There is a TLDR at the end for those of you that got scared clicking read more and see a wall of text appear on your screen. Since there's a lot I have to say about these headphones, grab some popcorn, a soda, and strap in.
As a forward, I have only tried these for a few hours, so I will update this post if my opinions change at all.
Some initial things to get out of the way, I am by no means an experienced audiophile. I do enjoy the many different aspects of audio though. I love the character of vinyl and have tried many different headphones over the years. By many, I mean dozens, as I have a very weirdly shaped ear canal that has trouble getting in-ear headphones to fit correctly. My main daily pair of headphones is the second-gen Airpods since they are the only thing that fit my ear well. I also have a pair of Skullcandy Crushers for when I want a pair of car subs attached to my ears and Jaybird X3's with Comply tips for skating and exercising. My testing device is a Note 20 Ultra, using Spotify set to the extreme quality setting (320kbps to my knowledge).
FIT AND COMFORT
This category is incredibly subjective, as everyone's ears are different. I will say, however, that this is the first pair of in-ear headphones that fit my incredibly weird ears out of the box!!! I've done the shake test and they stay pretty well in there. Comfort is a 5/5
DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY
The design and build are top-notch on these buds. The case feels incredibly solid and is about the same size as the case on my Airpods (the buds case is slightly thicker). The buds themselves look great and the mirror finish is nice to look at. Overall, very well designed and built and thusly, gets a 5/5.
SOUND QUALITY
Another bit of forwarding before I jump in, this is another subjective category. I am sensitive to "bright" headphones (where the highs or treble are too high and sound painful to my ear) and steer away from them as soon as I notice them. I am only going to be commenting on certain tracks and genres that I enjoy and actively listen to.
I am blown away from the raw quality of the sound coming out of these! I had the Airpods Pro for a bit, and these sound similar but tuned for a tad more bass. This is exactly what I was looking for. You also have a couple of preset EQ options to tune it more to your liking or listening habits for the day. I'm hoping adjustable EQ support comes in the future to help dial in the sound signature to your liking. I'll break down each track and categorize it by genre.
-ELECTRONIC/HOUSE/OTHER SUB-GENRES
Transformer by Moog: I chose this track to see if the backing cymbal can be heard amidst the rest of the song. It's very clear, along with the rest of the track. Bass also sounds very nice, not overdone, and very tight and punchy. Clarity and great bass quality will be a reoccurring character in this segment.
-ROCK/METAL
I Love You to Death by Family Force 5: (This is the song I used for the shake test.) This is a track that I like to crank and test the audio quality at high volume. I can confirm that these buds sound just as good at high volumes. The cymbals don't destroy my ears, the guitars are very clear, and SGA's screams are great.
Suck My Kiss by Red Hot Chili Peppers: This is another track that regularly gets cranked. Flea's bass sounds perfect and once again, clear as day. The drums also sound killer.
-RAP
Jump by Mac Miller: I chose this track to hear how clear and tight the bass was. The bassline on this one can sound very different depending on what headphones you use. It's tight and punchy with these. Clarity was also strong on this one.
Bless Yo Trap by Smokepurpp: This song is perfect for its incredibly heavy (but well-produced) bass. This track through the Crushers will literally shake my head, it's great. These buds handle the drum machine (cymbal perhaps?) in the background very, very well. Most headphones will usually force me to limit the volume because it sounds so shrill. Not on these. I can crank them up and not worry about it. The bass left a bit to be desired... Until I used the bass booster EQ, which as you can probably guess, upped the bass and still sounded punchy and tight. Well done.
Big Fish by Vince Staples: I also tested the bass booster EQ on this one. I noticed when it was enabled, it started to eat into the clarity of the mids a bit. Without the EQ it sounds crystal clear.
Where I'm From by Digable Planets: This song's nice short bassline can sound different depending on your headphones. Very accurate and well-controlled bass on this one.
-CLASSICS
Rocket 69 by Todd Rhodes: This is the "make it or break it" moment for figuring out if headphones are too "bright" for me. Todd's vocals, along with the amazing sax solo can destroy my ears on some headphones. These handle this track PERFECTLY. Everything seems very well controlled and balanced. These buds produce a fantastic sound, without over-emphasizing any one aspect of the sound profile. Bass is nice and subdued (you could be surprised with what the Crushers do to this track) and the highs are not shrill or painful to my ears. The mids sound crisp and clear.
-POP/NOT SURE THE GENRE
Sit Next to Me by Foster the People: I was surprised by this track. I never noticed the bass guitar before. This is when I realized how much I was missing using the Airpods. Everything is so well defined and the stereo separation is perfect. Not much else to say about this one, as everything about it sounds great.
-COUNTRY
What Was I Thinkin' by Dierks Bentley: This track was another case of pure clarity. I could easily hear and discern every instrument and they were separated perfectly. A joy to listen to on these. Nothing was overblown on this one either, the bass might be a bit too high, but it's so tight that it adds to the sound in my opinion.
All of these tracks sound great to my ear and easily get a 5/5
MEDIA CONTROLS
Finally, something I dislike about these headphones. The single tap to pause/play a track works just fine. If you try to double-tap to skip/replay it is incredibly hit or miss. I'm not sure if this can be solved through software, or if my finger just doesn't hit the touch surface as well as it would like. Usually what ends up happening is, I double-tap to skip a track and it registers it as one tap, thus pausing my music. I then double-tap again to try to get it to skip and it just starts playing where it left off. Finally, on the third time, it will skip the track. Adjusting the buds usually ends up registering as a tap and will also usually pause your music, just trying to get it pressed in your ear better. It also does this sometimes when you initially take out the buds from the case and put it in your ear. It's a big pain in the butt right now and gets a 2/5
NOISE CANCELING
Don't buy these for some Bose or Airpod Pro level ANC. They're good at sound isolation when you're playing something, but pausing a track won't leave you saying "wow" like with the Airpod Pros. The only testing I've done so far with the noise canceling is cleaning around the house and listening to them while typing up this review. When a track is playing I can't hear my keyboard, but paused they're just about as clear as having the ambient sound mode on. I'll conduct further testing on these and report back with my findings. For now, it gets a 1/5.
(UPDATE: I've done some testing outside with them now and they are pretty good at blocking the lower frequencies. It takes a little bit for the noise canceling algorithm to catch up with the noise around you, but I would say it blocks out somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-60% of the noise around you. It also is great at removing wind noise at moderate speeds. Based on these new findings, it gets a 3/5. Not great, but not terrible or useless either.)
AMBIENT MODE
I'm happy to see that someone has finally implemented a function that allows the ambient mode to auto switch to on when you're speaking to someone. It's worked perfectly from the testing I've done so far. The ambient mode also sounds almost as good as the Airpod Pros' function. It works well, thus netting a 5/5
CONCLUSION
I am simply blown away by these headphones. So much so, that I spent nearly 2 hours writing this review. They do almost everything they set out to do exceedingly well. I am hoping that future software updates will fix the issues that I currently have with them. I will be replacing my Airpods with these and will be recommending them to my friends. Well done Samsung, you have a real winner on your hands.
Well, that wraps it up. For the TLDR readers out there: they sound amazing, ANC and touch controls suck majorly right now, the build and comfort are perfect, and I would easily recommend them.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Rating | (21859) | (15130) | (7789) | (47920) | (8886) |
| Price | $184.00 | $35.99 | $109.94 | $148.99 | $278.00 |
| Sold By | Hot Audio | MY-USA | The Deal Source | Endear Direct | WORLD WIDE STEREO |
| Color | Phantom Black | Black | Graphite | Black | Black |
| Fit Type | In-Ear | In-Ear | Earbud | In-Ear | In-Ear |
| Item Dimensions | 3 x 2 x 4 inches | 1.97 x 1.18 x 0.79 inches | 1.98 x 1.97 x 1.09 inches | 1.52 x 2.75 x 1.04 inches | 3.7 x 2.56 x 3.39 inches |
| Item Weight | 1.18 ounces | 0.14 ounces | 0.18 ounces | 4.80 ounces | 1.45 ounces |
| Special Features | Powerful, adjustable Active Noise Cancellation; Immersive sound with 2-way speakers; IPX7 water resistant; Clear, superb call quality; Long-lasting battery with quick, wireless charging; Android and iOS compatible - Bluetooth 5.0 | Latest Bluetooth 5.1, 140H Playtime, Portable Charging Case, CVC 8.0 Noise Cancellation, Deep Bass, Dual LED Power Display, Touch Control, One Step Pairing, Built-in microphone, IP7 Waterproof, Lightweight and Fashionable Design | Noise Cancellation, Ambient Sound, Touch Controls, Wireless | Battery life: up to 22 hours of music playback, Noise isolation with Ambient Aware, Dual speakers in each earbud, Clear voice isolation, Adjustable ear and wing tips fit any ear, Android and iOS compatible - Bluetooth 5.0 | Sweatproof |
From the manufacturer
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 Galaxy Buds Pro |  Galaxy Buds2 |  Galaxy Buds Live |  Galaxy Buds+ | |
|
Capacity (Buds/Case)
| 61 / 472mAh | 61 / 472mAh | 60 / 472mAh | 85 / 270 mAh |
|
Speaker
| 2way 11mm woofer+6.5mm tweeter | 2-way Dynamic w/ Powerful Bass | 1-way (12mm) | 2-way Dynamic (Woofer+Tweeter) |
|
Play Time
| 5H (ANC On) / 8H (ANC Off) | 5H (ANC On) / 7.5H (ANC Off) | 6H (ANC On) / 8H (ANC Off) | 11H |
|
Ambient Sound
| Up to +20dB | Up to +9dB | N/A | Up to +15dB |
|
Active Noise Cancellation
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
|
Water Resistance
| IPX7 | IPX2 | IPX2 | IPX2 |
Customer reviews
The best there is yet again. Way to go Samsung, no complaints.
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Manuel Buenrostro Camacho
Cercanos a la perfección.
Reviewed in Mexico on January 24, 2021Color: Phantom SilverVerified Purchase
Manuel Buenrostro Camacho
Reviewed in Mexico on January 24, 2021
Cancelación de ruido activa inteligente.
Bajos muy graves y altos muy agudos.
Tamaño.
El diseño es simplemente precioso, la caja tiene un ligero estilo nacarado muy bonito y la plata en los audífonos definitivamente hace que las miradas se volteen hacia ti.
Las llamadas se escuchan claras y con mucho mejor volumen.
Muchas funciones como "modo gaming", "detección de voz", o "Bixby".
Contras: La batería puede no ser estrictamente larga, sin embargo con un buen uso sí llegas a unas 7 - 8 horas de audio sólo con una carga de los audífonos, extendible con la caja de carga.
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José Luis
Estafa, no comprar!!!!!
Reviewed in Mexico on July 31, 2021Color: Phantom BlackVerified Purchase
José Luis
Reviewed in Mexico on July 31, 2021
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Eduardo
Excelente Servicio
Reviewed in Mexico on January 20, 2021Color: Phantom BlackVerified Purchase
José Novelo
Maravillosos, llegaron 2 días antes!
Reviewed in Mexico on January 30, 2021Color: Phantom BlackVerified Purchase
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Reviewed in Mexico on January 30, 2021
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