[Closed] Wireless headphones

Skull Candy are style over substance. I've got some JBL on-ear BT headphones that are very good but not tried their in-ear ones. I have got some Samsung Buds of which the ANC is pretty hopeless but unlike some cheap wireless Buds they sync very quickly when activated, last ages and can be charged via USB-C or via my phone (as it has wireless charging both ways). You can also use the smart things app to locate them if you lose them.

Have a look on Hotukdeals as there are deals on a number of the different Samsung options at the mo.

I've just never got on with earbuds. Not comfy and the sound can be good, but "for earbuds". Always end up going for big over the head style ones.

I've been looking for my son. Cambridge Audio are highly rated but he wants the Beats ones.

Just (day before yesterday) got some Sony WF-C500s, reviews are good and I'm very happy with them. That said: competition seems pretty fierce in the sub €100 market, so I'm assuming for a given price point they're all pretty good.

What is ANC?

Stay away from skullcandy, any decent audio brand will have good options. Dodge anything with a wire connecting the buds.

Yes they stay in, ideally you'd be able to check fit before buying, everyone's ears are different. If you can't, go for something that will take a memory foam tip - £3 for a set on eBay and they'll be bombers. Jabra are great - they cut their teeth in the exercise headphones arena. Wireless is a game changer, especially for active people.

ANC = active noise cancelling.

It's a circuit that has a mic on the outside of the buds, and will try to cancel out what it hears. Really useful if you're in a train/plane/buzzy place. Less good where outside sounds are variable, and rubbish on the bike. It's not all equal - Sony and Bose are way head of the others when it comes to ANC.

These are for a gift so can't check fit first. All I know is they don't want Apple and prefer the in-ear type and their ears are quite small.

Edifier earphones are pretty good, they come with seven different sized eartips, and mine stay in place pretty well. The ANC works well, with two levels of actual noise cancellation as well as ambient and ‘standard’ settings. If I need to talk to someone, I can double-tap the right ‘phone to pause music, and a double-tap on the left one switches from full ANC to ambient, which makes things nice and simple.

https://www.edifier.com/int/product-neobuds-pro.html

I recently bought some £130 B&W earbuds with ANC from Richer Sounds. Did a bit of research on reviews and took a punt, never spent more than £30 on headphones before.
Very impressed with the sound quality, all the sounds are separate and clear and just nice, bass isnt heavy but the sound quality means it doesn't need to be. Working from home listening to spotify last week with ANC on for hours and you don’t realise the anc is working until you take them out and the washing machine is having it large on the spin cycle, which you couldn’t hear.
Charging box thing is simple to charge them and Ive done one walk in them and they stayed in my ear. Would like to ride in them off road but might be pushing it as they arent sports ones.
Ill be annoyed when I lose or wash them, which Im sure I will. Other option was some Sony ones, not sure why I didnt buy those as they seemed to win awards.

Stuff I've tried...

JayBird are good. I have a pair of Tarah Pros that are tough and reliable. No noise cancellation though.

Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch sounded lovely, but wouldn't stay connected to my (android) phone, even after several software updates.

Samsung Buds Live I didn't get on with. Kept falling out.

Samsung Buds Pro I really liked, but then I started suffering from the inflamed ears in the press at the mo.

Latest ones are Google Buds A-series, £20 off at the mo. Good so far, reliable, sound good, touch controls work well, fit well. Don't think they have noise cancellation, but they do adjust the volume depending on what's going on around you.

Have a look at the Anker range, you're not paying for the brand name but the quality is great. I had a pair of the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 but lost them and they were really good, certainly a match for my home traditional headphones that aren't exactly bad (no name ones recommended from here a few years ago). Replaced them with their basic Life P2's and there's not much of a drop in quality. The cheaper ones don't like high volumes as they get a but tinny but they're more than capable of being loud enough to drown out any background noise without hurting my ears or sounding bad. They both came with multiple sizes of earbuds so I can match the fit on each ear individually.

There’s some good deals on Amazon at the moment on the master & dynamic MW07 Go. Under £100 which is an amazing price and fantastic value for money. They blow all the Soundbeats / Ankur rubbish out of
the water

Skull Candy are style over substance

Skull Candy are a mainstay of places like the browser bar at TK Maxx.

I’ve been looking for my son.

Have you found him yet, is he OK?

Daughter wanted some 'apple shape' headphones after the supply of wired ones are getting scarce. She found some JBL wireless down from £80 to £40 on Amazon. reviews are better than the Apple ones. She finds the Apple shaped headphones are the only ones that stay in her ear.

Creative Outlier 2'.s Great price, sound fantastic and the battery life is 10 hours. That's 10 hours per charge of the headphones, not 10 hours in total so you'll comfortably get 30 hours plus when letting them recharge in their case.

I have tried a few cheapish pairs.
i have found, so far, that they gradually work their way out of my ear and eventually fall out. attempts to push them back in result in my pressing the buttons and turning off the music, or skipping track or whatever.
i never know which size rubber bit to use: a small one to get right inside my ear so the battery bit is further into my ear and therefore supported, or a bigger rubber bit for a tighter fit. either way, they don't stay in and i end up going back to wired earphones.
i guess this is why i've resisted spending more. while sound quality and battery life might be better, they'll still fall out. is there anything about more expensive ones that means they're more likely to stay in?

Powerbeats Pro are brilliant for staying in place - but way over budget

great thread.

im currently stuck between the samsung + ones and the google a series.

any sugestions?

Tret meself to some Sony WF-1000XM3s earlier this year, first grown-up set of headphones I've had and very impressed, sound is great, battery lasts and ANC knocks the background down without completely removing you from your environment.

I've got the soundcore spirit X2 - a visual copy of those expesnsive beats up thread. Comfy for hours on end, fine for jogging etc. When the audio input is youtube or spotify or a phonecall thats probably the limiting factor in audio quality.

I had some in ear ones, but despite trying all the rubber things, only really suitible for sitting stationary at home, they will randomly pop half out of your ear and need a little push back in.

It’s not all equal – Sony and Bose are way head of the others when it comes to ANC.

Although they probably all use the same BT noise cancelling silicon from Cambridge Silicon Radio.

I have some Jabra elite somethings. They're OK. Havent had any others so I cant compare. I bought them refurbed from their website over a year ago. Use them daily walking the dog and on tea break at work. Nice and simple interface, water resistant ( i think maybe waterproof). Used them mountainbiking a few times too.

great thread.

im currently stuck between the samsung + ones and the google a series.

any sugestions?

If it's great compatibility with Samsung stuff, auto handoff between devices, wireless charging etc. Samsungs look good.

Google ones (I have those now) are a bit more basic but seem very reliable. They also have the wings that keep them in if on the bike or exercising. And the Google Assistant is quite good. It reads the contents of notifications, WhatsApp messages etc. My old Samsung Buds would only do that for Samsung apps.

if its for an apple device, get the airpods, V2 (2019) are £99 at alot of places, i've had a pair coming upto 2 years, dont think i'd go back to wired, unless its a proper music listening headphone.