Description
This is the dark grey Xinwld A97, listed under ASIN B0DYDQ9781, and the first thing a buyer needs to know is that it is not the only A97 in circulation. Xinwld sells at least three near identical listings under the A97 and A97 Pro names, each with its own ASIN and its own set of published specifications, and they do not all say the same things. This particular listing is also confused about which model it describes, which makes the identification problem worse rather than better.
Which product is this, exactly
The product title says A97. The Model Name field says A97 Pro. Every feature bullet refers to A97 Pro Bluetooth earbuds. The Item model number field says A97. So the page names the product two different ways in five different places.
That matters because the specifications differ between the A97 listings. The separate A97 Pro under ASIN B0DJ4N18NB names AAC and SBC as its codecs and publishes an 8 hour runtime measured at 80 percent volume. This listing names no codec at all and publishes a 6 to 8 hour range with no volume condition attached. A third A97 Pro listing exists under yet another ASIN. Whatever review or comparison you read, check the ASIN against the item in your cart, because the model name alone does not identify what you will receive.
This variant is also by far the smallest seller of the group, with 18 ratings against the thousands recorded on the other listings, and a category placement of 1,580th in earbud and in ear headphones. It appears to be a recent color variant rather than an established product. The color itself is listed as Dark Gery, which is a spelling error in the listing rather than a finish name.
The IP7 problem
Both the title and a feature bullet claim IP7 waterproofing. IP7 is not a valid IP code. The standard requires two characters after the IP prefix, the first covering solid particle protection and the second covering water, with an X substituted where a category was not tested. IPX7 means immersion in one meter of fresh water for thirty minutes. IP67 adds full dust protection to that. IP7 is neither and cannot be resolved into either, because there is no way to determine which position the digit was meant to occupy.
Our position is that this listing publishes no water rating. We will not describe the product as waterproof, sweat resistant or splash resistant, and the specification field’s bare Waterproof label is a word rather than a code. If sweat resistance is why you are considering it, get the exact two character code from the seller before ordering, and note that no IP rating covers seawater or pressurized water, that the charging case is rarely covered by a bud rating, and that seals degrade with age and debris.
The Hi-Fi claim, with no codec behind it
The third feature bullet is headed Hi-fi Stereo and ENC Noise Cancelling. No Bluetooth codec is named anywhere on this listing. Not SBC, not AAC, not aptX, not LDAC. That is a specific regression from the other A97 Pro listing, which does name AAC and SBC.
SBC is the universal Bluetooth baseline and is all that can be assumed here. Because no codec is published, there is no basis for describing this product as high fidelity or high resolution, and we will not do so. The 13mm driver is a real hardware figure and may sound perfectly good, but driver size does not create resolution that the wireless link never carried.
The ENC claim needs the same clarification it needs on every listing in this segment. The Noise Control field reads Passive Noise Cancellation, meaning the physical blocking effect of a sealed ear tip and nothing electronic. The four ENC microphones operate on the outbound call path, cleaning up the background noise that the person you are calling hears. They do nothing at all for what you hear during playback. There is no active noise cancellation on this product.
Battery: a range where a number belongs
The battery bullet states playtime lasts for over 6 to 8 hours from a single charge, with a total of 40 hours including the charging case. There is no Battery Life field in the specification block at all, so both figures exist only in the bullet text.
Publishing a range rather than a figure is itself informative. The gap between 6 and 8 hours is volume, since quoted playtime always assumes moderate listening and higher volume shortens it substantially. Plan on the lower end. Forty hours total implies roughly five additional charges from the case, which is consistent with the category. A dual LED display on the case reports the charge on both the buds and the case as numbers rather than indicator lights.
No charging time is published for the buds or the case, and no fast charge claim is made. When comparing this against another product, compare the 6 to 8 hour figure against its bud runtime, never against its combined total.
Fit, weight and a specification field that contradicts the bullet
Fit is the best documented part of this listing. The Included Components field lists a user manual, a USB-C cable, two wireless earbuds, a lightweight charging case and three ear tips in small, medium and large. Stating the tip count explicitly is more than most rivals do, and it matters, because this is a sealed in ear design where the tip produces the bass by sealing the canal. A tip that leaks makes any earbud sound thin regardless of the driver behind it.
Weight is where the page argues with itself. The comfort bullet states a single earbud weighs 3.8 grams and the charging case weighs 29 grams. The specification block lists Item Weight as 2 Grams, also expressed as 0.071 ounces. Those two figures agree with each other but not with the bullet, and neither describes the packaged product, which is the usual meaning of that field. Take the 3.8 gram figure as the bud weight, since it is the one accompanied by a case weight and reads like a real measurement.
Controls are capacitive touch on both buds, handling playback, volume, track changes, calls and voice assistant. Bluetooth version is listed as 5.4 consistently in the title, bullets and specification field, which is more agreement than the sibling listing manages, and range is stated as 15 meters, a line of sight figure. Multipoint is not claimed, no companion app is mentioned, no equalizer is available as a result, and no wear detection is claimed.
Because this is a sealed design with only passive isolation and no transparency mode, it is not appropriate for road cycling or road running, where hearing a vehicle behind you is the safety input that matters. An open ear design from our open ear headphones category is the correct tool for road use.
The remaining oddities, and the alternatives
The Batteries field states that two A batteries are required and included, on a product with sealed lithium cells. Product Dimensions are listed as 0.79 by 0.79 by 0.79 inches, a perfect cube, which describes nothing on this product. The Compatible Devices field is stuffed with an iPhone model list running back to the iPhone X, which is keyword text rather than a tested compatibility statement. The Specific Uses field contains full width punctuation characters left over from an encoding conversion.
For cross shopping outside the A97 family, the WAMDUD A11 publishes 8 hours from the buds and three tip sizes on the same formula, and the Kicoeon J59 competes on the LED display and immersion rating angle. For a documented support path at a small step up, the Soundcore Life P2 Mini is the obvious alternative, and the rest sit in our wireless earbuds category.
Who should buy it, who should not
Buy it if you want a very light sealed bud with three tip sizes stated up front, a consistent Bluetooth 5.4 listing and a case display, and if 6 to 8 hours suits your day. At 3.8 grams per bud this is among the lighter options here, and the fit documentation is better than most of its price bracket.
Do not rely on it around water, because IP7 is not a real code. Do not buy it for the Hi-Fi label, since no codec is named. Do not expect active cancellation, an app, an equalizer or multipoint. And be careful which A97 you are buying, because at least three listings share the name with different published specifications and this one is the least established of them, with 18 ratings behind it.
