The Best Earbuds and In-Ear Earphones
Music is one of those brilliant entities that make the world go round. Whether you understand the lyrics of a song, or simply enjoy the harmonies created, one thing is certain, your listening experience should be customized to your unique needs, especially when you are on-the-go. In fact, your unique needs are exactly how you should determine what are the best earbuds and in ear earphones for your daily commute, workout routine, or in-home jam session while your upstairs neighbors sound like a herd of elephants. From less common wireless earbuds to the world-renowned AirPods, we have an exclusive look at a few of the best audio earbuds on the market.
Skullcandy Wireless Earbuds: The Best "Bang For Your Buck"
The Skullcandy earbud headphones might just be the best way to stretch a dollar to experience a high quality in ear audio experience. As an added bonus, you can further customize your Skullcandy earbuds with customizable design skins.
- Pros - These in-ear headphones offer passive noise isolation, an excellent fit, and won't break your bank account. They are also the perfect choice for the fashion-forward audiophile who wants to choose from a multitude of in-ear earphone colors. Finally, they are an excellent choice if you want to listen to bass-pumping music with little regard for your eardrums.
- Cons - While the Galaxy earbuds feature a warm bassy sound, the Push quite literally "pushes" the bass to the extreme. In fact, if you turn the bass up, then you might not be able to listen to music, movies, or even a podcast for more than an hour. The other challenge of the Push lies in its occasional audio cut-outs, coupled with a below average battery life.
- The Final Verdict - The Skullcandy Push earbuds perform fairly well in just about every recognizable category. From design, to style, listening quality and comfort, the consensus is that these are "good."
Jabra Earbuds: A Wholehearted Recommendation For Spring, Fall, And Winter
The Jabra wireless earbuds are recommended for anyone to wear during the spring, fall, and winter. They are the ideal choice for anyone who wants to have the convenience of a cable-free experience that can be customized courtesy of uniquely designed earbud skins.
- Pros - The sound quality is supreme. The earbuds are comfortable. You can avoid becoming entangled in wires, while simultaneously enjoying the same (or better) experience that you have come to expect from the standard Jabra Bluetooth earbuds. In fact, the Jabra earbuds have a few extra features. For example, you can now call your smartphone's digital assistant, change the volume, and skip through tracks. Did we mention that the earbuds also block out most outside noise? If you want to multitask while hearing your outside surroundings, then you can simply switch the earbuds to a transparency mode.
- Cons - The standard Jabra earbuds are not the best choice for working out or sweating in general. The Elite version also comes with a fairly high price tag and a shorter than expected battery life.
- The Final Verdict - If you have the extra money to spend, and want to enjoy an excellent listening experience, then the Jabra earbuds are the right choice for you. However, if you want to workout without ruining your earbuds, then you might need to upgrade to the Elite or Active versions. Regardless of workout preferences, these wireless earbuds are comfortable, reliable, and provide a high-quality listening experience.
AirPods vs. AirPods 2: The Trendy Listening Solution For People Who Don't Mind Losing An Earbud
If you want to make calls, listen to music, check out the latest podcasts, or secretly listen to a movie during your Monday morning meeting, the AirPods and AirPods 2 are the earbuds for you. Although buyer beware, you might just lose an earbud at least once throughout the day.
- Pros - The AirPods and AirPods 2 are the ideal choice for anyone with Apple products. In fact, they are one of the most popular wireless earbuds on the market. The sound quality is good, the comfort is great (if you have the right ears of course), Siri can be beckoned by name, and they are incredibly lightweight. The AirPods 2 have the advantage of a smarter and fast processing system.
- Cons - The AirPods and AirPods 2 are expensive. They don't fit every type of ear, which means that outside noise has a way of interrupting your listening experience. They are only available in one color and are only quasi-sweat and waterproof resistant.
- The Final Verdict - If you want to be trendy, then buy the AirPods or AirPods 2. However, if you want to branch out from the singular color, then you might want to consider a personalized earbud skin that will transform your AirPods into something a little more unique. With all of the pros and cons in mind, these earbuds do have an amazing charging case, are fairly comfortable, are incredibly reliable, and don't have connectivity issues.
Samsung Galaxy Buds: Small Earbuds, Big Sound
The Samsung Galaxy Buds are the ideal choice for an Android or Samsung phone. They offer easy connectivity, a fairly comfortable fit, and a warm bassy sound.
- Pros - One of the biggest pros for these wireless earbuds is that they are compact and lightweight. They also feature a noise-isolating feature, which means that you don't need to blast the latest TED talk as you try to drown out the person next to you on the bus. The battery life is also good and will last up to six hours on one charge. Finally, the in-ear audio buds feature a compact charging case with both USB-C wired and wireless charging capabilities.
- Cons - These earbuds aren't for you if you love a good bass-pumping listening session. In fact, there is a reason that we initially described the earbuds as having a "warm bassy sound;" in other words, the bass isn't deep. However, the major con of the Galaxy buds is that certain features only work with Android phones.
- The Final Verdict - While the sound quality isn't amazing, the Galaxy earbuds are a definite "yes" if you own an Android or Samsung Galaxy phone. With a price tag of $130, a lightweight and compact fit, and a decent battery life, these earbuds are a good purchase for someone interested in a reliable listening experience.