Ear Pods - Luddite - Please Help!

[PolaDeVeboise]

I have an iphone 7 and want some ear pods. Do I have to get Apple ones? Any recommendations? Would rather spend no more than £200.

You don't have to get the Apple ones Air pods, but the AIrPod Pro is probably the best on the market. I have a pair and love them. Any Bluetooth wireless headphones will work.

If you want to save some money, try the Amazon Echo Buds 2. They're almost as good and about half the cost. I have a pair of these too and they're fine for podcasts or netflix.

www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/amazon-echo-buds-2-review/

Thanks @MissConductUS. Want them for music too, but the Air Pod Pro are £240!!!

AirPod pro are £199 on BT Shop
shop.bt.com/products/apple-airpods-pro-with-wireless-case-mwp22zm-a-FHC2.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product%20search&utm_content=RR00&ReferrerID=RR00&gclid=Cj0KCQjwt-6LBhDlARIsAIPRQcK0FZWu5pTIp8dtMgoKLjT2SBiftUmd6xmDSCOeqQAC7_1KaLJcrM0aAjnREALw_wcB

They’re just £165.99 at pricelulu.co.uk which we’ve bought from before no problem, but there’s obv a bit more risk buying from a significantly cheaper website. They also sell 2nd gen AirPods for £103 and we’ve found them to be really good.

I bought DS a set of "fake" apple ear pods on a flight recently. £27 or thereabouts. They work perfectly well, it's just Bluetooth. They are white, and have the in-case charging.
British airways shopping is at highlifeshop.com
You don't need to spend anywhere near £200!

Fucking hell, mine were £20 on Amazon!
I'm aware that I know nothing about technology but what do the expensive ones for that mine don't?

I've also got a £20 ish Amazon pair that do the job perfectly well.

But whether you go cheap, expensive or somewhere in the middle, it's probably worth waiting a few days/weeks until the Black Friday deals come out - you might get a big discount on some of the more expensive versions if that's what you're planning to buy.

These are the ones I got, but I only paid £18 for them due to them being a deal of the day and also me having a money off voucher for some reason that I don't remember.

@ISpyCobraKai

Fucking hell, mine were £20 on Amazon! I'm aware that I know nothing about technology but what do the expensive ones for that mine don't?

Likely much better sound quality and noise canceling. The integration with iOS is also impressive. With the AirPods I can say, "Hey Siri, what time is it/where am I/etc/? When I open the case, a window pops up on the phone showing the battery status.

It's a luxury item, to be sure. That's Apple's branding.

@PolaDeVeboise

Thanks *@MissConductUS*. Want them for music too, but the Air Pod Pro are £240!!!

Can you borrow a pair to listen to?

I'll try a side-by-side test tomorrow with some classical music and report back.

Thanks all.

@ISpyCobraKai - that's my thoughts, hence reluctance to just go straight for Apple. I'd love to find a fab, largely unknown, pair at @£80 that are awesome.

@BarbaraofSeville, I'm very cynical about Black Friday, I think it's just one big con. Also, I'm impatient.

Thanks @MissConductUS.

Anker / Soundcore are pretty good as a cheaper alternative. I've been impressed by all their products I've tried. They used to be a brand that only sold on Amazon but are appearing in more mainstream shops like Currys now.

Anyway, these are currently under £50 with the voucher on the website:

uk.soundcore.com/collections/true-wireless/products/a3910?variant=39975205175456

Those Anker ones don’t stay in my ears! Just forked out fifty quid for a good pair but the r headphone falls out all the time and I have tried all the sizes of headphone rubber cuff thingies.

@PolaDeVeboise, I have completed my side by side test. I used the third movement of Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland because I am very familiar with it, it has a large dynamic range and the woodwinds are quite distinctive. I swapped them several times.

They both sounded excellent. I really did not hear one as clearly better than the other. My suggestion would be to order the Echo Buds from Amazon, as they are so good with returns if you don't like them or can't get a good fit in your ear. They come with three different-sized silicone pieces that go into your ear, with the medium-sized piece installed.

If you don't love them, send them back for a refund and buy the AirPod Pros. If you do like them, you'll have saved a lot of money.

You referred to yourself as a Luddite. If you need help with the Bluetooth pairing here's a video showing you how to do it.

I am also a total Luddite
I was thinking to get some but will the Bluetooth thing work on the Tube? No point otherwise.

Also, the Tube is horribly noisy so I need really good noise cancelling, if anyone has any recommendations?
thanks for the thread OP!

Id spend the extra on AirPods, the non pro ones are good and as pp says they work with Apple products seemlessly. It tells you how much charge you have for the AirPods ands the charging case and you can use Siri by tapping it. If you misplace them you can use FindMyPhone to track them down.

I second this. I have the cheapest version of the apple airpods, and they are so convenient to pair with the iPhone. You might get a good Black Friday deal! I wouldn't be without mine now.

you can get any wireless earphones.
I didn't get on with ear pods and I have heard from other women that they don't seems to fit well on smaller i.e. female ears.

plus I don't like to wear in-ear ones as I want to hear someone coming up behind me ambient noises.

for running I use cheapo ones that are wireless but connected with cables. less risk of dropping into the gutter if they fall out due to sweat.

Apologies, just saw your comment about Black Friday. I still recommend the airpods nevertheless

@DaisyNGO

I am also a total Luddite I was thinking to get some but will the Bluetooth thing work on the Tube? No point otherwise.

Also, the Tube is horribly noisy so I need really good noise cancelling, if anyone has any recommendations?
thanks for the thread OP!

Bluetooth will work anywhere. The earphones just need to be within 30 feet or so of the phone. The noise cancelation is a bit better with the Airpod Pro's than the Echo Buds, but you'll still hear a lot of noise in the background. They filter steady, ambient sounds like the engine noise on a plane, but not sudden noises like a tube car screetching around a turn.

There are a number of on line reviews that compare them directly, like this one

www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/airpods-pro-vs-echo-buds-2-how-the-wireless-earbuds-compare-after-weeks-of-use/

If you don't care about the cost, get the Airpod Pros. If you don't want to spend that kind of money, the Echo Buds are a better value and still very good.

I love my AirPods and they're the only earphones I've ever found I can wear comfortably for long periods. I have very small and sensitive ears and even external headphones cause me pain, but AirPods I can wear for hours and while lying down. They were expensive, but I use them every day and they have been well worth it for me!

I had bought some of the cheap ones previously and they were okay - I think if you don't have sensitive ears they would be better, but I found them sore after 20 mins or so.

One thing to keep in mind is that none of these devices lasts forever. The tiny lithium batteries in the earpieces will eventually wear out and the charge they accept will decline, just like the battery in your phone. I found this becoming a problem with my AirPod Pros after about a year and a half. I was using them for several hours a day, mostly on Zoom calls for work. Because I had AppleCare Plus, Apple replaced them for me.

By the way, Apple just released a new version of the less expensive AirPods. The WSJ gave them a good review, except to say that they were more prone to falling out. That may not be your experience because it will depend in part on the size and shape of your ear canal. Check some on line reviews before you buy them. The AirPod Pros were unchanged.

Thanks MissConduct, that's really helpful.

We all have AirPods in our house. DS's are over three years old and still work very well despite being used for hours a day. He has changed to an Android phone and the functionality is not as good, though he seems happy enough with it.

Both DH and I did not think we would use them half as much as we do. As a PP says, they are a luxury item but I would replace in a heartbeat.

You're welcome, Daisy. I learn a lot here on MN, so it's nice to be able to give back.

Thanks everyone, I am definitely veering towards Airpods (thanks and sorry @MissConductUS) - it's just the pro v 3 conundrum now...