Wireless earbuds 2023

[gregs656]

I think I have lost my Samsung Buds+ which I bought in 2021.

Big fan of them; they had decent sound isolation, the battery lasted well, the call and audio quality was decent, they never dropped connection from each other, could be used independently and the case isn't too big.

I spent about 450 hours on the phone for personal calls in 2022 and the vast majority of that would have been on ear buds. I also listen to a lot of podcasts and music on them, and use them for work calls etc. They get *a lot* of use.

Looking at replacements and it seems the flagships all have problems: XM4s review well but users report all kinds of issues (has the firmware solved them?) and apparently the mic is not very good (I spend a lot of time on the phone, often outdoors), the pixel buds pro are hamstrung on iPhone (you can't access 'normal' mode), I don't find the fit of the Airpod Pros very good, the Bose you can't switch the ANC off.

I have Amazon vouchers to use and would buy from the warehouse as you can get decent deals.

I am tempted to try the Sony's because I think they are the closest to what I want, and have a similar design and fit to the Samsungs I lost.

On the other hand, the Sony's are 18 months old already and must be ripe for replacement. How hard can it be to choose earbuds.

Any thoughts?

Edited by gregs656 on Saturday 4th March 02:48

Edited by gregs656 on Saturday 4th March 02:57

Edited by gregs656 on Saturday 4th March 16:12

[gregs656]

I watched a couple of video tests of the Sony mic on YouTube and they are definitely out now. Probably ok if you live somewhere quiet.

The Sennheiser MW3 have a similar mic set up to my old Samsungs (3 mics per earbud to screen out external noise), and I’ve found a pair at a good price, the only thing that puts me off is the size of the case.

The later Samsung models don’t seem to be as good as what I had either.

I’d like ANC but wondering if it’s worth it.

[gregs656]

thebraketester said:

Whist I agree that’s the AirPods Pro have some flaws, one thing they do very well is handle calls. Taken on them is much more natural than any over the ear headphones.

I’ve tried them a number of times but they just don’t fit me and it’s a lot of money to risk getting the right tips or what ever. I much prefer the kind of ‘screw in’ shape.

The case on the Sennheisers is large. A smaller case was a criteria when I bought the Samsungs so I think the Sennheisers are out too.

I might just buy another pair of the Buds+

Edited by gregs656 on Saturday 4th March 16:20

[gregs656]

thebraketester said:

Sometimes it's good to stick with what you know. :-)

Yeah, but they're not available new any more. I am not against buying a used pair but nothing is available at a sensible price locally, almost as expensive as the Sennheisers I found yesterday (which are the equivalent of 90GBP) but could be much older.

[gregs656]

thebraketester said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Galaxy-Buds-Blue-...

Thanks for looking but I am in Canada and they don't have any on Amazon CA.

The Sennheisers for 30 quid less are a good deal, I can always move them on if they don't work out for me.

I am pretty sure I paid about 60 quid for my first set of Buds+ as well. I remember looking a little while a go when the battery started to fade a little on my pair and couldn't believe how much they were going for. I imagine when I bought mine they were being given away with some Samsung product which drove the price down for a while.

[gregs656]

I ended up ordering a pair of TW3s from Amazon warehouse last night. Got messed around on Facebook and I had a decent amount of Amazon vouchers to use anyway.

I almost bought a pair of Jabra Elite 7 Pro but, like Sony, they use a bone conduction mic and they just don’t seem to be up to much.

I’ll report back when they arrive. If they’re not a decent step up from the Buds+ I am going to send them back.

[gregs656]

okenemem said:

should have just bought the samsungs again

Probably. I did try and buy a couple of pairs off Facebook but none of the ones close to me had the different size buds and wing tips which I would want to get the fit right.

That is my plan if I’m not happy with the Sennheisers though. I’ll just have to put up with AirPods until I find a pair.

I wouldn't go back to wired buds for day to day now.

[gregs656]

Fallingup said:

Are some pods more prone to falling out than others? That's my biggest issue with them.

Definitely - one of the reasons I prefer the kind of twist fit ones to AirPod style ones is they are more secure.

[gregs656]

Junglebert said:

I don’t know if you’ve seen these Greg, I haven’t used them, just spotted them when I was buying more tips.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09JPQV7W6/ref...

I looked at those for my regular AirPods but don’t think the wings fit in the case.

Maybe different tips would be a reasonable solution on their own though with the pros, which are a significant comfort improvement on the regular ones.

[gregs656]

I’ve now ordered a pair of Linkbuds S as well. Not sure how I missed these. Significantly better mic than the XM4s and a smaller case than the Sennheisers which still haven’t arrived.

All from Amazon so not too worried about returning one of them.

Sonys should be here on Thursday.

[gregs656]

nordboy said:

I looked at these the other day after reading good things about them. They're much smaller than the XM4's but apparently sound nearly as good, loads cheaper too.

Keep us updated

I think I discounted them because they use a bone conduction mic but it works much better in the linkbuds. ANC is a nice to have for me, not a priority.

Loads of YouTube reviews seem a bit confused over why they linkbuds s are so good though.

[gregs656]

The Linkbuds S are Amazon Warehouse ones, mine were 140 CAD but I see they have some on Amazon UK for 90 - more than 40 quid but not bad if you use them a lot.

[gregs656]

Not sure when I pissed Jeff Bezos off; the Sonys which are meant to arrive today are not even showing as dispatched on Amazon.

[gregs656]

RizzoTheRat said:

What do people on the other end of a call think of the sound quality from the bone conduction mic? I'd assume they do a very good job of ignoring background and wind noise and just pick up your voice?


When I was after a cheapo pair, a few people recommended SoundPeats, I bought the non isolating TrueAir2 and for a £30 pair of headphones the sound quality is way better than I expected. If I wanted ones with isolation and active noise cancelation I'd be very tempted by thier higher spec ones.

They haven't arrived yet, but if you look at mic tests of the XM4 the mic doesn't work effectively at all and pics up a lot of external noise.

I bought the Linkbuds S after watching this video

https://youtu.be/Xthq08rrXCI

[gregs656]

The Sennheisers arrived yesterday and I had a chance to try them out before I returned them (Amazon warehouse so they were already open). They’re undoubtably nice things. I think I could have lived with the case size but it would have been a compromise. Didn’t mess around with them too much as I decided pretty quickly I was going to return them. Not sure how secure they would have been, seemed a little top heavy.

The Sonys arrived today. Noticeably light. Fit seems good with the medium tips. Difficult to tell how secure they will be compared to my old Samsungs as they don’t have the wing tips. Sound great. Haven’t had a chance to try the mic outside yet. The charge case is slightly bigger than the standard AirPods.

Overall the Sonys were half the price of the Sennheisers and I think are going to suit my needs better.

[gregs656]

I've used foam tips in the past. I like them but I find them a little bit too isolating for day to day. Rubber tips you can get away with incidental conversation without taking them out - cashiers and so on. I found with foam tips I had to take one out or I'd be coming across as rude. The flip side is the isolation helps improve the sound quality.

In theory the pass through feature of the Sony's solves this, but you have to have your left hand free to use it. I'll see how I get on with the standard ones for now.

[gregs656]

Terzo123 said:

Can you use these whilst running, or are the likely to fall out?

Not super helpful I know but I think that depends on the shape of your ears.

This style is more prone to catching on things though, like when you take a t shirt off or something. Don’t have to think about it with flush fitting ones.

[gregs656]

g4ry13 said:

I'm not so keen on the flush fitting ones. Personally i'd want as little in my ear as possible.

It could just be a case of getting used to it, but the wireless offer little advantages to me than wired.

I don’t think there is any difference to what sits in your ear canal between the flush fit designs and the AirPod style designs.

If you’re just sat at home your not going to get the benefit.

[gregs656]

I added some Azla SednaFit ear tips to the Sony's. A soft silicone rather than foam. Impressed with them so far, feel a bit more secure than the standard Sony ones.

The only thing I find a bit annoying is you can't switch off ambient sound during calls (they call it something else, but that's what it does).

[gregs656]

Met up with my friend in the week and guess what, the Samungs were in his car!

I am still using the Sonys though, they sound better and are lighter.

Will keep the Samungs as a back up.