TWS true wireless earphones - under $50
FOUR STARS - Mifo’s subbrand FiiTii took one of the most comfortable wireless Active Noise Cancelling earbuds under fifty dollars… and made some changes that aren’t always for the better.
FiiTii HifiAir2 by Mifo specs and features:
Bluetooth 5.3 with AAC codec
IPX5 waterproof rating (rain and sweat proof)
5-7 hours listening on a single charge (ANC on/off)
Charging case can charge earpieces fully 5 times
Comes with 3 sets of ear tips, USB-C cable, English manual
$50 - Buy on Amazon US, Amazon UK or other Amazon countries
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The standout factor from the original FiiTii HifiAir was its comfort. Even though the earbuds had a small stem, they fell subtly and flat besides your ear lobe and stick out of your ears so little, that they were great for side-sleeping.
The fact that they also had some Active Noise Cancellation, made the original one of the best under-$50 earbuds for sleeping - even though the battery couldn’t last an entire night.
The successor is still comfortable to wear with its smooth, small, and round earbuds’ insides, but every design change FiiTii made, made it slightly worse. The stems are now thicker and more square, making them less elegant in your ears. Another thing is that the top outside end of the earbuds is more blunt now, which results in less comfort for side-sleeping. You can simply feel the more when you’re lying on the side.
It may not be an issue for you, though, as the battery still doesn’t last an entire night: it runs empty at around five hours with ANC on.
Happily, the FiiTii HifiAir2 also improves over the original in some ways. The charging case, for instance, looks sleeker and feels more robust than on the original. The controls are also more responsive than before, although you could still activate an undesired function by just moving the earbuds in your ear.
The biggest upgrade, however, is that the Active Noise Cancelling is stronger than before. Even when you’re not playing music, it does a solid job of softening all sounds around you. Especially brighter tones are heavily reduced, and while nearby conversations, laughter or an office printer are still audible, they get the sharpest tones cut off and sound darker than average. Contrary to many other earbuds, it’s still the darker sounds you hear quite well - and as you won’t hear so much brighter noises, everything around you sounds darker. The SoundPEATS Life and QCY HT05 offer a slightly more all-around ANC, but the HifiAir2 can still dampen your surroundings nicely. Hit that play button, and your surroundings are nearly completely gone.
That said, you do have to turn the function on manually every time after taking the buds out of the case - a weird feature on Noise Cancelling earbuds. Before activating it, you’ll also always switch to the Transparency mode which passes through brighter sounds in a metallic and unnatural way - it’s not a very pleasant way to tune in on conversations around you.
Taking a phone call with the HifiAir2 is doable. Your voice sounds warm and dark, but the microphones do a good job of separating your voice from the ones around you, and even sudden sounds effects are reduced well. Wind noise can be a threat, however.
Like the predecessor, the gaming mode of the second HifiAir is great - with good synchronization between audio and video, and a great sense of the action around you as well. But like the manual ANC switch, there’s another odd thing here: the voice prompt to introduce it is Chinese, whereas the rest is English.
Even more weirdness on these earbuds comes from the app support of the FiiTii HifiAir2. The Android app demands a ton of app permissions, after which you will still have to connect the earbuds manually every time. Whatever I do, I can’t get it to work automatically.
The app doesn’t feel finished and is illogical in its use. Whereas it seems you can only change the controls via the app and cycle between the ANC modes, there are more app features hidden under the logo and avatar that are underneath the screen on some pages. There’s a timer to shut off your earbuds after 10-90 minutes, but this ONLY works with the handful soundscapes (5 nature sounds you can loop and 8 instrumental pieces) you can activate from the app - and not your streaming services or podcast app.
Lastly, the app offers five alternative sound equalizers which all the do the same: throw your music in a cave.
HifiAir2's sound works well for some genres, and not so much for others.
Like its predecessor, the HifiAir2 leans heavily on the lows. The mid-bass delivers strong thumps that last long (another way of saying they’re not very precise) and bloat into the equally heavily boosted lower-mids. From the loosely rumbling sub-bass to darker male vocals; they sound heavy.
This has consequences for the vocals. Whereas dark male and lower female vocals have a nice fullness to them, higher vocals often have a hard time competing with the lows. They're not thin, they're just not present enough. Instruments in the mid-tones are the worst part of the musical score. Cymbals and claps can be splashy and even bear a little crackle, and instruments like guitar and piano merely have a background role. What you can hear from them, sounds unnatural.
On top of that, the maximum volume level on Android phones hasn’t been increased, so it still may not be loud enough for the most active listeners.
But then - not all is bad. Its heavy emphasis on bass and lower-mids make techno and other electronic dance genres thump and not just that: they sound expansive as well, sometimes even giving you a bit of stadium-vibe. In other genres, there’s still a comfortable warmth in the music and the strong mid-bass may even get your engines running, but the HifiAir2 regularly feels too dark in more acoustic and classical genres.
The FiiTii HifiAir2 has some good features. It’s comfortable, offers solid Active Noise Cancelling, and it’s easy to call or game with them- but in the end, it depends on the musical genres you listen to whether the HifiAir2 is a match for you.
Design and comfort: 4.5/5 - Not as good as before, still very comfortable
Controls and connectivity: 3.5/5 - No auto-pausing or multipoint; does have extensive and customisable controls
Playback: 4.5/5 - Great for videos, solid gaming mode performance
Call quality: 3.5/5 - Full and clear voice, reduces surrounding noise well
ANC: 3.5/5 - Cuts off higher tones heavily and brings some rest to your head
Transparency mode: 3/5 - Forwards brighter sounds, but in a metallic way
App support: 2/5 - Needs lots of permissions, doesn’t connect automatically, not all functions work
Sound quality: 3/5 - Thumping mid-bass, heavy lows, soft vocals
VERDICT: Four STARS (Good)
Possible alternatives to the HifiAir 2
There are other good options for Active Noise Cancelling earbuds under $50. The QCY HT05 is an all-around earphone with a more vivid and natural sound, the SoundPEATS Life scores a bit better in calls and ANC, and the original Mifo FiiTii HifiAir may have weaker Active Noise Cancelling than its successor, but it does have a slightly better shape for side-sleeping.
If you like a bassy energetic sound and don’t care for Active Noise Cancelling, definitely consider the Realme Buds Air 3S - or look at the overall best wireless earbuds under $50.
Buy FiiTii HifiAir2/ check lowest price:
Buy on Amazon US
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on other Amazon countries
I received the FiiTii HifiAir2 from the manufacturer to test and review. My reviews are 100% independent and non-commercial - read about it here.
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Also read:
Guide: The best earbuds under $75
Leaderboard: All rated wireless earphones
