[Canabuc]

So I ended up getting the Galaxy Buds Pro myself. My first impressions are fairly positive:

The big elephant in the room is fit: They fit me great, they're more comfortable than the Galaxy Buds Plus for me. But I am aware that I have large ears/conchas (I always use large tips, and large wings on earbuds), and I can absolutely see someone with smaller ears having issues with the earbuds hitting the extended part of the concha. The GBP do not hit that for me, and I have some clearance from the earbuds.

The tips themselves are not the worst I've ever used, but they are definitely not the best. I get a decent seal, but they could be improved on, and I think it affects the ANC not being all that great. While I was aware what I was getting into, it's stupid the nozzles are proprietary.

The case is..okay. The hinge is loose, and I miss the sturdiness and snappiness of the Buds Plus case. I prefer the case on Buds plus too. There's a bigger lip on the case that makes the case easy to open. The Buds Pro do not have that, and the ergonomic of it are pretty bad. It is fairly small though, which I like.

Turning off the ANC sucks some out of the bass. I wonder if the ANC is covering that the seal isn't perfect.

Sound quality is great. Comparing to the MT, it's definitely different. I'm not sure if I can prefer one or the other, but the Buds Pro lean more toward the consumer side, but they're still really great. The grittiness/sharpness on the highs from the Buds Plus are gone, and the clarity is better than the Sony's.

My ears have shallow Concha and that is why I find them painful. Interestingly I tried some comply tips on them that lead to the sticking out more and thus less contact points with my ear and comfort improved.
I bet if I can find a tip that is a bit shallower than the comply I have but longer than stock I might be ok.
I do really like the sound even if bass could be a bit stronger and overall volume is a tick or so low.
ANC on my test was equal to 85t

 

[DigDub]

The buds pro need a longer tip to improve the fit and comfort. Also a thicker material to thicken the bass. I find the spinfit cp100 perfect for this. As for the ANC, Samsung has tuned it to be similar to the buds live - mid-low ambient noise is filtered out, so low humming engine and wind noise are generally cut off, but speech and mid high tones are still audible. I guess Samsung's intention is not to create a totally silent environment for listening, but to cut out noise that are constant and continuous, and sounds like announcements and people trying to get your attention to come through.

 

[zeinharis]

Listening to Soen’s newest album Imperial on my N6 Mini is a breeze, Joel Ekelöf voice is awesome more weightier. The recording is already as it is (close to neutral sound recording, compared to earlier album, best album ever) and the N6 Mini (boost the trebles a tad) shines in this album

 

[Canabuc]

The buds pro need a longer tip to improve the fit and comfort. Also a thicker material to thicken the bass. I find the spinfit cp100 perfect for this. As for the ANC, Samsung has tuned it to be similar to the buds live - mid-low ambient noise is filtered out, so low humming engine and wind noise are generally cut off, but speech and mid high tones are still audible. I guess Samsung's intention is not to create a totally silent environment for listening, but to cut out noise that are constant and continuous, and sounds like announcements and people trying to get your attention to come through.

Spinfit cp100. Hmm. I had tried the 360 and they weren't good ironically some old comply tips seemed good but just a drop long.
Will have to start doing tip length measurements lol.

That said the sound is great on them.

Overall for just sound for my ears:

1. XM3=JBL club pro+
2. Buds Pro
3. 85t
4. L2P
5. AZ70W
6.Buds +
7.75t

Debating trying Sennheiser or Bose though to be honest if I can get the right fit on Samsung no need to go further.

And JBL was about to re buy and Amazon jacked the price 80 cdn in a manner of hours so that is on hold.

 

[bladefd]

My ears have shallow Concha and that is why I find them painful. Interestingly I tried some comply tips on them that lead to the sticking out more and thus less contact points with my ear and comfort improved.
I bet if I can find a tip that is a bit shallower than the comply I have but longer than stock I might be ok.
I do really like the sound even if bass could be a bit stronger and overall volume is a tick or so low.
ANC on my test was equal to 85t

If you are having so many fit issues with earbuds, why don't you try UE Fits? You can customize the eartip to your ear shape.

I thought about trying UE Fits but I am not having fit/comfort issues with Touch. It doesn't make sense for me to spend $75 more for the UE Fits.

 

[Canabuc]

If you are having so many fit issues with earbuds, why don't you try UE Fits? You can customize the eartip to your ear shape.

I thought about trying UE Fits but I am not having fit/comfort issues with Touch. It doesn't make sense for me to spend $75 more for the UE Fits.

Not available in Canada.
Expensive

No idea what the sound quality is like so would be hesitant to make a non returnable purchase.

Most earbuds I can fix the fit but the newer ones seem tricky. The tips are now oval with a shallow fit for some.

Buds plus, L2P, 75t all fit me well. JBL fit fine bit just need a slightly bigger tip in right ear.
XM3 don't fit most people for longer with exercise.
Only issue is buds pro right ear and the 85t don't feel secure enough for working out.

So far no 3rd party oval tips to speak of.

 

[turbobb]

Overall for just sound for my ears:

1. XM3=JBL club pro+
2. Buds Pro
3. 85t
4. L2P
5. AZ70W
6.Buds +
7.75t

From this list, which would you rank best for call quality?

 

[turbobb]

Since I do a bit of video editing, I've been keeping an eye out on units with low latency (be it aptX LL or proprietary). Thus far, those that support aptX LL have been few but here's an interesting one coming up from EPOS (Senn's gaming focused brand):
https://www.eposaudio.com/en/us/gam...y-connection-bluetooth-gaming-headset-1000230

It comes with an aptX LL dongle with USB-C so can be used w/Android and Switch. I assume it can be used without the dongle w/devices that support aptX LL natively in which case, I saw the TWS being listed sans dongle on Amazon for $30 less).

Another TWS I noticed that's coming out w/low latency (though I'm not sure how it's implemented since it mentions that it's not dependent on the source) is:
https://avantree.com/ace-tws130
EDIT 2: Avantree confirmed this uses the QCC3040 but yet says it doesn't have aptX Adaptive...

On a different but related topic, not sure how may of us on this board have TWS with aptX Adaptive (and a supporting source) but wondering if anyone knows how does the low latency work? Is there a way to turn it on / off or does it assume if you're watching video, it'll invoke low latency automatically?
EDIT: Found a good write up of how it works here.

 

[Canabuc]

From this list, which would you rank best for call quality?

Havent made calls with all but the Samsung's seemed best, Jabra 85t was mixed bag as I had one very poor can but not sure if it was the buds or the caller. Liberty 2 pro was worst. The others were in middle

 

[voicemaster]

From this list, which would you rank best for call quality?

The samsung buds from the plus up to now has been top tier for call quality.

 

[erockg]

If you are having so many fit issues with earbuds, why don't you try UE Fits? You can customize the eartip to your ear shape.

I thought about trying UE Fits but I am not having fit/comfort issues with Touch. It doesn't make sense for me to spend $75 more for the UE Fits.

I have them and love them. The fit is just perfect. Not many options as far as touch controls but I’ve used them on phone calls for work and no one ever has an issue hearing me. I haven’t had any disconnect issues or the like. So far so good. I found a 10% off coupon by googling. Pretty cool technology but you are paying a premium to have that fit which is definitely very very good. The sound quality is great.

 

[XUPX]

Anyone tried the Earsonics Aero?
Looking for something that sounds good but also has a small bore (<3mm), waterproof, decent battery life and small shape. Currently have Apple Airpods (non pro) which I like because I prefer buds to IEMs (hate things in my ears) even though they sound terrible.
Unfortunately, lack of waterproofing killed the mice and I can't use them for calls.
Price up to $400 is fine i think.

 

[Dregur]

Since I do a bit of video editing, I've been keeping an eye out on units with low latency (be it aptX LL or proprietary). Thus far, those that support aptX LL have been few but here's an interesting one coming up from EPOS (Senn's gaming focused brand):
https://www.eposaudio.com/en/us/gam...y-connection-bluetooth-gaming-headset-1000230

It comes with an aptX LL dongle with USB-C so can be used w/Android and Switch. I assume it can be used without the dongle w/devices that support aptX LL natively in which case, I saw the TWS being listed sans dongle on Amazon for $30 less).

Another TWS I noticed that's coming out w/low latency (though I'm not sure how it's implemented since it mentions that it's not dependent on the source) is:
https://avantree.com/ace-tws130

On a different but related topic, not sure how may of us on this board have TWS with aptX Adaptive (and a supporting source) but wondering if anyone knows how does the low latency work? Is there a way to turn it on / off or does it assume if you're watching video, it'll invoke low latency automatically?
EDIT: Found a good write up of how it works here.

The Nuarl N6 Sport uses APTX adaptive.. I would've bought that if it was available in the US.

 

[tinyman392]

Anyone tried the Earsonics Aero?
Looking for something that sounds good but also has a small bore (<3mm), waterproof, decent battery life and small shape. Currently have Apple Airpods (non pro) which I like because I prefer buds to IEMs (hate things in my ears) even though they sound terrible.
Unfortunately, lack of waterproofing killed the mice and I can't use them for calls.
Price up to $400 is fine i think.

The Earsonics would still be considered IEMs IMO (shallow fitting, but still in-ear). From the looks of their design, they actually look like they insert not much deeper than the AirPods Pro. Keep in mind that it's very difficult to make an earbud (non-sealing) design sound good because the seal actually helps quite a bit from the acoustic standpoint.

 

[XUPX]

The Earsonics would still be considered IEMs IMO (shallow fitting, but still in-ear). From the looks of their design, they actually look like they insert not much deeper than the AirPods Pro. Keep in mind that it's very difficult to make an earbud (non-sealing) design sound good because the seal actually helps quite a bit from the acoustic standpoint.

Thanks for the input.
I totally agree and understand. I don't think anyone is making earbuds anymore unfortunately, so I'm left with a shallow insertion IEMs I think.
I think the Airpods just sound bad. I had an earbud from B&O a long time ago that actually sounded very decent, so I know it's possible
But I guess most people prefer IEMs. I just hate the feeling of things in my ears