Thursday, August 15, 2024

UGREEN MAX5c headphone review

What's in the box?

The UGREEN Max5C headphone comes with a 1.2 meter USB-C male to USB-C male cable, a USB-C to USB-A charging cable and a manual. The headphone has a weight of approximately 256 grams.

Ugreen Max5c

UGREEN MAX5C fold

Ugreen Max5C

Ugreen Max5c headband

Max5C headband

ugreen max5c

Max5c headphone



UGREEN Home Android App

To access the headphone’s more advanced feature, installing their app is mandatory. Features like Dual Link, Hi-Res Audio/LDAC and EQ presets can be enabled within the app.

Ugreen App

Ugreen Home App


Dual Link

This feature enables 2 devices to be connected simultaneously to the headphone. It can only be turned on through the app. LDAC will be also be disabled automatically.

Ugreen dual link



Wired mode

A 1.2 meter male-to-male USB-C connector is included in the box. Bluetooth will be disabled as soon as a wire is plugged into the device.

Max5c USB cable


The headphone can be connected to desktop PCs or laptops with USB-C ports, and for those without, a USB-A male to USB-C female adapter can be used. Or you can simply use any USB-A to USB-C charging cable.

Ugreen Max5c usb adapter


I would have preferred the USB-C port to be on the left side of the headphone, consistent with all my other wired headphones, especially since my desktop PC is placed on the left side.


Sound quality

This headphone sounds very bassy right out of the box. My favourite EQ preset are Classic or Jazz. Classic has less bass. If you want a more neutral sound, classic mode is the one to choose for this headphone. In  Jazz mode, there is slightly more bass. Mids are more pronounce, so vocals is more forward sounding.

There is a slight difference in sound quality between SBC/ACC and LDAC. Not that SBC/AAC mode is bad, they are average. LDAC is better. Enabling LDAC requires activation through the app before it can be used.

MAX5C LDAC


The audio quality of this headphone is optimal when connected via wire to my desktop PC. From my observation, audio quality for the UGREEN MAX5c ranks in this order; SBC/AAC < LDAC < Wired to tablet and phone < Wired to desktop.


EQ on wired mode

In wired mode, an equalizer software is necessary to manage the bass levels of the headphone. On Android, you can use and install Wavelet.

Wavelet on Ugreen Max5c

On Windows, there are many free EQ software such as Equalizer APO and Peace Equalizer. Usually audio players have built-in equalizer too like Foobar2000.


Ear cup size

The ear cups have an elongated oval shape, measuring 6.2cm vertically and 3cm horizontally on their inner side and at their widest points. With my ears measuring 6.4cm vertically and 3cm horizontally, the headphones fit comfortably. However, individuals with larger ears may find them less comfortable.

Ugreen Max5c earpad earcup


Headband

It is comfortable and good enough. There is a slider on each side and there are 10 clicks or levels for adjustment. I set mine at 5 clicks which is most comfortable for my head size.

Overall, the headphone fits comfortably for my medium head size. Headband tension is neither too tight or too loose. 


Bluetooth, ANC, etc

Bluetooth works fine without any hiccups when connecting to any of my devices.  While the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) performs adequately, I find the passive noise isolation from the earcups sufficient for my needs. With ANC enabled, sound signature will change. ANC will be disabled when in wired mode.


Bluetooth latency

The manufacturer advertises this headphone as having a 68-millisecond latency but the actual performance falls short of this specification for me. I can definitely notice the delay in fast-paced shooter games especially. Despite this, the headphone performs adequately for music listening, communication, and less reaction-intensive games. *Update: Game mode must to be enabled for lower latency performance. I didn't notice any delay once game mode is on. I had to manually turn off Hi-res mode to use Game mode. But I can still use Dual-link with Game mode on.

A comparison table of over-ear Bluetooth headphones under $30 USD is provided below, detailing their specifications; notably, the UGREEN Max5C stands out as the budget-friendly option at $20 USD.

UGREEN Max5C comparison


Final thoughts

The UGREEN Max5C has a good build quality to it compared to other headphones on the market at around the same price point. Build quality is better than the Baseus H1i, OneOdio A70 Fusion, Edifier W600BT. Ugreen Max5C is a great budget headphone. The UGREEN Max5C is sold on Aliexpress; lookout for sale and discounts. They have sale on their Ugreen Official Store frequently.




Ugreen Max5cUGREEN MAX5C

UGreen Max5c




Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Redmi Note 8 Improve your WiFi speed

Hopefully, this tip may help you out and improve your WiFi speed when Bluetooth is turned on. Now let's get on with it.

1. Go to your Notification Shade and Long press the 'GPS' shortcut icon ( which brings you to the Location settings).

Redmi Note 8 WiFi speed


2. Tap on 'Scanning'.

Redmi Note 8 Wifi speed slow


3. Disable Bluetooth scanning.

Redmi Note 8 Wifi speed slow


Previously, it maxed out at about 1.5 to 1.6MB/s when bluetooth is turned on. After turning off 'Bluetooth scanning', WiFi speed could max out at about 3.6MB/s or 28.8Mbps. Result does fluctuate to a low 1.8MB/s and goes back up, but never unusable WiFi speeds.

Remember, Redmi Note 8 has only 1x1 MIMO ( single stream client ) WiFi. Do not compare it to another device which has 2x2 MIMO ( two streams client ) WiFi. Even the Redmi Note 6 Pro has 2x2 MIMO.

Redmi Note 8 Wifi problem

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

V11.0.9.0.PCOMIXM update is available for Redmi Note 8 Global

Redmi Note 8 Global just got it's May security patch update with V11.0.9.0.PCOMIXM. The other models in the Redmi series like the Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi Note 8T, Redmi 8 and Redmi 8A all got their security patch earlier.


V11.0.9.0.PCOMIXM

Release notes for the V11.0.9.0.PCOMIXM, are updated Android Security Patch to May 2020 and increased system security. There's no mention of any bug fixes.

The file size for incremental update is about 422MB. If for some unknown reason, your phone couldn't apply the update after rebooting. Do not worry, just re-download the update and most likely the file size will be 2.0GB which is perfectly normal.

You can download the full ROM from this link ( which is an official link ). 

V11.0.9.0.PCOMIXM

V11.0.9.0.PCOMIXM