Ear Bud Recommendations

[false_aesthetic]

I'm humbly turning to the V-Salon Collective for ear bud recommendations. A bit more info is below.

Thanks!





I have been a devoted Jaybird user for 5+ years. Their X2 and Tarah models were great. But the Vista and Vista 2.0 models have been problematic (this seems to be common if you check out Reddit, Facebook, etc)

* vista #1 : right ear bud died within a month
* vista #2 : warranty replacement. same issue
* vista #3 : warranty replacement. same issue after a year.
* vista 2 #1 : left ear bud 50% quieter than the right. out of box
* vista 2 #2 : right ear bud's mic/noise cancelling is different than the left. sounds like treb + mids are cut. makes me feel lopsided.

The thing that gets me is that when the product works, it works well:

* fit is great, they never fall out of my ears and never irritate me.
* moderate size
* the app is one of the better ones and combined with the hardware the sound is good
* minimal noise when wind passes over them. Isolation is great when I'm listening to a podcast and working in the shop.
* Vista 1 was IPX7 Vista 2 is IPX8 (or there about)
* Vista 1 mic was fantastic for Zoom meetings. Vista 2 was crap.

[cash]

If you're a member of the Apple collective, EarPod Pro v2 are remarkable. The noise cancellation is fantastic.

[Tom_Bishop]

I've been really happy with Anker Soundcore A40 after first few months of use. Battery life is really good, USB-C, great sound and price. The blue tooth is what really won it for me - I swap between iPhone to AppleTV to Peloton to MacBook and these don't make it hard like my old Bose ones. Lots and lots of great reviews out on the A40s, including Wirecutter..

[rec head]

Pixel Buds were included with my phone. They are OK but I wouldn't buy another set.

[Too Tall]

+1 What Mr. Jason says. I purchased the new Ipod Pro 2 a couple days ago to solve a problem wearing hearing aids during heated Ashtanga Yoga (it's sweaty and hard blah blah). The sweat was killing my expensive hearing aids. Using the Airpods in transparent mode with amplification (three r. side clicks of your iphone) maxed they are the answer to my sweaty prayers. They are very sweat proof.

You don't care about this, consider it a bonus. As straight up earbuds they are amazing. Earbud controls work, quick swipe up/down controls volume or a squeeze pauses/ends/calls or changes from transparent/noise canceling modes.
Noise cancel mode is very good and I'm comparing them to some fancy pants Bose noise canceling earbuds I use on the motorcycle.

Because you did not spend enough....there are aftermarket eartips that stay put and are memory foam covered with thin silicone: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Yep, good stuff.

That's more than you needed.

[32x20]

Y'all gonna cost me more $$ with talk like this. While on the trainer last night I was trying to listen to a podcast on the speaker with limited success.

[Too Tall]

Y'all gonna cost me more $$ with talk like this. While on the trainer last night I was trying to listen to a podcast on the speaker with limited success.

What did we do before just about everything?

Taking a knee for you.

[32x20]

What did we do before just about everything?

Taking a knee for you.

I’ll start a gofundme. ; )

Was hoping they weren’t as good as advertised. I’d gotten my wife some Jabra some time back, but they seem to have gotten lost pretty quickly. I believe they were pre ANC.

[dashDustin]

I keep trying other ear buds, but keep going back to AirPods. Have 2 pair of the regulars and 1 pair Pros.

Prior to those, I also had some Jaybirds that would start out working great.....then they'd start petering out. I don't think I'd get more than a year.5 out of them, which was really frustrating. There have been a few other alternatives thrown in, but just didn't last or sound good. Didn't keep them around long.

[rec head]

For the trainer I use Isotunes. They are great. I have these https://isotunes.com/products/isotunes-pro-2 or the prior generation. I use their earmuff headphones for hours a day when I'm running saws.

[32x20]

Found my wife's earbuds. They're Jabra Elite 75t. A firmware update later and they have ANC. Reviews still seem to favor the Airpod Pros, but gonna give these a try for a few days before I hand them back over. Getting ANC after 2 years is a definite pro.

[rydesteel]

As an aside to the OP's question how are the AirPod Pro's sound quality when talking on the phone? I use my cellphone as a work phone and the original earpods aren't the best call quality at times.

[kdawg]

I've had a variety over the years - including at one point custom moulds made for my smaller than average ears.

But for the last few years I've been using some I got on Amazon for not much - they fit well, battery life is good (although I do notice now it's not quite as good as it was a few years ago), sound is good, not noise cancelling but fine in anything but noisy environments.

They don't have mine listed now but I got my son these ones recently which are similar - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

[Too Tall]

As an aside to the OP's question how are the AirPod Pro's sound quality when talking on the phone? I use my cellphone as a work phone and the original earpods aren't the best call quality at times.

Terrific phone sound quality. I'd give them a 95% as good as my hearing aids which are beyond good.

Sorry I don't like spending other peoples $$

[false_aesthetic]

Thanks for the suggestions ya'll.

I'm trying out a set of Jabra buds right now (30 day return policy). They don't stay put as well as the Jaybirds but the sound quality, ANC and app are much better (I like that I can customize the sound for each ear -- standing on the left side of the stage in my 20s led to a bit of imbalance).

If those don't work I'm on to the Apple products. Previous generations of iPods didn't fit my ear but maybe things are different now.

I appreciate this place so much!

-T-

[Bobonli]

I'm with TT. The AirPods are possibly the finest Apple product I own and definitely the best wireless buds I've used. But I'm 100% Apple so the integration is seamless.

[gt6267a]

Curious what the collective thinks about the AirPod V3 Vs the pro or other products? I purchased the pro and liked everything about them except one of the ear tip things did not fit comfortably. i tried all the tip sizes and none resolved the problem. the other ear was comfortable with multiple tip sizes. Was a little sad to return the pros. The AirPod V2 fit nicely but have run their course in life. Considering the V3 or something else ...

[32x20]

Followup: I did order some of the Pro v2s. Very little use yet, but they sound markedly better than the older Jabras and the noise canceling is impressive. We have a long plane trip coming up in a week or so, so hoping the canceling is good at jet engine frequencies.

Re: pro fit. The app says mine fit great with the 'Large' tips, but it's not the seal and fit of the Jabra's. I may try some foam tips just to see if I can get a more secure fit at some point. They're fit for sitting/walking around, but I probably wouldn't go jog or bike ride with them in.

[rec head]

I have a question about noise cancelling headphones: Is anyone else sensitive to the out of phase noise? Do you get used to it? I have tried over the ear headphones with NR and find the out of phase-ness to be unsettling.

[Too Tall]

I have a question about noise cancelling headphones: Is anyone else sensitive to the out of phase noise? Do you get used to it? I have tried over the ear headphones with NR and find the out of phase-ness to be unsettling.

I never noticed that using IPOD pros and have noticed that using heavy duty over the ear jobs ment for shooting ranges.