Back in November 2022, I became the lucky owner of a pair of Apple AirPods Max thanks to winning an element14 contest. Since then, it has been my daily commuter, providing a lovely amount of isolation from outside noises with a very agreeable audio signature. At that price, it had to be good.

But the honeymoon is over … now in 2024, the flaws are more than apparent. The fabric ear cushion material? A sweat magnet which is impossible to thoroughly wash without damaging eventually. The ear cushions themselves? AU$99 for a pair. But worse still is the headband sag – the mesh fabric just can’t withstand regular usage, sags to provide no support. This leaves the silicone-covered metal headbands to contact your head resulting in headaches when the headband is sized for a tight fit, or the headphones sagging down on your head as the headband is sized for a loose fit due to their greater-than-average weight. This latter problem isn’t exactly repairable, short of a headband replacement or using third-party covers. The shine has definitely gone … but I still haven’t given up.

Given that, I went looking for something affordable perhaps as a backup or to take over the role entirely. It had to be acoustically competent with decent ANC. Thanks to an OzBargain posting, I decided to give the QCY MeloBuds Pro a try since they sounded like a good offering for just AU$50 (on sale). These in-ear earbuds sport Bluetooth v5.3 connectivity, LDAC support for “Hi-Res” audio, switchable low-latency mode, transparency mode, adaptive active noise cancelling with up to 46dB attenuation (for audio) and environmental noise cancellation (for mic). The company, QCY, is known for being a leading company in the TWS earbud space, often OEMing for other brands. While there are plenty of other options in this space (e.g. Baseus Bowie, Edifier W260NC), I thought this might be a good option as an inexpensive compact commuting solution with competent audio. Let’s see if this is the case …

The Unit

The unit came inside a nice box, with the product pictured on the front. The unit clearly indicates its Hi Res Audio (Wireless) qualification along with LDAC support on the front. The rear has some of the key specifications, including a claimed charge time of about 2 hours, a standby time about 45 hours and a music time of about 8.5 hours. Input is 5V at 400mA. The unit has a model number BH24HT08A and a barcode number of 6957141409152.

The side of the box has a super-sized brand logo along with their slogan, “Be Creative, Go Beyond”.

There is an authenticity check label and the check passed, indicating this product is genuine.

Inside the box, there is the charging case inside a plastic tray and a small accessories box.

Unboxing this, we can see there is also a user manual, a charging cable and some silicone tips.

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