New Truly Wireless Ear Buds, suggestions?

Joined
Jul 10, 2012
Messages
13,045
Location
North Carolina Coast
1. Tried the new Beats Studio Buds, no good had to return. I really liked them but the one on my left ear would lift up and come loose/fall out over time.

2. Tried Jabra Elite 75, LOVED them, GREAT APP to control it, same deal, working in the yard, fast walking with the dog, left earbud would lift up and come loose, returned yesterday. Also bought the Jabra Active Elite 75 since I liked the Elite 75 so much, hoping for a better outcome, no good, left ear again, would lift up and then come loose, due to return this week. (trust me, I tried for roughly 10 days to make the Jabras work, they are not going too for me)

3. On order and arriving this week is Beats Power Pro's, Bose Sport Buds and JBL Reflect Mini NC all of which have additional ear support to prevent coming loose,
I have my hopes up for the JBL Reflect Mini NC as it has a good app to control them and decent battery life. Next choice would be for the Beats Power Pro (no app) and Third would be the Bose Sport Buds, nothing against Bose except the battery life and their privacy statement. (I have to make sure I opt out which I understand you can do)
 
I have Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro - they come with different sized earwings and there is a phone app available to customize the EQ/frequency response.


But again, depending on the specific shape of your ears, they may or may not stay in place - depends on what you're doing. I personally do not like using buds/IEMs when walking because you hear/feel a thump with every step you take. They do work OK for biking though.
 
Last edited:
Only one I've found that work great consistently are Apple's Air Pods. They stay in your ear and sound really good. I'm not an Apple fanboy.
 
I have these.. they're not that bad. They've even been thru the washer and dryer and still work .

 
I have the first gen Bose Soundsport Free. No real complaints, but the range on them is not great. I prefer to leave my phone on my tool cart but am unable to with these.
 
I have Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro - they come with different sized earwings and there is a phone app available to customize the EQ/frequency response.


But again, depending on the specific shape of your ears, they may or may not stay in place - depends on what you're doing. I personally do not like using buds/IEMs when walking because you hear/feel a thump with every step you take. They do work OK for biking though.
First thanks to everyone for their posts so far, I have checked out most of them and in one case getting the newer version of the Bose on Wed.
Also Beats Power Pros (Apple owned) arriving Tuesday.
No shipping info on the JBL yet.

With that said good suggestion Quattro I don’t think I looked into these deeply enough, and going to revisit their site.
I have respect for Sound Core I have an older 2019 ish set Soundcore Spirt X which has an over the ear hook, Bluetooth but cord from one to the other.
Well right now I already have 3 being delivered this week will see how that goes first, not sure if I can handle a 4th. I might drive myself nuts
 
The next generation Apple AirPods coming soon, so the current ones are discounted pretty heavily now.

Amazon has the AirPods down to $129 from $199. Pros are $179 down from $249. Target, WalMart, BestBuy etc. all have them discounted similarly.
 
^^^^
Yeah, not much into the AirPods style, lack of colors too. No question that the AirPods Pro set a pretty high standard though.
I could have gotten the AirPods Pros for $129 on Amazon using my Discover Cashback deal
Instead I went for the Apple owned PowerBeats Pros for $129 and will be here on Tuesday, 24 hours!
I REALLY want true work out ear buds with wings to hold them securely in my ears and figured I would try out the Power Pros with wings and ear hooks especially because I was able to get them for the unheard of price of $129.
So we will see.
 
Last edited:
Have you tried a different ear nubbin? They usually come with several to fit most ear types.

I have a set of $35 refurb Jabra 65t active and they never fall out. They’re great and cheap. I use these while exercising and working around the yard, like you.

I also have a $200 pair of Sennheisers that sound noticeably better, but most probably would not spend that much extra money for such a difference. I watch movies on my iPad and like the better quality, is all.
 
Last edited:
Well right now I already have 3 being delivered this week will see how that goes first, not sure if I can handle a 4th. I might drive myself nuts
Yeah, I went through several of them, too, trying to find the right fit but also sound signature. Most of the ones I tried did not have enough bass for my liking, maybe because I wasn't getting a good seal against my ear canal. This L2Pro has decent bass which can be further increased using EQ in the app.
 
1. Tried the new Beats Studio Buds, no good had to return. I really liked them but the one on my left ear would lift up and come loose/fall out over time.

2. Tried Jabra Elite 75, LOVED them, GREAT APP to control it, same deal, working in the yard, fast walking with the dog, left earbud would lift up and come loose, returned yesterday. Also bought the Jabra Active Elite 75 since I liked the Elite 75 so much, hoping for a better outcome, no good, left ear again, would lift up and then come loose, due to return this week. (trust me, I tried for roughly 10 days to make the Jabras work, they are not going too for me)

3. On order and arriving this week is Beats Power Pro's, Bose Sport Buds and JBL Reflect Mini NC all of which have additional ear support to prevent coming loose,
I have my hopes up for the JBL Reflect Mini NC as it has a good app to control them and decent battery life. Next choice would be for the Beats Power Pro (no app) and Third would be the Bose Sport Buds, nothing against Bose except the battery life and their privacy statement. (I have to make sure I opt out which I understand you can do)
Read the on line product reviews. Try "Reviewed"
 
I bought a pair of Soundcore "Life" about a year ago. They've been very satisfactory for just under $50:

Before that I had a pair of "Tozo" BT buds that seemed ok at first but developed multiple problems and after looking closely I learned had mostly fake reviews on amazon. IMO, that is a brand to avoid.

For sound quality for the $$ it's hard to beat some of the wired IEM's for under $100.
 
I bought a pair of Soundcore "Life" about a year ago. They've been very satisfactory for just under $50:

Before that I had a pair of "Tozo" BT buds that seemed ok at first but developed multiple problems and after looking closely I learned had mostly fake reviews on amazon. IMO, that is a brand to avoid.

For sound quality for the $$ it's hard to beat some of the wired IEM's for under $100.
Wow, yes, Amazon now is full of fake reviews and I cant help feel most of the times the cheap stuff coming out of China. It certainly doesnt take much for them to get ratings up.
I personally feel Soundcore is the one less expensive company to stick with over the others. Anker turns out some good stuff. (dont know, think I mentioned I do have a pair of Soundcore Spirit X, still going strong from around 2019)
The stuff I am evaluating right now is pretty much anything goes, not concerned with price within reason for ear buds, lets say tops $200. only I guess because they are a throw away item, in 2 years if they last that long, battery life will be diminished.
Its a gift from wife.
Anyway, Beats Power Pro's just arrived at my door this Tuesday morning. Took them out of the box, and have them in my ears, the sound is way different then the Jabra's which are VERY heavy on Bass out of the box so after listening to the Jabra's for the last 2 weeks it takes a little getting used too.
The Beats Power Pro's to my surprise, very big surprise are very neutral, no heavy bass at all, normally this is EXACTLY what I want, I dont want the device artificially exaggerating what the artist intended and I hate muddy sound. Some might call this boring but anyway, the Power Pros are very accurate compared to the Jabra's and depending on what someone likes might think the Power Pros sound boring BUT I have to say, after listening to them for the past hour and getting the Jabra sound out of my head, I am REALLY enjoying the Power Pro's, the mid-range. The vocals are outstanding, instruments really shine.
We will see, right now the key to ANY of these is a good fit with my ears. I need something on the "sport" side of things where they stay secure in my ear and not have to fool around with them every 30 minutes or so to get them back in position to sound good.

I have a good feeling about the Power Pro's but don't forget ... today is Tuesday and on Wed I have two other sets coming to my house.
Bose Sport Buds and JBL Reflect Mini ... cant wait to get this settled once and for all.
I think I have every major brand now covered. There is a Soundcore Earbud that also has my attention if all the above does work but I have to draw the line for now cause I am driving myself crazy *LOL*
 
Bose Sport earbuds and Powerbeats Pro.
Think I am going to keep both but still have a couple weeks to try them out some more. Bose actually gives you 90 days to try them out... Im certain I am keeping both.

Powerbeats perform flawlessly and Bose despite is half assed App and bugs setting it up which is inexcusable for a company who makes their living on Audio, now owned buy an international conglomerate would explain that. I deleted the Bose app. once set up and use the iPhone software to control the Bose and of course the Bearts, owned by Apple is already controlled by the phone. .
... can't make up my mind... so as of right now, Im definitely keeping both... Despite the horrible experience of setting up the Bose and the generic multipurpose to it all app tied to them... with all its bugs... once settled down and the app removed, I spaciousness of the sound, placement of the instruments is REALLY good.
The Powerbeats Pros are much the same, give up a little bit of the sound stage for super detailed crisp audio, love them both.

I still have one from JBL on its way, JBL shipping sucks, has for years and most (a lot) of their stuff is now cheap consumer stuff, (now owned by the same conglomerate that owns Bose)... not even sure if I will open the box... but ok, yeah, I will and try them out too.
Wife just bought a Sony 800N earbuds... we got them super cheap, other stores still selling for $200... but they are getting returned... sound isn't that great.
 
Last edited:
Who owns Bose? I thought Bose was still independent.
IM WRONG!! YOUR RIGHT!

JUST JBL, NOT BOSE MNETIONED IN MY ABOVE POST. Im actually relieved. Harmon owns so many companies and Harmon is now owned by Samsung!

Im glad you pointed that out. I'll cut Bose some slack now and glad to keep my earbuds. One thing that was very impressive was the follow through emails on delivery to our house.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, there has been a lot of consolidation when it comes to old school / well known audio brands. In addition to Harman, there is also Voxx International that owns brands such as Jamo, Klipsch, Integra, Pioneer, Onkyo. Then there is DEI/Sound United that owns Denon, Marantz, Boston Acoustics, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, and B&W.

Speaking of JBL, I think some of their consumer speakers are still relatively OK. I know you own some, and so do I. But the JBL BT headphones (not earbuds) I bought some time ago were utter garbage from sound quality perspective. I promptly sent them back. My cheap $10 MPOW BT/ANC headphones sound infinitely better.
 
Back
Top