Mixx StreamQ C4 headphones review: A one-way ticket to Tinny City

Tom's Guide

2 days ago

Some of the best headphones come cheap, so I was really hopeful when I unboxed the Mixx StreamQ C4. However, my hopes were quickly dashed by the disappointing sound quality. Muddy soundscapes, flat bass, and tinny midsections were enough to put me off. The StreamQ C4 are definitely the kind of headphones that'll send you to Tinny City (which basically just means they don't sound great).
For some people, though, poor sound isn't as much of a dealbreaker as for others. If you're one of those people who need affordable headphones with great ANC, then the StreamQ C4 headphones might be the ones for you.
If you want seriously decent music quality, though? I don't think these are the headphones for you. I'll discuss everything in full in this Mixx StreamQ C4 review.
Price
$59 / £49
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.3
ANC
Yes
Battery
40 hours
Weight
14 ounces
Dimensions
3.5 x 5.9 x 7.1 inches
Colors
Black, white
Compatibility
iOS, Android
The Mixx StreamQ C4 headphones are $59 from Amazon U.S. and £49 from Robert Dyas in the U.K. This makes them some of the cheapest headphones I've tested, alongside the EarFun Tune Pro, EarFun Wave Life ($59), and EarFun Wave Pro ($79).
Just a little bit of foreshadowing for you: I didn't award any of those EarFun headphones above a 3, and obviously, I only awarded the Mixx StreamQ C4 a 2.5. The only budget headphones I wholeheartedly recommend are the $79 JLab JBuds Lux ANC, which sound great for the price tag. We also tested the 1More Sonoflow Pro and loved the budget cans.
The main thing I like about the Mixx StreaMQ C4 headphones is their comfort. The earcups are pillow-soft and don't smell like plastic, unlike EarFun gear, which has a tendency to. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the mesh casing over the plastic interior is quite thick and soft, so my ears don't touch the drivers as I'm listening.
The headband is padded, which adds to the comfort, and the headphones don't clamp onto my ears. I could wear these headphones for hours and hours because of how comfortable they are.
The controls are easy to use and accessible: on the right cup, there is a button for play/pause, Siri (or your phone's equivalent), and an ANC button. I love that the headphones announce which ANC mode you're switching to, as some budget headphones lack this important feature.
On the bottom of the right cup there's a USB-C charging port and a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired playback. Yes — you can listen via Bluetooth or wired connection (the headphones don't have to be turned on for this to work). I'll talk about this more in detail in the 'Audio quality' section below
As I mentioned earlier, you can listen via Bluetooth or aux cable. However, the aux cable that came with my Mixx headphones didn't work. Thankfully, I had other aux cables so I could test this properly. However, it's still worth noting that the provided aux cable was faulty.
The Bluetooth connection initiated quickly. However, there's no multipoint connectivity, which you can get on other budget headphones like the $59 EarFun Wave Life.
It's also worth remembering that if you listen via wired playback, you won't get digital features like ANC or EQ.
As for other features, well, there are very few. That's kind of expected on a pair of $59 headphones, but I still found myself a little disappointed. There's no app, which you get with similarly-priced EarFun and JLab gear.
You can switch the EQ using the on-cup buttons. I liked the bass boost the most, but none of the three (voice, bass, music) options sounded particularly great.
Yes, there's ANC, and yes, it's pretty good, especially considering the $59 price tag. However, I was still yearning for a little more. I wish I could adjust the EQs manually.
To test the Mixx StreamQ C4 headphones, I listened to a range of genres on Qobuz, our best streaming service for audiophiles. Oh, I have some bad news. The StreamQ C4 headphones don't sound good at all.
'The Sofa' by Wolf Alice was tinny and flat, and the vocal pinched at the top of the treble. It was like I was listening to the vocal layer through aluminum foil.
After 'The Sofa', I listened to 'Indexical reminder of a morning well spent' by The Japanese House. This is a soft, ambient guitar track with layers of atmospheric vocals, relaxed percussion, and textured guitars. I couldn't pinpoint the different instruments across the track; everything blended together like a muddled, tinny mess.
Determined to find something that sounded good on the StreamQ C4 headphones, I switched to more electronic genres. I listened to 'Gossip' by Confidence Man & Jade, which has a synth bassline and Spanish-influenced guitar samples. The female vocals were clear, but there was very little bass to dance to, and the snare drum was very tinny.
So indie, ambient, and electronic sounded poor. I thought, well, I'll put something heavy on, maybe that will negate the tinniness. I played 'Afterlife' by Evanescence, which quickly proved me wrong. Somehow, Amy Lee's voice sounded deep-fried. Like it was encased in an egg roll wrapper or something. And that's coming from someone who could eat about 50 egg rolls in one go.
The bass was lackluster and the kick drum was tinny. On top of that, the heavy chorus was a mess of guitar, bass, and vocals, and I couldn't discern the instruments from one another.
I switched genre to Skepta's 'Victory Lap', which is a grime track with a pulsating, growling bassline. I was hopeful, but unfortunately the bass was crackly and pressurized, as if the headphones couldn't handle the frequency.
The only song that sounded good was 'Hold On' by MpH, which has a really satisfying stereo vocal and synth section. This section sounded great, although the tinny drum machine soon came in and ruined the immersion.
As the Mixx StreamQ C4 headphones have wired and wireless listening, I listened via the provided aux cable too. I played 'Cobra' by Megan Thee Stallion, and while the bass was more powerful than Bluetooth playback, I was still yearning for more. 'Clover' by Billie Marten, which is an acoustic indie track, was nicely layered, but the vocal was a little tense and pinchy.
I was really disappointed with the audio quality of the Mixx StreamQ C4 headphones. The bass was disappointing and weak, and the midrange was tinnier than a can of tuna. I wouldn't recommend these headphones for music lovers.
I actually loved the ANC on the Mixx StreamQ C4 headphones. There are three modes, all controlled by a button on the right earcup. The modes are: transparent, ANC on, and ANC off.
While the ANC makes the audio quality a little harsher, the sound wasn't particularly impressive to begin with so I found the overall impact was negligible. Transparency mode let in the right amount of noise — I couldn't hear traffic noise outside, but I could hear people talking around me.
For a pair of $59 headphones, the ANC is remarkably powerful, and I can recommend these for a noisy environment like an open-plan office or a gym (there's no IP rating though, so I'd be wary about getting these headphones wet). However, as I made clear in the 'Audio quality' section, I wouldn't recommend them for music.
To test the call quality of the Mixx StreamQ C4 headphones, I called my boyfriend, who is definitely a quality control at this point as he's been my guinea pig for most headphones I've tested.
He said it was like I was speaking through a wall, so he didn't particularly enjoy the call quality. I had to repeat myself a few times, but he couldn't hear the environmental noise around me.
I wouldn't recommend these based solely on call quality as a result of the muffled mics.
I listened for well over 6 hours and the battery only went down to 90%, which is pretty impressive. Even so, this battery life is nothing in comparison to the unkillable EarFun Tune Pro, which lasted for over a week during testing. I still have nightmares about trying to drain their battery.
However, if you want a cheap and cheerful pair of headphones with reliable battery life, then the Mixx StreamQ C4 headphones won't be disappointing. There are just better headphones — for both sound quality and features — for similar price points (cough JLab JBuds Lux ANC cough).
I feel like the Mixx StreamQ C4 headphones know what they are, and they're not ashamed of it. These headphones are budget-friendly for people who hold ANC above anything else. There's nothing wrong with that.
If you want headphones that are comfy enough to wear for hours, with awesome ANC that'll drown out all the sounds around you, and you aren't fussed about music quality, then I've just found your best headphones for the least amount of $$$.
However, if you want your music to sound decent, you've really got to spend a little more. Not much more, thankfully, but $20 more for the JLab JBuds Lux ANC. So far, no other headphones I've tested have come close to these headphones for the price. I will continue the search for JLab-beating budget cans, as the StreamQ C4 unfortunately fell a little flat.