room for grip.

If the case is black, then the headphones are dark blue, glossy. A rubberized insert of the type of additional ear pads is superimposed on top. There are no denser ones in the kit, but there are different nozzles.

The next thing is individual, but it is worth saying about it. Headphones are loose in the auricle. I talked about this in the video, and people began to complain about the idea that it was worth changing ear pads. I tried all possible sizes, and nothing sensible came of it.

It seemed to me that here it was necessary not to change the size, but to choose the hardness of the ear pads. Those that come with the kit are very soft.

In short, the Pamu Slide mini is loose in my ears, so I have to put it back in periodically. But this does not mean that they fall out.

The contact pad for charging the batteries is located on the inside of the “stem”, and the microphone is located below. On the outside is the headphone operation indicator.

About sound

The Padmate website proudly claims that the chip used in the Pamu Slide mini is the most advanced among the TWS Bose, Sony, and Jabra headphones. Here’s the Qualcomm QCC3020 installed:

• Up to 32 MHz 32-bit processor
• Single core 120 MHz DSP
• Bluetooth 5.0

Headphones are connected to the smartphone immediately after removal from the case – automatic synchronization.

The first thing to note in these headphones is the wide stage, the melodies sound beautiful and voluminous, you can distinguish between instruments and where they are located.

The second is almost flat frequency response. Despite the schedule on the official website, I don’t hear the prevailing low frequencies here. Enough of all frequencies in moderation.

I begin to hear low frequencies from 27 Hz, at about 17 kHz high disappear. But this is in my ear.

Third, the volume is adjustable over a wide range.

Fourth, there is no delay in sound: YouTube videos can be watched without problems.

There is no active noise reduction in this model. Passive works well, suppresses the main noise from the outside.

In this model, there is no sensor responsible for stopping music while removing the headphones from the auricle.

Total sound: excellent quality without obvious flaws.

As a headset

Headphones can be used both in pairs and separately, since microphones are in both ears. If both are wearing, then the working microphone is right.

The voice is transmitted in the middle: your interlocutor understands that you are communicating with him through the headset. The voice seems slightly electronic (“iron”), there are almost no high frequencies. However, the volume is very high, the intelligibility is excellent.

Separately, it is worth noting a decent cut-off of third-party noise during a conversation.

Battery

The battery capacity in each earphone is 85 mAh. At maximum volume, they can withstand about 10 hours. In some tests, I even saw 12 hours of battery life. This is really cool. On the first day of the test, it seemed to me that the headphones brazenly lie, showing 80% after a couple of hours of listening.

Without wires, the case charges in 2 hours, using the wire in 1 hour. The headphones themselves charge in about 40 minutes.

Impression

I liked the Padmate Pamu Slide mini headphones, despite the rather critical attitude in the first unboxing video.

Having used a couple of weeks, I came to the following conclusions.

Cons :

• Simple appearance
• Do not sit very well in the auricle (individually)

Pros :

• Support aptX codec
• Decent sound quality
• Quite a long battery life
• Good voice quality in noisy environments
• The presence of USB-C
• Wireless charging support

If you are not confused by the price in the region of $59 for this brand, then headphones should be considered for purchase.

If we consider competitors, then among the more or less known TWS “ears” with aptX up to $59 – Anker Life Note, uBear Vibe and Xiaomi 1More Stylish.

Just the other day I tested the JBL Tune 220 TWS, in sound they seemed to me even more interesting, although they do not support aptX.

Your opinion is interesting: is aptX codec support in TWS headphones important or is it still more marketing?

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