Baseus Inspire XH1 Headphones Review: Affordable Excellence

Comfy. Great sound. Good noise canceling. Massive battery.

ANC modes affect sound signature. Dissappointing Dolby audio.

Buying budget-friendly wireless headphones will always involve compromises. But thanks to a big increase in competition among lesser-known Chinese brands, these compromises are rapidly shrinking. Baseus’ Inspire XH1 ($150 from Baseus, $100 on Amazon) are a great example.

These noise-canceling headphones deliver a level of sound quality and isolation that comes impressively close to what you’ll find in a much more expensive pair. They look good, they feel good, and their battery life is up to four times longer than many other options. They even come with a protective travel case that is just as good as the ones that ship with pricier models.

Bose-ish

The Inspire family of Baseus products, which includes the XH1, the true-wireless noise-canceling XP1, and the open-ear XC1, all feature “Sound by Bose,” which means that Bose had a hand in tuning the audio. Baseus’ design language is also Bose-inspired: the two main color options (Cosmic Black and Starlight Off-White) are similar to Bose’s primary hues, and the XH1’s blending of metal and plastic components mirrors Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Headphones.

The XH1’s hinges fold up and fold flat, something the headphone market is leaning into after a period of only offering the fold-flat option. In the case of the XH1, it doesn’t quite deliver the space savings achieved by other cans with a similar articulation. I’m a bit uneasy about the hinge itself. It’s made of metal, which bodes well for durability, but it’s also extremely loose, letting the ear cup yokes spin and swivel with no resistance at all. I have no evidence that this will be a problem; for now, it’s more of a signal, like closing a car door and hearing a cheap-sounding clank instead of a confidence-inspiring thunk.

Baseus has also taken styling cues from Bose’s flagship cans for the XH1’s ear cushions, which can be replaced when worn out, headband, and sliders. They’re very comfortable, though I had to be careful with the ear cup placement. Baseus uses large internal mics for its hybrid ANC, which are placed on top of the driver cavity. They take up room in the front/bottom portion of the ear cup, and on the left ear cup, I noticed that the mic bumped into my ear’s antitragus, causing pressure after an hour. I could avoid this by shifting the ear cup slightly forward.

Small Compromises

Some compromises have been made (there are no free lunches), and yet none feel like deal-breakers. There are no wear sensors to auto-pause your tunes when you remove the headphones. Switching between ANC and transparency mode requires you to pass through normal mode (unless you use the Baseus app). And you can’t use transparency mode while on a call.

They may not be a great choice for gym-goers or runners. The clamping force is relatively gentle, which is perfect for long listening sessions, but less adept at keeping the cans from shifting around during active workouts. Could you use them at the gym? Absolutely. They even have an IP66 rating, far more water and dust protection than you’d normally find on wireless headphones, which rarely offer any official level of ingress protection.

The controls are easy to use—all are well placed and don’t rely on touch sensitivity, though I’m still scratching my head over Baseus’ track-skipping scheme. Normally, when a volume button doubles as a track skipper (usually via a long-press), the volume-up button skips forward and the volume-down skips back. On the XH1, it’s reversed, which I find unintuitive. Still, you get used to it.

Great Sound

The Inspire XH1’s sound signature has clear signs of Bose DNA. Out of the box, the cans are set to the Sound By Bose EQ preset, a robust mix that injects extra energy into the upper-mids and highs. In this mode, the cans deliver strong midrange detail, with neutral levels of bass. It’s snappy, with good resonance; if you want more kick, an available Powerful Bass preset will oblige, providing a much stronger bass response. Should that still not scratch your bass itch, you can layer an optional Bass Boost mode on top of any EQ mix. If Powerful Bass + Bass Boost doesn’t loosen your fillings, you may not have teeth. Should the seven available EQ presets stop short of what you’re looking for, you can roll your own via an eight-band equalizer.

The caveat here is that the XH1’s ANC mode acts as its own form of digital signal processing. Transparency mode imparts very little resonance; Normal mode brings bass forward a wee bit, and Noise Canceling turns everything up to 11.

I’m delighted that you can use the analog input when the power is off, but with no internal amplification or digital processing, the XH1 sound thin and a bit tinny. Best to think of that as an emergency option only. Still, with noise canceling engaged, these cans are a great listen. “Birds,” by Dominique Fils-Aimé, is a great test track for vocals, bass, and soundstage, and I found the XH1 comparable in all three to Sennheiser’s Accentum Plus ($250).

For even more detail and nuance, turn on the optional LDAC codec in the Baseus app; you’ll likely hear the more relaxed sound that comes from reducing Bluetooth compression. Baseus’ Sound Personalization listening test is worth trying. It accurately assessed my slight high-frequency hearing loss, and I enjoyed the personalized EQ the test generated.

The XH1 also has two optional Dolby Audio modes, Music and Cinema. They’re intended as immersive, spatial experiences that take any source and make it sound more like Dolby Atmos. They’re both terrible. Music sounds like you’re trapped in a public bathroom, while Cinema puts you in a cave. Baseus should ditch this feature and license Bose’s Immersive Audio technology, one of the best spatializers I’ve heard so far.

Noise cancellation is far better than I would have expected at this price. The Inspire XH1 are almost as effective at dealing with unwanted sounds as the Sennheiser Accentum Plus and Sony’s ULT Wear (both $250). They let in a tiny bit more than these pricier models, but unless you tested them side by side (as I have), I doubt you’d hear the difference. For busy streets, crowded cafés, and your daily transit commute, they do a great job.

I think I’m even more impressed with their transparency mode. This is the side of noise cancellation that budget headphones often fail to master. The XH1 not only made the outside world audible, they also let me hear myself clearly while talking.

Transparency is so good, I’m really bummed that it doesn’t work when on a call. If it did, these cans would be great for long calls and meetings. The mics are remarkably adept at keeping background noise invisible to callers. When those noises were particularly loud, my voice faded somewhat, but only the high-pitched wail of a siren managed to pierce through. When my environment was quieter, the XH1 kept my voice more stable and clear than the Soundcore Space One Pro ($200).

Daily Drivers

I’m not sure there’s any consensus on how much battery life is “enough” for a set of wireless headphones, but I’m willing to bet no one has ever said, “My headphones last too long between charges.” So I’m going to go way out on a limb and say most folks will be thrilled with Baseus’ claim of up to 100 hours for the Inspire XH1.

To get that level of stamina, you’ll need to keep volume no higher than 50 percent, turn off both ANC and transparency, avoid using Dolby Audio, and only connect via AAC (as opposed to LDAC). Still, even with ANC on, the company says you’ll get up to 65 hours—more than any flagship wireless headphones from Bose, Sony, Apple, or Sennheiser. Should a few weeks go by and you forget to charge them, a fast-charge of 10 minutes provides an additional 12 hours of play time.

It’s tempting to bring up the Inspire XH1’s lack of USB Audio and Bluetooth Auracast support as negatives, but at some point, you have to be realistic: These headphones may not be perfect, but when you consider what they get right (and what Baseus charges for them), they’re undoubtedly an exceptional value. If you're after a pair of headphones that deliver great sound, good noise canceling, and top-tier transparency on a budget, every Baseus model deserves a look.