Indignant Miao’s Cyberblade are a drool-worthy set of gaming wireless earbuds
MSRP $328.00
“Indignant Miao’s Cyberblade wireless earbuds are so beautifully designed that even non-gamers will want them.”
Pros
- Gorgeous design
- Ultra low latency
- Great sound quality
- Excellent ANC/transparency
- Excellent voice quality
Cons
- Limited in-app EQ settings
- No control customization
- Charging case poorly suited to travel
- May not satisfy hardcore gamers
I’m not much of a gamer, but I’m an enormous fan of wireless earbuds. So when an organization called Indignant Miao reached out to me to see if I’d prefer to review its latest gaming-oriented wireless earbuds, how could I say no? I mean, c’mon, with a reputation like Indignant Miao Cyberblade, I had to envision them out. Indignant Miao is currently drumming up support for the Cyberblade via a Kickstarter campaign with an early-bird price of $300, and the corporate will start selling them via its website later in 2022, for $328.
I may not know my Half-Life from my Halo, but Digital Trends’ resident PC and gaming hardware maestro, Jacob Roach, sure does. So we teamed up and put the angriest earbuds ever made to the test, to see (and listen to) what they’re all about.
What’s within the box?
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First, I would like to specific my admiration for the box itself. Indignant Miao has packaged the Cyberblades as if they were a collector’s item, and in some ways they’re. Pull off the box top and take away the highest protective layer of froth and also you’ll find all the components specified by their very own individual compartments.
You get two kinds of braided USB cable — a shorter USB-C to USB-C, and an extended USB-A to USB-C, which is smart because the USB-A version might be going to be utilized by those with desktop computers and the shorter one by those with laptops.
Then there’s a magnetic charging base, the earbuds’ charging case (with the Cyberblades already inside), a really comprehensive owners manual, and 7 additional types and sizes of eartips (three memory foam and a complete of 5 silicone suggestions if you include the preinstalled ones). Apart from the protective foam layer, the entire package may very well be recycled in case you wanted, but I think most buyers will hold onto it.
Why ‘gaming earbuds?’
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What makes a set of wireless earbuds a set of gaming wireless earbuds? For many who don’t already know, it’s all about latency. Normal Bluetooth connections introduce quite a little bit of lag time (anywhere from 100 milliseconds to 400 milliseconds) between when a sound is generated by a game and when it’s finally changed into a sound your ears can hear.
You’ll be able to get these wireless connections to run as little as 40 milliseconds, but your source device (PC or console) and your earbuds have to support a codec like Qualcomm’s aptX LL. And since Bluetooth audio is no-existent even on the PS5 and Xbox Series X, and PCs that do have Bluetooth often don’t support aptX LL, that you must do some serious homework to get an answer that works.
The Cyberblade effectively are a one-stop shop for low latency. The important thing, I’m told, is that Indignant Miao has embedded a further chip contained in the charging case. When the case is connected to a pc or console via one in every of the USB cables, that chip can create a wireless pathway to the chips in each Cyberblade earbud that runs at a really fast 36 milliseconds of latency. The corporate calls it the “Superfast” connection, which is one aspect of a technology Indignant Miao calls Energetic Sound Enhancement (ASE). Yeah, that’s quite a lot of branding, so we’ll break it down later into actual experiences.
The essential thing here is that there’s no have to worry about whether your source device and earbuds have the fitting codecs — it’s all contained inside the Cyberblade’s components.
Latency could be the most important factor for gamers, but it surely’s removed from the just one. Comfort, microphone quality, sound quality, and convenience features matter too. And since those things matter to non-gamers as well, an ideal set of gaming earbuds could find yourself being an ideal set of earbuds, period.
Design
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What distinguishes the Cyberblades from all other wireless earbuds isn’t just their low latency — it’s their entire design. They’re like no other earbuds I’ve ever seen.
Their charging case is way greater than a spot to accommodate and juice up the buds after they’re not in use. It also doubles as a beautifully crafted PC accessory for volume control, microphone muting, and EQ mode. The important thing ingredient is its magnetically latching lid, which can be a rotating dial with push-button functionality. Embedded in its top surface is an LED light ring that not only looks stunning, but it surely’s also practical: each color pattern (some that animate, some that don’t) represents status information for charging, microphone muting, and EQ mode.
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All of those features work when the case is plugged right into a PC (or a Mac), but in case you use the case alone, it’d shift and slide around in your desktop. That’s presumably why the Cyberblade was designed with an angled, magnetic base. It’s weighty, solid, has a set of rubber feet, and has its own LED lighting system that’s visible through the transparent acrylic beam on the back.
If you plug the USB cable into the back of the bottom as an alternative of the case, those LED lights match the colour and animation kind of the case lid, and the bottom can pass power and data seamlessly to the case.
When placed together, the bottom and case appear and feel identical to a jog controller from knowledgeable video-editing suite. The magnetic links between the lid, the case, and the bottom let each component snap precisely into place, but you could have to rotate them a bit to make sure the electrical contacts line up.
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My only critique is that the lid magnets are much stronger than those connecting the case and the bottom, so when you ought to remove or replace the earbuds, that you must hold the case with one hand whilst you remove the lid with the opposite. The bottom magnets just aren’t powerful enough to do that move one-handed and also you’ll pull the case right off the bottom in case you do. The highest of the case lid also tends to indicate your fingerprint oils over time.
By the way in which, the case can even charge wirelessly on any Qi-compatible charging mat, so that you don’t have to haul across the base in case you’re traveling. However, the case is so big, it won’t slot in a pocket. It’s also such a fundamental a part of the Cybeblade experience that I’d be nervous about damaging it by sticking it in a handbag or backpack. It could really do with its own protective travel case.
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There are three color options for the Cyberblade: Shell Black (a glossy fingerprint-magnet iridescent/translucent set of earbuds with a gray/black case and base), Ghost White (matte white earbuds, white/silver case and base), and The Dark Side, a completely blacked-out color scheme. Within the accompanying photos, you may see the Shell Black and Ghost White versions.
Though equivalent in features, there’s one essential difference between these options. Ghost White and The Dark Side have case lids with easily finished aluminum, however the Shell Black edition gets a knurled finish that gives loads more grip. Each are gorgeous, but I like the knurled dial of the Shell Black model.
The Cyberblade earbuds tell their very own unique design story. Indignant Miao says it took inspiration from the sport Horizon Zero Dawn, which led to the triangular shape and integrated LED light strip. Speaking of that LED light, I do know you’re wondering: can it’s customized or turned off? Yes. The available Android app (to be followed by an iOS app) permits you to switch between two preset LED light displays (Flowing Light and The Dark Side), and two customizable displays (Blinking and Sparkling) which might be color-edited right within the app. You’ll be able to turn off the LED completely using the earbud touch controls.
If you’re not using the Cyberblades via the wired/Superfast connection, they work like several other set of Bluetooth earbuds, capable of pair together with your alternative of smartphone, with each AAC and SBC codec support. And though they shouldn’t be considered waterproof, with an IPX4 rating, they should not have any problem with a little bit of rain or sweat so long as you wipe and dry them afterward.
Comfort, controls, and connections
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The a part of the Cyberblades that sits inside your ear is formed identical to the AirPods Pro. And despite their larger exterior, they only weigh 6.5 grams, which is to say, they’re very comfortable even for prolonged periods. But gamers often push these boundaries farther than most earbud users — as much as 5.1 hours in a median binge gaming session in keeping with at the very least one study.
If that’s the form of gaming you prefer to do, I’m unsure any earbuds will remain comfortable enough to maintain you going. You should definitely take a look at the abundance of eartips within the box — not only will they provide you with an enormous number of fit options, but they’ll enable you to recover bass and ANC performance if you find ones that create a extremely good seal.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
The charging case’s rotating lid has a delicate notchiness because it spins, which feels great and reinforces that studio-quality vibe. It’s perfect for controlling volume, but I guarantee you’ll end up spinning at other times too, simply because it’s so fun to achieve this. It’s also an enormous button, that has a really distinct click mechanism. It takes a little bit of pressure to push it, but that’s probably a great thing.
When in Superfast mode, a single click mutes or unmutes your mics (the LED ring goes solid red to remind you if you’re on mute), a long-press switches between the three available EQ modes (more on them in a sec), and a double-click switches the earbuds from Superfast mode to plain Bluetooth mode. If you happen to’ve already paired the Cyberblades to your phone, they immediately reconnect (or to whichever device they were last connected to). A single click when in Bluetooth mode returns you to Superfast mode.
So while the Cyberblades may not officially support Bluetooth Multipoint, this fast device switching is the subsequent smartest thing and works similarly to Apple’s version of iCloud-based audio switching.
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For the earbuds, Angy Miao once more looked to the AirPods Pro for his or her control inspiration. Each triangular stem has a flat section on the front edge that’s used for squeeze gestures. You recognize you’ve squeezed appropriately since you’ll hear an actual mechanical click. With single-, double-, triple-, and long-squeeze gestures, you may control play/pause, track skip forward/back, ANC mode change, and call answer/end, in addition to switch the LEDs on and off.
Not having a volume adjustment is a little bit of an inconvenience, but some people could be more frustrated by the shortage of voice assistant access.
There’s also no technique to customize any of those gestures within the app, but at the very least the presence of an app implies that Indignant Miao can issue firmware updates over time and might, if it might, add these features later. There’s also no technique to defeat the built-in wear sensors, which auto-pause and resume your audio if you remove and replace the earbuds.
When in Bluetooth mode, the buds use Bluetooth 5.2. I discovered them easy to pair with each iOS and Android devices, and the connection remained strong as much as about 20 feet indoors. In Superfast mode, that distance was a bit shorter — around 10 feet.
Sound quality and latency
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Music and flicks sound incredible on the Cyberblades. It’s a extremely wealthy and full sonic experience with an enormous dynamic range across all the frequencies, particularly within the low-end where you may really feel the bass. It may not have the form of ultra-precise detail audiophiles are seeking — there are higher wireless earbuds for that — but they make up for that with a soundstage that is very immersive; one might almost call it cinematic.
The highs are very clear if not quite crystalline, and the midtones are very satisfying. If the factory EQ isn’t to your liking, you may make two sorts of tweaks: the Android app permits you to pick from three EQ presets (soft, vocal, and bass) — these stick with the earbuds no matter your connection mode. But in Superfast mode, it’s also possible to select from a further three additional EQ modes (gaming, movie, and music).
Indignant Miao says that movie mode provides a virtual 7.1-channel surround sound presentation, music mode delivers “studio-level” EQ, and gaming mode is supposed to enhance your spatial awareness of footsteps and gunshots while performing as little processing as possible to maintain that all-important low latency.
Each mode definitely sounds quite different from the opposite, and in reality, you would possibly prefer one in your chosen listening activity even when it’s not the mode Indignant Miao recommends. I enjoyed listening to music in each movie and music mode, as an example. The most important difference is that movie mode offered a more expansive sound stage (and was absolutely the most effective mode for watching movies), while music mode made things tighter and clearer, with less low-end bass.
Here’s Jacob Roach’s tackle using the Cyberblade buds for gaming, using gaming mode:
“The Cyberblade earbuds are great for gaming, but they expose why traditional over-ear gaming headsets are still the popular technique to play. The spatial sound in games like Destiny 2 is great, and there’s loads of tremendous detail within the high-end to discover things like footsteps and gunshots from a distance. The essential difference is that you just don’t have that little sonic bubble around your ears that gaming headsets provide, so that you don’t get the identical level of immersion that you just would get with a standard gaming headset.
“I’m reaching for the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pros if I would like full detail, however the Cyberblades are still a great option, especially in case you play games where hearing a pin drop doesn’t matter as much. In a game like Doom Everlasting, for instance, the Cyberblades sound great. But in Halo Infinite multiplayer where sound placement and small details make the difference, I wouldn’t bring out Indignant Miao’s earbuds.
“That’s the duality between gaming earbuds and headsets immediately as an entire. For the Cyberblades specifically, latency makes the difference. I couldn’t tell the difference between the low-latency gaming mode and the two.4GHz connection on the Arctis Nova Pros in Metal: Hellsinger, which is a rhythm game that’s particularly punishing to audio latency.”
Noise cancellation and transparency
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The Cyberblades haven’t any problem silencing unwelcome background sounds. Whether that you must consider in-game sounds, or you simply need a break from all of the chatter in your office, home, or local coffee shop, the ANC function makes an enormous difference. It’s not quite pretty much as good as what you’ll find on the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, but considering the Cyberblades’ mission as a set of gaming earbuds, I don’t think that’s going to be a deal-breaker for most folk.
Transparency mode is superb and permits quite a lot of external sound. Almost an excessive amount of — Indignant Miao is clearly using some amplification to allow you to hear what’s occurring, and at times I desired to tone it down, but there’s no technique to achieve this.
Still, it’s easy to change between ANC and transparency with an extended squeeze of the earbud stems, and if you ought to turn each off, you may achieve this within the app.
Call and voice quality
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Whether you’re taking calls in your phone or using the Cyberblades for in-game voice, you’ll be heard loud and clear. I used to be expecting superb indoor performance from these buds, which they actually deliver, but I used to be surprised how well they work in busy, outdoor environments too.
Even with the sound of traffic right beside me as I walked down the road, the Cyberblades did a superb job of minimizing that noise and keeping my voice from getting compressed or drowned out, something that even expensive wireless earbuds have been known to fail at.
Battery life
Remember earlier once I was discussing how long some gamers binge-play? The Cyberblades appear to be built with exactly that form of usage in mind, with a claimed six hours per charge and about 24 hours in total if you include their charging case.
In my testing, that’s kind of right on the cash so long as you retain volume no higher than 50%. Crank it up higher — say, 65% to 70% and you may expect that to drop to about five hours.
Unfortunately, there’s no fast-charge option, so in case your buds are dead, they’ll take about 1.5 hours to completely charge.
As a set of gaming-oriented noise-canceling wireless earbuds, the Cyberblades are an unequivocal success. They sound great, they’ve an industrial design that’s each stunning to take a look at and really well-thought-out. Yhey achieve a sub-40 millisecond latency that puts them close enough to a dedicated wireless headset that almost all gamers won’t notice any difference. With ANC, transparency, and voice quality that’s near the highest of what you’ll get from the likes of Sony, Bose, and Apple, they even perform surprisingly well as non-dedicated computer earbuds.
The true query isn’t whether the Cyberblades are price it — like Indignant Miao’s $700 keyboard, I believe they justify their premium price quite easily — it’s whether wireless earbuds make sense for gaming in the primary place. If you happen to’re willing to provide them a go and take note Jacob’s cautions, they’ll reward you with a really unique wireless earbud experience.
Just don’t forget that in case you decide to back the Cybeblade via Kickstarter, the standard caveats and warnings apply.
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