Mixx StreamBuds Sports Charge 2

Verdict

The Mixx StreamBuds Sports Charge 2 are budget wireless earbuds that live up to that budget name in sound and design. They muster up good sound for workouts, though some connectivity dropouts and the cheap build means they’re not the best cheap fitness buds you can buy.

Introduction

The Mixx StreamBuds Sport Charge 2 are true wireless earbuds for those who don’t want to spend big on buds for workouts.

They’re not aiming to compete with stellar fitness-focused buds like the Jabra Elite 8 Active or the Shokz OpenFit Air. Think more JLab GO Air Sport, which are one of the best cheap true wireless earbuds I’ve tested for taking to the gym or out on a run.

Mixx promises onboard EQ modes to tinker with the sound profile, up to 7 hours of battery off a single charge and a charging case that comes with a built-in display to help keep a close eye on that battery.

I’ve been putting the Mixx StreamBuds Sport Charge 2 to the test for indoor and outdoor runs, gym workouts and everything in between to find out if these budget buds are worth putting in your ears.

Availability

The Mixx StreamBuds Sport Charge 2 officially launched in June 2024 and are currently only available to buy directly from Mixx’s own website. The previous version, the Sport Charge, did eventually end up at retailers like Amazon, so there’s a strong chance the Sport Charge 2 will follow suit.

Right now, you can buy them for £40, so that’s £5 more expensive than the Sport Charge, but still a very affordable set of true wireless earbuds. That means they’re up against similar cheap sports earbuds like the JLab Go Air Sport and cheaper than the likes of the Soundcore X10 Sport (£79.99) and the JBL Endurance Peak 3 (£89.99).

Design

• Comes in three colours
• Includes touch controls
• 3 pairs of ear tips

The Sport Charge 2 comes in black, burgundy or blue shades and sticks to an earhook design like the Sport Charge, moving from an all-in-one look to one where the flexible ear hooks can be removed. Those are joined by earbuds that come in three different sizes to improve sound isolation for a wider range of ear types.

Those ear hooks are very easy to remove and perhaps too easy to do so. The first time I tried to work out how they sat on my ears, one of those ear hooks came away. While the hooks haven’t fallen out during workouts, they don’t hug in the way I’d like them to and just a little bit of added pressure would reassure me they’re going to stay put.

The ear hooks are a bit problematic when it comes to using the onboard touch controls as well. The sensor for those controls is awkwardly placed and sits very close inside the ear, which makes using them quickly or on the move challenging. The first problem I found is that the combination of the control placement and the gentle fit of the hooks makes moving the buds out of place easy to do.

These controls also don’t seem to work as advertised. Adjusting volume is supposedly delivered by a single press but I actually found sliding my finger up down the sensor was more effective in adjusting volume. Selecting the different EQ modes was a challenge and it feels like the controls have been included without really thinking about how intuitive they are on this type of design.

The other part of the setup is a charging case, which is a relatively portable one, given the nature of the earbud design. It’s a plastic case with a Type USB-C port on one side while up front is a display to show you how much battery is packed into the case and will also let you know when the buds are charged and uses small battery bars to tell you how fully charged they are before you pull them back out of the case.

When you’re dealing with earbuds that are going to have to deal with a lot of sweat and maybe the splash of rain, you always like to see a good level of protection against it. The Sport Charge 2 carries an IPX5 rating, which means it is resistant to water jets, but not high pressure ones. Basically, you’re not getting the best defence against moisture, but they seem to have survived a few sweaty trips to an air conditioned-free gym and a long sweaty run while still operating.

Features

• Solid battery performance
• Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity

One thing I didn’t absolutely love was what I experienced with the connectivity. I’ve used the Charge 2 with an iPhone and a Garmin watch and initial pairing has been fine. There’s not a huge Bluetooth range here – they use Bluetooth 5.2 for streaming and also supports SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs – so if you’re a few metres away from your paired device it does lose connection. 

What was more of an issue was that I experienced some small dropouts when streaming audio on a regular basis. While they don’t last for long, they can be small and repetitive for a period before issues subside. I’d be concerned about this long-term, even if you’re paying £40.

Things are pretty positive with the battery performance. Mixx promises up to 7 hours off a single charge and a total of 32 hours with the charging case. I found that an hour’s use saw battery drop on average 10-15%, which means it hasn’t fallen short of those numbers. There’s a quick charge mode that gets you two hours of battery from a 15-minute charge. If you forget to charge it doesn’t take long to top them up.

Sound Quality

• Good, but not best sound at this price
• Tricky to switch between 3 available EQ modes

Unlike the wave of open-ear, fitness earbuds that are emerging, Mixx takes a more conventional approach to delivering sound, using a 10mm dynamic mylar film neodymium magnet driver with a frequency response of 20Hz – 20kHz. 

There is scope to adjust the sound profile with three EQ modes available to select directly from the earbuds. There’s a Bass Boost mode, a Voice mode for audiobooks and podcasts and a Music mode for general listening. As mentioned, switching between these modes on the buds is challenging, but it is worth it in some instances to get the most rewarding sound from these relatively punchy buds.

There’s good overall volume and there’s a nice punch of bass in that Bass Boost mode on tracks like Jungle’s Candle Flame or Erkyah Badu’s On & On. As far as accuracy is concerned, you’re making compromises. When the bass is ramped up, so is the treble harshness and mids are boxy as opposed to giving you something exceptionally detailed. If you’re hoping for sonically bright but balanced buds, you’re going to make some compromises here.

Dropping things to a more relaxed pace for songs like Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide, there’s some pleasing warmth, with some grainy textured treble performance and you still get quite a resounding soundstage and overall power when you get the right eartips in.

What you get are a pretty capable set of earbuds, that don’t clearly hit all the marks, but are bright and likeable enough for workouts.

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