What's the best earbuds for my use case?

[kitnoman]

I'll be using it everyday. I primarily need ANC as I'm working at home and it's kind of noisy here. I use an iphone but will also pair it with my computer during work. So priorities are; first, ANC. Second, sound quality and lastly, compatibility and feature. This will be my first ANC earbuds and know nothing about about it other than what I've watched and read. My choices are Sony wf-1000xm5, Airpod pro 2 and Jabra elite 10 or if there are other suggestions? My budget is around $200-250 max(or less). By the way, I don't know yet how much the jabra will cost me, but I saw the Sony 1000xm5 and airpods pro 2 in a store near me and with discount, both are around $180-190, including tax when converted.

[adm0n]

check out this:
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tools/compare/apple-airpods-pro-2nd-generation-truly-wireless-vs-sony-wf-1000xm5-truly-wireless/29490/38974?usage=19&threshold=0.10

 

From skimming through that, the airpods pro are slightly "better" sounding and have somewhat better ANC in the bass range, while the sonys have longer battery life and better ANC in the treble range. Sound is very subjective, but I doubt you could complain about either of those.

 

Just remember that ear buds are inherently more of a consumable product. They last a couple of years until the battery is degraded enough that you'll want to buy new ones. If you can live with actual headphones, you'll always be happier for longer as well as lowering the amount of e-waste in our world. That being said, if you need that form factor, both will be an excellent choice.

[Guest]

The MSRP for the Jabra 10 is $249, although I have seen them at $199

All earbuds have the same problem which is the size of your ears. This can in many cases be alleviated by the extra ear inserts that they come with but many can not.

For the reasons that Adm0n said above, I also recommend a set of earphones instead.

[Cocococo]

You're on iPhone, airpods pro 2 are your best option by far. Some things the linked RTINGS articles does a very poor job of explaining, the difference in noise cancelling comes directly from the Sony XM5 buds being stuffed pretty far into your ear canal, acting like an earplug. If anything this makes the airpods pro 2 look even more impressive, the ANC is pretty much identical in effectiveness, the difference comes from the sony's stuffing the eartips into your ears, where the APP2 sit snug and secure without burrowing into your ears to achieve similar levels of noise cancelling.

Neutral sound is a stupid way to try and measure sound quality, there are neutral headphones out there that sound decent (AKG K612 comes to mind) but frankly none of the highly praised headphones out there even try and go for a true neutral sound signature because it's really boring, to give a more accurate description the APP2 follow the 2019 Harman in-ear target V2 pretty closely, with some reigned in upper mids (my and many others main criticism with the 2019 Harman target is how sharp the upper mids can be) and surprisingly little bass for a commuting headphone, this is nice for the gym, walks in quiet places and cycling, but this is also very annoying for buses, trains and planes where it's harder for the ANC to drown out the loud, low frequencies of sound, extra bass really helps in these environments.

The Sony XM5 earbuds follow a typical V-shaped target, quite bloated upper bass that does mess with deeper male vocals, sharper and more piercing treble, this works better if you're sitting on the back seat of a bus (and are basically sitting on the engine) for the pros this style of sound does help drown out loud low pitched sounds around you, but when using them anywhere that is even slightly quiet i would rather the airpod pro 2 or Galaxy buds pro 2 (on android Galaxy buds are the absolute kings of TWS earbuds) 

I know this does seem pretty negative towards Sony, so here's something more negative: The XM4 earbud batteries have been having issues with battery drain and extremely high heat output somewhat recently, Louis Rossman made a video about it, knowing how atrocious Sony are with their headphone quality control (seriously there was decades of Sony headphones having solder break off the speakers in headphones, from the cheapest to the $2000 Qualia 010) i wouldn't trust the XM5 buds to not have similar issues somewhere down the line, as an added bonus to the airpods, the iOS integration is flawless and have quite a few useful features. Here's the Louis Rossman video on the earbud problems 

 

[NinJake]

I've had jabra 75t earbuds for what must be at least 4 years now and the battery life is more than enough for spontaneous listening sessions. The noise cancellation is more than enough for an office environment (I dont even use the ANC) and the frequency response can be adjusted using jabra's mobile app to suit your needs. Definitely got my money's worth out of these and still use them (almost) daily.

 

That being said, I have heard great things about the airpods pro if you are in the apple ecosystem, but haven't given them a chance and won't blindly recommend something like that without my own personal 2 cents.

[kitnoman]

10 hours ago, adm0n said:

check out this:
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tools/compare/apple-airpods-pro-2nd-generation-truly-wireless-vs-sony-wf-1000xm5-truly-wireless/29490/38974?usage=19&threshold=0.10

 

From skimming through that, the airpods pro are slightly "better" sounding and have somewhat better ANC in the bass range, while the sonys have longer battery life and better ANC in the treble range. Sound is very subjective, but I doubt you could complain about either of those.

 

Just remember that ear buds are inherently more of a consumable product. They last a couple of years until the battery is degraded enough that you'll want to buy new ones. If you can live with actual headphones, you'll always be happier for longer as well as lowering the amount of e-waste in our world. That being said, if you need that form factor, both will be an excellent choice.

I do have decent headphones and headsets. But all are geared towards either to gaming and/or music, none of them have ANC. I work at home now and although it wasn't part of my daily task anymore, to help out, I interview applicants again. So I want to illuminate my background noise. And I don't know man, I can play long hours. But when it comes to work, my ears get sweaty using my heatset all day lol
 

8 hours ago, Cocococo said:

You're on iPhone, airpods pro 2 are your best option by far. Some things the linked RTINGS articles does a very poor job of explaining, the difference in noise cancelling comes directly from the Sony XM5 buds being stuffed pretty far into your ear canal, acting like an earplug. If anything this makes the airpods pro 2 look even more impressive, the ANC is pretty much identical in effectiveness, the difference comes from the sony's stuffing the eartips into your ears, where the APP2 sit snug and secure without burrowing into your ears to achieve similar levels of noise cancelling.

Normally, I would also go with the airpods pro 2 too. But I would also be connecting it my PC(don't have a mac and don't want one). I also have a steam deck and ally, so I'm kind of on the fence with it. But thank you for the info, I will read on xm4 vs xm5, if those issues were fixed. Honestly, I really want to try the Galaxy buds pro 2. It has good reviews on par with xm5 and airpods pro 2 and it's only around $100, more or less here(international variant, I think). But like airpods to iphones, I read that some of it's features are available to Samsung phones only.

[Cocococo]

10 hours ago, kitnoman said:

I do have decent headphones and headsets. But all are geared towards either to gaming and/or music, none of them have ANC. I work at home now and although it wasn't part of my daily task anymore, to help out, I interview applicants again. So I want to illuminate my background noise. And I don't know man, I can play long hours. But when it comes to work, my ears get sweaty using my heatset all day lol
 

Normally, I would also go with the airpods pro 2 too. But I would also be connecting it my PC(don't have a mac and don't want one). I also have a steam deck and ally, so I'm kind of on the fence with it. But thank you for the info, I will read on xm4 vs xm5, if those issues were fixed. Honestly, I really want to try the Galaxy buds pro 2. It has good reviews on par with xm5 and airpods pro 2 and it's only around $100, more or less here(international variant, I think). But like airpods to iphones, I read that some of it's features are available to Samsung phones only.

Between Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and Airpods Pro 2 it's a much harder decision, the upper mids of the airpods are really nice, but everything else on the GBP2 sounds much better, in terms of interconnectivity the GBP2 are better with more devices. For use with handheld game consoles i'd rather use the airpods (better imaging) but then i'd much rather use any of my wired IEM's or over-ear headphones, for commuting i do prefer the Galaxy buds because of their nozzle sizes being more common in the audio scene (you can put IEM eartips onto the Galaxy buds, i put some modified Moondrop spring tips onto mine and they're fantastic) and i daily drive a samsung phone. Some features are samsung only and it is just as annoying as the Apple only APP2 features. I honestly can't tell you a better decision, APP2 are gonna be a lot better with your iphone, but the Galaxy buds have more customisation available with eartip swapping and should play nicer with your Steam Deck and Ally

[saintlouisbagels]

You were not explicit in your requirements so I will make a different suggestion from everyone else.

Linsoul 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 for $25

Apple USB-C dongle for $9 or the Anker USB-C dongle for $17 if you're Android

USB-C to USB-A adapter for $9

USB Extension cable for $8

EarPods USB-C for $19

 

The Zero:2 headphones is the new kid on the block with incredible sound quality that completely surpasses many audiophile headphones 10x-30x its price. It's an IEM so it inherently blocks out noise, so you don't need ANC.

 

The Apple USB-C dongle is the best DAC/headphone amp on the market. Again, bets products 10x-20x its price. Works great with Windows PC too. The Anker alternative measures well if you're using an Android phone.

 

The USB-C to A adapter is for computers without a USB-C port, and for the mentioned extension cable.

The USB-A extension cable is for perfectly positioning the headphones comfortably out of the way.

 

The EarPods USB-C is for when you must use a microphone for work. I use my EarPods for 95% of my phone calls whenever I get the chance to switch to them. Far better than relying on AirPods Pro 2.

 

This is literally my setup for WFH and for audiophile gaming (I switch from Zero:2 to different IEMs).

I have the extension cable routed behind the left side of keyboard and plugged into the back of my desktop PC. In use, I have the adapter right up to the edge of my desk. When not in use, I have it coiled under monitor.

[kitnoman]

7 hours ago, saintlouisbagels said:

You were not explicit in your requirements so I will make a different suggestion from everyone else.

Linsoul 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 for $25

Apple USB-C dongle for $9 or the Anker USB-C dongle for $17 if you're Android

USB-C to USB-A adapter for $9

USB Extension cable for $8

EarPods USB-C for $19

 

The Zero:2 headphones is the new kid on the block with incredible sound quality that completely surpasses many audiophile headphones 10x-30x its price. It's an IEM so it inherently blocks out noise, so you don't need ANC.

 

The Apple USB-C dongle is the best DAC/headphone amp on the market. Again, bets products 10x-20x its price. Works great with Windows PC too. The Anker alternative measures well if you're using an Android phone.

 

The USB-C to A adapter is for computers without a USB-C port, and for the mentioned extension cable.

The USB-A extension cable is for perfectly positioning the headphones comfortably out of the way.

 

The EarPods USB-C is for when you must use a microphone for work. I use my EarPods for 95% of my phone calls whenever I get the chance to switch to them. Far better than relying on AirPods Pro 2.

 

This is literally my setup for WFH and for audiophile gaming (I switch from Zero:2 to different IEMs).

I have the extension cable routed behind the left side of keyboard and plugged into the back of my desktop PC. In use, I have the adapter right up to the edge of my desk. When not in use, I have it coiled under monitor.

It seems I got the terms mixed up. Well I did say I know nothing about ANC. But it seems what I really wanted is ENC. So the noise that I want block  isn't for me, I want to block the noise around me, so that the person I'm talking to or when on a meeting, they won't hear it.

[saintlouisbagels]

1 hour ago, kitnoman said:

It seems I got the terms mixed up. Well I did say I know nothing about ANC. But it seems what I really wanted is ENC. So the noise that I want block  isn't for me, I want to block the noise around me, so that the person I'm talking to or when on a meeting, they won't hear it.

You want a dynamic microphone at your desk if you the person on the other side to only hear you and nothing else. It’s exactly why podcasters always have the microphone very close to their face. The voice/sound drop-off is very dramatic.

 

I have the FIFINE AM8T and it’s wonderful. Literally plug n play with its included USB C to USB A cable. You can turn off the RGB lighting with a quick touch of the button, and there’s even a quick Mute button, and a Gain knob to adjust how loud it picks up your voice.

[kitnoman]

1 hour ago, saintlouisbagels said:

You want a dynamic microphone at your desk if you the person on the other side to only hear you and nothing else. It’s exactly why podcasters always have the microphone very close to their face. The voice/sound drop-off is very dramatic.

 

I have the FIFINE AM8T and it’s wonderful. Literally plug n play with its included USB C to USB A cable. You can turn off the RGB lighting with a quick touch of the button, and there’s even a quick Mute button, and a Gain knob to adjust how loud it picks up your voice.

Are there any earbuds or headphone/headset that has the same feature or even half of what those mics can do? I need something that I can pair with my phone and not just on my pc and bring to the office or outside, when I go out.

[saintlouisbagels]

1 hour ago, kitnoman said:

Are there any earbuds or headphone/headset that has the same feature or even half of what those mics can do? I need something that I can pair with my phone and not just on my pc and bring to the office or outside, when I go out.

I think your best bet is the EarPods. The wired mic is going to sound way better than any wireless earbuds since you can just hold the mic part closer to your mouth.

 

There’s also a toggle for Voice Isolation on iPhones.