Anarchist
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21
I use AirPods and wired Apple earbuds interchangeably.
Sometimes I get fed up of one or the other, so here’s the (slightly) bad thing about both of them.
It takes me about 3 seconds to untangle and plug in the wired earbuds, and about 1 second to connect the AirPods. I’ll work out what to do with those 2 seconds, one day.
If you spend a lot of time changing the volume, you might want to stick with Apple earbuds. You’ll need to use Siri or the phone buttons with AirPods.
And that’s about it, really. They sound pretty much the same to my untrained ear, and I don’t have any problems with either of them falling out.
AirPod sound quality and volume is enough for me. Not an audiophile.
The connectivity is the boon. I have a set of bluetooth ‘over head’ style cans which have odd drop out points depending on where on my body the phone is! With the AirPods I can leave my phone on my desk, walk 50m to the printer in the office and back without losing signal.
Also, you just put them in your ears and they connect.
There will be better sounding ones, but the ease of use is by far the biggest factor for me. Changing volume requires Apple Watch or just hand in pocket to use the hardware buttons… but you can pause/next etc on the AirPods themself.
I’ve had a variety of wireless earbuds, all cheaper, that for one reason or another were a minor annoyance (either the fit, the sound, the functionality, or the signal/connection issues), got AirPods and they are the BEST product I’ve ever had.
I think I’d prefer some sort of bleed through - not too bothered by complete isolation.
I’ve looked at the Bose SoundSport Free and they look good and are at a similar price point to the AirPods.
Are the AirPods louder than the wired buds? I’m not sure if it is because my buds are older now but the volume seems to be extremely low.
There are just so many around the same price point it is hard to know what is actually the best bang for your buck!
Anarchist
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24
They are a bit louder to my ear, but that could be because the speaker may sit a little nearer to the eardrum.
I doubt you’ll regret it. If you purchase them online, you’ve got two weeks to try them out, anyway.
I only swap to the wires ones if I’m walking. The external noise level changes and I’m always adjusting the volume. That is one thing I find easier with wired earbuds.
So I picked up the airpods about 18 months or so ago - I love them to bits.
I used to have a pair of Bang and Olufsen in-ear headphones (Beoplay H3) but damaged them. I honestly don’t hear much of a difference in the audio. The old ones were a bit more isolated, but honestly I’m not such an audiophile that the difference is so staggering.
Unless you’re going to be using a lossless audio source it probably is good enough for the general user.
The things I was worried about, in general, with the apple pods was that the wired ones would always fall out of my ear - it turns out it was the jiggling of the wire that did that.
I’ve used them for running with no problems, (though I general prefer something a bit more sweat proof for that…)
They connect easily with my iPhone and Mac.
Charging case is a nice size, and the charge lasts a good few hours in each earbud.
The only downside for me, is that when I’m using them on the tube (or other general noisy background) - the sound of podcasts can be a little drowned out - but that’s the only time I’ve had an issue with volume.
Oh and if it’s useful, I believe Apple have a 14 day return policy - and can return open goods in good condition incase you don’t get on with them,
Thanks for this breakdown! I think I’m swaying more to the AirPods just because they seem the less risky option and are pretty solid from what everyone is saying
My only concern is really volume, as I say my current wired ones feel really really quiet although this could be due to their age.
Not had an issue with volume unless the rest of the world is oppressively loud. Subway in Glasgow can be a challenge but that’s the only time it’s ever been an issue for me.
P.S. I’m on the original models which have been improved, sound wise, since.
You shouldn’t be concerned with the volume of the airpods unless you have damaged your ears in which case make sure you get yourself checked out. There’s very few cases where you’d ever put them at full volume for any extended period of time.
I brought some airpods yesterday after my Aldi wireless ear buds died after 18 months of use. Battery life was none existant. I must say, I’m a bit dispappointed the way they just sit in my ear canal and seem to move about a lot. This means I hear a lot of exterior noise, traffic etc when outside. This maybe just because of the shape of my ear I guess. Also, I guessing I can’t return them now, due to hygiene reasons??
You can get little grippy silicone covers (here) that improve the staying power if you do have a fit problem - either the little ear hooks or a bit more padding.
I’ve been using the Jabra Elite Active 65t’s for a while now (after extensive research into the options out there) and I couldn’t recommend them highly enough.
They’re a great all-round device with active noise-cancelling (CORRECTION: the noise cancelling is not active - only passive) that is as good as can be expected from an in-ear device - its not quite the noise cancelling you get with something like Bose QC35’s, but good enough to block out noisy commuters and grinding tube rails.
The sound quality is pretty good for the price, giving great quality in all frequency ranges. I think the biggest selling point though is the quality of the microphone - it has fantastic wind-cancellation, so it’s perfect for taking calls even in the worst of British weather!
They’ve become the go-to wireless headphones for anyone at our company that requests a pair and I’d recommend the same to anyone else too.
They do support it, but I don’t use it. I have Google Assistant enabled on them, but again I don’t really use it too much…
I don’t think it’s actually running on the earbuds though - it just runs the assistant on your phone, but allows the “Ok, Google” or “Alexa” activation to work through the microphone of the earbuds. I think the same applies for “Hey Siri” on iPhone too, but don’t quote me on that.
Are the Jabra’s comfortable? I’m slightly weary at getting in-ear buds with the rubber tips (had a bad experience once and haven’t gone back!) they just seemed to never sit in my ear properly or get comfortable.
Honestly I forget that I’m wearing them. It takes some getting used to putting them in correctly (its a push and twist to get them seated correctly), but once I got to grips with doing that, I’ve had no issue with wearing them for several hours.
You’ll know if you’re not getting them into the right position - they’ll feel really loose and you can feel a sort of air-tight seal once they’re properly in place.
They come with three different sizes of rubber tips, so it’s worth taking some time to find the right size for your ears.
