These Fender headphones last all day, but they won’t be replacing my Sonys in the near future

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There’s a new headphone brand in town. You’ve seen it before, but perhaps scattered across a guitar amp or your favorite rock legend. shock protection is the latest player in the consumer audio game, and its new Mix headphones are no lightweight competitors.

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If you’re looking for affordable headphones with multiple connectivity options, solid audio, good noise-canceling, and a marathon battery, then fender mix Headphones are a worthy option.

Don’t get me wrong; They’re a solid first time effort, but Fender will have to iron out some shortcomings.

Right off the bat, I can say that the Fender Mix doesn’t compare to flagship headphones from Sony or Bose in audio or noise cancellation performance. Still, they offer a better experience than budget options from those companies within the $200 price range.

Mix can achieve 96kHz/24-bit audio quality in Lossless mode, latency as low as 20ms in Low Latency mode, and is compatible with Auracast, wired and USB-C audio transmission. There’s a wireless transmitter behind the removable left earcup, which helps improve the audio quality and latency of mixes without being tied down by a wire.

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I connected the Mix to my iPhone 17 over a standard Bluetooth connection and observed a very bass-heavy, unbalanced audio response. It seemed as if the left speaker channel handled more bass and lower-mids than the right, which was distracting to listen to. I plugged the USB-C wireless transmitter into my phone and reconnected the headphones, and the difference was night and day.

When listened to this way, the mics sounded significantly more balanced, putting their audio response on par with similarly priced options from JBL or Beats. One major drawback is that the Mix doesn’t have a dedicated companion app, so there’s no way to toggle EQ settings other than pressing the multifunction button to cycle through “Music,” “Voice,” and “Entertainment” presets.

Without the app, all of the Mix’s settings are controlled by two multifunction buttons on the right earcup: one joystick-like button handles power, device connection, volume, play/pause, and track skip, while the other handles noise cancellation mode and EQ mode.

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I prefer a multifunction button, especially one that behaves like a joystick, but this one little control feature is too much work. Without a visual component to control the Mix headphones, you have to listen for chimes that indicate feature changes, or remember the colors and flashing patterns of the LED indicators to know which feature you have engaged.

Noise cancellation is good and at par with Sennheiser or JBL. In quiet to moderately noisy environments, such as an office, mics reduce outside noise to a minimum, but in noisier environments, they falter.

I took the mics to the gym and connected them to my phone via a USB-C dongle. Their noise cancellation struggled to drown out overhead music and machinery noise, and turning up the volume greatly worsened their audio response, overextending the bass and making vocals and instruments sound muddy. A companion app could have mitigated this problem, but I wouldn’t recommend wearing over-ear headphones at the gym anyway.

Another reason I wouldn’t bring these to the gym is their modular nature. The earpads are removable for stylist preferences, and the battery behind the right ear cup is easily accessible for self-repair. Thus, you would not want to get these headphones wet, as this could easily reach the vital components and damage them.

ZDNET’s shopping advice

fender mix The headphones are a solid choice for users who want headphones that get the job done and offer multiple ways to stay connected. The USB-C dongle is most valuable for those who want headphones that perform well in the office or study room and offer low latency for low-risk gaming while traveling or between meetings or classes.

If more reliable audio and noise-canceling performance, plus a companion app for customization, are important to you, I’d skip the Fender Mix. Instead, consider this Bose QuietComfort Headphones Or jbl live 770nc.