Dealing with earbuds is a finicky thing. So much revolves around how they fit your ears, size of ear canal, etc. I have oddly shaped ears, in a way that usually i end up with different size silicone for each one to get a solid fit. This set of buds is no different, and initially I was hesitant to purchase after reading reviews. But I went ahead anyways. Overall i give it 4 stars. good set, surprised me in some ways (fit was better then i expected), and disappointing in some ways (reception). Sorry for the long review, lots of little things about this set (plus a few tips on fit and use). So I provided a summary. you can read the rest below.
PRO:
Good fit, even with my finicky ears.
Nice sound
App has nice features
No cord.
CONS:
Fit is all or nothing. very dependent on the earbud shape fitting into your earlobes.
App is cumbersome and non intuitive.
No Cord (seriously, it’s too easy to drop one of these and have it bounce under the table. never happens with my corded buds. Having a cord comes in handy at times like these).
Reception is bad, left side is finicky with connecting at times (connection is solid once it does connect). songs hiccup too often.
:
1) Fit
I was actually surprised at how well they fit my ears. I still had to go with 2 different sized silicone…medium for my left, large for my right. But the nature of these buds (they use the lower inner earlobe to stay in place), seems to afford them a nice fit with good external exclusion. the pass though feature allows some sound in, and is adjustable. I keep it around 20% and it seems to give me enough to hear if anythings happening around me, but still enjoy the full sound of the music at the same time.
I would recommend for a solid fit is to initially put them in with the mic extension a bit high, and then twist it down as you pull a bit on your lower earlobe. picture pulling the lobe down and around the lower side of the earbud, and you’ll probably get a nice fit. after doing it a few times it gets easier and I don’t feel these are any more difficult then a traditional earbud at this point. Took a few times to get it down…i kept pushing on them directly into the ear and it was painful and didn’t work. the pull/twist method was much more successful.
The downside to this is the fit is all in the shape of the earbud. If it doesn’t fit your ear, your not going to get good exclusion, and this affects sound quality. That being said, even with finicky ears, I still got a comfortable fit with no discomfort (usually wear time is 1-3 hours max).
Overall, these are slower to set up then my wired ones. pulling them both out of the case, setting them in each ear, often having to reconnect the left side, adds some time to it. But once they’re set up, they’re great. I don’t have any issues with them slipping out of my ears at all, and I tend to be a heavy sweater in my workouts. My Jaybirds will usually require regular adjustments halfway through the workout. With these, I almost forgot they were there. Not having a cord bop you in the mouth every time you lay back for a bench press is a solid win as well.
2) Sound
Sound isn’t bad. Decent lows and highs, and having the equalizer in the app helps, even if it is a bit basic, it’s something. Fit impacts the sound quite a bit. the sound on my left side was bad until i swapped for the medium silicone, and now it works quite well. The downside to this is there are limited silicone sizes…if they don’t’ work for you, these earbuds suck. you can’t just push them a little deeper or twist them a bit this way or that…they only have one fit, and they depend on the silicone outside of that for exclusion and sound quality. But again, even with finicky ears, the combination of the earbud and silicone worked fine.
3) Reception
This is where these earbuds missed the mark for me. multiple drops during a song on average. they are usually no more then a fraction of a second…the song hiccups, then back on track. But it is definitely an immersion breaker, and too often it distracts me…I keep waiting for a call or a text ping thinking it was interrupted due to that, but then the song kicks back in and i either have to assume it was bad reception, or run over to the phone to make sure I’m not missing an important text. Very irritating. My Jaybird v2’s have a drop about once every 2-3 songs. These drop 2-3x per song sometimes. Again, small, and as I get used to it I just sigh and get back into my workout. But it’s bad enough to affect the rating IMO.
Plus the left earbud seems to be very intermittent with it’s connection. About 50-60% of the time when I pull them directly from the case and plug them in, the left earbud is silent. I have to power down the set (hold down button on right bud) with them in my ears, and power back up again for the left side to connect. The whole master/slave setup for the two earbuds is logical, but the left earbud needs to have better response to the right one on activation.
4) App
Having an app is nice. equalizer, adjustable settings…but the app could use some love. the main page isn’t intuitive…I feel like there should be a simply set of toggles for the most used features (much like the Bluetooth and airplane modes on my phone). But instead you have to go to a sub menu and select features there, which open a third window…allot to worry about when you just want to reduce the sound that gets through. A simple control panel for the most used features (exclusion settings, equalizer, etc). would make the app actually enjoyable to use. As it is, you fiddle with initial settings and then pretty much leave it alone. It’s too much of a pain to tinker with while your in the middle of a workout.
5) Other Features
the buttons on the side are very easy to use and get used to, and they’re functions are probably the most intuitive I’ve had in an earbud setup. I had to refer to the manual a few times to get used to the full options, but I don’t even think about it any more. Very nice. I have yet to really use the mikes, but on the few calls I’ve used them they seem to work well, no negative feedback from the people on the other side.
Quick note on the case: as others have stated, it IS slippery, and it’s round shapes make it easy to drop. I found the best way to hold it is to grab it on the sides where it’s flat. Same with opening the lid: I don’t try to squeeze a fingernail under the silly little divet they offer on front: I grab each side of the lid with my fingers, apply a bit of pressure, and pull. It pops open easy this way, with very little chance of slipping out of your hands.
