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If you want a multi-pack of USB-C earbuds you can scatter across a household, choose basecolors 5; if you need a two-pack with Apple MFi certification, a bass-forward driver and a long warranty, choose tiavalmax Apple MFi Certified.
• basecolors 5 — biggest strength: five pairs in one retail box, each with an inline remote and mic, so every USB-C device in the house gets its own set.
• basecolors 5 — biggest trade-off: passive noise cancellation only, and the bundle is a single white colorway, so there is no variety to split between people.
• tiavalmax Apple MFi Certified — biggest strength: MFi certification plus a 60-month warranty and a bass driver tuned for a warmer low end.
• tiavalmax Apple MFi Certified — biggest trade-off: you only get two pairs, and the sheet lists active noise cancellation and button control with no inline volume remote mentioned.
• Who each pick is for: basecolors 5 suits families, offices and anyone who loses earbuds constantly; tiavalmax suits iPhone-first buyers who want the certification and the warranty coverage.
The basecolors 5 is built around one idea: quantity without cutting the basics. You get a five-pack of white in-ear USB-C earbuds, each with a 10 mm dynamic driver, 32 ohm impedance, 98 dB sensitivity and a 20 Hz–20 kHz frequency range. That is a normal, sensible spec sheet for everyday listening — podcasts on the commute, calls at a desk, video on a tablet. The inline remote handles both push-button control and the built-in microphone, so you are not reaching for your phone every time a call comes in. Latency is listed at 0.1 milliseconds, which matters if you use these for gaming or watching video on a USB-C laptop and do not want lip-sync drift.
The 1.2 m (4 ft) cable is the right length for a phone in a pocket or a laptop on a tray table — long enough to move, short enough not to tangle into a knot. The enclosure mixes metal, plastic and silicone, which is a practical combination for something that lives in a bag. There is even a carrying case listed at 4 x 3 inches weighing 2 ounces, so the set is designed to travel as a group rather than as five loose pairs.
Who should buy it? Anyone who needs earbuds in more than one place at once. A family with four USB-C phones and a tablet. A small office that hands out loaners. Someone who genuinely loses earbuds every few months and would rather have spares on a shelf than reorder one pair at a time. Five pairs also means you can leave one in the car, one at the desk and one in a backpack without thinking about it.
Who should skip it? If you care about active noise cancellation, this is not your pick — the sheet lists passive noise cancellation only, which relies on the in-ear seal rather than electronics. If you want a specific color to match your phone, the five-pack is white only. And if you want the reassurance of a certification logo and a long warranty term, basecolors does not offer that in the data here.
The tiavalmax pair is aimed at a different buyer: someone who plugs into an iPhone and wants zero doubt about compatibility. The headline feature is Apple MFi certification, which is a genuine, checkable credential for USB-C accessories made for Apple devices — it is the reason the certification is in the product name rather than buried in a bullet point. The compatibility list covers iPhone 17, 16 and 15 series, Galaxy S25/S24/S23 and Note phones, Google Pixel, iPads, and laptops or PCs with a USB-C port. In practice that means one pair of earbuds that moves between your phone and your laptop without an adapter.
The audio approach is different too. Where basecolors uses a dynamic driver, tiavalmax uses a bass driver, with 32 ohm impedance, 106 dB sensitivity and a 20 kHz frequency response. Higher sensitivity generally means these get louder from the same output, which is useful on a phone at lower volume settings or on a flight where you want to push past cabin noise. The in-ear, oval-shaped tips are designed to create a seal, and the sheet lists active noise cancellation as the noise control method. The build is ABS, TPE and metal-plated connectors — a materials list that suggests a flexible cable and reinforced plug ends, the two spots where wired earbuds usually fail first.
Then there is the warranty: 60 months, listed as the warranty description. That is an unusually long term for any pair of wired earbuds, and it is the strongest argument for tiavalmax if you are hard on your gear. You get two pairs, so one can live at home and one in a bag.
Who should buy it? iPhone-first households. Anyone who has been burned by a cheap USB-C dongle that "mostly" worked. People who want a warmer low end for music and a bit more headroom for calls in noisy places. And anyone who values a five-year warranty more than a five-pack of spares.
Who should skip it? If you need earbuds for five people, two pairs will not cover it. If inline volume buttons are a must, note that the sheet lists button control and a push-button method without describing an inline remote module the way basecolors does — worth confirming what the buttons on this model actually control before you commit. And if you specifically want a plain, neutral sound signature, a bass driver is a deliberate tuning choice, not a neutral one.
• Best for covering multiple devices and people → basecolors 5. Five pairs versus two is the whole story here.
• Best for iPhone owners who want certification → tiavalmax. MFi certification is the deciding feature for Apple-first buyers.
• Best for long-term durability confidence → tiavalmax. A 60-month warranty term outlasts anything basecolors lists.
• Best for louder output from a phone → tiavalmax. 106 dB sensitivity versus 98 dB means more volume per unit of input.
• Best for low-latency gaming and video → basecolors 5. The 0.1 ms latency figure is the specific number to weigh here.
• Best for bass-forward listening → tiavalmax. A bass driver is tuned for low-end emphasis by design.
• Best for quiet on a plane or train → tiavalmax. Active noise cancellation versus passive cancellation is a real functional gap.
• Best for a household that shares and loses earbuds → basecolors 5. Spares on hand beat a single good pair.
• Best for Android and Pixel users → both work, but tiavalmax explicitly lists Pixel and Galaxy Note support alongside iPhone.
If I were buying for myself and my daily driver is an iPhone or iPad, I would take the tiavalmax Apple MFi Certified pair. In my opinion the combination of MFi certification, active noise cancellation, a bass driver and a 60-month warranty is the more reassuring package for a single person who wants one pair that just works. If instead I were equipping a family, a shared desk or a bag that eats earbuds, I would buy the basecolors 5 — five functioning pairs with inline mics and remotes is simply more useful than two when several people are involved. Match the pick to how many people and devices you are actually covering, then check the current price on Amazon before you decide.
how to use usb c headphones on mac
Plug the USB-C connector into any USB-C port on your Mac. Both the basecolors 5 and the tiavalmax pair are wired USB Type-C headphones with no driver or app required, so macOS should detect them as an output device automatically. If sound still comes from the speakers, switch the output in your sound settings.
how to use usb c headphones on android phone
Connect the USB-C plug to your phone's charging port. Both models list Galaxy S25/S24/S23 support, and tiavalmax also lists Pixel and Note phones, so current USB-C Android phones should route audio through the earbuds immediately. If your phone has a case that blocks the port, remove the case first.
how to use usb c headphones on android
Same basic process — plug in, and audio routes to the earbuds. On both models the built-in microphone and push-button controls handle calls and playback without extra setup. If nothing happens, check that your phone's USB-C port is set to audio output rather than a data-only mode.
how to use usb c headphones on ps5
The PS5 has a USB-C port on the front, and a wired USB-C headset can be used for game audio, but the console's audio routing is stricter than a phone's. Neither data sheet lists console compatibility, so treat PS5 use as unconfirmed for both models — a dedicated gaming headset or a controller-connected option may be the safer route.
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See also: JIAMQISHI USB Headset vs VCOM USB Microphone, Delton 10X vs YYFEIDBFEO Over-Ear Headphones, Marley House vs Generic Earbuds: Noise Isolation Earbuds