1y ago

Earbud recommendations

I have a pair of Bose Sound sport that I have been using for a few years, and while the audio quality is fine there is an absolute insane amount of wind-noise when using them outside. If there's anything more that a light breeze, I have to crank the volume to hear my podcasts or music...and forget about using them on the bike!

What are some good alternatives that retain the audio quality, but reduce the wind noise and resist weather impact? On/over-ear headphones are not a solution for me, they're all way too bulky for running. Bone conducting ones like Shockz seem flat when listening to them

26 comments

Shockz are the best I've used, by far. I had a couple different kinds of non bone conducting in the past and the wind noise was always such a problem that I couldn't use them on windy days, similar to what you mentioned. If you haven't tried Shockz lately, you might want to find a running store that carries them and give it another shot. I recently got the OpenRun, and was surprised that they sounded better than the 3 year old "Air by Aftershockz" they replaced. (My dog chewed up the old ones 🫠) The OpenRun Pro are supposed to sound even better, but are not cheap.
- Hm, I might try to find a store where I can try the OpenRun Pro then. Do you know if they're annoying to wear while wearing glasses during exercise?
  
  I wear glasses too, and it's mixed. The headphones work better when they are next to your head, so the arms of the glasses are on top. My current glasses slip when I do this and it drives me crazy, but I have an old pair that doesn't have this problem so I just wear those when I run (the arms bend between my ears a little.) YMMV.
  Not sure about the Pro being a Best buy exclusive... Shockz sells them from their site directly. Seems like I've seen them at my local running store too, but it's possible those were just the non-pro.
  
  I definitely agree with the Shokz. I think it’s nice to hear the environment while running for safety’s sake. I believe the Pros are a Best Buy exclusive, but they didn’t have some on display in the store by me. I ended up taking a chance on them and like them. The bass is a little better with the Pros than the regular ones, but it’s always going to sound a bit different than conventional earbuds. I wear glasses and they don’t bother me, but I would recommend putting the headphones on first, pushing the band in the back all the way up on your head, and then put glasses on.

I'm using an older jabra elite set and am very happy.
- I had an old pair of elite sport, I sold them fairly quickly again since I could never get them to fit well in my ears. Earbuds with the completely round ear-pieces always fit like crap in my ears.

I recommend any bone conduction headphones. I have got some cheap 30e from lenovo and they are great.
- I just got some openmove's. They are great. I run with my dog and it's great to feel connected to him rather than cut off.

I personally switched to Shockz, not for sound quality, but for water resistance. Running in Ireland, we get plenty of water, but also loads of wind, and before going with Shockz I used a bandana over my earbuds to reduce the wind interference. Headbands are an option, but even if you find one that offers the perfect balance between snugness and limited pressure on the ears, over time (and after multiple washes) headbands tent to loosen up. A bandana is a cheap and near universal solution.

I use the first-gen Sony Linkbuds. Sony Australia sells refurbished models of their headphones for very good prices on eBay, which is why I tried them out.
Since they are essentially open-back, they don't have that problem poorly sealed in-ears have with the wind tunnel effect drowning everything out. However they have no seal by design so you will hear the noise from your surroundings. Personally I don't mind at all and being completely aware of what is happening around me and the sound of my breathing is actually one of my favourite things about them, but I know some people just like to block out everything and only hear their music.
Another good thing about Linkbuds is you can't hear your heartbeat. That used to drive me absolutely crazy when I was wearing in-ears, to the point that I just gave up and didn't listen to anything while running.

I had this exact same situation. Bought a set of Bose sound sport, couldn't hear myself think if I was doing anything more than a brisk walk. Even walking around the house emitted a whistling in my ears. It was ridiculous. I Immediately took them back and bought some Jabra elite active 65t that were on sale.
They're a bit quiet for my liking, but that's probably 'safe', or it might also be because of the 6mm X 5mm speakers (hence 65) being a bit small. It's been a few years since I made my purchase and I know they're up to an 85t now that a coworker bought a year or so ago and then may even have a newer, better product since then.
I use them almost every day for at least a couple of hours. Battery life is good, about 4-6 hours and then the battery box gets me about 2 days. I've dropped the battery box and knocked the buds out of my ears many times. They may not be the best out there, but they've certainly done the job. I think it's been 4 years since I bought them and I'm unsure what I'd replace them with.

I really like jlab sport headphones. They have a little hook that goes around your ear keeping them in while running. Battery, durability, sound and price are great.
- Me, too! And I love them! The hooks have saved a lost bud innumerable times.
  There's an app to adjust the sound cancelling (in addition to simply turning it off and on), change equalizer settings, and customize the control taps.
  Jlab's customer service is amazing! Responsive, genuinely helpful, and focused on making customers happy.

I cannot recommend Bose QC Earbuds 2, even with the "aware mode" enabled. Those are the ones I'm using, and I'm so annoyed that they've still not replicated the Bose QC 35 II had.
My best recommendation is to put something on top of the earbuds to deflect the wind noise.
I'll be watching this thread. Hopefully other people have good recommendations I could learn from.
- I know my wife loves the Bose QC earbuds 2, but the IPX4 rating is kind of a red flag. I'm a heavy sweater and I will be using them in both rain and snow as well, so I'd be afraid of them failing due to moisture/water.

JBL endurance peak 3s are pretty great

I love my Sony WF -1000XM4 buds. Great wind noise cancellation and great sound quality with the LDAC bluetooth codec on Android phones.
- They're only IPX4, they will undoubtedly break way too fast since I will be using them in all kinds of weather (a lot of running in rain and snow) and I sweat like a pig when running.
  
  Fortunately, I sweat like a human and they work just fine. I don't use them in the rain or snow.

I am using the Sennheiser True wireless 3's right now and I love them. They have noise reduction mode, sound great, are ipx-something resistant (sweat for sure, light rain) and fit snuggly (for me)
- Looks like they have completely round rubber fittings, those always fit my ears really bad unfortunately, resulting in terrible audio quality. I've only ever been able to get good fits with oval rubber fittings, which is why I've stuck with bose for years now. But the wind noise is getting too annoying with the ones i use now, and they don't seem to have a sports-oriented model other than what i already have unfortunately.
  
  They also have this outer “wing” as well. Check some reviews. I’ve owned wf-1000xm3s, jabra elite 75t’s and these and these fit the best BY FAR

I used the Jabra Elite Active 75T. I've had them for a couple of years now and they are fantastic. The sound is good, the fit is great, long battery life, and they have coped with the copious amounts of sweat I produce on a run.
- The round earpieces fit like crap in my ears, ive only ever had luck with oval shaped earpieces. Ive had jabra before, and the fit (for me) was absolutely terrible. Unfortunately almost everyone seems to be doing the round earpieces only.
  
  That's a shame, they fit my ears perfectly.

26 comments