TL;DR: For $150, the Baseus Inspire XH1 deliver killer sound, insane battery life, and legit premium vibes. Forget the competition — this is the midrange headphone to beat in 2025.

There’s something deeply satisfying about finding tech that feels like a cheat code. We live in a world where companies like Apple, Sony, and Bose want you to pay $350 or more just to sit on the subway in peace, and here comes Baseus — a brand that most people outside of certain corners of AliExpress and TikTok gadget hauls probably couldn’t name in a lineup — dropping a pair of headphones that make me double-check the price tag. $150? For this? Either the math is broken or the rest of the industry is running one of the longest cons in consumer electronics.

That’s where the Baseus Inspire XH1 headphones land. They’re marketed with the golden ticket of audio branding — “Sound by Bose” — which is both alluring and suspicious. Does Bose secretly tune these things, or is this just a licensing agreement where Bose emails them a PDF EQ curve and calls it a day? Either way, I’ve been living with these cans for weeks, swapping them in and out against my daily drivers (Sony WH-1000XM5s, Bose QuietComfort Ultras, and a beat-up pair of Marshall Monitors). And here’s the surprising part: the Baseus Inspire XH1 hold their ground. Not perfectly, not across every category, but more than enough to make me feel like Sony’s pricing model is a punchline.

Let’s break it down.

Design: Plastic, But Make It Premium

The first thing you notice is that these don’t look like budget headphones. Baseus could have gone the Skullcandy route — neon colors, plasticky hinges, the kind of thing you regret wearing past high school — but instead they’ve gone for matte finishes and understated curves. Yes, they’re plastic, but it’s the good kind of plastic. The kind that doesn’t creak when you flex it, the kind that feels like it could survive being tossed in a backpack without a case. It’s not quite up there with Sony’s magnesium alloy and memory foam extravaganza, but at $150, it’s closer than it has any right to be.

The controls are old-school in the best way. Physical buttons. A power switch, noise control toggle, playback controls, USB-C port, and even a good old-fashioned aux jack for wired listening. Remember when headphone makers trusted us to press actual buttons instead of awkwardly swiping a touchpad on the side of our heads? Baseus remembers. And honestly, I prefer this. No accidental volume spikes because I brushed the cup while adjusting them. No swearing on a plane because the touch panel decided turbulence was a “skip track” gesture. Just simple, tactile control. Thank you.

There’s an app, of course — because it’s 2025 and everything has an app, even my toothbrush. But Baseus’s app is surprisingly solid. Clean design, easy navigation, no “sign up to unlock premium features” nonsense. The app is where you tweak EQ, remap button controls, and toggle on Dolby Atmos or low-latency gaming mode. Compared to Bose’s clunky, crash-prone app, Baseus feels downright refreshing.

Comfort: Mostly Great, With Minor Quirks

Headphones live or die on comfort. I can forgive a little sonic imperfection, but if my ears start cooking after 30 minutes, we’re done. Thankfully, the Inspire XH1 are mostly great here. The ear cups are generously padded, and the headband is soft enough that I wore them through multiple workdays without screaming to be set free.

That said, there are quirks. The rubberized headband covering sometimes tugs at my hair — not painful, just annoying enough to make me shift them around every so often. And the ear cups, while cushy, do get a little warm after long sessions. But let’s be real: unless you’re dropping four bills on Bose or Sony, almost every headphone in this category has similar heat build-up. These are small nitpicks in what’s otherwise a comfy package.

Battery Life: The Flex That Puts Everyone Else to Shame

Here’s where the XH1 flexes hard: battery life. Baseus claims 100 hours without ANC, and 65 hours with it on. That’s absurd. That’s “forget where you left the charging cable” levels of endurance. I tried to kill them through normal use — long commutes, back-to-back Zoom calls, marathon Elden Ring sessions — and they just would not die. I charged them once, went nearly two weeks without thinking about it, and still had juice to spare.

For context, Sony’s WH-1000XM6s (the new gold standard) tap out around 30 hours with ANC. Bose QC Ultras hit similar numbers. Marshall Monitor IIs stretch to 70 hours if you squint. But Baseus? Sixty-five with ANC on. That’s not just competitive — that’s disruptive. And they charge fast too: 10 minutes plugged in gives you 12 hours. I’m convinced they’re powered by some forbidden crystal Apple hasn’t licensed yet.

Sound Quality: The Bose Effect (Sort Of)

This is the part everyone wants to know about. What does “Sound by Bose” mean? Honestly, I still don’t know. It could mean Bose engineers sat in a room with Baseus, ran sweeps, and tuned the drivers. Or it could mean Baseus paid for a curve that looks like Bose’s house sound and slapped the label on. Whatever it is, these headphones sound shockingly good for $150.

The tuning is classic consumer-friendly Bose: deep, powerful bass, slightly recessed mids, crisp-enough highs. The low end is the star here. Sub-bass rumbles on EDM tracks hit with authority. Hip-hop, electronic, even cinematic scores all benefit from that extra weight. It’s not the most accurate presentation — purists will call it “colored” — but it’s fun, and it works.

The mids are the weakest part of the profile. Vocals sometimes feel pushed back, guitars lose a bit of bite, and orchestral tracks can sound scooped. Thankfully, the app’s EQ helps. I nudged the mids up a couple notches, shaved a little off the bass, and suddenly things felt more balanced. The fact that Baseus gives us an 8-band EQ is already a win — Bose’s own app only gives you three.

Highs are decent but not spectacular. Cymbals and percussion sparkle but lack that last bit of detail. You’re not getting the air and separation you’d hear on $400 headphones, and the soundstage can feel a little crowded on busy tracks. But here’s the thing: you have to want to notice. For most people, most of the time, the Inspire XH1 sound rich, full, and frankly way better than $150 should buy you.

ANC and Transparency: Good, But Not Sony-Level

Noise cancellation is solid but not class-leading. Consistent droning sounds — like plane engines or HVAC systems — are handled well. Voices and sudden sharp noises sneak through more than I’d like, but again, we’re talking $150. Sony’s WH-1000XM6 are still untouchable in this category, and Bose’s QC Ultras run circles around these when it comes to drowning out the chaos of a café. But the Inspire XH1 are “good enough” ANC, which at this price, is already a win.

Transparency mode is the weaker link. It lets sound in, but it’s muddy, especially on the high end. Conversations don’t come through naturally, and there’s a faint hiss that makes it feel like you’re wearing a 1990s baby monitor on your head. Not unusable, but not great. If transparency is crucial for you, look elsewhere.

Spatial Audio and Extras: Gimmicky, But Fun

Dolby Atmos support is baked in, and like most spatial audio features, it’s… fine. Movies and games get a little more immersive, but music often sounds fake. Instruments float in weird places they don’t belong, and after a while, I turned it off. Still, it’s nice Baseus included it, and some folks may enjoy it more than I did.

Low Latency Mode, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise. Gaming on Bluetooth is usually a laggy mess, but flipping this on made a real difference. Audio cues lined up more cleanly with on-screen action, and I didn’t feel handicapped playing shooters on my Steam Deck.

Verdict: A Legit Midrange Contender

The Baseus Inspire XH1 headphones are the definition of “punching above their weight.” They look premium, sound genuinely good, have monster battery life, and cost less than a weekend grocery run at Whole Foods. They’re not perfect — ANC lags behind Sony, transparency is mediocre, and the highs could be sharper — but they absolutely demolish most competitors in the $150–$200 range. In fact, they make some $250 headphones look like scams.

So should you buy them? If your budget caps at $200, the answer is a resounding yes. These are the new midrange benchmark, and they make a strong case that you don’t need to shell out $400 just to hear Billie Eilish whisper into your soul.