Closer Examination, Build Quality and Comfort

Firstly, even though the box points out that my sample of the Mixcder E8 comes in black, it would appear that they don't exist in other colors. Design-wise, they're quite possibly the most ordinary-looking headphones I ever ran into, which isn't a critique—most of us don't want a pair of headphones that would make us stand out in a crowd (those who do buy Beats). The inner frame is made out of metal. The outer side of the headband is covered in pleather, and this is the only place where you'll find the Mixcder name, subtly etched into the headband. The ear cups are made entirely out of plastic. The build quality is only mediocre; I wouldn't feel comfortable carelessly tossing these headphones into my backpack, rather opting to put them in the supplied hard-shell carrying case first. The plastic parts creak, especially around the joints, further adding to the feeling that the Mixcder E8 wouldn't be able to take too much abuse. I used these headphones on a daily basis for over a month and didn't find any notable signs of wear and tear, but I was definitely careful when putting them on and storing them after I was done, more so than with most other travel headphones in my collection.


While the pleather-covered inner headband isn't heavily padded, it causes no discomfort to the top of the head. The ear cushions are also covered in pleather. They're filled with soft foam and manage to surround the ears completely. With the clamping force not being excessive, all of that results in very good wearing comfort. I had no trouble wearing the Mixcder E8 for several hours without a break. Even though they won't feel premium when touching them, they're comfortable when used.


The height of the ear cups can be adjusted by sliding them up and down along the metal frame. The inner side of the frame is marked with lines, so you'll have no trouble adjusting their height equally on both sides.


The Mixcder E8 are fairly flexible, although, as stated earlier, their creaky plastic made me want to be extra careful with such maneuvers. The ear cups can also be rotated outward by 90°.


Most of the controls are on the rear of the right ear cup, where you'll use them with the thumb of your right hand. The square buttons are sufficiently large and very clicky, but feel cheap and unrefined. They do their job properly, though. The power button is used to turn the headphones on (needs to be held down for around 3 seconds), pause the music, and answer or drop phone calls. The volume buttons need to be held down for 3 seconds to switch to the next song (Volume Up button) or go back to the start of the one that's currently playing (Volume Down). You can also go back to the previous song by holding the same Volume Down button, although you need to do so right as the current song starts playing because of the 3-second implementation. Otherwise, you are just taken to the start of the current song. I found this kind of annoying, and this is exactly why a more popular way to switch between songs is to implement a double-click feature.


The right ear cup also contains a 3.5-mm port, which enables us to use the headphones in wired mode in case their battery runs out. It should be noted that the supplied audio cable doesn't contain a built-in microphone. It also terminates in a 3-pole TRS plug. We know what that means—if the battery runs dry and there's no active Bluetooth connection between the smartphone and headphones, it will no longer be possible to use the Mixcder E8 to answer phone calls.


The left ear cup contains the active noise canceling switch and Micro-USB charging port. ANC can either be on or off; there are no means of finer control through a mobile app or otherwise. It is entirely possible to use the ANC feature while the headphones are turned off and disconnected from the sound source. Of course, ANC requires battery power to run, so it will still drain it even if you're not playing anything through the headphones.

Battery Life

As far as battery life goes, you can expect the Mixcder E8 to stay fairly true to the specified 18 hours with ANC turned off or 16 hours with ANC activated. While this can and will vary depending on your preferred loudness, you can count on a solid 15 hours of wireless playback even if the headphones mostly cranked all the way up. In case the battery runs out and your sound source is equipped with a 3.5-mm audio port, you'll be able to continue listening to them that way. The remaining battery life can be checked on in the Bluetooth settings of your smartphone as the headphones report their remaining battery level at all times.

Microphone Performance

The pinhole microphone built into the right ear cup next to the volume controls does a decent job of transferring voice during phone calls. I was able to have conversations without any noteworthy issues; people I talked to had no trouble understanding me. There's no way to use the microphone to control your smartphone's voice assistant, however.