I’m looking to buy some wireless earbuds. The following is what I am looking for in them:

  • <=$100USD
  • No third party companion app requirement
  • Compatbile with Android (Pixel 6)
  • Won’t fall out of ears while exercising
  • ~8h playback
  • Sweat/water resistant
  • (optional, but would be nice) Active noise cancelling
  • HeavyRaptor@lemmy.zip
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    7 months ago

    I’m using the Sony Linkbuds S at the moment. Very good ANC, comparable to the Airpods Pro Gen 1 I used before but it has much better fit. The airpods I’d have to adjust every few minutes so they don’t fall out but the Linkbuds are tiny and might be even lighter so they have been rock solid.

    Audio quality is also very good (as good as one can expect from this form factor). I haven’t done any A - B listening with the Airpods Pro, as mine died, but it definitely doesn’t feel like a downgrade. Base to me feels punchy and the highs don’t hurt my ears, as with many other earphones.

    You get a wide range of features like a custom EQ and customising controls (to some extent) through the app. It even tries to help you choose your own EQ with a clever A-B listening setup. You can safely delete the app once you set up everything. There are some other features like 360 audio or link with streaming services, not sure how these work, they seem very proprietary. Alternatively there might be an open source app for android that they are compatible with but I haven’t really looked into it.

    It can connect to two devices at the same time but I recommend you leave this setting off as it has been a bit buggy occasionally with audio only coming out of one ear. A factory reset seems to have fixed everything for the last few months now but I haven’t turned this feature back on.

    Sadly prices seem to have gone up since I bought mine for around $120 a year ago. Definitely keep an eye out for a deal.

    Overall I can highly recommend these earbuds. I’d choose them over Sony’s top of the line WF 1000XM4 because the fit is just so good, they are much less expensive, and (according to reviews) audio quality is somewhat comparable.