Air Bud type things

[Skyedriver]

Was looking at these as a Christmas present for son but at £125 or so pounds they are about 4 times the price of what would apparently be similar items
Are they 4x as good? I really know nothing about them.
Any recommendations for him to work with an iPhone (and another pair for me to work with an Alexa or Laptop?)
Thanks

[mikees]

I have Anker Soundcore £39 on Amazon and are very good. Use mainly for conf calls

[SpunkyGlory]

mikees said:

I have Anker Soundcore £39 on Amazon and are very good. Use mainly for conf calls

Same ones I bought recently, can't fault them.

[Black can man]

Skyedriver said:

Was looking at these as a Christmas present for son but at £125 or so pounds they are about 4 times the price of what would apparently be similar items
Are they 4x as good? I really know nothing about them.
Any recommendations for him to work with an iPhone (and another pair for me to work with an Alexa or Laptop?)
Thanks

Not sure it's about the audio quality to be fair , i think it's more the look.

[Skyedriver]

i have an Ankar Bluetooth speaker and it seems ok.
It's a name I'd not heard before I read a few reviews on PH
I'll look at their ear pieces, thanks.

As an aside will they work with both an iPhone and an Alexa Echo Plus (3rd Gen). I Phone I assume yes as it has bluetooth but the Alexa?
WilI need to find something to plug into the 3.5 audio jack for bluetooth?

Thanks

[alorotom]

I’ve had airpods from release and you are buying convenience and a status symbol - esp for teens.

There isn’t a pairing routine; they literally just work, immediately after tapping connect the first time opening the lid.

Sound quality is reasonable for most people - they aren’t ANC and aren’t audiophile level but more than serviceable.

Mine finally packed up a month or so ago and the battery on one is completely dead. The other lasts 4-6mins tops.

I’ve replaced them with a set of PowerbeatsPro which work the same and have the same H1 chip so just work but have bigger batteries and physical buttons.

[malks222]

I have many pairs of headphones from expensive BW PX through to cheap ebay wireless numbers and only got a pair of airpods at the start of 2020 and have to say they are excellent!

they are not the best audiophile sound quality, but for sheer convenience they are amazing! as mentioned, no faffing about with ‘pairing’ or waiting to reconnect bluetooth etc... like i’ve had with some before. you pop them in your ears and they are working.

the only reason i even got them was during a call to o2 they offered me them for £70! I don’t know if i’d ever have bothered to try them at full price. but at £70 thought they were worth a try. now i love them! so easy to pop in and take calls at work etc......

[Liokault]

Skyedriver said:

Was looking at these as a Christmas present for son but at £125 or so pounds they are about 4 times the price of what would apparently be similar items
Are they 4x as good? I really know nothing about them.
Any recommendations for him to work with an iPhone (and another pair for me to work with an Alexa or Laptop?)
Thanks

I was given a set of AirPods for my birthday a few weeks back, the tech is quite slick but the just don’t stay in my ears, they just balance on the inside but. If I go from standing to sitting they fall out and if I’m using a pillow when sitting they fall out. Not great when I wanted a set to use while running.

[Coin-Slot]

Liokault said:

I was given a set of AirPods for my birthday a few weeks back, the tech is quite slick but the just don’t stay in my ears, they just balance on the inside but. If I go from standing to sitting they fall out and if I’m using a pillow when sitting they fall out. Not great when I wanted a set to use while running.

You need some ear hooks, you can get them for a fiver on Amazon, my wife swears by them when she runs.

[595Heaven]

I've got a pair of AirPods and they are great. Not the best sound quality, but so easy to use, and perfectly acceptable to listen to The Today Programme whilst walking the dog, and for hands free calls whilst cooking etc.

Cheapest place to buy normally seems to be the BT Shop. They normally have £25 or so off the normal price.

[Skyedriver]

595Heaven said:

I've got a pair of AirPods and they are great. Not the best sound quality, but so easy to use, and perfectly acceptable to listen to The Today Programme whilst walking the dog, and for hands free calls whilst cooking etc.

Cheapest place to buy normally seems to be the BT Shop. They normally have £25 or so off the normal price.

Thank you.

[Liokault]

Coin-Slot said:

Liokault said:

I was given a set of AirPods for my birthday a few weeks back, the tech is quite slick but the just don’t stay in my ears, they just balance on the inside but. If I go from standing to sitting they fall out and if I’m using a pillow when sitting they fall out. Not great when I wanted a set to use while running.

You need some ear hooks, you can get them for a fiver on Amazon, my wife swears by them when she runs.

Yes, I have some, just a pain in the bum putting them on a taking them off.

[survivalist]

Skyedriver said:

595Heaven said:

I've got a pair of AirPods and they are great. Not the best sound quality, but so easy to use, and perfectly acceptable to listen to The Today Programme whilst walking the dog, and for hands free calls whilst cooking etc.

Cheapest place to buy normally seems to be the BT Shop. They normally have £25 or so off the normal price.

Thank you.

Just to offer an alternative viewpoint, I was gifted the original AirPods and even for a cost of zero they were overrated. They a actually sound worse the free ones you get with an iPhone.

I’m contrast, the pro versions sound good, also have noise cancellation.

[Coin-Slot]

Liokault said:

Yes, I have some, just a pain in the bum putting them on a taking them off.

She keeps hers on, they still fit in the charger box. They don’t hook over the ear, they hook inside the ear.

[dogbucket]

I got some Boltune ones which can be had for under £30 and are easily the best thing I have bought for a while

https://richardtech.net/boltune-earbuds-review/

[ecsrobin]

SpunkyGlory said:

mikees said:

I have Anker Soundcore £39 on Amazon and are very good. Use mainly for conf calls

Same ones I bought recently, can't fault them.

And another happy user.

[Liokault]

Coin-Slot said:

Liokault said:

Yes, I have some, just a pain in the bum putting them on a taking them off.

She keeps hers on, they still fit in the charger box. They don’t hook over the ear, they hook inside the ear.

Really? Care to post a link? I got the smallest silicone type sleeves that I could find. They do just about hold into my ears running but the case can’t close with them left on.

[oobster]

ecsrobin said:

SpunkyGlory said:

mikees said:

I have Anker Soundcore £39 on Amazon and are very good. Use mainly for conf calls

Same ones I bought recently, can't fault them.

And another happy user.

Bought these Anker Soundcore Life P2 earphones from Amazon yesterday, arrived today & I’m currently listening to Camelphat’s Dark Matter album. I’m very impressed with the sound quality.

Deep but clear bass, bright crisp vocals, haven’t tried them on a voice call yet but definitely worth £39.99.

[alorotom]

Liokault said:

Coin-Slot said:

Liokault said:

Yes, I have some, just a pain in the bum putting them on a taking them off.

She keeps hers on, they still fit in the charger box. They don’t hook over the ear, they hook inside the ear.

Really? Care to post a link? I got the smallest silicone type sleeves that I could find. They do just about hold into my ears running but the case can’t close with them left on.

I’d be shocked if the inner hooks stay on whilst in the charging case - there is near a zero tolerance above the size of the pods themself!

[alorotom]

oobster said:

ecsrobin said:

SpunkyGlory said:

mikees said:

I have Anker Soundcore £39 on Amazon and are very good. Use mainly for conf calls

Same ones I bought recently, can't fault them.

And another happy user.

Bought these Anker Soundcore Life P2 earphones from Amazon yesterday, arrived today & I’m currently listening to Camelphat’s Dark Matter album. I’m very impressed with the sound quality.

Deep but clear bass, bright crisp vocals, haven’t tried them on a voice call yet but definitely worth £39.99.

All this talk of Anker ... irrelevant. Only airpods are airpods and for a teenager that is paramount.

Look at the cult following just for snapping the charging case closed.

He’ll be a social pariah with non-Apple headphones like it or not.