Bumping this old thread because I'm in the market for some Bluetooth earbuds for exercising. I did have a set of Mpow S10's for about 2-3 years and they were great. Then I had an incident where one of the silicon tips came off inside my ear and I had to go to the hospital to get it removed. I vowed to switch to a different style but after looking around I really don't like the newer wireless Bluetooth headphones because I like the idea of being able to put them over my neck when not in use. I'm sure I'd lose the totally wireless ones.
Anyway, I settled on Mpow again and ordered the S16 model from Amazon. They were returned the next day because of a constant interference beeping noise in the right earbud that could be heard over the music. So I decided to go with the Mpow S15 instead. They arrived yesterday and are being sent back today because the right earbud has an ear shattering high pitch squeal that can be heard without it anywhere near my ear. So now I'm looking for something else to order. Ideally I'd like to spend less than $100. I was looking at the Bose Sound sport ($150) but have read several reviews of them breaking after a year or needing to exchange them under warranty a few times. Any suggestions?
Bumping this old thread because I'm in the market for some Bluetooth earbuds for exercising. I did have a set of Mpow S10's for about 2-3 years and they were great. Then I had an incident where one of the silicon tips came off inside my ear and I had to go to the hospital to get it removed. I vowed to switch to a different style but after looking around I really don't like the newer wireless Bluetooth headphones because I like the idea of being able to put them over my neck when not in use. I'm sure I'd lose the totally wireless ones.
Anyway, I settled on Mpow again and ordered the S16 model from Amazon. They were returned the next day because of a constant interference beeping noise in the right earbud that could be heard over the music. So I decided to go with the Mpow S15 instead. They arrived yesterday and are being sent back today because the right earbud has an ear shattering high pitch squeal that can be heard without it anywhere near my ear. So now I'm looking for something else to order. Ideally I'd like to spend less than $100. I was looking at the Bose Sound sport ($150) but have read several reviews of them breaking after a year or needing to exchange them under warranty a few times. Any suggestions?
Sony should have similar offerings to the MPow for less than $100. Sound quality should be a step up from the MPow. Some people complain that Sony are a little bit bass heavy at times, but I didn't have an issue with the ones I use. Since you are likely using them for working out/exercising, IMO bass heavy is a positive, not a negative.
Sony will have essentially 3 types in the bud design you were looking at before.
1. Over the ear with wire around the back of the head
2. buds with light wires that drape over your neck/shoulder
3. buds with wires and a heavier neck/shoulder collar thing.
Amazon should have it.
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Bumping this old thread because I'm in the market for some Bluetooth earbuds for exercising. I did have a set of Mpow S10's for about 2-3 years and they were great. Then I had an incident where one of the silicon tips came off inside my ear and I had to go to the hospital to get it removed. I vowed to switch to a different style but after looking around I really don't like the newer wireless Bluetooth headphones because I like the idea of being able to put them over my neck when not in use. I'm sure I'd lose the totally wireless ones.
Anyway, I settled on Mpow again and ordered the S16 model from Amazon. They were returned the next day because of a constant interference beeping noise in the right earbud that could be heard over the music. So I decided to go with the Mpow S15 instead. They arrived yesterday and are being sent back today because the right earbud has an ear shattering high pitch squeal that can be heard without it anywhere near my ear. So now I'm looking for something else to order. Ideally I'd like to spend less than $100. I was looking at the Bose Sound sport ($150) but have read several reviews of them breaking after a year or needing to exchange them under warranty a few times. Any suggestions?
I've had Bose Soundsports for about 3 years and they still work great.
I also have Soundsport Frees which I've had about 2 years but they don't have the hang around your neck benefit you've mentioned.
My only complaint is both still fall out of my ear during certain exercises.
I use them at the gym and running but bought a pair of Mpows specifically for when I'm boxing/kickboxing as the Bose ones always fall out.
If you're doing mostly straight motion cardio or weight training, the soundsports should be great, but you might have the same problem as me if you do anything with more high intensity direction changing, martial arts, crossfit etc.
Easy to pair, have the workout tips and light. Sound would be aimed for EDM or Hip hop IMO but they dont disappoint with any other genre. Bass is amazing, mids are okay and treble is fine. My only issue is they dont go to 11 on the volume rocker like I want them to. But theres ways around that like an eq.
These are going to hold me over until the Klipstch T5 Mclarens are released.
If you bump up in price to like 150, you can find some gems like the Jabra t75 elites if you shop around.
Not so much for high end music listening, but I am so far pretty happy with the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 for working from home. Key features for me are:
noise cancellation is great with wife, two kids, and dogs all home during the day
comfortable over the ear design, can wear for hours at a time and not notice the weight
each ear has a moveable ring and a touch surface for control. easy to adjust volume and noise cancelling
can link to phone and laptop at the same time, can answer a Teams call or a phone call without switching
can hook them up as a corded headphone if needed.
Downside of course is $300+ price tag but I am justifying it that I will be working from home for a while longer and they are making me more productive.
I know I'm late to the game, but things like music pausing when I take them off and resuming when I put them on is magic to me.
Any suggestions for bluetooth ear buds WITH microphones? I've heard good things about Raycons, and they have ones for $186 Canadian. Anyone tried Raycon earbuds before? How's the fit?
My uses will be for taking work calls (phone and laptop), and leisure listening during walks and on planes.
Any suggestions for bluetooth ear buds WITH microphones? I've heard good things about Raycons, and they have ones for $186 Canadian. Anyone tried Raycon earbuds before? How's the fit?
My uses will be for taking work calls (phone and laptop), and leisure listening during walks and on planes.
Raycons are the Beats of Bluetooth earbuds. That is, they're way overpriced because they spend so much on marketing and sponsorship.
I'd recommend any of these:
Apple Airpods Pro (if you have an iPhone)
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro (if you have a Samsung Phone)
Sony WF-1000XM3 (great ANC)
Jabra Elite 85t
TaoTronics SoundLiberty 95 (best value)
There's probably better ones around this price point but I haven't tried them all. Just stay away from Raycons.
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Raycons are the Beats of Bluetooth earbuds. That is, they're way overpriced because they spend so much on marketing and sponsorship.
I'd recommend any of these:
Apple Airpods Pro (if you have an iPhone)
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro (if you have a Samsung Phone)
Sony WF-1000XM3 (great ANC)
Jabra Elite 85t
TaoTronics SoundLiberty 95 (best value)
There's probably better ones around this price point but I haven't tried them all. Just stay away from Raycons.
Thanks for the advice!! I have an S21, so I will be checking out the bottom 4.
Thanks for the advice!! I have an S21, so I will be checking out the bottom 4.
Beware the microphones on the Sonys. They have been bad on both on ear and ear bud headsets. Often headphone reviews focus on ANC and sound, but few test the microphones in different environments (quiet, noisy, etc).
Springloft Studio was the best in really thorough reviews on headsets. Unfortunately, he had health issues, and hasn't posted anything in over a year. His last microphone review is a couple years old, but you may be surprised at the quality of microphones amongst the different headsets.
The Sony buds he tested are a couple generations back, so hopefully they have fixed the microphone issues.
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Looks like he did review the Sony WF-1000XM3 here:
His review is in the top comment as his health issues prevented him from doing a proper video review. For mic quality, he says a lot, but after a few updates, his final review of mic quality is:
Quote:
Mic quality: this is the most difficult part. When calling directly, most of the time it seems OK, would miss some words submerging under water towards the end of long sentences. If only talking in short sentences like 3-5 words, it’s good. WhatsApp call would experience little more words missing but not too bad. Again talking in short sentences and it’s fine. So not good for conf calls which involves presentations, instructions, etc. However my wife had multiple calls she can’t hear me at all, like the coming scenario, but I cannot repeat again during call test. Still need to bear in mind this may happen. Not sure what’s going on yet. Direct recording is horrible “sometimes”, not sure why Sony implement 2 different algorithms, and this is the first one my original mic test won’t align with UX. I have clips that recording quality suddenly switch from poor to great quality. All these looks like the buds are trying to capture the voices and doing some processing, in direct recording of full quality the processor is too weak to handle, in WhatsApp call which is clear and higher bandwidth, the processor would be drown sooner, so missing more words earlier. In normal calls in limited bandwidth, the processor handle it better, so most likely people won’t find huge problems. In fact in the clips with quality switch, if Sony try not to process as aggressive NC for the mic, it may strike a perfect balance of mic quality. Hope this is fixable in firmware. At this moment, if you wanna do a quick recording of a meeting going on, and forgotten you’ve connected to the earbuds (say taken off on a table and the bud sensor happened staying next to your laptop so it won’t cutoff), your recordings are screwed, unlike AirPods or Bose you still have a great chance capturing something just softer.
Beware the microphones on the Sonys. They have been bad on both on ear and ear bud headsets. Often headphone reviews focus on ANC and sound, but few test the microphones in different environments (quiet, noisy, etc).
Springloft Studio was the best in really thorough reviews on headsets. Unfortunately, he had health issues, and hasn't posted anything in over a year. His last microphone review is a couple years old, but you may be surprised at the quality of microphones amongst the different headsets.
The Sony buds he tested are a couple generations back, so hopefully they have fixed the microphone issues.
This is awesome and when I started researching the above suggestions, I did read unfavourable reviews regarding phone calls and how I would sound to others, as you noted.
How I sound on the other end is definitely my number one priority for the ear buds given how often I'll be using them for video and phone calls for work.
It seems like most reviews are around sound are related to noise cancellation for the listener. Will have to do more research!
