I wouldn't say the Galaxy Buds Live headphones produce great sound, but for streaming services, this model is good enough.
The 4 Deadly Sins of TWS Headphones: Why isn't True Wireless Still True?
When everyone around me started talking about completely wireless headphones, my joy couldn't end. No more collars, no more wires! Nothing but two earplugs connected to each other by some kind of mental magic, right in your ears? Give me two! One in each ear! And a nice charging case to go with it!
And in exactly two months, please take them back, hide them away, and give me back my dear and beloved wireless collar.
I cried. Now, I'm going to try, under the cat, to talk less emotionally about what's wrong with the TWS form factor, who it doesn't fit, and why I don't like it so much
The backstory, which you can skip
True Wireless Stereo, TWS, are the first truly wireless headphones that are paired not with a headband, hard collar, or soft wire, but wirelessly.
Apple and its AirPods have been talking about why TWS is awesome for years, and a good dozen manufacturers with varying degrees of success have quickly picked up on the trend and made True Wireless one of the most popular formats of wearable headphones.
So when I burned out my beloved MOMENTUM In-Ear Wireless for all intents and purposes, I just went out and bought myself one just like it, but even more wireless.
Sennheiser considers them a flagship model and actively promotes them on the market, so full-fledged reviews on them without me, so I will not repeat the rave reviews.
Because I am not delighted. And not so much from the super-premium Sennheiser, which squeezed a lot out of the format, as from the TWS itself.
TWS headphones and sound quality
Obviously, one of the main criteria when choosing headphones, whether TWS or conventional, is sound quality. And there are a lot of nuances and misconceptions.
By design, all TWS headphones are divided into two types: In-Canal и in-ear. A lot depends on this parameter alone, so let's look at the differences between them.
TWS in-ear headphones
These are headphones, which are placed in the ear canal and do not cover the ear canal tightly. Examples of such devices are the mentioned Apple AirPods or Huawei FreeBuds 3:
Their main advantage is precisely the fact that the ear canal remains open. Accordingly, such headphones do not create a feeling of "vacuum" in the ears, do not completely block external sounds and do not hear your voice loudly when talking.
Earmuffs are very comfortable to use as a headset. They fit quickly and easily into your ears, are the same size, and do not create discomfort when you wear them.
The main disadvantage of earmolds is the same open ear canal. The fact is that only with complete isolation of external sounds can you achieve the deepest bass and best sound quality.
For this reason, earbuds are not considered "musical" earphones in the full sense of the word. You won't find a musician anywhere who uses earmolds on stage. Also, it is very rare to find expensive in-ear headphones (even corded ones) on sale, because often the Hi-Fi segment is dominated by in-canal models (here we do not take into account over-the-ear and full-size headphones).
TWS In-Canal Headphones
In-canal headphones, as the name implies, are inserted directly into the ear canal, isolating it from external sounds. These headphones always come with a set of interchangeable ear cushions (ear pieces) in different sizes to suit each user's physiology.
Codec support and sound volume of TWS headphones
Many people make the mistake of thinking that the cost and quality of a smartphone can somehow miraculously affect the sound quality of Bluetooth headphones. This common misconception comes from an analogy with wired headphones.
The fact is that when we plug in a wire, the signal has to be converted from digital to analog and then sent to the headphones on that wire. The quality of the digital-to-analog conversion is important and a special device inside the smartphone called a DAC is responsible for this.
But when we connect wireless headphones, there is no conversion from digital to analog and there can't be. The signal has to be sent digitally via Bluetooth to the headphones, and the TWS headphones, having received this digital signal, convert it to analog before feeding it to the speakers.
Consequently, the DAC and the amplifier of the smartphone have no effect on the sound quality of the wireless headphones. It all depends on the DAC and the amplifier, which are built directly into the headphones. For the same reason, headphone volume is often independent of the smartphone. But, sometimes there are exceptions when the volume is limited by the smartphone software.
And yet, something in the smartphone can affect the sound quality – it is a set of supported codecs. For a better understanding we need to dwell on this issue in more detail.
The main problem with wireless sound is the bandwidth of the Bluetooth channel. We cannot use Bluetooth to send uncompressed files with high bitrate (data rate) to the headphones. The bitrate of most Bluetooth headphones is limited to 256 or 328 kbps.
No matter how high quality our audio file is (even if it is flac at 1411 kbps), the headphone DAC will only get to the mp3 (320 kbps) quality file.
This is because the smartphone first compresses (encodes) the original file with certain losses, and then sends it to the headphones. Those, in turn, must decode the signal. But since certain data is lost during compression, it will not come back during decoding.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro / Apple AirPods Pro
I deliberately did not divide these headphones, as they are as similar as possible: expensive, flagship, in-channel, with active noise cancellation.
Some are maxed out on Google's Android operating system, while others are maxed out on iOS.
I don't like the look of the Buds Pro, it loses out to the Buds Live design. And the AirPods Pro look kind of weird, too.
"Noise modulation works about equally well. But each model has a slightly different character of suppression. It is more interesting on Samsung, and a little more effective on Apple.
Samsung's settings are better, Apple has them, but I would like more.
Running time is also about the same – 4-5 hours. The codecs are not much different: Apple's SBC/AAC and Samsung's addition of SSC. Alas, the Galaxy Buds Pro headphones have neither aptX nor LDAC.
About the sound. It is very difficult to say which headphones sound better. Each model has its own specific chips. Here I will not tell you in detail. In short, Samsung headphones sound more expressive, and the scene is wider in Apple headphones.
Conclusion
If you are waiting for a simple advice from me, what to buy, I will easily answer:
3,000 rubles.. JBL TUNE 220 – adequate sound for its money, a top brand to which there is great confidence.
7 000 rubles.. Magic Earbuds (Huawei FreeBuds 3i), because they have a quality active "noise modulation", well, they sound good.
The other headphones offer either slightly better sound quality or slightly more technical features (wireless charging, original design, and so on).
Wait for you in the comments: and which models of headphones you have chosen and why?
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