8.2 / 10
SCORE Baseus Inspire XP1 $110 at Amazon Pros Well-designed earbuds with comfortable, secure fit
Good sound quality for the price with Sound by Bose
Good noise cancellation
Decent voice-calling performance Cons Dolby spatial audio falls well short of Apple's spatial audio with head-tracking
No wireless charging
In the last year or so Bose has collaborated with a handful of affordable audio brands as it gradually expands its "Sound by Bose" initiative. Like the Bose-infused Skullcandy Method 360 ANC earbuds, the Baseus Inspire XP1 ($110) reviewed here have very good sound and overall performance. These comfortable earbuds share some similarities with Bose's $300 QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) for less than half the price, making them one of the best earbuds values around and a CNET Editors' Choice winner.
Bose-like fit
It appears that Bose has not only helped engineer the Inspire XP1's sound but their design, as they have similar eartips to the QuietComfort Ultras. Baesus leaves off the stability bands that help lock the buds into your ears, however: That's an extra found on the Bose buds as well as the Skullcandy Method 360 ANC. Even without the bands, the Baseus buds fit my ears very well and I had no problem running with them (they're IPX4 splash-proof). The eartips' tight seal created good passive noise isolation and allowed for optimal sound quality and noise-canceling performance.
Enlarge Image The Baseus Inspire XP1 have a more compact charging case and slimmer stems than the Skullcandy Method 360 ANC. David Carnoy/CNET
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