Baseus Bowie MC2 Clip-On Earbuds review: For $60, I’m impressed

Not long after the release of Bose’s high-priced Ultra Open Earbuds, budget earbuds began to appear, and they sounded average and looked very cheap. But over the past few months, I’ve tested an increasing number of affordable versions of this new style of open-back wireless earbuds that sound amazingly good. Case in point: Baseus’ Bowie MC2 in disguiseIt costs $80 but you can get it $60 after entering a $20 off coupon on their product page on Amazon or the company’s site.

Read more: The 6 Best Clip-On Earbuds I Tested in 2026

The Bowie MC2 improves on the previous MC1 with better sound quality and a slightly smaller design. (Don’t confuse it with the cheap $10 MC2 Air buds, which is a small step for sound and build quality.) They are also more comfortable, thanks to the improved “slim wave C-ring” and “air cushions” that come in three sizes.

Equipped with Bluetooth 6.0, it’s IP67 certified, meaning the buds are completely waterproof and dustproof, making them perfect for runners and cyclists. I also like that they have a physical control button on each earbud to control playback and adjust volume. (You can customize controls and adjust calibration settings in the Baseus companion app.)

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Clean, slightly loud sound

Buds offer slightly better performance in Bowie MC1 Pro. I felt they sounded a little cleaner with a bigger sound overall and less distortion at higher volumes. (The MC2 has slightly larger 11-millimeter drivers instead of the 10.8mm driver found in the MC1 Pro.)

The sound changes slightly depending on where you place the buds in your ears, with small adjustments delivering more bass. These buds, like other clip-on open buds, are not designed for serious listening. But what is remarkable is that the sound is now respectable, it has a decent bass and treble response and the mids sound natural (where the voices live). Because they’re open earbuds — and they sound open, which is great — they do better in quiet environments because ambient noise will enter your ears and compete with whatever you’re listening to.

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Compared to competing models, Earfun has improved its sound Clip 2 earbuds from the original A clip buds. However, they didn’t fit my ears and the Baseus Bowie MC2 buds, and the sound ended up coming across as a bit more muted (less open) in comparison because the driver sat outside my ear. I also thought the MC2’s sound was remarkably clean, especially at higher volumes. Also, the bass response was better to my ears. Again, some of these sound differences may be affected by fit, but I would still rate the Baseus buds higher in sound quality. (I pushed the drivers closer to my ears to improve the sound quality to try to end the fit as flexible as possible.)

Although not in the same league as Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds, Shokz’ Open the Dots or Baseus his Encourage the XC1 clip-on buds, which are a very small step down in sound quality but are much less expensive.

Like the MC1 Pro, these have LDAC (as well as AAC and SBC) audio codec support for Android devices and multi-point Bluetooth pairing. A low-latency playback mode is also available.

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Good voice call performance and battery life

Voice acting skills are also good; like the MC1 Pro, they have two microphones per bud. Callers told me they heard a little background noise, while my voice sounded acceptably clear when talking to them on the noisy streets of New York.

As for battery life, the buds are rated for up to 11.5 hours at moderate volume levels with bass boost engaged. (Baseus markets this as Super Bass 3.0.) That’s a higher battery life than most noise-cancelling earbuds, usually in the 6- to 8-hour range. I kept the bass up when listening to music and the volume around 60% to 70%, so I barely hit the 11.5 hour mark and registered close to 10 hours of playback.

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Final thoughts on Baseus Bowie MC2

Baseus is quickly becoming a leader in value headphones and earbuds, and its Bowie MC2 buds are easily among the best budget earbuds I’ve tested since June 2026. They cost around $60 on Amazon, and Baseus also throws in a bonus item with your purchase. From this writing, you can find out Baseus BP1 Pro noise canceling buds, priced at $24. Baseus bonus items have a tendency to change over time, so that item may be different in the future or not available at all. But for now, getting an extra set of ANC earbuds with a set of premium clip-on buds that exceeded my expectations is a pretty good deal.