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Want some earphones for running, ideally they’d be AirPods but they don’t place nicely with Garmin watches.
The reason I liked the AirPods is that they are secure in the ear but don’t complete block out background noise. They also have no wires.
Sound quality isn’t that important, quality of Bluetooth connection is.
Any ideas?
Aftershokz?
Bone conducting leaving ears free.
Should have said, don’t want Aftershockz mainly as I want a minimal design, no wire round the ear or the neck.
i12 TWS?
Got these about two weeks ago for running as like yourself didn’t want a wire.
JBL Reflect Flow In-Ear True Wireless Headphones.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/2064453
Although they were half that when I picked them up.
More than happy with them. Allegedly 10hrs life in pods and 20 from case. Haven’t tested the claim as they recharge every time they go back in case. Case has yet to go flat though since initial charge.
They are designed for sports too so fully waterproof.
Has a feature called ‘talk through’ or something were you press the left pod and it lets through external sound. Press it again and it’s essentially a 50/50 mix press again and it’s all your music. Works pretty well in use.
Haven’t received a call yet so can’t comment on that aspect of it concerns you.
WhatHiFi rated them highly too for what that’s worth.
Random aside, read an article in the Economist about Apple and Airpods, analysts estimate they will sell $15bn worth this year, 4x more than the large headphone players total turn over. Quite an amazing achievement to enter a new market and then completely wipe the floor with the established players with a single product!
I got some Jabra 65t Actives while ago. They are very good and have "pass through" active sound cancellation. And a case that charges them.
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/jabra-elite-active-65t-earbuds,review-6010.html
and on offer direct from Jabra (mine came with 36hrs via UPS): https://www.jabra.co.uk/bluetooth-headsets/jabra-elite-active-65t#/#100-99010000-60
I got some jbl true wireless flash earphones for xmas. They have a pass through mode where you can hear sounds from around you, and I know they work with garmin watches (because I've got a fenix 6).
They stay in my ears fine when running and the sound quality seems pretty decent.
Bookmarked
Wot Kryton said
For a shed load less than airpods but very good connectivity and imo better sound the enacfire future are very good.
Haven't tried these, https://uk.creative.com/p/headphones-headsets/creative-outlier-air , but worth a look I'd say. They were the top choice in an in-depth article I read somewhere, and they're reasonably priced.
I have no need for them at the moment, but if I were buying I think I'd try these at that price.
Have a look at Creative Audio Melomania 1. I’ve had a set for a week and am blown away by them. Was originally looking at Jabra 75t.
Battery life 9h, 45h using the charge box.
Sound quality is amazing. Actually better than my JBL 650bt over the ear ones! Good attenuation using the provided memory foam inserts. Worked really well in the gym the other day. IP55.
I’ve got Aftershokz for riding, don’t want to lose hearing and have buds fall out mid ride.
Downside is the connector to charge the cradle is an older MicroUSB.
Another vote for the Jabra, really impressed with them after coming from Aftershockz (just found them a little uncomfortable). The Jabras seem to twist and lock into your ear really well.
I found the middle sized buds were amazing for the pure listening experience, but even in pass through mode they were sealed so tight that not that much outside noise passed in - the smaller buds for me give a great mixture - sealed enough to give decent quality yet not so sealed that they don't allow the outside world in - very happy with them.
Quite an amazing achievement to enter a new market and then completely wipe the floor with the established players with a single product!
Imagine what might happen if they enter the mobile phone market!
Oh, wait...
The new Amazon jobs get a very good write up. About £100 intro price I think but may have gone up in the last few days after initial release
Quite an amazing achievement to enter a new market and then completely wipe the floor with the established players with a single product!
Aren’t AirPods just a Beats product underneath, so not really a new market for them? Got my wife some beats Powerbeats Pro wireless headphones for Christmas. I may steal them. They’re utterly brilliant.
Had Powerbeats and now have the AirPods. I can’t put anything IN my ears due to psoriasis. I used to have some phenomenal Klipsch wired phones that were amazing. But after 15 minutes I had painful ears. Even with the smallest buds. Now I use the AirPods and I’m satisfied with the sound and comfort. Except they won’t talk to my work laptop properly.
And yes, and impressive market entry.
Just picked up a pair of JLab JBud Airs from Argos because, reviews. Very tidy bit of kit for the bargain price. They feel premium, sound quality is well, quality, and theyve survived a couple of crossfit-style workouts and interval session while sitting snugly in my ear
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8796581
just got the airpads myself £119, if you have an apple phone, it'd be silly not to buy them.
was looking at urbanista stockholm £45 currys, glad i avoided them, as reviews say connectivity is poor.
the wife has some £30 decathlon ones which are very good, she says
i thought the purchase of dr dre's beats was a ridiculous sum at the time.
just googled sales were 1b in 2013 and very cheap to produce.. so makes sense..
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Apple confirms acquisition of Dr Dre's Beats for $3 billion. Updated @ 10am, March 29 2014: Apple has finally confirmed its acquisition of Beats Electronics for $3 billion ($2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in stock that will vest over time). Co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre will join Apple as part of the deal.29 May 2014
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FWIW - I tried various airpod competitors - from £20 amazon cheapies up to expensive Philips (I think) things. None lasted more than three months of use on the commute before either battery life died on its backside or they developed odd sound issues. Much as it irritated me to do it, I bought some airpods and they were far better - functionality just worked for taking calls (not that I like being one of 'those' people apparently muttering to themselves), sound quality was grand (all be it that I'm far from being an audiophile) and they stood up well to daily use. Price was a kicker but given they're one of the two or three things that I use the most on a daily basis, it was a worthwhile investment. Ended up chopping them in for the Airpod Pros (bought for £120, sold for £100!) as the noise cancellation functionality makes them ideal for work when I need to get some coding done and drown out the sound of the office...
They're bl**dy expensive though.
Aren’t AirPods just a Beats product underneath, so not really a new market for them?
No, Beats were just cheap headphones with great banding. The Airpods are much more complex, IIRC the first company to sync separate Blue Tooth devices for stereo audio - a proper Apple product.
Presume it's an auto correct issue and its cambridge audio not creative audio you're referring to but I have the same ones and they are fantastic and I like currentkuvin the sale at Richer Sounds. The fact it's not a USB C connection is annoying though.
I have the Jabra 65T - great produect - you can set them up to that you can hear what is going on around you. Not tried them yet on the bike (I use AfterShokz) but will do one day.
Look at urbanista stuff, very good indeed.
Could never get on with apple headphones as they don’t seem to fit my ears very well. Had previous Powerbeats which were okay but weren’t the loudest and didn’t sound amazing
Now have the new Powerbeats pro which are in another league. Fit my ears perfectly, don’t move when running or mountain biking and rarely have the sound above 70% as they sound incredible. Placing back in case charges them back up and will recharge 3 times of one case charge. Most impressed I’ve been with an audio product for years. Over ear headphones are no longer used
just got the airpads myself £119, if you have an apple phone, it’d be silly not to buy them
I don't think that's necessarily the case (unless your statement is to the OP rather than in general), I have AirPod v2's myself (non-Pro) but I only got them as I didn't want something that created a seal in my ear (I only use them at work and am forever removing/reinserting them as people wander over to my desk to talk to me). That's a pretty niche use case though, if you're after the best sound quality for listening to music etc. then there are better options.
Update on this, mentioned the idea to my wife who produced a pair of Jabra Elite Active that she bought when training for a marathon. Tried this morning and they worked OK, sound and fit were good, only challenge was they lost connection a couple times, I suspect as they right headphone connects to the devise, and they were connected to my running watch on my left wrist.
Will update further after more usage.