Am looking for a pair of wireless earbuds to replace my aging Bose Soundsport Free. Was looking towards the Bose QC Earbuds but boi do they seem too expensive. I am not a huge fan of earbuds that go deep in the ear and don’t really need ANC, but might be cool to have. Latency on Android is also something to consider (The soundsport ones have noticeable latency, and i would like to eliminate that). Do you guys have any advice/ recommendations please?
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Hey @GradCristi, welcome to HFG! Always good to have a new member!
Good question, I tend to think through this question every 2 years or so (when my existing set die). And yes, they can be expensive! I’m not sure I’ll be much help to you here, I have limited experience with wireless ear buds.
Just for reference, my wireless earbud progression has been Jabra Elite Sport → Google Pixel Buds 2 → Sony WH-1000XM4. (I tried with Sony XM3 buds and just couldn’t live with their bulk and very poor call quality.)
Here’s how I think about it - YMMV
My main use of wireless earbuds isn’t music listening. (That’s what all of the other cool gear on this forum is for.) I use them for convenience, when a wire gets in the way, or I just need less bulk: working out, chores, listening to podcasts/audio books, traveling, putting a squirming baby back to bed at 2am (they are remarkably good at pulling wired earbuds!).
So my focus tends to be features. My must have features are:
- comfort comfort comfort
- (did I mention comfort?)
- single bud use in either L or R ear
- reasonable water/sweat resistance (not swimming, but working out and chores)
- compact case to pocket them
- greater than 4 hour real world use on a single charge (my marathon time is just under 4 hours, so if they last that long, that’s good enough)
- reasonably good call quality
My nice to have features that tend to push a set over the top:
- greater than 24 hour case charge time (good enough for a 3 day drip, 8 hour use each day)
- wireless charging (so nice to just set the case down and not deal with another cable)
- LDAC (because why not? it’s 2021, we should have better codec)
- EQ (they will never sound good, but please give me a chance to try)
- range (I should be able to wander ~20 feet from my phone and not drop)
- ANC (it’s fun, but not a must have. good tips tend to be good enough.)
- multi-point pairing (why isn’t this standard in 2021?!?!?!)
With all of that said:
I found the Google Pixel Buds 2 to be a surprisingly good compromise on my list of priorities. Easily hit my must have list, and most of my nice to have. No LDAC, limited EQ, no ANC. But very lightweight, great android compatibility.
I just got rid of them because the charging case was failing. I almost bought the new Pixel Buds A-Series, but decided to branch out and try something higher end. After some YouTube research I decided to go big and get the WF-1000XM4. It’s the feature king for sure. And the ANC is remarkably well done - I’m using it much more than I expected to. I don’t regret the purchase at all, especially given the amount I use them. But even at this price point the sound quality is not a standout. I have to EQ them to be very happy, but the built in EQ is good enough.
I wouldn’t hesitate to try the Pixel Buds A-Series. For $100 I think they could be a good value. They took away a few things from the previous gen (no wireless charging stands, more plastic, no wind reduction, no volume swipe control). But other than that I expect them to line up pretty well and sound similar.
Anyway, not sure if this is helpful. Just my thought process.
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Holy hell that was a superb answer! The XM4 were on my radar as well but i got worried when i saw the Rtings review with that horrible treble accuracy. I do know they have a good EQ but its never quite as efficient as natural sound. I think the most important thing for me too is comfort, hence why i tended to veer off to the familiar hunting grounds of a Bose Stability Fin headphone :))) I am a bit torn on whether the Sony would be comfy enough for my particular style or if i should go with the absolutely HUMONGOUS case of the Bose :D. I might just try to buy one of them and return for a switch if I hate it.
I have seen this weird trend of IEMs not being able to be returned due to microbial concerns? Maybe its just one of my stores that does that though.
Glad I could help.
Comfort wise, something to know is the XM4 does use a standard IEM tip (something the Pixel Buds didn’t do, which was super frustrating!). I swapped out the stock Sony tips for Final Audio Type-E tips. These are my personal go-to tip for most of my IEMs (fit my ears well and I like the sound). With these tips I get good comfort. It could be a descent into madness, but you can try various aftermarket tips on the XM4’s to see what works best for you. Without stability wings like the Bose, the XM4s do put some pressure on the tip to hold them in. It works well enough in my ear, I’ve not had them fall out (or even come close). But YMMV depending on ear.
EQ is decent, especially for taming the high end if that’s your concern. The low end EQ is a little lacking (only goes to 400hz, would like to see 100hz), but overall good enough. My main issue was the vocals seemed recessed in music and videos. I pushed up the mid frequency a bit and that corrected it no problem.
I bought mine from a place I knew I could return if they didn’t fit right (ie Amazon), the concern of not fitting right is real. I could see these being difficult to flip in the used market without loosing >$100.
Yep! I will look around. I always tend to overanalyze and waste literal weeks on research and overthinking :)))
Thanks for the input, sir! Been fantastic to read your opinions.
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Do you have a set of wired IEMs that you really enjoy? I’ve been playing around with a set of Fiio UTWS3s and a pair of campfire mammoths and so far they have been the most comfortable things I’ve hooked onto my ears ever. Pairing was a little finicky bit what isn’t when it comes to TWS. Hopefully this gives you another avenue to think about.
I am not a huge wired IEMs guy. Usually did not find a good enough reason to invest my money into such things. I either go full mobility with true wireless earbuds, or I go full sound with over ear Headphones. I don.t think i can really experiment with it at this point either, but maybe in the future?
Regardless, thank you for your input, given me something to think about!
I’ll provide a visual
I really can’t say any true wireless sounded this good to me. I also think my KZ 10s on these would sound better than all tws and those are 50 bucks.
Also glad I can help, I just don’t like folks spending 100s when they can spend 100 or less for better.
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I have seen that in a video from DankPods. He recommended them but also said they bounce around the ear a little bit. Also, the ANC factor is not available in this kinda formfactor. Not saying its a a definite need for me, but may be for some other people.
It’s quite a difficult decision to make IMO and choices are plenty :))) I will try to keep all of these facts in mind.
I haven’t been on a run with them so I can’t comment on the bounce bit house work they were secure. ANC is great but to me most IEMs that have it feel weird, I like isolating tips more. In comparison I did like the ANC and transparent settings on the air pod pros bit the seal never held for me.
I looked at those IEMs u said above… THEY ARE SO EXPENSIVE :)))))))))))))) holy hell. I believe u that its a nice experience, and for that cash they should be!
If i had such a nice IEM I do trust everything else seems like such a bad deal :D. Of course TW Eabuds are worse than a good earbud coupled with this BT transmitter, but even the most expensive TW EArbuds are not that much more expensive than the Fiio transmitter + Shure SE215, which would really be the lowest u wanna go for that particulat setup, right? A good IEM made portable… I do think something like the Buds+ have better sound than the KZ 10, right?? (not that i could get KZ in Romania :)) )
Sorry for the long reply, and its poor structure… had a lot of thoughts 
Totally understand what you mean. I like it more than TW because it gives me options without buying a whole new set of ear buds. The KZ’s sound amazing for the price and I would bet they sound better than the buds+.
You might wanna try out some budget IEMs then, there are many options to choose! After I bought the Blons a year ago when everyone is raging over it I completely dropped my Sony XM3 buds and fell in love with my newfound gem. My current daily driver right now is Moondrop Aria with Quedelix 5K!
Big fan of the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ here. I bought them kinda on a whim because my wife started using my old wireless buds when she went on walks. I let her have them and picked these up. I actually quite enjoy them for music, they are also great for calls, audiobooks, and podcasts. I’ve never had problems with pairing, battery life is excellent, they also have a sound passthrough feature which is super nice at low levels if you want to have some situational awareness or want to alleviate the feeling of talking with your fingers in your ears while you are on the phone. They are comfy and the fit is rock solid. Couldn’t shake them out if I wanted to. The case is also small so I have gotten into the habit of pocketing them and literally taking them everywhere.
I picked up the Sony WF-1000XM4 this week after agreeing with your thoughts. It’s been love/hate. Loved the software options, auto pause and set to ambient when I start speaking at work, hate that I can’t choose the delay for when it turns back on automatically, so if I pause in convo to listen, it will start playing midway through someone’s response.
I love that it senses when I leave my desk (or any motion more than typical cube farm sitting) and lets in ambient noise so I can hear if someone is walking around a corner so I don’t run into them on the way to the bathroom. Hate that again I can’t choose the “time spent standing still” to reenable the noise cancelling and that it lowers music volume to play a tone to let me know it switched states. I can hear it switch states, don’t interrupt my audio book to chime in. Standing still filling up a water bottle is enough time for it to just chime that I was motionless, to start walking again to chime back to ambient mode on the way back to the desk.
I couldn’t stand the included tips, really hurt and I was going to return the set. Tried some silicon off another pair of IEMs and it was much more comfortable so I’m picking up some Final Audio Type E tips. I sit directly under an AC vent that’s blasting all day so the noise canceling is very nice, but I get the same isolation with my Blon BL-03s. It is just very convenient to not have to keep taking my ear pieces out every time someone asks me a question.
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These are my go-to tips for most IEMs. They are working pretty well for me on the WF-1000xm4, but not perfect. I’m tempted to try more options.
Glad you like the Sonys. To me they are a good balance of features and quality for my use cases.
Soundcore by Anker. they make nice sub 100$ true wirless earbuds.
The pair of TWS that get mentioned in the overlap space are the Lypertek TEVI, but I think they just rebranded as the Lypertek PurePlay. I don’t have a pair, but have been on my Amazon wishlist for a while.
They pop up on audiophile groups occasionally, but also as the weird brand on more mainstream audio reviewer stuff. Massive battery, 70 hours with a full case. Great sound stage, fairly neutral frequency response, they will seem thin on the bass compared to the Bose or most of the other bass heavy stuff.
They are IPX7 rated, so you can shower in them, which is wild. There are reviews on YouTube if you want more. I think they are around $90.
Hello lads, i will try to reply to every single answer indiviually, but before that just wanted to say a few words: I went with the Bose QC Earbuds, mostly thanks to their non-invasive in-ear fit, and their stability fin design, due to the fact that i owned a pair of Soundsport Free from Bose and absolutely loved those.
A week later, i still have nearly no remorse on my purchase, as the sound signature is great, the fit fantastic and the ANC is just mindblowing ( helpful for those days when the office mates are chatty). All that said, it has not narrowed my future perspective of trying and owning similar IEMs, and trying new things for different purposes. So for that future goal, your replies are absolutely amazing, and have given me a ton to think on.
I thank you all for taking this journey with me, even though perhaps i made a choice that you guys do not wholeheartedly agree :D.
Let me know if I can answer any question about the QC and thanks again!
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They do sell them( or used to) in Romania as well! Fancy… however they are that particular in ear design that my ear canal does not quite agree with for long periods of time. I have not heard of them before, but this made me open my eyes a little bit more to non-consumer brands. It is quite hard to know which are good and which are not in this space, i think, because since there is no consumer traction, the review sites i usually frequent do not cover them…
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