OneSonic BXS-HD1

The OneSonic BXS-HD1 earbuds aren’t without fault, but they offer great audio and a comfortable fit for a low price.

Introduction

The OneSonic BXS-HD1 earbuds sport the same design as the Apple AirPods (2019), with a long stem and plastic body. These earbuds offer decent audio, although the low price is evident in the functionality they deliver.

These earbuds are surprisingly comfortable and come with a sleek, discrete design. While not brimming with features, they offered up solid audio and are an easy recommendation for anyone looking for wireless earbuds on a budget.

I used these earbuds for two weeks in various scenarios. Here’s how I got on.

Design

• IPX4 sweatproof design
• Plastic units
• Charging case feels flimsy

The OneSonic earbuds are plastic buds, similar to the Apple AirPods, and in my time with them, they fit very well in my ears, remaining in place during runs and yoga sessions. Overall, I thought they were remarkably comfortable. The IPX4 design, which is resistant to water splashes and sweat, was effective during workouts, and I didn’t notice their performance decline when they had become wet.

These earbuds are predominantly black, with small blue left and right labels on the bottom of the stem and the OneSonic branding along the back. The earbuds themselves look sleek and discrete, although on occasion the long stems would become caught in my hair and glasses.

The earbud charging case can be charged via USB-C and comes sporting the same simple black design as the earbuds, with the OneSonic branding at the top. The case does feel quite lightweight and flimsy; it doesn’t offer the reassurance that it’s strong enough to survive multiple drops without taking substantial damage.

Features

• Bluetooth connection
• Touch controls are unresponsive
• No high-end features such as ANC

OneSonic BXS-HD1 earbuds feature touch controls – although, try as I might, I couldn’t get them to work. The OneSonic website does provide instruction on how the touch controls are supposed to work; but in my experience they were completely unresponsive. And unlike the Cleer Roam NC earbuds, whose touch controls would spark into action on occasion, the OneSonic’s touch controls didn’t work in the time I had with the buds. I gave up trying pretty early on.

This meant that when I was connected to my iPhone 13 Pro, I was unable to utilise Siri, which can only be engaged via touch controls.

Nevertheless, consider the OneSonic’s low price and otherwise decent audio quality, and the frustrating touch controls aren’t a dealbreaker. While it was annoying to have to consult my phone every time I wanted to change the volume or skip a track, it didn’t ruin the experience of using the earbuds; but it’s still something to note if you’re interested in buying a pair.

In terms of battery life, I found myself rarely having to recharge the OneSonic earbuds. They happily lasted around five to six hours, plus a quick five-minute charge in the case would see battery life boosted by around an hour. Having done multiple three-hour train journeys with these earbuds, I’m happy to report that they never died on me once.

The BXS-HD1 don’t boast any high-end features such as Active Noise Cancellation, or any companion app to alter the audio. While I’d have appreciated a OneSonic app that would have allowed me to play around with bass levels (which we’ll cover in the next section), for their budget price the lack of features wasn’t a concern, especially given the audio proved solid on its own.

The OneSonic buds connect via Bluetooth 5, and I was able to hook them up to my phone and Nintendo Switch without issues or delays. While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them for the Switch, as the audio sounded harsher than music playback.

Sound Quality

• Great audio for the price
• 13mm speaker drivers
• Smooth vocals

For the price, I was super-impressed by the OneSonic BXS-HD1’s audio quality. I found these buds reached decent volume, but rarely did music sound too harsh or too distorted. Generally, the tone of music seemed to prescribe to a similar overall rhythm, and on occasion, they were short of delivering the vibrancy of my AirPods – but, for the price, these OneSonic buds performed much better than expected.

I found that songs with more emphasis on vocals than instrumentals were delivered best, with vocals super-smooth and defined – this was especially true of higher-pitched female voices. The OneSonic impressed in the higher ranges, with Cornelia Jakobs’ Hold Me Closer sounding crisp and sharp, with a clear distinction between her singing and the drums in the background.

The mid-range was warm but natural, with most pop songs feeling balanced; not overcrowded. The OneSonic’s fall slightly short in terms of the bass – they weren’t distorted or heavy, but they seemed to lack depth. Listening to The Chain by Fleetwood Mac, I felt like something was missing at the lower end, the focus more on the high-pitched guitar riff.

However, the OneSonic BXS-HD1 do capture the soundstage well, with the drums and guitar coming in from the left and right, and Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s vocals taking centre stage. In fact, the buds handled vocals well in all the songs I played through them, regardless of the genre, never becoming lost behind the instruments.

I found the OneSonic BXS-HD1 earbuds more impressive than the Cleer Roam NC units, which retail for a similar price; the audio on the OneSonic displays more detail. I could hear the cymbal crashes in The Beatles’ Hey Jude with perfect clarity, with the piano sounding warm and balanced in the background.

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