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Well my 3rd set of earbuds in 18 months has failed again.
Anker Liberty 3 Pro's.
Left side barely audible.
Can anyone recommend some that might last longer than a few months?
Only really use them for podcasts, so not looking to spend a fortune, around £70 - £80?
My Sony's which were around £90 are working perfectly after going through the washing machine. I realised as the app started sending notifications after id put awash on. Survived a full cycle so I'm guessing they are pretty well made
Beats Flex in daily use for an average 4+ hours a day since August 2021 and still going strong.
Nothing Ear (a) at £80 seem good so far but only had them a month.
These have been good for me.
Earfun pods - I think mine are v2 and get 5* reviews on what hifi
if you are apple, i wouldnt look anywhere else
had my apple v2 airpods £119 for coming upto 5 years in december. battery life still going strong..
Sony WF-1000XM4s, bit pricey but great noise cancelling earbuds. Have they about 4 years, should normally have 5-6 hours play time from a full charge. Was down to about 30mins. €20 for a battery replacement kit from aliexpress, 20 mins watching a youtube video, 30mins to replace batteries, all good for another (hopefully) 3-4 years.
+1 IHN, mine have been through the washing machine cycle several times too.
Cambridge audio Melomania 1+. Now about £50. I paid £90 about 5 years ago and they’ve not missed a beat. Worn in all weathers including torrential rain commuting, no issues. Battery life still great.
I've moved from.'buds' to IEMs for durability reasons, the bit I tended to kill was a cable and plug rather than the buds themselves and IEMs usually have cables that can be replaced.
Currently on Shure SE215's that can be had online for £40-50 through a Fiio headphone DAC and Amp and very happy with them.
No need to pay more than the £35 for the Earfuns IMO, decent sound, plenty good enough for podcasts.
Jabra Active Elite (or something like that) must be abut 4yrs old now
That’s weird - are they out of warranty?
Im on my 2nd pair of Anker Liberty 2 Pros I think they are. First pair died after just over 2 years of use. They’ve commuted in the pouring rain, been used for sweaty sport like running / indoor turbo training / used on the train etc.
When I say died they still worked but the battery life in one earbud dropped off a cliff.
Both sets I’ve picked up in sales / on eBay so only paid £50 ish.
I have some Airpods pro 2 that I've had since Christmas, no idea on their longevity but if you're an iPhone user they're great, and especially good if you also use other apple devices as well. £200
I've also had some Mpow M30 for since the covid lockdowns that have been great, still work fine but have been benched in favour of the Airpods. £30ish
I've got some soundcore ones too that I use for work that have lasted at least 3 years, P2 or something, they've been decent. £20ish
Got some Amazon ones too, also pretty decent, just not as good as the airpods. £40 on a lightning deal, not worth the full price.
If you're on Apple the AirPods, they just work so well. My pair was from Cex and weren't much more than £100.
I use Shokz OpenMove bone conduction headphones and now greatly prefer them to conventional in ear buds. Initially purchased for use on the bike but now use them everywhere. Sometimes they can be difficult to use with a lot of background noise but that can be solved by using t earplugs. Have had them for over two years and have worn them in very wet conditions and they have been very reliable.
Jabra Elite 65s here, got to be five/six years old, working fine
+1
Cambridge audio Melomania 1+. Now about £50. I paid £90 about 5 years ago
Where are they £50? I was tempted by them, but best price i saw was £120 ish IIRC, so went for the Ear (a) I mentioned at £80.
edit: ah, it was the more expensive (£140) Melomania M100 I was looking at, the 1+ look to be out of stock most places.
If they’re only used for podcasts, why on Earth are you spending that amount on BT ones, use wired ones! The Apple EarPods are £19, last for ages and actually sound very good. As an alternative, then MeeAudio M6 Pro. They have the distinct advantage of being cheap, sounding very good, and having cables that are actually replaceable! No batteries to run out, no losing one earphone, and they will last for years.
If they’re only used for podcasts, why on Earth are you spending that amount on BT ones
Genuinely curious why you think going back to wired as against wireless is down to the use?
One you have been using wireless headphones of any sort for a while going back to wired for anything other than a high end music set is an annoyance at best.
Beats Fit Pro are the only set of earbuds I've not destroyed with sweat. They have good noise cancelling, sound OK, never fall out, and are never uncomfortable. They aren't the cheapest but they are, in my opinion, the best value.
I did actually go back to wired ones for a while.
They were cheaper and did sound better.
However, the wires were in pain. I use them walking the dog and walking to work and they just got in the way.
Went for Panasonic RZ-S500 in the end.
We'll see how these go.
Earfun Air Wireless are £35 – What Hifi Best Value earbuds. Would be fine for podcasts.
Work fine here too. And the left one has been through the washing machine.
The pro ones allow multiple devices so can netflix while working and still answer calls on my laptop
Whisper it but AirPods are great. I have a set from 2020 that are still in perfect nick. I am continuously shocked that I haven't lost at least one of them. Only issue is they start to look manky from time to time and have to clean them with an earbud and rubbing alcohol.
Still running my original AirPods. I have AirPods-shaped ears so wired or wireless. the fit is perfect. Sadly battery life is now relatively poor after four years and only about half a decent dog walk, so I'm back on wired or listening to one pod at a time. Still love them. I am saddened that there is no proper recycling program with discounted battery replacement. That was part of the reason for going back to wires.
I also use the USB-C wired versions for work instead of a Plantronics headset. Very portable in the virtual office, and not subject to bluetooth PC vagaries and dropouts during Teams.
I have Anker Soundcore Liberty Air and they have lasted about 3 years of sweaty Zwifting....
Are you sure is earbuds at fault? I have pair Samsung buds that came free 5yrs ago with phone. Had period of no sound from one - couldn't figure it out, so bought some Nura's (which are awesome by the way).
After an update to phone both buds now working. Never figured out what was issue but earbuds still working great.