Anybody have wireless earbuds that they actually like…

ssjk · #1 10-06-2021, 08:45 AM

As opposed to tolerate to get the convenience?

I’ve been disappointed before, but it’s been a few years so I tried again, this time with the highly rated AirPods Pro and my iPhone 12. Sound still reminded me of that new “high tech transistor” radio that came out when I was a kid. You know - the kind you’d hold up to your ear.

Tried all of the EQ settings and they still sounded pretty thin on everything from O’Carolan to Queen. For my purposes unusable. Sent them back.

Is this just a question of physics and they ain’t ever going to get a lot better? Or am I missing something?

Follow up question: are the in-ear monitors that performers use equally thin sound-wise but they put up with it so that they can hear themselves with quality of what they hear secondary?

GCWaters · #2 10-06-2021, 09:39 AM

I've tried several that I liked the sound quality, but either couldn't keep in my ears (Apple Air Pods) or couldn't deal with the occlusion effect (Jabra Elite Active 65's....really liked the sound and controls on these) or couldn't deal with the complete blockage of all ambient noise. I ended up going with AfterShokx bone conduction headphones. Sound is really good, though not as good as the Jabra's, no occlusion effect, and I can still hear ambient noise, which was a priority for me.

J Patrick · #3 10-06-2021, 12:32 PM

I like my basic (non pro) AirPods comfy and great sound. I use them daily

pieterh · #4 10-06-2021, 01:29 PM

I hate AirPods, they sound ok but never stay in my ears.

Sony’s In-ear WF-1000xm4 sound excellent and stay in. I like Sennheiser Momentum in ears as well.

raysachs · #5 10-06-2021, 01:48 PM

AirPod Pros work for me. They don't sound as good as over the ear headphones, but they sound really good for earbuds (in my experience anyway). They're extremely convenient with my Apple gear (switching between devices is basically seamless), they work well for phone calls (although the previous, non-pro versions were slightly better there), the noise cancellation works quite well (made a couple of recent cross country flights a lot more pleasant than they would have been), and I've found a set of aftermarket ear buds that both seal out noise and stay in my ears extremely well (and are comfortable - I've been hunting around for my earbuds a couple times only to realize they were still in my head). I have an older set of non-pro ones I leave in my office and only use for phone calls, but I use the Pros for everything else, particularly long walks listening to music, podcasts, talking on the phone, whatever...

-Ray

Kerbie · #6 10-06-2021, 01:56 PM

I use the Bose QuietComfort earbuds and they're great. I'm not a fan of the Apple earbuds... I just didn't like the sound.

jseth · #7 10-06-2021, 02:39 PM

I bought a pair of Beats Flex from Costco... good price, and surprisingly decent sound. Although they have a "yoke" that slips around my neck, they are wireless between the source and the yoke.

I don't use them all that much, but have been largely impressed by the sound quality - which is the paramount concern. Curiously, I have never been wearing them when I received a call, so I can't comment on the interface between phone and buds...

GCWaters · #8 10-06-2021, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jseth

I bought a pair of Beats Flex from Costco... good price, and surprisingly decent sound. Although they have a "yoke" that slips around my neck, they are wireless between the source and the yoke.

I don't use them all that much, but have been largely impressed by the sound quality - which is the paramount concern. Curiously, I have never been wearing them when I received a call, so I can't comment on the interface between phone and buds...

I have a pair of the original version of those...I agree--very good sound, and I will use them when I'm stationary. If I move, though, there's so much extraneous noise conveyed through bone conduction that I just can't stand them.

Sage97 · #9 10-06-2021, 07:09 PM

I like my Sennheisers.

srick · #10 10-07-2021, 04:13 AM

These are not 100% quiet, but my go to is a Bose Soundwear speaker. It sits on the back of your neck. https://www.bose.com/en_us/support/p...companion.htmlhowever, I’m pretty sure that this model is no longer sold. I especially like it when out for a walk because I can hear oncoming traffic. Battery life is excellent.

Rick

Mycroft · #11 10-11-2021, 10:13 PM

I guess that I am also in the market, as I lost my wired Polk Audio buds the other day. Will mostly use outside. One thing that i liked about the Polks is they had ear clips, so you didn't have to jam them into the ear canal, and could also leave loose when traffic dictated. Will use with an Android.

Any thoughts?

Aspiring · #12 10-11-2021, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssjk

As opposed to tolerate to get the convenience?

Is this just a question of physics and they ain’t ever going to get a lot better? Or am I missing something?

Follow up question: are the in-ear monitors that performers use equally thin sound-wise but they put up with it so that they can hear themselves with quality of what they hear secondary?

I have gone through several different sets in the last few years. Sennheiser Momentum TW2s, B&O and the latest are the Klipsch.

All three of those have had tolerable sound quality for me as long as I don't listen to them back to back with any of my good wired ones.

On your question for the Iems on stage I believe most of them use wired Iems that are fed from a wireless monitor receiver instead of Bluetooth truly wireless which provide a better signal.

I have a couple sets of wired Iems that are amazing and perform as well as or better than any of the high end over the ears I have or listened to when driven correctly, and I just picked up the FIIO BTR5 which allows me to Bluetooth connect to good Iems. The sound quality is definitely better with that combo than the truly wireless which means the tech still isn't all the way there to get it all in a single truly wireless package.

Nama Ensou · #13 10-12-2021, 01:27 AM

I like my AirPods, but like others find them to be finicky about fit. Once I get them well seated they've got excellent sound.

jseth · #14 10-12-2021, 11:25 AM

Originally, I got a set of the Cambridge Melomania buds... I REALLY wanted to like them, but, despite 8 or 10 varied-size earpieces, I could not get a good fit from them - and a good fit is necessary for good sound...

So I went with the Beats flex unit...

mr. beaumont · #15 10-12-2021, 11:39 AM

I can't stand earbuds, but I have a pair of Aftershock "behind the ear" bluetooth headphones, and I think they're outstanding.