r/Earbuds

I've been in the market to get open earbuds, not sure if I want the hooks or the cuffs, but there's a lot of options and I'm not sure what's the "best" to get. I'm willing to spend up to 300 and right now I'm looking at the RoG Cetra Open, but I've seen reviews that say it has issues others that say it's good. I'm mainly thinking about these ones as I have a steamdeck and it's the only class of open ears (from what I see) that's from a reputable brand & has a 2.4 dongle, but I would like to see if anyone who owns these has anything positive to say or to get other recommendations on what I should get.

J'ai acheté les freebuds pro 5 il y a environ 4 mois. Avant cela, j'avais les Pro, Pro 3, Pro 4.

J'ai toujours beaucoup aimé ces écouteurs que je trouvais hyper ergonomiques et qui continuaient de s'améliorer sur la qualité audio.

Il y a environ 3 semaines, j'ai eu l'opportunité d'acheter les sony WF-1000XM6 à 220e. Je me suis laissé tenter par curiosité en me disant que si c'était nul, je les renverrais.

Résultat : j'adore ces écouteurs. Je les trouve géniaux en tous poins.

Certes, ils ne sont pas aussi ergonomiques et confortables que les Freebuds mais c'est franchement satisfaisant pour mon utilisation au quotidien.

Pour tout le reste, il n'y a pas match ! L'application est plus riche, la connexion sur un téléphone android plus rapide, la qualité audio, l'ANC et le mode transparence sont largement supérieurs.

Même la qualité des appels dont j'avais entendu que ce n'était pas le point fort de la marque est bonne.

Pas aussi bonne les Freebuds mais je peux passer des appels dans le métro sans souci.

Au début, je faisais 50/50 en terme d'utilisation. Désormais, j'utilise les Sony au quotidien pour tout, la musique, les travail, les appels.
Si bien que les Freebuds que je considérais comme très bons, sont devenus un peu moyens.

Je garde uniquement les freebuds pour le sport et les voyages car plus simples à transporter (ils sont moins fragiles et IP57 au cas où)

Je ne sais pas si une personne est dans le même cas que moi.

Both of them are roughly the same price (~5USD of each other right now) and I'm hearing differing opinions depending on who I ask.

I would like to have a good battery life, but I don't mind sacrificing it for massively better sound quality (if the difference in sound quality is negligible, I would prefer a better battery life)

I also would like a reliable pair of earphones that could last me a few years, maybe 2-3? My previous pair lasted me 4 years before I lost one of them 😭

Edit: The P40is are also roughly the same price. which of these three should I get?

Few weeks ago I was asking here for some advice upgrading from my beloved Jabra 75t to a new set of earphones in price-range about 100$ or less.

Based on feedback here and many positive reviews I went with Oneplus buds 4, but I also decided to get the Tozo NC20 pro as it was heavily discounted at that time and looked great on paper (although not nearly as often recommended or praised as the Oneplus).

I did a few weeks of testing and I am selling the Oneplus and keeping the Tozo. I am not an expert, so take it with a grain of salt, but for me - except for a better and smoother integration with my Oppo phone and touch volume controls, I didn't find any benefit of Oneplus over Tozo.

Tozo sound is more natural and "full", Oneplus wasn't bad, but even with EQ adjustment it sounded a bit flat and "hissy?"

The secure fit and comfort of my Jabras was great, and I cannot replicate it with either of the new buds, but Tozo sits a bit deeper and more securily than Oneplus, which is a plus for me. I didn't have any issues with Oneplus fit - it was comfortable and didn't fall out and I think for most people it will be fine (just as Tozo). I personally prefer more deep and secure feeling. Tozo also has 6 tips sizes in the box instead of 3 for Oneplus.

I felt that ANC is surprisingly better in Tozo, despite hearing great things about Oneplus ANC. Both of them are worlds better than my old Jabras, but Tozo cancels more noise in my use case (mostly train commute and crowded spaces like supermarkets and cafes). Oneplus was good, but clearly worse than Tozo for me, and it had more of the slightly noticable hissing in quite areas. I did some A/B testing with a youtube video to confirm my observation and Tozo blocked more noise too.

Battery life is slightly better in Tozo, but not nearly as much as they advertise. The buds last about 8h in my experience with ANC and LDAC. I never actually managed to use Oneplus down to 0%, but I think it gets close to 7h with ANC and LHDC based on my usage (and some extrapolation).

The case on the NC20s is a gimmick for me - I would actually prefer to have more slick case like the Oneplus. The display also seems to drain the battery somewhat, it's slightly harder to get the buds out of the case, and overall it feels more plasticky than Oneplus.

Oneplus has the volume touch controls, which I liked. Tozo had the touch control, but not "slide up/down" style.

Tozo connectivity is sometimes (rarely) a bit inconsistent. Pulling it too quickly out of the case sometimes prevents it from connecting to the phone. After adjusting the movement the issue went away, but Oneplus is clearly better and smoother with the connectivity here.

Tozo has a better waterproof rating, but I didn't really want to test it. It's a nice bonus, but Oneplus is secure enough too (same as my Jabra 75t active and I never had an issue with rain, sweat or wet hands).

So I just wanted to share my experience and highlight the buds that really surprised me for the price - Tozo NC20 pro. I personally would even go for the non-pro version, as the screen case for me isn't useful, but I can't guarantee if other features are same in the non-pro version.

Oneplus buds 4 are great, but Tozo in my experience is clearly better and cheaper and offer unbeatable value.

P.S. I tried after-market silicone tips on both (radius deep mount) - it didn't really do much for Oneplus, but with Tozo it made it fit extreamly secure and comfortable. Unfortuantely, I believe it interferes with the ANC algorithm (maybe in-ear microphone pick-up) and significantly reduces the effect of ANC, so I went back to the standard tips.

So, after lurking for a while, I pulled the trigger on some liberty 4 nc. This was probably 2 years ago, or so, and now it feels like they’re on their way out. Charging issues and calls cutting out.

My experience with them has been mostly good. I’m happy with the music quality and the anc is acceptable for my use case. Call quality (mic quality) has always been abysmal but I hadn’t used it much so I didn’t really care.

I’m looking for something with similar features and sound quality. I’d like to improve my call quality as I’m making/taking more calls now. As for budget, I’d like to keep to $150 or below if possible. I was happy with the $70 I paid for the liberty 4 nc when I got them, and if it wasn’t for the call quality, I’d just get another set.

Any input is appreciated, thank you!

I have a pair of Soundcore v20i but am looking for a louder over the ear open ear bud. I picked up the Soundcores to test out open-ear buds, and I love the design, but they aren't loud.

I'm not prioritizing sound quality; I mostly want them for listening to spoken word stuff. But I need them to be loud enough to hear on a busy street or on a subway.

Every discussion here and elsewhere focuses on sound quality, fit, battery life, etc. Thank you.

Hey everyone,

I’m a CS major. During my recent semester break I had some leftover research grant money and zero desire to just sit around. So I decided to build the thing I kept wishing existed.

After dealing with the usual frustrations with Dumb Meta AI on Ray-Ban glasses (and the same limitations on regular wireless earbuds), I started coding. The goal was simple:

• Use whatever wake word I want (or train a completely new one)
• Talk back and forth naturally without saying the wake word every single time
• Bring my own API keys for stronger models when I want them
• Work with normal wireless earbuds and Ray-Ban Meta glasses
• Voice reminders, notification reading, better vision descriptions, and the ability to live stream to non-Meta platforms

I called it Niya… no reason in particular… or it’s my best friend’s name perhaps.

Anyway, it’s Android-only for now (APK is up). I intentionally didn’t burn the entire research grant on tokens yet. I only bought a limited amount. The thinking was: if almost nobody actually uses it, there’s no point stocking a huge pile of credits. So if a sudden wave of people jumps on, you might hit rate limits... If that happens, I'll add additional credits... Just being transparent about that.

I plan to build this for iOS as well… just wanna have some feedbacks first.

The site with the download and more details is: (Just paste it as a URL) "nativelyitsyourassistant.github.io/niya/"

I’m not here to hype it. I’m genuinely curious:

• Does this solve any real annoyance for you?
• What feels missing or half-baked?
• Would you actually use something like this day-to-day?
• Any features that would make or break it for you?

Be as blunt as you want. I’d rather hear the honest stuff now than after more time and money goes into it.

Est-ce juste un effet de mode ou est réellement intéressant de les acheter ?

hello all! i recently bought some status pro x’s and i’ve been loving the sound and how they fit in my ear. however when it comes to eq I really only have basic knowledge, and no idea of what to do to find something better than nothing. i heard the knowles preset was really good so ive started from there, but outside of that im lost.

to help give you guys a better idea of what i might want in terms of eq here’s 4 songs that pretty much cover all the genres i mainly listen to. also I play bass guitar, so i love hearing that pop.

Mind Over Matter - Skinny Hightower
https://youtu.be/knTiRpq\_bfQ?is=w951-fpY4WMAyh5e

you, the sun - Darling Joan
https://youtu.be/sTAIe-BKfuo?is=ZmIlUrkUQqX3Qe4I

‘Round Midnight - Adam Blackstone
https://youtu.be/xPa4YaNtSxY?is=R6g3VVokxEesR-6X

Beneath The Mask - The 8-Bit Big Bang
https://youtu.be/cXEG3P12\_LE?is=8QNXItRIJUujeRJ1

thanks in advance for the advice, and let me know if we share music taste!

Finally permanently lost my original galaxy buds :,( so I'm looking for new wireless earbuds. I don't care too much about noise cancellation or brand I just want long battery-life, good sound, and a comfortable fit (I've got small ears). Everything about my original buds worked great but I'd prefer maybe a bit of an upgrade on sound quality. If they can work with Find My Devices type apps that would be great. And please no earbuds with the stem things sticking out of the ear.

Right now I'm between the Sony WF-C510, Soundcore A40, and maybe the Tozo NC9s but feel free to suggest any others. Thanks!

Long story short I had the Galaxy Earbuds R170 and they worked so well for so long but cleaners in my house lost them.

The battery lasted so long, the sound quality was amazing, they could take a beating, their was no active noise cancelling which I prefer, they had fins that helped them shape into your ear which helped during heavy gym sessions and the silicone tips doubled as ear protection for loud music which helps greatly as I am a musician.

What is the closest Samsung model to these old, but amazing pair?

I’m looking for Bluetooth earbuds that will hook on to my ears or have some other way of staying in while I run/exercise.
I’m not super worried about sound quality because I mainly use my current earbuds for podcasts and audiobooks.
I’m looking to spend $50-$100 and I live in Portland Maine.
I’ve been using Apple AirPods for the last 8 years and their batteries are pretty much shot but I was never a fan to begin with.

Hi,

I will write my initial impressions of freebuds 5 pro.

Context:

I needed buds for my S24 Ultra.

I had buds fe before which i got for free but i lost them

For comparison audio i have schiit hel and HD 490 pros.

1. The price really hurts its around 60% of hd 490 pros.

2. For those that care about ANC its really really good but keep in mind i dont and my comparison list is bad

3. LDAC works with S24 Ultra but needed some switching back and forth.

4. If closed case does not have find me mode which would be nice.

5.app EQ feels like it does absolutely nothing - a glitch?

6. Sound quality is really good, nothing to complain although max volume is relatively low.

7. I absolutely hate how they are placed in the case. Putting them back in is like plugging USB right the first time.

8. The case itself is slippery, almost designed that way.

Am i happy about the purchase? Well, there is definitely no "wow" effect. Im wondering how oneplus buds would compare - half the price.