Rec me some wireless earbuds

[ztejas 43450]

I'm on android but I like the air pods and have used my mom's and sister's a couple times when I'm house sitting but I feel like I can probably get better value.

Let's call the budget $200. 

Anyone have any good recs? 

I listen to almost everything - but the plurality is for sure bass-heavy hip hop. 

Still, I'd like something that's solid all around for music, movies, calls, etc.

[TwiceHorn 31472]

I don't think these are very good for calls, but they pair solid and work well and sound decent and the price is right.

https://www.jlab.com/products/go-air-pop-true-wireless-earbuds?variant=39953484251208

I have been quite happy with them and if for some reason I wanted something better, would be tempted to go up in their lineup.

Edited May 28, 2023 by TwiceHorn

[TonyTexas 10514]

40 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

I don't think these are very good for calls, but they pair solid and work well and sound decent and the price is right.

https://www.jlab.com/products/go-air-pop-true-wireless-earbuds?variant=39953484251208

I have been quite happy with them and if for some reason I wanted something better, would be tempted to go up in their lineup.

I have 2 pairs of these and think they’re really good, especially for the price. They’re $25 but watch for deals. I paid $13 at Best Buy

[LosIllini 91]

I'm a big fan of the Jabra Elite Active 75t earbuds- use for calls and streaming on my phone/ computer, and do a lot of outdoors type stuff too, where they have gotten sweaty/ rained on.  They work well, and have held up.  Have a few pair- just bought a renewed pair from Amazon for $75 or so.  Think the Elite 7 Pro is the newer version now. 

[fattyflattie 4639]

10 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

I don't think these are very good for calls, but they pair solid and work well and sound decent and the price is right.

https://www.jlab.com/products/go-air-pop-true-wireless-earbuds?variant=39953484251208

I have been quite happy with them and if for some reason I wanted something better, would be tempted to go up in their lineup.

I’ve abused a set of these for the last 18 months or so.  Held up really well. 

[hookemATL 11735]

Welp I was gonna make the exact same recc so consider this further support of the jlabs. I bought them over a year ago at a random Walgreens in El Paso and they are still going strong. I never buy any expensive buds as my forgetful ass tends to lose one/both of them, but these are the best cheap ones I have gotten bar none. 
 

 

[NWBuck 8567]

For the sake of comparison- I've had these for about a year or so with no complaints: https://www.amazon.com/Soundcore-Cancelling-Technology-Personalized-Bluetooth/dp/B08G4K8CY8

[Baboontyme 2812]

Just bought these to replace my 3 year old powerbeat pros. I'll let you know if I like them, the reviews were really good and I have the Sony over ear cans and they are awesome. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094C4VDJZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I loved the Powerbeat Pros with the ear hook but they don't fit in my ear very well anymore and I can barely hear sometimes over the shit they are blasting on the speakers at the gym. These are apparently a lot louder, have anc and fit in your ear better blocking out ambient noise. 

[Baboontyme 2812]

4 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

Just bought these to replace my 3 year old powerbeat pros. I'll let you know if I like them, the reviews were really good and I have the Sony over ear cans and they are awesome. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094C4VDJZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I loved the Powerbeat Pros with the ear hook but they don't fit in my ear very well anymore and I can barely hear sometimes over the shit they are blasting on the speakers at the gym. These are apparently a lot louder, have anc and fit in your ear better blocking out ambient noise. 

These are pretty badass @ztejas. They seem to stay in place. Loud, anc on point for buds, deep rich bass. Popped my powerbeat pros in to compare, there is no comparison. 

[ztejas 43450]

What I realized is that you kind of have to try them on to get a feel for what you'd like. I went by Walmart and saw what they had and tried these. 

The sound quality for the price I was really impressed by but they were pretty uncomfortable so I wound up returning them. 

I googled best earbuds for small ears and went and got these from best buy. 

These are super comfortable and stay in place and still have decent sound quality. I figure I'll stick with these as a pair to work out in and what not and maybe find some more expensive ones down the line that have better sound quality (or just get some over ears).

Thanks all for the recs.

[Brothahorn 10087]

I don't think these are very good for calls, but they pair solid and work well and sound decent and the price is right.
https://www.jlab.com/products/go-air-pop-true-wireless-earbuds?variant=39953484251208
I have been quite happy with them and if for some reason I wanted something better, would be tempted to go up in their lineup.

A poster recommended these when I was looking for some. I bought a pair of these and Jabra Pro 7. When my Jabras started acting up, I switched over to the Jlab. My call quality is actually better, and they have never failed to charge properly, which was Jabra's problem. For the money, these are the best damn earbuds you can buy.

[TonyTexas 10514]

I was slow to convert to wireless buds mainly because I didn’t want yet another electronic gadget that I had to constantly charge. But these Jlabs can go up to 32 hours and have quick charge capabilities. Pretty amazing. 

[HOOKEM4 5037]

My wife has several pair of jlab earbuds and I tried to pair them with my phone and could never get them to work. User error I guess. 

I just bought several of the cheaper jbl buds and haven't had an issue. I just keep them everywhere so I have a pair whenever I need.

I had an expensive pair of jbl buds that sounded amazing but they got washed and it fried them so my cheap/dumb ass decided I needed quantity over quality.

[Baboontyme 2812]

On 5/30/2023 at 4:45 PM, ztejas said:

What I realized is that you kind of have to try them on to get a feel for what you'd like. I went by Walmart and saw what they had and tried these. 

The sound quality for the price I was really impressed by but they were pretty uncomfortable so I wound up returning them. 

I googled best earbuds for small ears and went and got these from best buy. 

These are super comfortable and stay in place and still have decent sound quality. I figure I'll stick with these as a pair to work out in and what not and maybe find some more expensive ones down the line that have better sound quality (or just get some over ears).

Thanks all for the recs.

What you realized is pretty good advice. I have more money than patience but not a lot of either and though these things sound amazing they are not suited for my alien ear canals. I've tried 5 different tips including two that came with and 3 others I bought to find a better fit and they still aren't exactly comfortable. At all. Not to mention they have disconnected a couple of different times watching TV for no reason at all. I think I will send these back. Anxiously waiting for the 1000XM5s to see what they are all about. 

[Rimbo 25936]

On 5/28/2023 at 10:10 AM, LosIllini said:

I'm a big fan of the Jabra Elite Active 75t earbuds- use for calls and streaming on my phone/ computer, and do a lot of outdoors type stuff too, where they have gotten sweaty/ rained on.  They work well, and have held up.  Have a few pair- just bought a renewed pair from Amazon for $75 or so.  Think the Elite 7 Pro is the newer version now. 

I literally hopped in this thread to pimp Jabra. Wirecutter likes 'em, too. Only in-ear buds, wireless or otherwise, that I've ever found even remotely adequate for anything. I've recommended 'em to others and they've been pleased, too. Mine are the non-Active version (Elite 75t) so I can't swim with 'em, but I sure do sweat with 'em when I go on runs.

[Baboontyme 2812]

This thread sent me down a rabbit hole and I might as well share what I've learned. I do think it's highly personable based on anatomy of your ear and such. 

I first bought the Sony buds. Highly rated for sound and as I said upthread I have the equivalent over-ear and they are amazing and extremely comfortable.

Sony WF-1000XM4 Industry Leading Noise Canceling Truly Wireless Earbud Headphones with Alexa Built-in, Black https://a.co/d/2jVB7XX

These sounded really good to me but were bulky and not comfortable. Tried different tips and they still hurt my ears after an hour or so. Also once I bought the other two pair and compared sound, these were the worst of the 3 sound-wise imo.

Next up I bought the Jabra Elite 7 Pros. I looked at the Jabra Elite 75t but these were rated better and there is actually a newer version of those, the 85t, and the 7 Pros were rated better than even those and supposed to be more comfortable. Verdict is more comfortable than the Sony buds by a lot. The sound was better but the bass was punchy. I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about but calling it punchy sounds like something someone who knows things would say. The stay in ear factor was worst of the 3 no matter what tips I tried, and I have a lot of different sized and types of tips.

Jabra Elite 7 Pro in Ear Bluetooth Earbuds - Adjustable Active Noise Cancellation True Wireless Buds in a Compact Design MultiSensor Voice Technology for Clear Calls - Titanium Black https://a.co/d/5Q6YSOK

The final pair and clear winner to me were the Beats Fit Pros. Again I'm coming from some Powerboats Pros and these had a lot of the features I liked about the Powerbeats but large improvement in sound quality, form factor (oops I did it again) and fit. The bass was booming on these. Like it literally vibrates in your ear on the really deep notes. Impressive. They have a little wing that goes into your ear canal to help keep them in plant yet they are quite a bit smaller than the above two pair. The biggest downside is probably that the case is bulky compared to the other two. It's still less then half the size of the Powerbeats case. The "large" tips it came with fit pretty well and were comfortable but playing around with the alternate tips I had I was able to find a set that i liked a little better. Maybe the best thing about these is they have a clickable button on the right bud that actually works and makes sense. It's nice to be able to feel that you're physically pressing a button to pause/whatever and double press to advance to next song. The other buds I tried had sensors that were hit and miss. 

Beats Fit Pro – True Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds – Apple H1 Headphone Chip, Compatible with Apple & Android, Class 1 Bluetooth®, Built-in Microphone, 6 Hours of Listening Time – Sage Gray https://a.co/d/eyPdJFB

I have an ok job but Wirecutter, if you're reading this, I'm willing to take on side hustles. 

[pops 6985]

Only thing I can add is whatever you get,  I highly recommend getting memory foam tips to replace whatever is on there. This was just my first search on Amazon and I don't own these but basically they are all the same and you can get ones specifically made for your buds. 

 https://a.co/d/gzynAXz

They are the same material as foam earplugs so you just squish them a bit and put them in and they expand to the shape of your ear canal. Night and day difference from stock rubber tips. 

 

 

[Sandman 3403]

I got these Tozo T6 the other day. So far, I really like them. I'm also very cheap, so $20 is nice.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RGZ5NKS?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

 

[Sam Lin 3559]

On 6/1/2023 at 11:18 AM, Baboontyme said:

 my alien ear canals. I've tried 5 different tips including two that came with and 3 others I bought to find a better fit and they still aren't exactly comfortable. At all. 

I've mentioned them somewhere else in a headphone thread, but your posts really make you sound like the right candidate for some custom earmolds. It's not cheap, but it gives you perfect fit which really helps bass performance, and more importantly is comfortable for as long as you want to wear them and doesn't move no matter the activity.

Not recommending these guys, just giving you an example of what they look like and cost. Cost to have a local audiologist do an impression is roughly 100, cost of the custom earmolds is around 150, total 250, and they only fit the specific shape of earphone, so you can't later switch makes easily (but you can switch within a brand IF the casing is the same, like Shure 215/315/415 all use same, Etymotic ER generally all use same, etc):

https://www.pilotstuff.com/averysound/custom-audio-earpieces.html

 

Again, not cheap, but if your ear canal is a really tough one to find a decent off-the-shelf fit, and it sounds like it is, and you listen a lot, it may be worth the money.

[NWBuck 8567]

11 hours ago, Sam Lin said:

I've mentioned them somewhere else in a headphone thread, but your posts really make you sound like the right candidate for some custom earmolds. It's not cheap, but it gives you perfect fit which really helps bass performance, and more importantly is comfortable for as long as you want to wear them and doesn't move no matter the activity.

This is a similar idea (UE Fits), and is DIY, so a bit less expensive (so you can assess this as an option?). No experience with these, just offering this as an option.

[Sam Lin 3559]

That's a clever idea; home "ear impression" kits have been available for quite some time now, but this packages it on a headphone and uses UV cure to make it much more forgiving on timing. I wouldn't recommend it simply because the earmold is one piece with the earbud; if the earbuds die you are stuck throwing the whole thing away, while an aftermarket earmold, you "socket" the earbud into it, so you can swap out the earbud with another of same casing if one dies or you want to upgrade.

 

I've also seen many people offering "custom molded earplugs" using similar kits at gun shows:

https://earinc.com/product/ez-impression-kit/

 

I generally don't recommend them. 2 reasons - one is safety, a proper earmold needs a deep ear impression, which has real risk of getting molding compound close enough to the eardrum to cause damage. You really need a foam blocker to prevent this. The other is performance - a proper ear impression needs to be open mouth (bite on a 1" block as you take the mold and don't move until it sets) and needs to be proper depth to seal, and the molding technique affects how well they fit.

I always go to an audiologist to do mine, and even with those professionals they've had to redo the earmold once or twice due to poor fitting results. If you're comparing to generic eartips, even a poor earmold will be a huge improvement, but if you're going through the expense and hassle of a custom earmold earphone anyway, then I'd advise paying the bit more to be sure of a great result.

 

Photo of one of my earmolds - you can see the foam blocker and extraction string, and just how much of the ear canal gets molded.