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Updated April 10, 2024·
If you're on a tight budget and need earbuds that are sweatproof for exercise, the Baseus Bowie MA10 is a good choice, with a very good comfort level, built-in controls, and long battery life. However, the overall sound quality is just fair, and not ideal for music or calls. On the other hand, the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II, while pricier, delivers best-in-class sound quality for music and a very good soundstage. The downside is poor mic quality, lack of wireless connectivity, and they aren't suited for exercise or travel due to no noise cancelling and average portability. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Baseus Bowie MA10
Very good for exercise
Very good for air travel
Advantages of the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II
Best in class for music
Very good for TV and video
Good for podcasts and audiobooks
Key differences
Music
5.8/10
9.5/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is best in class for music, while the Baseus Bowie MA10 is poor.
Gaming
5.3/10
6.7/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is only fair for gaming, while the Baseus Bowie MA10 is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
5.7/10
7.9/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Baseus Bowie MA10 is poor.
TV and Video
5.8/10
8.8/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is very good for TV and video, while the Baseus Bowie MA10 is poor.
Noise Reduction
6.7/10
6.0/10
The Baseus Bowie MA10 and Thieaudio Monarch Mk II are both only fair for noise reduction, though the Baseus Bowie MA10 is somewhat better.
Battery
8.0 Hours
N/A
The Baseus Bowie MA10 has 8 hours of battery life. The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II does not have a battery.
Cost
$23
$999
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
The Baseus Bowie MA10 has a price of $23 and the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II costs $999.
Build Quality
8.5/10
9.0/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II has excellent build quality, while the Baseus Bowie MA10 has very good build quality.
"Even if the Bowie MA10 only had some of the features and performance they offer at double the price, they’d be a helluva good value. But given that they far exceed any other earbuds at this price, if you’re looking for an ultra-affordable set of wireless earbuds and you don’t mind their big charging case, you just can’t go wrong."
"No other earphone I have listened to in the past 12 months has given me as much joy as the Thieaduio Monarch MKII. One of those IEMs will make you question where we can go from here. The sound is jaw-dropping, leaving you wanting more and more. It makes you want to run through your entire music library and reevaluate. It makes you not feel bad about paying full price for them, especially in a hobby where buyers' remorse is genuine. For me, it's top tier, rivaled by a few but not surpassed."
Get a great deal on the Baseus Bowie MA10 or the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II
About Thieaudio
Thieaudio is the in-house brand of Linsoul Audio, a Chinese earbud and headphone retailer specializing in what the community lovingly calls Chi-fi, that is high fidelity brands out of China. Thieaudio was established in 2019 as the creative engineering branch of Linsoul. As of today, they market three different lines of earbuds, Voyager, Legacy and the extremely well-received Monarch.
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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.
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