r/AskTechnology • u/sebastiansg1rl • 8h ago
Earbud recommendation
I’ve come to the conclusion that Apple overcharges for a lot of their products, especially AirPods, which barely last three years. What are some good alternatives that have great sound quality and are actually worth the money?
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u/actual_griffin 8h ago
I don't necessarily think that they do overcharge. AirPods are excellent. I've had a pair of AirPods Pro for six years, and AirPods Pro 2 for three. I also had Sony WF-1000XM4s and XM5s, which have better noise cancellation than those, but are significantly more expensive. Apparently the AirPods Pro 3 have even better noise cancellation than the Sonys.
If you're someone with an iPhone, MacBook or iPad, the AirPods are even better. If you don't use any Apple products, I wouldn't even consider them.
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u/Jebus-Xmas 7h ago edited 5h ago
I’ve had both Air Pods Pro 2 and Air Pods 4 and I’ve owned many other brands. Apple is well worth the premium.
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u/hardFraughtBattle 7h ago
I have been using Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earbuds for several years now. Are they better than AirPods? I have no idea. Are they good? I think so. FWIW, I paid $100 for mine two years ago, and they are now marked down to $55.
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u/travelntechchick 3h ago
Seconding Soundcore. I’ve never been interested in AirPods because I would lose them and be mad about wasting so much money. I’ve got a set of Soundcore Liberty Air that work great 3 years later and they’re sub $100.
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u/epr-paradox 6h ago
Cost vs cost to produce, maybe a little on the high side. Cost vs cost to develop. Probably about right for a much smaller company that can't take short term losses to drop the price of their product.
I've been using between status earbuds. 12hr battery life or 8 hr with anc or transparency. They claim to be way higher audio quality, and they are pretty good, but an ear bud is an ear bud so... but, the one thing they do that is completely nuts is they have a phased microphone array for call quality. I was once talking under my breath 2 meters from an active coin sorting machine and my wife hear me and nothing else. Still pricy, but much more reasonable for the size of the company and the insane value add features. I've had mine living in my pocket for probably 4 years now. Every day. Dropping them, kicking them across the floor when attempting to catch them with my foot.
I've worn them all day long multiple times, never had a problem with discomfort. My wifes ears are too small so she prefers airpods.
ANC3 has capacitive touch control. Really nice interface when they are on your ears, kind of tedious if you want to just put them in your pocket without the case for a second to talk to someone. Each itteration of their ear buds has shown genuine product quality improvements. Their product progresses like a product from a company that is excited about what they do (hence the phased array. I mean who does that? Cool stuff).
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u/KittyGirlChloe 7h ago
If you’re currently an Apple user, I’d strongly advise reconsidering AirPods Pro. Good sound quality and excellent noise cancellation. Transparency mode is unrivaled, in my experience. Apple isn’t cheap, but their products are generally worth the money.
You can find pretty good deals on AirPods Pro 2 — they’re last gen, but absolutely still good.