This is a review, detailed measurements, listening tests and EQ of the Ugreen HiTune Max5c noise cancelling wireless headphone. It is on kind loan from a member and is on sale for $25.47 (retail $57).
The Max5c feels every bit as high quality as much, much more expensive wireless headphones. The cups while a bit small for my ears, are comfortable and have a plush feel. It supports USB-C for both charging and acting as a "sound card" to the operating system. An app is provided for control/EQ but sadly, not from the official store. It is a side-load that you install on Android which I dislike. EDIT: there is an approve iOS app.
Further, as shipped, it defaults to "Bass" enhancement so using the EQ is a must. The app is straightforward but sadly doesn't work when you plug in the USB-C cable, forcing me to use Bluetooth for testing.
I did not test the microphone but in the one and only video review of it, the quality was impressively good! I subjectively tested the noise cancelling feature and it seemed effective although not as good as higher end headphones (this is from memory).
Voice feedback for setting changes is done nicely and controls are easy to learn and use.
I turned on "High-res" mode but no matter what I did with my Samsung phone, it would insist on using AAC instead of LDAC. Maybe there is a way to make it work but I ran out of patience to get there.
Ugreen HiTune Max5c Measurements
I selected "Classic" for EQ profile as there is no "off" setting. This the frequency response:
There is some deep bass roll off. Not sure the reason for that.
We see ringing in bass frequencies going up to midrange. Compliance after that is decent. In relative terms, we are looking at this deviation:
The shape of the deviations lends itself to PEQ correction which is nice.
Not happy about the distortion in lower treble:
No impedance or sensitivity measurements as this is an "active" headphone.
Ugreen HiTune Max5c Headphone Listening Tests
I was pleasantly surprised that out of box sound was pleasant. Those peaks in bass magnified low frequency notes at times which was not annoying and some people may like. Indeed, if I did not have EQ ability, I would have thought this was very good fidelity. But we do have EQ and this is what I came up with:
With these filters, the bass tightened up and spatial qualities/details improved. Track after track in my library sounded excellent.
The only miss was sub-bass where the presence was subdued with a bit of distortion. Mind you, it delivers more sub-bass than anything other than large tower speakers.
Conclusions
If you didn't tell me otherwise, or force me to side-load an app into my phone, I would have said this is a $300 headphone, not a $25 one from a company that normally makes USB cables and such! As long as you can defeat the default bass EQ, the sound is more than good enough without EQ. With EQ, it wears the "high fidelity" label with pride and almost delivers there. Noise cancelling works good enough with the microphone delivering fidelity that is hard to believe.
I wish the company would finish the job by defaulting to EQ off and getting an approved App for both Android and iPhone. It would be a killer than at this price.
As is, I am still going to recommend the Ugreen HiTune Max5c assuming you are comfortable side loading an app into your android phone.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
The Max5c feels every bit as high quality as much, much more expensive wireless headphones. The cups while a bit small for my ears, are comfortable and have a plush feel. It supports USB-C for both charging and acting as a "sound card" to the operating system. An app is provided for control/EQ but sadly, not from the official store. It is a side-load that you install on Android which I dislike. EDIT: there is an approve iOS app.
Further, as shipped, it defaults to "Bass" enhancement so using the EQ is a must. The app is straightforward but sadly doesn't work when you plug in the USB-C cable, forcing me to use Bluetooth for testing.
I did not test the microphone but in the one and only video review of it, the quality was impressively good! I subjectively tested the noise cancelling feature and it seemed effective although not as good as higher end headphones (this is from memory).
Voice feedback for setting changes is done nicely and controls are easy to learn and use.
I turned on "High-res" mode but no matter what I did with my Samsung phone, it would insist on using AAC instead of LDAC. Maybe there is a way to make it work but I ran out of patience to get there.
Ugreen HiTune Max5c Measurements
I selected "Classic" for EQ profile as there is no "off" setting. This the frequency response:
There is some deep bass roll off. Not sure the reason for that.
We see ringing in bass frequencies going up to midrange. Compliance after that is decent. In relative terms, we are looking at this deviation:
The shape of the deviations lends itself to PEQ correction which is nice.
Not happy about the distortion in lower treble:
No impedance or sensitivity measurements as this is an "active" headphone.
Ugreen HiTune Max5c Headphone Listening Tests
I was pleasantly surprised that out of box sound was pleasant. Those peaks in bass magnified low frequency notes at times which was not annoying and some people may like. Indeed, if I did not have EQ ability, I would have thought this was very good fidelity. But we do have EQ and this is what I came up with:
With these filters, the bass tightened up and spatial qualities/details improved. Track after track in my library sounded excellent.
The only miss was sub-bass where the presence was subdued with a bit of distortion. Mind you, it delivers more sub-bass than anything other than large tower speakers.
Conclusions
If you didn't tell me otherwise, or force me to side-load an app into my phone, I would have said this is a $300 headphone, not a $25 one from a company that normally makes USB cables and such! As long as you can defeat the default bass EQ, the sound is more than good enough without EQ. With EQ, it wears the "high fidelity" label with pride and almost delivers there. Noise cancelling works good enough with the microphone delivering fidelity that is hard to believe.
I wish the company would finish the job by defaulting to EQ off and getting an approved App for both Android and iPhone. It would be a killer than at this price.
As is, I am still going to recommend the Ugreen HiTune Max5c assuming you are comfortable side loading an app into your android phone.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
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