[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

For anyone with large and/or oddly shaped ears (like yours truly) struggling to be comfortable in the default ear pads of most over-ear headphones, check these replacement pads out. Reasonably priced, good quality and very comfortable.

Shout out to friendly mod Vid6639 for the recommendation.

They are truly comfortable with a generous amount of memory foam but unfortunately these aftermarket pads tend to affect sound quality because they more often than not change the distance from your ear to the driver and sometimes change the size/volume of the "cavity" (if I may call it that) formed by the ear pad and your ear.

That said, I got a nice set for my Audio Technica M50xBT and other AT headphones. The factory ones make wearing the headphones unbearably painful though sound is maintained. Brainwavz later introduced another model specifically targeting some A-T monitor headphones. Brainwavz ProStock ATH M50X Upgraded Earpads - Designed to NOT Alter The Sound But to Improve Comfort. These are about 2x more expensive but may be worth considering for these models.

If one is ready for a trade-off then these are certainly recommended. Another brand is wicked cushions, limited availability via headphone zone dot in.

[roamer]

Any feedback on Marshall Major III BT Headset. Its currently available at 7.5 K at Reliance.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by R2D2

... aftermarket pads tend to affect sound quality because they more often than not change the distance from your ear to the driver and sometimes change the size/volume of the "cavity" (if I may call it that) formed by the ear pad and your ear...

You're right, but the alternative is pinched ears and an uncomfortable (sometimes painful) fit, so the trade-off is acceptable compared to non-use. Most non-audiophiles like me would probably either not notice or not mind the change in sound quality.

Manufacturers should ship at least mid-range and above headphones with multiple earpads that maintain the cans' sound profile. I'm sure they can afford it in their margins.

[akshaymahajan]

Any users of Nothing ear (1) on the forum? Would love to know how they compare with the different earphones in different price ranges - Air Pods, Galaxy Buds and the Jabra Elites to the cheaper ~3k buds

[condor]

I had got a Plantronics Voyager, worth 10.5k. Not used much, but the unit is already facing bad battery life and poor sound output.

The Explorer series that I have been using before this was far better.

[clevermax]

Feedback on the Realme Buds Q2:

- Much better ANC than the buds wireless 2 Neo (Since I was using that model too)
- Easy to fit in the ears
- Good bass response for a 10mm, slightly exceeded my expectations
- Battery life isn't really 17 hours, I am getting maybe around 10-12 hrs. I always play with 50% or less volume, with ANC on.
- At times, one of the buds didn't connect to the phone (rare, probabilistic)
- No volume control, if you are pairing it with say AFS.
- Touch controls on the buds really work, reliable.
- Better call quality than the previous iteration (as per feedback I collected from people I talked to over the phone)

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

I have used it for the entire ~10 hours of battery life on my cycling trips

...

Been using it for ~5 months; no issues faced except the battery life has started going down to just a shy below 10 hours.

It's been just over half a year of usage of the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ and the battery seems to be going down from ~10 hours to ~8 hours these days. This a considerable drop - my Jabra 65Ts stuck to their ~4 hours battery life for more than 2 years of similar heavy usage.

Does it make sense reaching out to Samsung on this?

[akshaymahajan]

Originally Posted by clevermax

- Much better ANC than the buds wireless 2 Neo (Since I was using that model too)
- Better call quality than the previous iteration (as per feedback I collected from people I talked to over the phone)

How is the noise cancellation of the mic? Need to get something to take calls since it seems to be construction season where I live.

There seem to be so many options across budget, and I am thoroughly confused.

[condor]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Does it make sense reaching out to Samsung on this?

Yes. Check if the warranty is 1 or 2 yrs. If 2, then you are covered.

[warrioraks]

I am looking for some good ‘On ear’ buds. I am one of those rare souls who does not like the recent trend of ‘In ear’ silicone earphones. To me, it feels very stuffed and does not sound like a good option for continuous usage.

What would be my options? I have been using One plus buds launched last year and absolutely love them. Unfortunately One plus launched the next version with ‘In ear’ form factor. Any suggestions on what I could upgrade do?

I am definitely not an audiophile and decent sound and exceptional call quality are my primary requirements. TIA!

[hiren.mistry]

Hello all,
In the market for a good TWS with ANC.

Music genre: Nothing specific with a mix of Pop, Rock, EDM, Trance and even Gujarati garba thrown in for good measure
Budget: 10K lower the better of course
Shortlist:
Oppo Enco X
Soundcore Liberty Air 2 pro

I prefer a stem style TWS's as I believe these will be better for calls. At this point I am leaning towards the Soundcore because they have one of the best companion app.

I will be pairing these to Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, I am currently using the Linner NC50 neckband style earbuds which I simply love. I had picked these from the UK.

Looking forward to your suggestions.

Thanks

[atnyia]

Originally Posted by hiren.mistry

Oppo Enco X
Soundcore Liberty Air 2 pro

I prefer a stem style TWS's as I believe these will be better for calls. At this point I am leaning towards the Soundcore because they have one of the best companion app.


Looking forward to your suggestions.

Thanks

I have been using Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro for more than a year. It has fantastic call quality which is on par with Jabra calling devices. Music quality is unbeatable simply due to the size of the armature.

I have a different view of their app. It is fancy without much actual use. I played around for a while and ultimately went back to default, which sounded the best.

Issues:
1) Connects only with a single device at one time. This is irritating as I like to pair both my phone and PC at the same time.
2) Occasional white noise issue while playback. Sometimes, it goes away with a pause/play, rarely with a restart.
3) Size does look bulky. There wasn't discomfort while using though.

We bought another one (without the Pro) for my wife. There isn't much of a difference, to be honest in any practical way, apart from the fact that the plastic is slightly cheap. If I knew beforehand, I wouldn't buy the Pro (double price for being 10% better than the non-Pro).

I wouldn't go for Liberty Air Pro for the following reasons:
1) ANC is not as good as per reviews. While Liberty ones aren't totally quiet, they do a proper job in Gym. For ANC, better buy the Sennheiser/Sony.
2) Music quality is a notch lower ( due to size).

[motorworks]

One query on Apple AirPods folks. I have an iPhone 12 and I’m actually not in need of the AirPods since I don’t carry my phone while running or walking and don’t really use earphones otherwise for my phone. However, I use a Sony Bluetooth earphones for my office windows laptop. The thing is that the Sony Bluetooth earphones are just plain ugly when I have them on and it does not aesthetically look good since it’s not the collar band type and wire keeps dangling all day! So I was thinking if I had to upgrade, would AirPods be a good option? But was extremely apprehensive since the AirPods keep detecting my iphone first and hence it wouldn’t connect to the laptop? Or else each time I would have to “forget” these AirPods in my iPhone so that the windows laptop detects it first?

The other option may be to simply get some other brand so that the pairing with the laptop is a lot easier. I was leaning towards the AirPods since it can be used easily with the iPhone whenever I want to, and quite frankly I’m a lot more confident about the quality of Apple than others.

Any feedback would be great, thanks!

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by motorworks

But was extremely apprehensive since the AirPods keep detecting my iphone first and hence it wouldn’t connect to the laptop? Or else each time I would have to “forget” these AirPods in my iPhone so that the windows laptop detects it first?

Just curious about this. If you keep the BT on your iPhone OFF, this won’t happen?

[Sebring]

No idea which Sony earphone you were using. But, these are the ones to get right now.

https://youtu.be/-DIwlDyNsFQ

Originally Posted by motorworks

The thing is that the Sony Bluetooth earphones are just plain ugly when I have them on and it does not aesthetically look good since it’s not the collar band type and wire keeps dangling all day!