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Pros
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Comfortable fit with attractive, sturdy design
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Reasonable price
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Very good sound for the price
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Good performance for noise cancellation and voice calls
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Strong battery life
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Hard case included
cons
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Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio mode doesn’t really improve the sound
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Noise cancellation could be a little better
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There are no USB-C audio sensors or ear detection sensors that automatically pause music when you take off the headphones
Budget brand Baseus has two new earbuds for 2025 – and they are Inspiration XP1 and Inspiration XC1 -And one set of full size headphones Inspiration XH1 Reviewed here, they all feature Sound by Bose technology and offer great bang for the buck.
Read more: Best noise canceling headphones of 2025
Known more for it Affordable power banks And chargers, Baseus is fairly new to the audio market, although it does have a few headphones and earbuds Which costs less than $75. The new Bose models I tested are a departure for the brand as it ventures into more premium territory. For its part, Bose has collaborated with a few other affordable audio brands as well, gradually expanding its product range.Audio from Boss” initiative.
Inspiration XH1 in black.
Like both the Inspire XP1 and XC1 earbuds, the Inspire Available in a few different color options, the XH1 are not only fairly lightweight (275g) and comfortable to wear, but they have good build quality, including a seemingly sturdy headband covered in faux (“vegan”) leather and a dual-hinge design that allows the headphones to fold flat or fold up.
I had to refer to the instructions to find out that you hold down the volume buttons to push the tracks forward and back. But overall, the controls for turning on and toggling noise cancellation are good, and the companion Baseus app for iOS and Android is easy to use. Also, the headphones come with a hard case, which isn’t always a standard feature at this price.
Solid sound quality for the price
The sound quality of budget headphones and earbuds has steadily improved in recent years. Although the Inspire XH1 headphones fall into the mid-range pricing bracket, their sound lives up to more expensive headphones.
The headphones equipped with 35mm drivers have a Bose-like sound, which is well-balanced and offers good clarity and solid bass, along with a fairly wide soundstage. The sound lacks the more pronounced precision and depth of high-end headphones, but the XH1 is tuned to work well with a variety of music genres and has enough warmth to avoid experiencing listening fatigue.
They have a marginally V-shaped sound profile out of the box, with slightly prominent highs and lows and slightly recessed mids (where the sounds live). But the sound is less bass-heavy There is nothing CMF Headphone ProAnd it’s also good value. However, I prefer the sound of the Inspire XH1 because it has more clarity and definition.
The headphones feature solid build quality and a more premium design than many headphones in its price range.
You can tweak the sound profile slightly in the companion Baseus app for iOS and Android, which includes a “Sound Fit” test to create a custom sound profile tailored to your hearing. Android users have the option to use the high-resolution LDAC audio codec (SBC and ACC audio codecs are also supported), and there’s a low-latency mode for gaming and video watching, as well as a hearing protection setting that limits the volume.
Baseus touts the headphones’ Dolby Spatial Audio feature, but I was a bit disappointed with the spatial audio mode because it didn’t seem to improve sound quality. I should point out that these headphones don’t have the most advanced spatial audio with head tracking. It also doesn’t have USB-C audio, although it does come with a cord for wired listening.
The headphones are in their carrying case. A cable is included for wired listening but the Inspire XP1 does not support USB-C audio.
Medium noise cancellation…
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd generation) It’s the best in its class when it comes to noise cancellation, side by side Sony WH-1000XM6 Headphones for ANC. Unfortunately, the Inspire XH1 falls far short of providing top-notch noise cancellation. You can get a good passive seal from well-padded earcups, but the headphones only did a good job of muting the hum/roar of the HVAC unit in my apartment at the highest ANC settings.
While they did cut down on some background noise when navigating New York’s streets and the subway system, the previously mentioned Bose and Sony headphones (and Apple AirPods Pro 3 headphones) made the XH1’s noise cancellation seem about half as effective in comparison. I would rate the noise cancellation a B-.
…but decent transparency mode and solid voice communications performance
The transparency mode is not top notch, but it can’t match the normal one The sound of the AirPods Pro 3 from Apple In their transparency mode – but it looks very natural. By that I mean that when the headphones are in transparency mode, which allows sound from the outside world to enter your ears, you hear sounds fairly close to what you hear when you take the headphones off.
The headphones are folded and then folded flat.
I felt better about the XH1’s voice calling performance after testing it in some pretty harsh conditions. Equipped with five microphones and the requisite AI noise reduction algorithms, they did a pretty good job of reducing background noise on New York’s bustling streets. Callers said my voice sometimes sounded a bit digital and robotic, but they could hear me very clearly. I would rate voice calling performance a B+ or even A-, and they performed better than the Inspire XP1 headphones for voice calling (I rated the XP1 a B for voice calling performance).
Battery life is another strong point. The headphones are rated for up to 100 hours of battery life with noise cancellation off, and up to 50 hours with noise cancellation on at moderate volume levels. I fell a little short of 50 hours on my battery test (it was more like 48 hours), but that’s still pretty good.
Baseus Inspire XH1 Final Thoughts
While I can’t say I’m completely blown away by any aspect of the Baseus Inspire XH1 headphones, overall they’re quite competent.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for a comfortable, well-designed set of over-ear headphones that deliver mostly solid performance across the board and cost significantly less than premium models from Sony, Bose, and others, these definitely fit the bill.