PaMu Unique TWS Headphone Review: AptX, Multi-faceted Case and Sensible Sound

Two months ago, they wrote to me from China and asked if I wanted to test the brand new Pamu Unique TWS headphones. The brand name didn’t say anything, but of course I agreed. The situation is advantageous in both cases: if the product is good, then it will be interesting for you to find out about it, and if it is bad, we will lie over it together.

The sending went quite a long time, because at first the quarantine was in China, then it started in Russia, and the corresponding services did not work very rhythmically. Nevertheless, on May 2, the headphones arrived at the post office, and I picked them up from there, standing on the street in an amusing queue with one and a half meter intervals drawn on the asphalt.

It’s really hard to surprise me with anything when it comes to headphones, but the Chinese company Padmate, the manufacturer of Pamu Unique, did it. This model is delivered not in one, but in two boxes. In the first are the headphones and case themselves, and in the second … wrappers for the case. No I am not joking. For some reason, Chinese designers decided that the cover is a way of manifesting individuality and a subtle artistic taste. Therefore, it was made healthy, almost 10 centimeters long (for comparison, the AirPods Pro has a 5.5 cm case length). It is round and rather thick – like beef sausage. But, most importantly, the cover is changing … skins. Included are multi-colored leather rectangles with magnetic mounts, with which the exterior of the cover can be radically changed. I was sent three skins – one black, in the cell, and two variegated.

The design as a result turned out to be quite … peculiar. I’m probably old-fashioned, but it’s somehow strange for me to prove my personality with a motley sausage. And honestly, I don’t remember a single successful project of this kind. For example, Monster, which had a more well-developed brand than Padmate, tried to add replaceable earplugs to Inspiration headphones and sell them for an additional amount. If I am not mistaken, in the region of $ 20 for a little thing. The line for overlays wasn’t lined up: people bought headphones to listen to music and show off the brand logo, rather than picking individual color solutions. Decide for yourself, of course, but I would prefer the case to be more compact and with the usual latching lid.

Of course, the case is not simple, but with a built-in battery. According to the manufacturer, it is enough to charge the headphones twice. Given the playback time without recharging up to 10 hours, autonomy in conjunction with the case is not weak. By default, the whole thing is charged via the USB-C interface, but for just $ 20 you can buy a nozzle that adds support for wireless charging. With this nozzle, the case looks very monstrous, but we cannot blame Padmate for trying to adopt the best practices on the market. How do you like it, Tim Cook?

The headphones themselves are already outwardly good at not trying to imitate AirPods. The case is quite massive (a little over 7 grams), with a long leg. The latter greatly facilitates the process of inserting and removing modules, because the control is touchy, and one awkward touch can cause the headphones to execute an unexpected command. The manufacturer promises moisture protection IPX6, that is, any rain Pamu Unique should withstand without problems, but still you should not drop them into the sink.

Inside, the Qualcomm QCC3020 SoC is used, which for some reason is called “the most advanced” on the official Padmate website. With all due respect, this is a fairly old budget chip, which in bulk costs no more than 100 rubles (and in large batches they can drop up to dozens). It does not support the aptX HD codec, but it can only do aptX and AAC (aptX HD in old chipsets only has QCC3034). For everything else, there is Bluetooth 5.0.

Each module has one 6 mm driver. This, let’s say, is the average size – it happens a little less, it happens a little more. But in headphones, as in some other areas, the main role is played not so much by dimensions as by skill. In this case, the skill of engineers.

But to the point, to the point, reader!

In work

Pairing with a smartphone is easy and simple, with the exception of a small nuance: the device sees three devices, and you need to choose the right one. Fortunately, even if you make a mistake, the sound simply will not appear, and then you need to poke the next name Pamu Unique on the screen. The second attempt will work for sure! I must say right away, poke at the option where there are headphones with a microphone on the icon.

Speaking of the microphone. There are two of them in each module to subtract background noises. Rapid testing showed that the noise is indeed subtracted, but the voice is slightly roughened. This does not interfere with the conversations, but if you planned to use the headset for joint singing through Zoom (in the distance, it doesn’t even occur to you), then it’s better not to. There is also a “barrel effect”, because the headphones go deep into the ear canal and with the help of nozzles isolate it from the exchange of air with the outside world. There is a feeling as if you are talking with a stuffy nose and ears. There is nothing to be done, this is typical for the vast majority of earplugs. If that, one module can be pulled out.

Management, as mentioned above, is sensory. Everything, in general, is simple and logical – volume control, switching tracks, answering calls, calling a voice assistant. But no, no, and you’ll hurt the touch pad for no reason. It is possible that I have such big and awkward fingers. I would say that hardware buttons are much better, but there are enough of their own nuances. Best management is done on AirPods Pro, most likely someone would copy it.

About sound

First, I connected Pamu Unique to an Android smartphone, and specifically to Oppo Find X2. The sound is very pleased. Basses are powerful, resilient, but not clogging everything around them. The middle is drawn perfectly, without mixing sound sources and drowning out the neighbors. Treble is slightly trimmed from the top, but you may not notice this. I specifically looked for compositions where the tops matter, but everyone listens differently.

In general, the sound is excellent. Volumetric, detailed, with the right bass – I enjoyed all the compositions that I included. And I have so many of them.

In the description of Pamu Unique there is not a word about certification for working with iPhone, but in fact they, of course, are connected, and the management is functioning. But I absolutely do not recommend using these headphones with iPhones. By all indications, the basic SBC codec is used with them, and only bass remains from a very decent sound. The dull middle, no high, disappeared bulk … No, I do not advise. Unless of complete hopelessness.

Total

Good earphones. I did not quite understand the idea of changing the cover of the cover, but in the end, why not?

Everything rests only on the price of the issue. The model is completely new, it is not yet on Aliexpress, and Pamu Unique is not found on Yandex.Market either. Therefore, we will focus on the price of the official website , from where you can order a copy with delivery to Russia. Headphones cost 89 dollars, plus 8 dollars delivery. Total 97.

There is an opinion, a little expensive. Yes, of course, it is significantly cheaper than AirPods (not to mention AirPods Pro), but we have already found out that this model should not be connected to the iPhone, and there are a lot of alternatives for Android. For example, Creative Outlier Air Sports also supports aptX, lasts up to 10 hours and is protected from water, and costs 6 thousand rubles. Yes, they don’t have such an exquisite cover, but do you really need it?

It seems to me a reasonable price for this model in the region of 5.5-6 thousand rubles. Yes, of course, for 4 thousand it would be just wow, but miracles do not happen. Although, if you make the cover simpler, you can meet this price.

Once again, we are convinced that a lot has been learned in China to do well, but only at the same time as the quality increases to a serious level, the price will inevitably rise. We saw this on the example of Huawei and Xiaomi, welcome to look at Pamu now.

I recommend remembering this model and looking at what is happening there with pricing. One day she will make you happy.