I tested this cheaper rival to Bose and Shokz' cuff-style open earbuds and other brands could learn a lot from it

Baseus Inspire XC1: Two minute review

In every headphone niche there are going to be the big-name players, and there are going to be the little-known challengers offering a more affordable or even more novel take on the form factor, and it’s no different with clip-on, cuff-style sets, which still count among the best open earbuds we've tested.

Open earbuds are a type of headphone which intentionally doesn’t block out surrounding sound, letting you hear what’s going on when you’re working out, going on a run outdoors or are on your commute, and clip-ons are one style which clips onto your ear, in a kind of cuff style, rather than a hook style that snakes behind the curve of your ear.

While this form factor is dominated by names like the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and, more recently, the Shokz OpenDots One, a few other brands offer something different, and Baseus is now one of them.

The Baseus Inspire XC1 are the third 'clipping' headphone from Baseus, so you’d hope the brand has some expertise it can bring. Their pitch is that they fix open-ears’ common sound quality problems by bringing Bose-tuned audio, support for Hi-Res Audio and LDAC availability, all for a relatively modest price.

To that end it was claimed at launch that the XC1 were the first open earbuds with two drivers per bud, an assertion which the aforementioned Shokz OpenDots One might take issue with, but that certainly shows a focus on sound quality.

It’s ironic, then, that the sound quality was a weaker point for these open earbuds. The sonic profile is warm yet ill-defined, so bass lacks punch and trebles and mids are missing something themselves. While some fitness users might enjoy this kind of indistinct wall of noise (something to tune out with, while focusing on your workout), audiophiles aren’t going to be impressed.

I also found that the buds’ bridge could pinch over long listening periods, which isn’t ideal, but I do mean long – I could listen for several hours before noticing the issue, so it won’t be a problem everyone faces. And the fit is reliable beyond that.

I’m starting this synopsis with two negatives, but there’s a lot to like about the Inspire XC1 beyond these pitfalls. The battery life is longer than on many rivals, for one thing, and the equalizer is advanced with several presets and plenty of customization. Also, the touch controls are easy-to-use and convenient.

That last point in particular is something I want to emphasize. The vast majority of headphones and earbuds do touch controls terribly but Baseus' solution was simple and easy – other brands could learn a thing or two here.

As mentioned above, the Baseus also undercuts both Bose's and Shokz’ alternatives, and offers good value for money when you compare their feature sets and audio qualities. If you don’t want to stretch your budget to reach for those pricier options, the Baseus Inspire XC1 option could be a good compromise.

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Specifications

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Price and availability

• Announced in September 2025
• Priced at $129 (roughly £100, AU$200)
• Undercuts many rivals

The Baseus Inspire XC1 were released at the annual tech conference IFA in September 2025, alongside the XH1 over-ear headphones and XP1 in-ear buds.

At retail price, the Inspire XC1 cost $129 (roughly £100 or AU$200 but TechRadar wasn’t provided international release information prior to launch).

That price is in the ballpark of rivals, confirming that the Baseus product undercuts lots of its competition to a greater or lesser degree; the Huawei FreeClip, Shokz OpenDots and Bose Ultra Open earbuds all cost increasingly more.

But there are some well-respected options for cheaper still, including the JLab Flex Open and Anker Soundcore C40i. And let's not forget, Baseus itself has two other alternatives that undercut this, in the MC1 and BC1.

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Design

• Bud and counterweight connected by small hook
• Lightweight but can pinch after extended use
• Easy-to-use touch controls

For those of you who skipped the intro, the Baseus Inspire XC1 is a clip-style (or cuff-style, if you prefer) open-ear earbud. The latter hyphenation indicates that these are earbuds which don’t block your ear, so you can hear your surroundings, and the former signifies that instead of using a sports loop to hover over your ear, they clip onto your auricle, using a small earbud which nestles into your ear and a counterweight behind the ear which are linked by a plastic bridge.

Clipping earbuds always look frightfully unreliable but that’s rarely the case, and it’s not true for the XC1 either: the buds’ hold is reliable and I went on many hours of runs without any slipping or falling. However, it does pinch a little which, although only noticeable after sustained use, means they can stop being comfortable if you’re listening for long amounts of time. I also found myself knocking the behind-the-ear counterweight with my shoulder on occasion when I was stretching or rolling my head, but those were rare cases.

Each bud weighs roughly 5.5g, so they tip the scales to a similar degree as rivals, and they have an IP66 rating which certifies them against any kind of solid particles like dust, as well as high-pressure water jets… I think. Elsewhere in the information Baseus provided to TechRadar, it referred to the buds as having an IPX7 rating, which offers no proofing against dust but increased water resistance.

The counterweight has a small physical button, and you can customize what this does using the app – but by default, it pauses music. I found it pretty easy to pinch this to control my music once I got used to the position, and I’m glad Baseus isn’t trying to do anything more complex with its controls like some other brands.

The case weighs 54g and it’s fairly small, although that’s not saying much given that most clip-on earbuds have tiny cases. It opens horizontally and accepts either earbud in either hole, saving a lot of faff when you want to put the buds away.

• Design score: 4/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Features

• Not as many features as rivals
• Battery life is 8 hours, 40 hours with case
• EQ with lots of useful presets

The Baseus Inspire XC1 will offer you 8 hours of listening time in one go, according to the brand’s figures – my own testing didn’t raise any reasons to doubt this. That just a hair on the long side compared to lots of other rivals using this form factor.

Using the case, you can get an extra 32 hours of listening time, for 40 hours in total, and again lots of the Baseus’ rivals fall a little short.

Due to the form factor, there’s no noise cancellation – it’s not unheard of in open-ears, but it’s incredibly rare and so we don’t expect it.

Baseus offers an app with a few extra features including an equalizer, a low latency mode, the ability to customize touch controls, toggles to high-res audio and a feature I haven’t seen much of on headphones: a battery-saver mode. As someone who gets battery anxiety on long trips, this is certainly a welcome feature.

The equalizer comes with seven presets, including a Bose-designed one, but you can create your own sound mix using an eight-band EQ mode too.

I’ve never written this sentence about an earbud tie-in app before, but the Baseus app felt very slow to use on my powerful Android phone. This shouldn’t dictate your purchase decision but it’s just to say ‘no, your phone isn’t breaking down’.

• Features score: 4/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Sound performance

• Two drivers per bud
• Muddied sound profile
• Support for several standards

Each bud of the Baseus Inspire XC1 gets two drivers: a 10.8mm woofer for low-end sounds and a balanced armature tweeter for high-end ones that we weren’t told the size of.

It’s rare to see a dual-driver open-ear, with most manufacturers opting not to kit out earbuds that will be competing with so many background sounds, but that’s not all. The buds also support higher-resolution audio and the LDAC codec if you switch them on in the app.

Listening to music, it’s clear that the sound is good quality, and that’s especially true if you do opt to make the most of the standards offered. And so you’re probably wondering why I criticized the audio before. Well, that comes down to the tuning.

The Inspire XC1 have a warm sound profile, with the woofer coming up clutch to support lots of bass. However it’s an ill-defined kind of bass, muddy and indistinct, a that’s an issue that plagues music as a whole: treble isn’t sharp, mids are mushy.

The result is that music seems to lack a lot of energy and spark. I don’t know about you, but lifeless tunes are the last thing I want with earbuds designed for exercise.

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t just jump into the equalizer to fix the problem; I tried, and it didn’t really work. Other presets beyond the default (the Bose-tuned one, I must add) maintain the issue to a lesser or greater degree. If you’ve got the buds, I’d recommend opting for the Jazz Rock preset, which was the most energetic to my ears.

• Sound performance score: 3.5/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Value

The Baseus XC1 undercut a decent amount of the competition, including options which don’t offer substantially more for your money, although you can get alternatives that are a lot cheaper if you shop around.

Bearing in mind the cost and what you’re actually getting for your money, they offer a reasonable value set, letting you get all of the features of pricier rivals with a few downgrades to justify the cost.

• Value score: 4/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: scorecard

Baseus Inspire XC1: Should I buy?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Also consider

How I tested

I wore the Baseus Inspire XC1 for two weeks in order to write this review, which is TechRadar's standard testing time for headphones.

The buds were connected to my Android smartphone through the test. I used them on runs, on cycle rides, at the gym, on public transport, at home and on walks around my neighborhoor, mostly for music streaming but for some spoken word too.

I've been testing products for TechRadar since 2019 and this has included plenty of other workout headphones, as well as loads of open earbuds.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed: September 2025