Balanced sound wrapped in a budget case!
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Review Overview
4
Value for money
9/10
At NPR 1,999, the Redmi Buds 5A stands out with its clean, balanced sound, reliable call quality, and lightweight design. The ANC is only okay, and the battery life isn't anything special, but its overall performance still makes it one of the better budget earbuds at this price.
Design and Comfort
8/10
Sound
8.5/10
Noise cancellation
6/10
Call quality
9/10
Battery life
7/10
Walk into any electronics store in Kathmandu and ask for earbuds under two thousand rupees, and the shopkeeper will pull out a handful of boxes promising more or less the same thing: ANC, decent battery, bass that hits hard. Most of them look identical on paper too, same claims, same "best in segment" tag on every box. But one name kept coming up more than the rest, the Redmi Buds 5A. So I picked up a pair and lived with it for a week, keeping the Ultima Boom 141 close by too, since that's the earbud people keep mentioning in the same conversation. At NPR 1,999, here's what I actually found.
Redmi Buds 5A Specifications:
- Design: In-ear fit, all-plastic build
- Dimensions and weight: Dimensions unspecified, 3.6 gm (per earbud)
- Water resistance: IPX4 splash resistance
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.4 (no multi-point support)
- Sound driver: 12 mm dynamic drivers
- Audio codecs: SBC
- Noise cancellation: Yes (up to 25dB)
- Battery: Up to 30 hours of music playback without ANC (earbuds + case)
- Control: Touch controls
- Companion app: Xiaomi Earbuds (Android | iOS)
Quick Price Comparison
| Device Name | Price in Nepal | Price in India |
| Redmi Buds 5A | NPR | INR 1,099 |
Redmi Buds 5A Review:
Design: Decent build, tricky open
- Matte finish with a glossy strip
- Magnetic lock for the earbuds
- Extra ear tip sizes included
I liked the case the moment I picked it up. It has a matte finish with a glossy strip running across it, and it's flat and compact too, comfy enough to slip into any pocket. One weird thing is, the branding sits on the back of the case while the front is left blank, so my first attempt at opening it went in from the wrong end, and even now, I still get confused sometimes. Not a real issue, just a small mismatch but I'm still wondering why they did this.
Past that confusion, the earbuds click securely into their magnetic slots, so they don't rattle around when the case is tossed into a bag, and the ear stems have a nice glossy finish too. The only real miss is no USB-C cable in the box, so I had to arrange one myself.
Fit
I used the smaller of the two included ear tip sizes, and they stayed comfortable through long work stretches, and thanks to the IPX4 splash resistance, I didn't have to worry when caught in light rain either. However, my sister borrowed them for her online classes but they kept slipping out of her smaller ears even with both tip sizes tried. Due to this loose-fitting seal, outside noise doesn't block out properly either. So, fit really comes down to the individual here, and it's worth testing both sizes before you commit.
Connectivity and Pairing
- Bluetooth 5.4
- Google Fast Pair Support
- No multi-point/dual device support
Pairing is genuinely effortless. Open the case near your phone, and it connects almost instantly. On compatible Android phones, Google Fast Pair takes it a step further by showing a pop-up as soon as you open the case, so you can connect with a quick tap instead of going into Bluetooth settings and looking for the earbuds.
The downside is the lack of multi-point pairing. I had to switch between phone and laptop by manually disconnecting and reconnecting rather than hopping seamlessly between the two, which feels frustrating for something I do multiple times a day.
Controls
The gestures here work much like most earbuds in this range: a single tap to play or pause, a double tap to skip to the next track, a triple tap for calls and gaming mode, and a long press to cycle through ANC, Transparency, and Off. Everything worked reliably, and the earbuds played a sound with each tap to let me know the input was registered.
What it doesn't have, though, is a previous track gesture. So every time I wanted to replay a song, I had to pull out my phone or switch tabs on my laptop just to hit back, which honestly feels like a "hyaaaaaaa" moment (my go-to word for exactly this kind of letdown).
Sound: Neutral tuning
- 12mm dynamic driver
- Neutral, balanced tuning
I put them through a bit of everything—bass-heavy tracks, high-energy songs, mellow vocals, and plenty of Bollywood too. Just to name few—I played Starboy by The Weeknd, and those opening few seconds just sounded really good to me on these earbuds, while Easy on Me by Adele and Iktara from Wake Up Sid helped me see how they handled softer vocals and acoustic elements. I tried plenty of other tracks as well, and across the mix, the earbuds stayed consistently good.
That said, the experience wasn't exactly the same at every volume. The bass does get a little soft at lower volumes, but turning it up slightly fixes that. At the same low volume, I also noticed an odd quirk: the sound sometimes felt more open, almost like it was coming out of my ears rather than sitting inside them. It wasn't actual sound leakage that anyone around me could hear, just a slightly unusual sensation I noticed while listening. Maybe it's simply how these earbuds are tuned.
The Buds 5A only runs on the SBC codec, with no AAC, and honestly, that's a bit disappointing. AAC feels like the bare minimum I'd expect from earbuds right now, especially for iPhone users, since it can generally offer better audio quality and efficiency over Bluetooth than SBC. So yeah, without AAC, it just feels like something is missing from the package.
The soundstage and imaging are decent too, with instruments feeling reasonably well separated instead of blending into one another. That carries over to casual gaming too, where the low-latency mode kept the audio reasonably in sync. It’s a useful addition at this price, even if gaming isn’t really their main strength.
Overall, I found the tuning fairly neutral and easy to listen to. You can definitely get a more refined and exciting sound by spending a little more, especially if you move up to the NPR 2,500–3,000 range. For example, the Redmi Buds 6 Play at NPR 2,499 and Soundcore P20i at NPR 2,999 offer a more engaging sound along with some extra features. But at NPR 1,999, I actually liked that the Buds 5A keeps things balanced instead of pushing the bass too hard.
ANC: Barely noticeable
This was one of the weaker points. Switching ANC on and off, I could barely notice a difference, even though the earbuds fit me well. As I said earlier, a looser seal already makes it harder to block outside noise, so for someone like my sister, who couldn’t get a proper fit, the ANC would likely feel even less effective.
Transparency mode is a separate story, and not a better one. I felt it in my office with music playing, expecting to at least catch a coworker talking to me, and I genuinely struggled to hear them clearly. It's meant to let outside sound in, but here, it just doesn't work well enough.
Calling: The strongest part
This is where the Buds 5A quietly wins. Indoors, calls come through completely clean with zero disturbance. I also tested it on the way home from the office, right in the middle of traffic, and it still held up well, my voice came through clear enough that nobody on the other end asked me to repeat myself.
That makes these earbuds particularly useful for people who spend a lot of time on calls, online meetings, or classes. Students joining college, attending online lectures, or even someone who regularly spends hours on calls can get a lot out of this kind of call quality without spending much more.
The AI-based ENC also deserves some credit here. It does a good job of picking up my voice while cutting down much of the surrounding noise, making the Buds 5A one of the more reliable budget options I've used for calls.
App Support
This app feels more like a formality than an actual tool, it doesn't really do anything. First off, I couldn't even pair it by setting my region to Nepal, and I had to switch it to India in the app settings before pairing would actually work. Worth knowing if you're in Nepal and trying this out too.
Once that's sorted, the app lets you check battery levels and switch between ANC, Transparency, and Off modes, along with a toggle for low-latency mode. Though honestly, I didn't find myself needing the app much since the controls on the earbuds handle most of this with simple taps. If you want to try it, there's also a QR code on the box that takes you straight to the Xiaomi Earbuds app.
For EQ or any real sound customization, you'd have to install a third-party app instead, something I didn't even bother doing. Shouldn't all of this just be built into the official app in the first place? So yeah, Xiaomi put in no effort at all here.
Battery
Xiaomi claims up to 5 hours of playback on the buds alone, although your actual mileage will depend on things like volume and ANC usage. In practice, it falls a bit short of that. I started using them at 10 AM with ANC off and volume at 60%, and by lunchtime around 1 PM, just about 3 hours in, they had already dropped to 10%. I kept going even at that 10% mark, and they managed around another hour before one side finally gave out.
A short break in the case was enough to bring them back to a full charge, so while the playback time on a single charge falls short of what's advertised, it's not that big a turn off in day to day use.
Redmi Buds 5A vs Ultima Boom 141
The Ultima Boom 141 is a solid option from the Nepali brand Ultima, especially if you like a bass-heavy sound. Its battery lasted longer than the Redmi's, but I wouldn't say its 30dB ANC is a huge advantage either. It did make some difference with traffic and AC noise, but it wasn't anything impressive.
I found myself reaching for the Redmi more often, though. Its more balanced sound was easier to listen to for longer, and the better imaging made instruments feel more separated. I also preferred its case, which is compact, feels sturdy, and makes it easy to take the earbuds out. The Boom 141's case feels bulkier in comparison, and I found the earbuds a little more difficult to take out.
So, if you want stronger bass and better battery life, the Boom 141 makes sense. But for me, the Redmi Buds 5A offered the more enjoyable overall experience.
Conclusion
Living with the Redmi Buds 5A for about a week, I'd say Xiaomi has put together a genuinely solid pair of earbuds for the price. They're clearly built for people who want a neutral, balanced sound over a bass-heavy one, and the tuning alone carries most of the experience, even without much else backing it up.
A few things I wish were different:
- A previous track gesture
- Better ear tip options to support a tighter seal, and by extension, more effective ANC
- An app that adds something beyond what the gestures already do
None of these are dealbreakers for me though. At NPR 1,999, the Redmi Buds 5A is an easy recommendation if you want dependable, balanced sound without overspending, especially if bass isn't the deciding factor for you.
Redmi Buds 5A review: Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Neutral, balanced sound | ANC barely makes a difference |
| Strong, reliable call quality | Weak battery backup on the buds |
| Sturdy case with fast, effortless pairing | Fit isn't guaranteed for smaller ears |
| Good value for the price | No AAC codec, SBC only |
Article Last updated: August 30, 2026
