True wireless headphones
#1
RacingBear
Thread Starter
True wireless headphones
So I am looking to replace my Jabra Jaybird X4 with true wireless ones. I would like to listen to podcasts/music without cranking the volume up, and have microphone good enough so I can voice control through google voice. Not necessary while riding, but at least while stopped at the light. Which also means descent voice quality (again not while riding).
What I have tried so far.
Apple Air Pod Pros paired with iphone. With ANC off wind is too high. With it on, it's better but I still have to increase volume.
Sony wf-1000xm4 paired with Android. To get wind noise down I have to turn ANC on, and the wind reduction. It works until it doesn't. It's very inconsistent, and above 25mph just turns off. Also they were very uncomfortable.
Jabra Elite 75T Active paired with Android. With ANC off they actually worked pretty well with passively blocking wind. Better than AirPod pros with ANC on, and slightly worse then sonys with anc + wind reduction (when it worked). That being said after a week left ear bud started to malfunction and volume was less than right one.
What does everyone else is using?
P.S. I have been here long enough to know that whenever this subject comes up, bunch of people show up to post their self righteous opinions about how dangerous and/or illegal it is. Then others reply and it turns in to a circle jerk. Let me attempt to short circuit this and say "I DON'T CARE". YOU won't change my mind, and chances are with 15+ years and 100k+ miles under my belt I have ridden more with ear buds than you without, and I know what I am doing. If you post here you will just be showing everyone that you just like to hear your own "voice".
What I have tried so far.
Apple Air Pod Pros paired with iphone. With ANC off wind is too high. With it on, it's better but I still have to increase volume.
Sony wf-1000xm4 paired with Android. To get wind noise down I have to turn ANC on, and the wind reduction. It works until it doesn't. It's very inconsistent, and above 25mph just turns off. Also they were very uncomfortable.
Jabra Elite 75T Active paired with Android. With ANC off they actually worked pretty well with passively blocking wind. Better than AirPod pros with ANC on, and slightly worse then sonys with anc + wind reduction (when it worked). That being said after a week left ear bud started to malfunction and volume was less than right one.
What does everyone else is using?
P.S. I have been here long enough to know that whenever this subject comes up, bunch of people show up to post their self righteous opinions about how dangerous and/or illegal it is. Then others reply and it turns in to a circle jerk. Let me attempt to short circuit this and say "I DON'T CARE". YOU won't change my mind, and chances are with 15+ years and 100k+ miles under my belt I have ridden more with ear buds than you without, and I know what I am doing. If you post here you will just be showing everyone that you just like to hear your own "voice".
#2
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I personally find Beats PowerBeats pros to work pretty well. At really high speeds, podcast can be a little harder to hear, but for me this is only above 30mph or so. I've never used them to summon the google assistant, though. I usually only ride with one in. If I need to have a phone conversation, I have to slow way down or stop - they're not great at filtering out wind from the microphone.
Edit to add - mine are going on 2 years old now with no hiccups. The charging case isn't great - you have to really make sure that they are inserted correctly to get them to charge.
Edit to add - mine are going on 2 years old now with no hiccups. The charging case isn't great - you have to really make sure that they are inserted correctly to get them to charge.
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I've got a set of the Google Pixel Buds (the older wirelsess Buds, not the current Buds A Series) paired with my Google Pixel 4 phone and I really like the setup. Integration with Google assistant is good and no one on the other end of a call complains that the sound quality is low. The thing I really like about them is that you can skip a song, rewind to a previous song, pause, and control the volume by tapping on the earbuds. No digging the phone out of your pocket (or in your case a jersey pocket I suspect). They are not noise cancelling but they make a pretty good seal in my ears to where I don't miss the ANC. The Buds come with different sets of inserts for different sized ears.
I don't ride with earbuds so I don't know how they would perform in the wind.
I don't ride with earbuds so I don't know how they would perform in the wind.
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So I am looking to replace my Jabra Jaybird X4 with true wireless ones. ...
...whenever this subject comes up, bunch of people show up to post their self righteous opinions about how dangerous and/or illegal it is. Then others reply and it turns in to a circle jerk. Let me attempt to short circuit this and say "I DON'T CARE". YOU won't change my mind, and chances are with 15+ years and 100k+ miles under my belt I have ridden more with ear buds than you without, and I know what I am doing.
...whenever this subject comes up, bunch of people show up to post their self righteous opinions about how dangerous and/or illegal it is. Then others reply and it turns in to a circle jerk. Let me attempt to short circuit this and say "I DON'T CARE". YOU won't change my mind, and chances are with 15+ years and 100k+ miles under my belt I have ridden more with ear buds than you without, and I know what I am doing.
Are you simply asking us what wireless airbuds we're using? If so, I've ridden 99.99% of my solo rides in the past 7 years (~30k miles, 1.2k rides) with a "single" air bud in the curb side ear (previously a wired bud, but now almost always wireless, unless I forget to charge them).
Currently I'm using the Bluetooth "Spoke" bud by Skull Candy, which have a ~4hr runtime, at which point I'll swap the dead bud for the other bud that's been recharging in its case. And interestingly enough, the ad for these buds says "true wireless" https://www.target.com/p/skullcandy-...s/-/A-79939026
Edit: after some research to settle my nerves about this, I see that there were buds released that had a wire connecting the two buds together, and possibly to a little shared battery or Bluetooth transceiver that wasn't on the bud itself, aka not "true wireless".
Last edited by Hermes; 12-17-21 at 05:48 PM. Reason: Off topic
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Paging @genec
#6
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Paging @genec
Uh, never mind... as far as I am concerned, voice control doesn't work well enough anyway.
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https://www.jlab.com/collections/ear...reless-earbuds
Inexpensive option- I use these for both work and riding.
- over the ear is secure when riding.
- they plug up enough to keep wind to a minimum, but I can still hear traffic when riding. I do use a garmin varia radar light and that helps a bunch on gravel roads since I cant hear cars well between wind and gravel noise. On gravel, I dont think the ear buds effectively make me hear less, based on experience.
- talking thru them works well in a quiet environment(home office), but wind makes it tough for people to hear when I am riding and talking.
- the noise cancelling feature is totally worthless, like I am not sure if it even exists. I dont care because I dont want or need to use it. There is enough of a wind block just built into the ear pieces.
- battery life is great and the case comes with a built in usb plug so no cord is needed to charge the case.
- lots of rubber ear piece sizes come to customize fit.
- I can wear these all day without discomfort and sometimes forget they are on at home.
I got these mainly because I like the over the ear design for security while riding. Buds and Sticks are slick because they are so compact, but I dont want to chance dropping one while riding.
Inexpensive option- I use these for both work and riding.
- over the ear is secure when riding.
- they plug up enough to keep wind to a minimum, but I can still hear traffic when riding. I do use a garmin varia radar light and that helps a bunch on gravel roads since I cant hear cars well between wind and gravel noise. On gravel, I dont think the ear buds effectively make me hear less, based on experience.
- talking thru them works well in a quiet environment(home office), but wind makes it tough for people to hear when I am riding and talking.
- the noise cancelling feature is totally worthless, like I am not sure if it even exists. I dont care because I dont want or need to use it. There is enough of a wind block just built into the ear pieces.
- battery life is great and the case comes with a built in usb plug so no cord is needed to charge the case.
- lots of rubber ear piece sizes come to customize fit.
- I can wear these all day without discomfort and sometimes forget they are on at home.
I got these mainly because I like the over the ear design for security while riding. Buds and Sticks are slick because they are so compact, but I dont want to chance dropping one while riding.
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I personally find Beats PowerBeats pros to work pretty well. At really high speeds, podcast can be a little harder to hear, but for me this is only above 30mph or so. I've never used them to summon the google assistant, though. I usually only ride with one in. If I need to have a phone conversation, I have to slow way down or stop - they're not great at filtering out wind from the microphone.
Edit to add - mine are going on 2 years old now with no hiccups. The charging case isn't great - you have to really make sure that they are inserted correctly to get them to charge.
Edit to add - mine are going on 2 years old now with no hiccups. The charging case isn't great - you have to really make sure that they are inserted correctly to get them to charge.
#9
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I'm trying to understand why the Sony model referenced turns off ANC when the OP hits 25mph. That's a curious relationship, isn't it?
#10
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I'm on my third pair and don't even remember what brand they are but because I wear glasses the over the ear hook option is out. I have never found any of mine to really block out the wind noise or traffic noise. Main problem I have when it's cool out and I wear my balaclava under my helmet is "touch". The slightest touch mutes them or flips songs or changes volume simply by touching the fabric. My wife got me a pair of wireless that have the wire connecting them together and you have to push the buttons on them to make changes and I fall back on them when I need ear protection to ride.
#11
RacingBear
Thread Starter
I personally find Beats PowerBeats pros to work pretty well. At really high speeds, podcast can be a little harder to hear, but for me this is only above 30mph or so. I've never used them to summon the google assistant, though. I usually only ride with one in. If I need to have a phone conversation, I have to slow way down or stop - they're not great at filtering out wind from the microphone.
Edit to add - mine are going on 2 years old now with no hiccups. The charging case isn't great - you have to really make sure that they are inserted correctly to get them to charge.
Edit to add - mine are going on 2 years old now with no hiccups. The charging case isn't great - you have to really make sure that they are inserted correctly to get them to charge.
I had never heard the term "true wireless" until now, and I'm not exactly sure what that means, is there a partly/un-true version of wireless earbuds that have wires or something?
Are you simply asking us what wireless airbuds we're using? If so, I've ridden 99.99% of my solo rides in the past 7 years (~30k miles, 1.2k rides) with a "single" air bud in the curb side ear (previously a wired bud, but now almost always wireless, unless I forget to charge them). But I'll never use a bud during a group ride, and never ever have both buds in at the same time, that's just asking for trouble. And that's not a self-righteous opinion, it's just reality. Blocking both ears while participating in an activity where others need to communicate with you for "their" safety means you need to be able to listen, regardless of how many hours you've spent doing that foolish behavior in the past. And this goes for all the runners wearing both buds on the bike paths as well.
Currently I'm using the Bluetooth "Spoke" bud by Skull Candy, which have a ~4hr runtime, at which point I'll swap the dead bud for the other bud that's been recharging in its case. And interestingly enough, the ad for these buds says "true wireless" https://www.target.com/p/skullcandy-...s/-/A-79939026
Edit: after some research to settle my nerves about this, I see that there were buds released that had a wire connecting the two buds together, and possibly to a little shared battery or Bluetooth transceiver that wasn't on the bud itself, aka not "true wireless".
Are you simply asking us what wireless airbuds we're using? If so, I've ridden 99.99% of my solo rides in the past 7 years (~30k miles, 1.2k rides) with a "single" air bud in the curb side ear (previously a wired bud, but now almost always wireless, unless I forget to charge them). But I'll never use a bud during a group ride, and never ever have both buds in at the same time, that's just asking for trouble. And that's not a self-righteous opinion, it's just reality. Blocking both ears while participating in an activity where others need to communicate with you for "their" safety means you need to be able to listen, regardless of how many hours you've spent doing that foolish behavior in the past. And this goes for all the runners wearing both buds on the bike paths as well.
Currently I'm using the Bluetooth "Spoke" bud by Skull Candy, which have a ~4hr runtime, at which point I'll swap the dead bud for the other bud that's been recharging in its case. And interestingly enough, the ad for these buds says "true wireless" https://www.target.com/p/skullcandy-...s/-/A-79939026
Edit: after some research to settle my nerves about this, I see that there were buds released that had a wire connecting the two buds together, and possibly to a little shared battery or Bluetooth transceiver that wasn't on the bud itself, aka not "true wireless".
I didn't say anything about group rides, so it's just a speculation on your part.
I'll checkout Skull Candy.
https://www.jlab.com/collections/ear...reless-earbuds
Inexpensive option- I use these for both work and riding.
- over the ear is secure when riding.
- they plug up enough to keep wind to a minimum, but I can still hear traffic when riding. I do use a garmin varia radar light and that helps a bunch on gravel roads since I cant hear cars well between wind and gravel noise. On gravel, I dont think the ear buds effectively make me hear less, based on experience.
- talking thru them works well in a quiet environment(home office), but wind makes it tough for people to hear when I am riding and talking.
- the noise cancelling feature is totally worthless, like I am not sure if it even exists. I dont care because I dont want or need to use it. There is enough of a wind block just built into the ear pieces.
- battery life is great and the case comes with a built in usb plug so no cord is needed to charge the case.
- lots of rubber ear piece sizes come to customize fit.
- I can wear these all day without discomfort and sometimes forget they are on at home.
I got these mainly because I like the over the ear design for security while riding. Buds and Sticks are slick because they are so compact, but I dont want to chance dropping one while riding.
Inexpensive option- I use these for both work and riding.
- over the ear is secure when riding.
- they plug up enough to keep wind to a minimum, but I can still hear traffic when riding. I do use a garmin varia radar light and that helps a bunch on gravel roads since I cant hear cars well between wind and gravel noise. On gravel, I dont think the ear buds effectively make me hear less, based on experience.
- talking thru them works well in a quiet environment(home office), but wind makes it tough for people to hear when I am riding and talking.
- the noise cancelling feature is totally worthless, like I am not sure if it even exists. I dont care because I dont want or need to use it. There is enough of a wind block just built into the ear pieces.
- battery life is great and the case comes with a built in usb plug so no cord is needed to charge the case.
- lots of rubber ear piece sizes come to customize fit.
- I can wear these all day without discomfort and sometimes forget they are on at home.
I got these mainly because I like the over the ear design for security while riding. Buds and Sticks are slick because they are so compact, but I dont want to chance dropping one while riding.
I guess? It also turns off randomly at lower speed, just at higher speed it's more consistent. So something about wind speed I guess.
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Timely. I can't help, but I'm interested to hear user experiences, too. I've been looking online for a replacement of my current TWEs, which don't have ANC and cultivate so much wind noise that I don't bother wearing them unless it's cold and I'll have a hat covering them. It seems like there's no holy grail TWEs, but a couple models that have my interest are the Nothing Ear 1 (though the ANC supposedly isn't that great) and the LG Tone Free FP8.
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#14
RacingBear
Thread Starter
I didn't imply YOU did ride with both on group rides. I only said I DID NOT. And unless it's already been stated in the comments of that discussion thread, I typically preface any comment I have about earbuds by stating that, since I want anyone (most importantly a newbie) reading it to understand that both buds in is NEVER a safe way to ride outdoors (many jurisdictions say it's illegal), and no bud should be worn in a group ride, IMHO. Neither of those were directed at YOU, but if the shoe fits....
This thread is explicitly about MY need for a good headphones and solicitation of experiences for which ones work for people. Any other posts about safety I view as pretentiousness.
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Didn't see trekz come up so curious if they were something you were/weren't considering? Bone conduction headphones have been the best for me on the bike. Better than 1 earbud riding.
#16
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One thing I appreciate about them is that they are not touch and have a physical volume button. The play / pause / skip button works well with most apps. I've had issues with the iheart app, but that seems common across users of that app on both iOS and Android.
#17
RacingBear
Thread Starter
I have had no issues pairing them with an Android phone (I have a newer Samsung). Like I said, however, I've not set them up with google assistant.
One thing I appreciate about them is that they are not touch and have a physical volume button. The play / pause / skip button works well with most apps. I've had issues with the iheart app, but that seems common across users of that app on both iOS and Android.
One thing I appreciate about them is that they are not touch and have a physical volume button. The play / pause / skip button works well with most apps. I've had issues with the iheart app, but that seems common across users of that app on both iOS and Android.
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I think they sound pretty good. Not perfect, but better than my wired google earbuds. I have a Note 20 - I had them hooked up with an earlier note before that (the one after the one that was catching fire - a Note 8?). I didn't notice any major problems with it.
#19
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I wear my over the ear buds with sunglasses...I guess the arms of the glasses sit just above/atop the ear bud hook. It works well, but maybe that is a head/ear shape dependent situation.
#20
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It is 2-3x the size of an airpods case. Part of that is because the ear buds are simply larger due to the hooked design, part is because the usb plug is built into the case, and part is probably just cost savings so they didnt make the battery super compact.
I actually like the case size because its easier to see/find. I dont use it on rides and it really just sits in one of 3 spots at home so it could be the size of a dinner plate and I wouldnt much care.
I actually like the case size because its easier to see/find. I dont use it on rides and it really just sits in one of 3 spots at home so it could be the size of a dinner plate and I wouldnt much care.
#21
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Yeah, they might work with my regular glasses, but I use a strap on my riding glasses so they don't move or fly off. I have an old blue tooth device from an old phone and I could never get used to that pushing my ear out and then it would flop loose and annoy the .... out of me.
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If you want to use earbuds try some Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2. Sounds great, others have said my voice sounds clear and crisp in calls so the mic seems good. Only downside is the case sucks, its really hard to get them out of the case.
Oh, and once you get them fitted right they stay put.
Oh, and once you get them fitted right they stay put.
Last edited by RGMN; 12-06-21 at 03:19 PM.
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It seemed to decrease battery life a bit, maybe 10%(?), but not hugely...biggest difference is that the wind noise was slightly decreased. And if you listen to podcasts, it helps a ton, the dialog is clearer. Music is better, but I never expected a HiFi listening experience anyhow.
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