Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless Earbuds ($300)
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless Earbuds are hands-down the best sounding. This isn’t surprising at all because the they've been competing with Bose for a long time. What is a bit shocking is that this is their first foray into the sphere of wireless earbuds.
It’s a comfortable device. The earpiece themselves are made of sturdy plastic which helps keep its weight down. They won’t be sliding out due to weight if your intentions are to work out or run with them on. The lightweight construction also makes it comfortable to use for long periods.
To be fair, it is important to note that the earpiece is a bit chunkier than other wireless earbuds. That is, of course, if that's something you care about.
The silicon ear tips are also soft yet elastic enough to fill your ear canal enough to prevent sound leak. Naturally, the passive noise cancellation is phenomenal with these ear tips. If you have the right size on, even the loudest sound from the outside world would be very muffled.
But if that’s not your fancy, you can turn on the Transparency Mode. This uses the mic to replicate and even enhance outside noises so you can hear them through your music.
As for the carrying case, it’s one of the more unique products out there. This is because it uses fabric while most everyone else, like Apple, opts for smooth plastic. It also has a USB-C port for charging.
Another good feature on these earphones is the control. You can adjust volume by touching and holding one of the earpieces while they're inside your ear. There are more basic commands such as stop, play, and pause. However, these controls come with the downside of accidentally getting triggered even if you’re just adjusting them in your ears.
Without a doubt, these are the best sounding out of the bunch. It has a wide soundstage which gives each instrument the attention it deserves. Bass response is exceptional without sounding artificial. On the higher end of the sound spectrum, the Sennheiser Momentum never gets crackling or ear-piercing. You can also easily distinguish the vocals from the rest of the music. As such, the instrumental definition is also head and shoulders above the rest. It’s just a well-balanced piece of audio technology.
This sound quality paired with the Bluetooth technology inside the Sennheiser Momentum earbuds makes a perfect combo for a great audio experience. The Bluetooth 5 and Bluetooth LE 5 just make for stutter-less audio even when viewing videos.
The only glaring downside is that the battery life is abysmal. The earbuds themselves can hold up to 4 hours while the case holds around 8 hours of power for a total truly wireless play time of up to 12 hours. A lot of the others can easily surpass and even double that. For the asking price of $300, this might be a deal breaker despite the sound supremacy.
Galaxy Buds ($129)
Samsung quietly released the Galaxy Buds together with the Galaxy S10 trio of devices so most people had it on the backburner. Now that the hype has died down a little bit on the Galaxy phones, the Galaxy Buds are starting to take some of the limelight.
Right out of the box, you can tell that the Galaxy Buds were made for more active wearers compared to the Sennheiser Momentums. Aside from the silicon ear tips, it also has replaceable sports fins. These allow for a more secure and comfortable fit. It’s also a little less clunky.
What it has in common with the Sennheiser is that it also has the Bluetooth 5 technology for robust connectivity. It also sports the ambient sound feature that lets outside noise in even while you have your earbuds on. Samsung also included touch controls.
The Galaxy Buds, however, is much better than the Sennheiser Momentum in one very important aspect: battery life. It offers 6 hours of playback on a single charge and another 7 hours in the case. It is important to note that other cases can hold multiple charges. However, with a single charge playback like that, you can easily find some time to plug the case in as you listen to music.
As for performance, the treble sounds a bit tinny but the bass is even and balanced. However, clarity, especially for vocals, is a bit off. You wouldn't be able to distinguish individual instruments as you can do with the Sennheiser Momentum. But at $129, would you be looking to do that?
Anker Soundcore Liberty Air ($80)
More known for their power banks, Anker’s foray into the audio world has been a bit of a mixed bag. The Anker Soundcore Liberty, their Apple Airpod look-a-like wireless earbuds, are part of the good mix.
As you expect they also have the stem that would make it look like you’re wearing the upper part of your toothbrush in your ears. But other than that, there’s nothing else about these earbuds that you can call awkward or out of place.
For one thing, it has a silicon ear tip that gives it some level of passive noise cancellation. It also helps with the bass and sound clarity.
It also has great battery life. It can carry up to 5 hours on a single charge while the case still having 3 more full chargers before needing an outlet. That’s a total of a whopping 20 full hours of wireless audio.
Speaking of the case, opening it up turns the earbuds on and pairs it automatically with your phone. It’s small enough to put inside your pocket discretely without making an unsightly bulge.
It has some basic touch control such as stop, play, and pause. This can be extremely handy if you don’t want to interact with your phone.
It also gives a surprisingly outstanding sound performance. The bass is strong without being overbearing and the mids are full and controlled. For bass heads, these are great properties to have. However, if you’re into pop or music with a lot more treble, you might not be in the position to enjoy the sound quality of the Soundcore Liberty Air. They’re a bit tinny and lifeless.
Speaking of weaknesses, there’s also a lack of some desirable features. Most of it is that this does not come equipped with aptX, therefore, there might be some latency and even some stutter. There’s also the fact that it charges via micro USB instead of the growing standard of USB-C.
However, with most of the features of higher end wireless earbuds such as the Airpods, the $80 Soundcore Liberty Air is a good purchase decision.
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless Earbuds are hands-down the best sounding. This isn’t surprising at all because the they've been competing with Bose for a long time. What is a bit shocking is that this is their first foray into the sphere of wireless earbuds.
It’s a comfortable device. The earpiece themselves are made of sturdy plastic which helps keep its weight down. They won’t be sliding out due to weight if your intentions are to work out or run with them on. The lightweight construction also makes it comfortable to use for long periods.
To be fair, it is important to note that the earpiece is a bit chunkier than other wireless earbuds. That is, of course, if that's something you care about.
The silicon ear tips are also soft yet elastic enough to fill your ear canal enough to prevent sound leak. Naturally, the passive noise cancellation is phenomenal with these ear tips. If you have the right size on, even the loudest sound from the outside world would be very muffled.
But if that’s not your fancy, you can turn on the Transparency Mode. This uses the mic to replicate and even enhance outside noises so you can hear them through your music.
As for the carrying case, it’s one of the more unique products out there. This is because it uses fabric while most everyone else, like Apple, opts for smooth plastic. It also has a USB-C port for charging.
Another good feature on these earphones is the control. You can adjust volume by touching and holding one of the earpieces while they're inside your ear. There are more basic commands such as stop, play, and pause. However, these controls come with the downside of accidentally getting triggered even if you’re just adjusting them in your ears.
Without a doubt, these are the best sounding out of the bunch. It has a wide soundstage which gives each instrument the attention it deserves. Bass response is exceptional without sounding artificial. On the higher end of the sound spectrum, the Sennheiser Momentum never gets crackling or ear-piercing. You can also easily distinguish the vocals from the rest of the music. As such, the instrumental definition is also head and shoulders above the rest. It’s just a well-balanced piece of audio technology.
This sound quality paired with the Bluetooth technology inside the Sennheiser Momentum earbuds makes a perfect combo for a great audio experience. The Bluetooth 5 and Bluetooth LE 5 just make for stutter-less audio even when viewing videos.
The only glaring downside is that the battery life is abysmal. The earbuds themselves can hold up to 4 hours while the case holds around 8 hours of power for a total truly wireless play time of up to 12 hours. A lot of the others can easily surpass and even double that. For the asking price of $300, this might be a deal breaker despite the sound supremacy.
Galaxy Buds ($129)
Samsung quietly released the Galaxy Buds together with the Galaxy S10 trio of devices so most people had it on the backburner. Now that the hype has died down a little bit on the Galaxy phones, the Galaxy Buds are starting to take some of the limelight.
Right out of the box, you can tell that the Galaxy Buds were made for more active wearers compared to the Sennheiser Momentums. Aside from the silicon ear tips, it also has replaceable sports fins. These allow for a more secure and comfortable fit. It’s also a little less clunky.
What it has in common with the Sennheiser is that it also has the Bluetooth 5 technology for robust connectivity. It also sports the ambient sound feature that lets outside noise in even while you have your earbuds on. Samsung also included touch controls.
The Galaxy Buds, however, is much better than the Sennheiser Momentum in one very important aspect: battery life. It offers 6 hours of playback on a single charge and another 7 hours in the case. It is important to note that other cases can hold multiple charges. However, with a single charge playback like that, you can easily find some time to plug the case in as you listen to music.
As for performance, the treble sounds a bit tinny but the bass is even and balanced. However, clarity, especially for vocals, is a bit off. You wouldn't be able to distinguish individual instruments as you can do with the Sennheiser Momentum. But at $129, would you be looking to do that?
Anker Soundcore Liberty Air ($80)
More known for their power banks, Anker’s foray into the audio world has been a bit of a mixed bag. The Anker Soundcore Liberty, their Apple Airpod look-a-like wireless earbuds, are part of the good mix.
As you expect they also have the stem that would make it look like you’re wearing the upper part of your toothbrush in your ears. But other than that, there’s nothing else about these earbuds that you can call awkward or out of place.
For one thing, it has a silicon ear tip that gives it some level of passive noise cancellation. It also helps with the bass and sound clarity.
It also has great battery life. It can carry up to 5 hours on a single charge while the case still having 3 more full chargers before needing an outlet. That’s a total of a whopping 20 full hours of wireless audio.
Speaking of the case, opening it up turns the earbuds on and pairs it automatically with your phone. It’s small enough to put inside your pocket discretely without making an unsightly bulge.
It has some basic touch control such as stop, play, and pause. This can be extremely handy if you don’t want to interact with your phone.
It also gives a surprisingly outstanding sound performance. The bass is strong without being overbearing and the mids are full and controlled. For bass heads, these are great properties to have. However, if you’re into pop or music with a lot more treble, you might not be in the position to enjoy the sound quality of the Soundcore Liberty Air. They’re a bit tinny and lifeless.
Speaking of weaknesses, there’s also a lack of some desirable features. Most of it is that this does not come equipped with aptX, therefore, there might be some latency and even some stutter. There’s also the fact that it charges via micro USB instead of the growing standard of USB-C.
However, with most of the features of higher end wireless earbuds such as the Airpods, the $80 Soundcore Liberty Air is a good purchase decision.