My wired Sennheiser in-earphones must be well over 10yrs old and they’re a bit worn out. Because of progress, my new phone doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack socket (yes I could buy an adapter for the USB-C socket but I dont want to). So going to take the opportunity to buy some new ones.
Because you can’t try before you buy, my concern is that bass will be weak, and they will fall out of my ears when walking, land in a turd, and then get trodden on by the person walking behind me.
Seems odd to spend good money when the 2 key aspects for me can’t be test driven (sound quality and fit).
So, I have 5 questions…
Do they stay in your ears?
Do they all sound roughly the same (premium, sony, samsung, technics, sennheiser etc) so I can buy on looks / gut feeling?
Whether they fit or not depend on the shape/size of your ear. They are all pretty much one size, so will probably be fine, but unless you went to the expense of having ear moulds made, it cannot be guaranteed.
They usually stay in your ear, although the occasions they fall out are the ones to be concerned about! It depends on your ear shape and the type you get. My kids have not lost any; my wife has flushed a fairly nice pair down the loo. If you’re concerned, you could get ones with a connecting cable between the two.
They can sound great. Modern Bluetooth seems to work well. If you want the best sound, a dedicated USB-C DAC headphone amp is the way, and run it wired. But really BT buds are for when you’re mobile, and sound quality isn’t paramount. For most use cases they are fine.
Cheap ones sound shit - that’s what I buy for the kids and wife! The £30 ones sound actually odd; ok for voice at best (that’s what the wife listens to). If you want reasonable sound quality I suggest that you spend money. The Sony ones are meant to be great. The Google ones that Claire flushed were fine as well.
Never going to use an external dac, will be Spotify - BT - earbuds for walking, bus and train journeys and shorthall fights. Noise cancelling is important.
In general l dont lose or break stuff.
I have a pair of sony xm3 headphones and theyre good at NC, but too bulky for an hour’s use here and there. For long haul flights theyre a godsend.
The Sony XM in all its generations is extremely good. I’ve tested…some… true wireless models and for out and out sound quality the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 is the best I’ve heard…
…but…
…the ones I actually use all the time are the JBL Tour Pro 2. Do they sound as good? No. When listening to Spotify on the move it doesn’t matter. The JBL is comfy, has outstanding noise cancelling and the display MEANS YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH FUCKING BATTERY THEY HAVE BEFORE YOU WALTZ OUT THE FUCKING HOUSE WITH THEM. Having now lived with this feature, I don’t care if a newly launched rival cures cancer and makes you two billion times more attractive to the opposite sex, it won’t be as easy to live with.
I’d snap these up, I have some for travel use and have found I am more than happy to use them for Spotify/YouTube etc.
Sound quality lags behind £1000 units but that’s not really the point. Also, the app has superb EQ.
I am happy with the the new price, so these are a steal. Hygiene wise you can just replace the tips as needed, the rest of the armature is really well made, so easy to clean.