Haylou S30 review: budget headphones with HiRes Audio

Want big headphones with a detachable remote microphone, but without the aggressive-gamer aesthetic? And wireless, of course? And with active noise cancellation? Then the Haylou S30 is a worthy choice, especially if you're looking for options around $50. With a classic design, a wealth of features, mobile app customisation and a couple of crazy control tricks, both nice and not so nice, there's a lot to talk about.

4 reasons to buy Haylou S30:

• adequate sound with effective noise cancellation;
• easy and quick activation of transparency mode;
• wired connection of the sound source and external microphone;
• Multipoint function for simultaneous connection to two devices.

2 reasons not to buy Haylou S30:

• the control features take some getting used to;
• you need a professional headset with a microphone mute button.

What's in the box?

This model is available in two versions: with and without a separate microphone. The first, top-end one (we got it for review) is called "Pro version" in a respectable way. In addition to headphones and microphone in the box you can find an audio cable 120 centimetres long and a short charging cord from USB-A to USB-C. On the manufacturer's renders, the "professional" version also comes with a pouch for storage and transport, but the sample that arrived for review didn't have it yet. Probably, there will be even three variants of the package: the basic one has everything, the minimal one has nothing (neither a case nor a microphone), and we got the middle variant. In general, when buying, pay attention to the differences in the kits available to you.

What do they look like?

Haylou S30 is offered in two colours: black (dark blue, to be more exact) and white (beige, rather). Both variants look quite universal, no gamer's "acid". Just the light variant came to the test.

In front of us are full-size headphones with a widespread, and therefore familiar mechanism of adjustment and transformation. The cups can fold into the middle of the headband and rotate along the vertical axis, as well as ride up and down to adjust the size.

The ear cushions and the inside of the headband are soft. The manufacturer called the material used Protein Leather, it is a kind of artificial leather, quite pleasant to the touch. All plastic surfaces are hard and matte, non-marking.

On the outside of each bowl there is a slot for the microphone used by the noise cancelling system. There is nothing else on the left bowl, but the right bowl has three control buttons, a USB-C port, audio cable and microphone connectors, as well as a built-in talking microphone and LED indicator. One more noise-cancelling microphone is hidden inside the cups, but they are not visible.

The detachable microphone has a 10 centimetre long flexible chrome leg, bend and twist as you like. For connection, a three-pin "micro jack" with a diameter of 2.5 mm is used. This is not the most common solution, so if you lose a microphone, it will be harder to find a similar one on sale than for more usual 3.5mm connectors, which are usually used in gamer headsets. By the way, the port for audio cable is standard, 3.5mm, and the complete cable has TRRS minijacks. That is, with a wired connection you get not just headphones, but a full-fledged headset with a microphone.

How to connect and set up?

Connection is as simple as possible: the first time you switch the headphones on, they automatically enter pairing mode and appear in the list of available devices on your smartphone or other audio source. But the Haylou S30 also supports two sources at once. Of course, they won't mix two audio signals into one, but you can connect the headphones to two smartphones at once and receive calls from either of them without any reconnection. To connect the second device, you need to switch the headphones off and then hold down the power button for five seconds. This will put them into pairing mode without disconnecting them from the previously connected device. Select the headphones in the list on the second device and activate them on the first device. Done, now both are connected!

That's about the connection. As for the setup, the Haylou Sound mobile app will help us here. It recognises the headphones connected to your smartphone automatically, so you don't need to connect anything separately. In the app you can select the noise cancellation mode, activate or deactivate the game mode, use one of six EQ presets, and update the firmware. Not a lot of features, but thanks enough for that.

How are the controls?

In terms of controls, the Haylou S30s are very similar to the neighbouring Haylou S35 ANC model we've already tested. And, in a nutshell, the complaint is the same: such big headphones and so few buttons that we had to put several functions on each button.

But let's still briefly describe the control features. So, we have three buttons, all of them gathered on the right bowl, tactilely not different from each other.

The power button (it is also multifunctional) is also responsible for the "play/pause" function, by double pressing it switches on the next track in the player, and by triple pressing it switches on the previous track. In case of an incoming call, a short press accepts the call and a long press rejects it.

The volume button increases the volume with a short press and decreases it with a long press.

Pressing the ANC button cycles through the noise cancellation modes: on, with transparency, off.

Ah, there is one more button, secret and invisible. More precisely, not even a button, but a touch area. The central flat part of the right bowl surface is a touch-sensitive button. If you put your finger on it, while you hold it, the sound in the headphones will be muted and the transparency mode will be activated. That is, the noise cancellation system begins not to suppress, but, on the contrary, to amplify external sounds, so that you could hear them as if you had removed the headphones at all. It's a very handy feature. Double tap on this area launches the bass boost mode, and triple tap - gaming mode with reduced latency.

How do they work?

Active use of the controls on the headphones will take some getting used to. The most complaints - to the "one-button" volume control. Conversely, switching on the transparency mode by touching the touch button is a completely natural gesture, and you don't need to get used to it. All kinds of switching modes are accompanied by sound signals in the headphones. It's better than nothing, but more specific voice prompts about what exactly I just switched on or off would have been more convenient.

According to the spec sheet, the Haylou S30s provide up to -43dB of noise cancellation, a token 1dB more than the Haylou S35 ANC model. I didn't notice such a difference in practice, but it's clear that the noise cancellation is quite effective, especially in the low frequency range. Concentrating at work without distractions? No problem.

The ability to work in parallel with two bluetooth sources can also be useful. The most obvious examples are a laptop and a smartphone or a pair of smartphones (for example, personal and work, if this issue can not be solved by using two SIM cards in one device). This feature is found in many headphones, but not in all of them, so I always mention it in the list of advantages.

What about battery life?

It's good that modern headphones use a standard USB-C connector for charging. If there was some unusual cable here, it would be a shame to lose it in the long time between charges. The Haylou S30, with its 600mAh battery, promises up to 80 hours without noise cancellation and up to 50 hours with ASH enabled. This is a noticeable step up from the Haylou S35 ANC model, where with the same battery the estimated maximum runtime is 60 hours. It takes about two and a half hours to fully charge the headphones.

How do they sound?

The Haylou S30s are equipped with typical 40mm dynamic drivers and deliver a predictable sound for their price category. Not audiophile, but great for everyday use. It seems that the engineers paid special attention to working out the low-frequency range. It can even be emphasised by double-tapping the touch-sensitive area on the right bowl. The effect that is achieved is called either Bass Boost or Spatial Audio, but in fact it corresponds to the former rather than the latter. It's nothing like the spatial effect in the same AirPods. If the bass is too much for you, try playing with the EQ presets in the Haylou Sound app. But most likely, the bottleneck in sound quality will be not headphones with Hi-Res Audio certification, but the quality of audio files played back, unless they are loseless-formats.

Separately we need to tell about the remote microphone. It has a hypercardioid directional pattern and can increase your privacy and sound quality when talking. Moreover, quite noticeably. The inbuilt conversation microphone is not bad by itself, but when you connect the remote microphone, the voice sound becomes noticeably better. It's a pity that there is no separate button to switch off the microphone. It is very sensitive, and if you just bend it to the side, you will still be heard well, no cardioid does not save you. But you can tightly clamp the microphone hole with your finger (it's easy to find by touch) and thus completely block the sound. That's such a 2024-style hack.

How comfortable are they?

The Haylou S30s are easily adjustable to different sizes and fit well on the head without a tendency to slip. The leatherette ear cushions (sorry, protein leather) can create a "greenhouse effect" in summer, but you should either get a different ear design or look for a model with fabric trim. Conveniently, the remote microphone is easy to twist in any direction, but it clearly retains the set shape.

Three things to know about the Haylou S30:

• These are large, closed-back headphones with active noise cancellation;
• have a plug-in microphone on a flexible stem that noticeably improves sound;
• can work simultaneously with two devices via bluetooth and also supports wired connection