Samsung Buds Live White (Old Version)

I have had my Buds for about 6 months now and have grown to love them, there we're a few teething issues but nothing major: - At first I struggled with getting them to fit in my ears because I wasn't putting them in right but once I got my head around them I can put them in with the perfect fit each time. - the two supplied wingtips didn't fit my ears very well, there are plenty of third party wingtips on the market that come in a multitude of differing sizes and I made some that are perfect for me so problem solved. So with that out of the way here's my review: - The price is good for what you're getting, if you can get them on a deal even better but they're generally avaliable for around £70, yes you can get cheaper alternatives but they won't be as good and they're easily as good alternatives in their RRP (around £120?). - The noise cancelling isn't great, I question why you would buy open earphone if you're looking for noise cancelling, seems like you're not helping yourself in that situation. This was one of the seeling points for me, I can still hear the world around me while also listening to music that nobody else can hear. - The sound quality is actually very good, that said you have to get the fit right to hear these earphone perform at their true potential. If you own a pair and the sound isn't great it's because you haven't got them in right: wiggle them a bit, take them out and reinsert them, try the other size wingtips and if that fails look for more wingtips that fit your ears properly. - they're a comfort set of earphones, I wear mine all day at work and don't feel any discomfort. This, again, is based on the wingtips, if you have a set in that are too large you will feel pain after an hour or so, you really do have to get the right sized wingtips to fully appreciate these earphones. - They're pretty attractive looking earphones, I really like the bean design. They've got a nice shine to them, the case is nice and compact, the beans aren't massive so they almost disappear into you ear, overall a really cool bit of design by Samsung. - The battery life is good, as I said I wear mine all day at work, pop them back in their case at night and they're good to go for a other day. I generally charge the case once a week, on exceptional weeks twice but I charge them at night when I charge my phone so it's not something that has ever been an inconvenience. - They fit very securely once you've got the right sized wingtips: if the wingtips are too small they will fall out your ear as you move around, if they're too large the beans might just spontaneously pop out of your ears. I honestly can't overstate how important it is get the right sized wingtips, they're the lynch pin of the whole package so if you're having any fit, comfort or sound issues get some new wingtips. - The supplied accessories are pretty good, the materials the wingtips are made out of is stiff enough to hold it's shape but not so stiff that there isn't a little give in it. Evidently the two different sized wingtips are fine for most people, but if you're like me and have funny sized ears then you will need to find some alternatives, take heart though, there are plenty out there, there are also anti-slip sleeves and wingtips with the sleeves built in so you should be able to find some that fit and feel right for you. If you've bought every variation of wingtip including the ones with the built-in anti slip sleeves and if you still can't get the fit and feel right here's what I did: Step 1: buy an aftermarket pair that I knew beforehand would be too large. Step 2: push some blue tack into the part of the ear that the wingtips go in to making an exact replica of the shape then carefully remove from the ear. Step 3: gently stick the wingtips to the bottom of the bluetack making sure not to deform it. Step 4: carefully cut around the bluetack with a modeling scalpel to replicate the shape (go bigger with the cuts rather than smaller as you can fine tune later if they're sightly oversized). Step 5: use a super fine grit disposable nail file to round off the edges, clean up the cut areas and fine tune the fit. Step 6: enjoy the comfort, listen to some music and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Hey presto you got yourself a pair of wingtips that are a perfect fit for your ears only, from start to finish this whole process took me about 20 minutes to do both sides, it required minimal tools and effort, any one could do it, all you need is: - wingtips to cut down (I suggest buying a pair made out of good quality silicone rather than cutting up the rubber ones that come included with your buds, to be fair this is more to do with fact i would rather have all the original accessories fully intact but if that's not an issue for you then don't worry about buying aftermarket ones) - modelling scalpel with a fresh blade (if you have a Stanley knife or super sharp knife you could try using that but I would personally go with modelling scalpel for more precise cutting and ease of use) - bluetack/white tack/modelling clay/moldable ear plugs, really anything you can comfortably press into the part of your ear the wingtips go in and will retain it's shape when you remove it. - fine grit disposable nail file/super fine grit sanding pad/wet and dry paper, make sure you go with 1000 plus grit, you don't want to tear the living daylights out of your wingtips or sand off too much too quickly so the higher grit the better really, remember you can't sand the material back on. Final thoughts: I fell in love with my little ear beans, it took a couple of months but once I understood them and made the right sized wingtips I couldn't be happier. If you're looking for open earphones these are a strong contender, if you have small ear canals and struggle with in ear earphone these are well worth consideration.

One of the best shaped earbuds, very good wehn lying in your bed as they dont protrude and push. Solid material. Controls are ok but stopped using them. Great sound quality and decent battery life. They don't stay in your ear very weel but I just wear a head band when running.

The Samsung Beans are by far the best all round earphones I've ever owned. For anyone that doesn't like or can't use in-ear/ear-canal headphones, and doesn't require sound isolation — these are the perfect earphones. I have the smallest ear canals known to man and these are the only* good true wireless earphones that I can use. *haven't tried the Linkbuds though. It takes a few days to work out where the buds should sit for best comfort, security and sound. Once you realise that the buds don't need to be jammed down your ear holes to be secure, they're actually really comfortable and you can often forget they're in. My ears were definitely a bit sensitive for the first few days but stick with them! I'm not sure of it's just because of my small ears, but even when the buds aren't jammed into my ears and feel like they're sitting precariously — they never fall out even if I shake my head. Kinda feels like they defy the laws of physics. Sound is actually pretty good. Bass is significantly better than most earphones of this type, but only when set to dynamic in the settings. Volume is sufficient but could be a little better. I generally have them at half volume for comfortable listening, with things like YouTube videos and livestreams. If I'm listening to music outdoors, they need to be 75% or above if you want any immersion. Anything above 50% does cause sound leakage though, so the people around you may hear headphone noise depending on what else is going on around you. Battery has been great. I'm a very heavy user and haven't been caught short yet. I do however use the Sony XM4 noise cancelling headphones every now and then if I want to lock out the world for things like Netflix, so this obviously allows the Buds Live to charge while I'm using them. Touch controls are okay. I do miss the touch point fairly often, probably 20% of the time, but I dont ever get any incorrect taps (meaning tap twice but only registers once or vice versa) These are also great if you use headphones in bed (if you're pillow is soft enough). You can quite easily lay on one of the earphones for a short period of time without feeling any discomfort. Long periods of time may be different though. Noise cancelling should always be left off. It's pointless. Does it do something? Yes a little, but not to any degree that it's worth a reduction in battery life. (edit - does actually increase base. Brings alot of the lows and middles 'forward' to mask more outside noise, increasing bass quality. Have started using for music occasionally) I prefer to frame these headphones as headphones that immerse the sound into your world, rather than immersing you into the sound. Not all headphones need to isolate you from the world. If you can afford to, get these and a pair of good noise cancelling over the ear headphones like Sony Xm4/5 or Bose 700 and then you'll have the best of both worlds.

Purchased these direct from amazon for just under £80. Not the the lowest price, but still a significant saving from the RRP. Very important to recognise that these are OPEN earbuds, it sits just outside the ear canal, there is no spongy/rubbery ear tip that goes into the ear canal. Thus, inherently it has all the fundamental pros and cons associated with type of design. Your music will leak out and external noise will be seep in, plenty of it too. If you are looking for a earbuds that creates a seal in the ear canal, and provide maximum isolation and noise reduction, then stop reading now and go look at some other earbuds. But if like me, you can't tolerate those in-ear earbuds, and looking for an alternative to the king of OPEN earbuds that is the Apple AirPod (regular ones, not Pro), then you are looking at potential winner here :-) The earbuds are made of smooth plastic with glossy finish. Looks premium. I got the mystic white, and it is two tone, white on the outside, but greyish on the inside. It is actually very slippery too. Be careful handling these when you are out and about. It is very well build, there is zero sharp edges, no creaking, no large gaps and very light too. Same high quality build applies to the charging case too and unfortunately the smooth slippery surface as well. The fits. You got to give credit where it is due, and so, well done to Samsung R&D for being so creative, coming up such a unique "bean" design. It would have been so easy to make yet another AirPod lookalike. I have to admit, ears comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and I was skeptical that this bean shape will work well. But surprisingly, it did, well, kind of. On my right ear, the bean fit perfectly, there is some pressure, but not such that it causes any discomfort or pain, even after several hours. But on my left ear, it took me quite a long time and effort to position the earbud such that it doesn't cause pain. I found that the wing tips needs to be precisely placed and adjusted into the "correctly" position to get the same level of comfort as my right ear. A video from Samsung on how to insert these earphone does give you a hint, but really, there is much trial and error to get it right. If between my left and right ears there seems to have different fit, I won't be surprised that some people will find the fit to be perfect and while others might find painful. So, please buy these from somewhere with solid return/refund policiy :-) The sound, I am no audiophile, to me, these earbuds sounds really good, very good for OPEN earbuds. And yes, there is bass, the right amount of it. Something that often missing in most OPEN earbuds. The loudness is very good too, I have never needed to go beyond 50% volume, even when walking outdoor. Now the ANC, lets be honest, knowing that this is an OPEN earbuds, you can't seriously expect the ANC to be anywhere near as good as any half decent in-ear canal earbuds? Well, that's right, ANC is next to useless. When outdoor, eg, on a busy street, definitely need to crank up the volume to drown out the external noise. I usually use these indoors and it is perfectly fine in this condition. The app. With the galaxy wear app, you can apply various equaliser presets, on/off ANC, adjust the left/right loudness balance, switch the earbud bluetooth connection between devices, disable all touch controls (useful in certain situations), and limited touch control customization (more on this below). Is there anything that needs improvement? Yes! The earbuds does NOT have a power-off feature. Unbelievable. The only way to turn it OFF, is to put them into the charging case. If you don't have your case with you, too bad, the earbuds battery is just draining away, even if you are not using them. The absence of power-off feature is ridiculous, what was Samsung thinking? Another thing, there is lack of customisation on the touch controls. The only customizable touch is the "touch and hold" feature, where you have the option of either volume control or anc control or bixby control. All other touch e.g single/double/triple are not customizable. I have had cheaper wireless earbuds with more touch customisation options than this! And last complaint, you cannot buy a spare charging case. Yup, no spare case for sale, at all. Why? Samsung. Why? Considering how much the earbuds relies on the charging case, you would think it makes sense to sell some as spares, no? All in all, I do like these Galaxy Buds Live very much. Samsung did an excellent job here, in R&D and realising a totally unique product that works well. Sure, it is not perfect and there some questionable decision about certain missing features, but that takes nothing away from the fact that this 100% represents "open earbuds redefined". A game changer. I look forward to see what the next generation will bring. Edit 25Oct21: After spending more time with these, here is a couple of new observations, 1) the bluetooth range is not great. In a small two storey 3 bed house, the bluetooth connection unable to cope between the two farthest points in the house. 2) due to lack of OFF function, the earbuds battery discharges at a rate of 12% per hour when outside of the charging case without any media playing. Edit 06Nov2021: Had these more than a month now, almost daily either listening to radio broadcast, or music via spotify or watching videos on netflix/prime/disney+, I have made a couple of new observations, 1) sound profile, especially the bass output, the "openess" of sound stage and dynamic response, seems to be greatly improve, if the ANC feature is enabled OR if the "Relieve pressure with ambient sound" feature is enabled (found in Earbud setting->Labs section of Samsung Wear app). Strange that we have to enable one of those features just to get a "better" sound. 2) The "Relieve pressure with ambient sound" feature causes a strange occasionally problem where the sound will fade out (soften) for a second or two, then goes back to normal. This only happens when I am watching videos on Prime Video. And only seems to be occur on specific points in certain videos. When the problem starts to manifest, I rewind the video and the problem reoccur at the exact same point. And if I turn OFF and then turn ON the "Relieve pressure" feature, and rerun the video, the problem goes away. It is as if the "Relieve pressure" feature is responding to certain audio mix coming from the video and glitches out. And it continues to glitch, until the "Relieve pressure" feature gets reset by toggling it OFF and then ON again. And why only Prime Video? I never encountered any issues on other video streaming service, e.g iPlayer, Netflix, Disney, etc. Definitely something "buggy" going on with these earbuds. The significant improvement in sound with the ANC or the "Relieve pressure", makes it impossible to go back to the "normal" sound without these features. But both features have downsides. For sure, I will never use ANC, solely because it is ineffective and reduces battery life. And so, I am forced to use the "Relieve pressure" feature, and avoid Prime Video :-( While non of these new observations is a deal breaker, I am slightly disappointed that it escapes Samsung QA. Also I hope it is something that Samsung is aware of, and even better if it something they can fix via software update. Edit 13Nov2021: Finally worked out why the sound was fading in and out! Nothing to do with the earbuds. It was the Dolby Atmos feature on my Samsung Tablet. Disabled the Dolby Atmos on the tablet and the sound is perfect now!

I'll get the bad stuff out the way first. The ANC (active noise cancellation) is okay at best. It cuts out bass frequencies pretty darn well, but higher frequencies still get in due to the unintrusive fit of these buds. I mainly wear these while walking, so this is actually a major benefit for me, as I can still hear car tyre noise without hearing the rumble of engines, allowing me to stay safe. If you want absolute silence, these aren't for you, but if you need a decent amount of awareness these are perfect. The battery life is also okay at best. I only wear these for up to a couple of hours at a time, so I can't comment on their endurance without the case, but you will find yourself charging these more often than the more up-market earbuds according to reviews I have seen. The active noise cancellation does drain them down pretty significantly faster (just based on me randomly checking the battery percentage, this is by no means scientific) so if you're not bothered about it, just switch it off. The touch controls can be hit and miss. These are my first true-wireless headphones, so I'm not well practised in these kinds of controls, but I do seem to fail regularly on the more complex gestures (mainly double-tap to skip, and usually I end up rewinding the track instead). Maybe I'm the problem, not the headphones, but this might be worth bearing in mind. Okay, now onto the good bits. I'm not one of those hardcore audio nerds, but these sound nice to me. My preferred sound profile is a lot more bass-heavy than most, and these definitely deliver in that respect, but unlike a lot of other headphones, the mids and highs still sound clear. They get pretty loud and also pretty quiet without compromising quality at either end, so they are super versatile. Obviously, the key selling point of these is their design, and I really buy it. Ear fatigue isn't a problem with these at all because of the very respectful design. Plus, they look different in a world of companies desperately trying and failing to compete with AirPods. I'm not gonna be a cringey Samsung fanboy and say these are better than AirPods because I'd be lying, but at least they look good doing it. Everyone's ears are different so the fit will vary a lot, but there are two pairs "wing tips" included to adjust how tightly they fit in your ear. My final positive probably won't even apply to you, but I got these at a huge discount. Honestly, I wouldn't buy these at full price because a little extra saving could get you a lot more headphones for your money. But, if like me you see these on sale for as little as £59 brand new, just go for it. I have friends who have bought headphones in this price range without discounts from less reputable brands, and they have been sorely disappointed. Samsung sells these for a high price because they are high-end earbuds, and you won't replicate the effect with cheap nasty things. Just be wary of what you do pay for them.

So I bought my partner the bronze ones and she loves them. So I thought I would buy a pair. Sad to say, I will be returning mine. The audio quality is really good, just not initially (seemed to be about 45mins to an hour for them to bed in). To start with the treble was painful but that improved with use to a point where I really liked the sound. I sat on my bed listening to Tesseract's Errai album. Once they bedded in the bass was punchy, the mids were warm and the high were soft but clear. Once I played with the app settings and the phones Dolby EQ I found a sound that was very much to my liking (honestly I was ready to put my aging Huawei AM61 into a drawer). The fit is, well, it is comfortable but they don't feel like they are secure. No amount of random head movements dislodge them. They are light weight. And generally nice to wear. The following day I wore them on the walk to work. This was where the problem began. They leak sound, a lot. Walking along, I could hear my footsteps and traffic noise, the latter was drowning out the music. No worries, I shall enable the ANC. The bass got stronger but that was about it. I had to crank the volume up in an attempt to drown out the sounds. This highlighted that the top volume was way lower than the earphones they were to replace. But not loud enough to drown out the traffic noise. Walking back from work I gave up with them, the wind noise was too much, again drowning out what I was listening too. My partner tried hers when she was hoovering her house and just gave up (she has yet to try the ANC for that, some people who use them report the ANC to be really good) So I will be returning my pair. Which is a shame as these are the first buds that fit and down fall out. My partner loves her pair. She tells me that the call clarity is great and that she got about 6 hours of music and calls on the first charge. I am not slating these. I like my earphones to sound and behave in a particular way and these have the sound but not the rest. Oh the touch controls are pretty good, once you have got where to tap/long press. But know that readjusting them tends to trigger them (the widget for the home screen is good for toggling touch controls on/off). If you are watching a video, you'll need to go to the settings and enable Game Mode or you'll get horrendous sync issues. I was using these with a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, my partner is using a Samsung Galaxy A52. Honestly, these are great but are as leaky as a set of apple earpods.

Positives: • Unique design. Since no part of them enters your ear canal, they're incredibly comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and there's no chance of them causing an earwax build-up like traditional earbuds might. • Sound quality. I'm by no means an audiophile, but I listen to a lot of electronic music with them and they sound better than any other earphones/earbuds I've tried. Neutrals: • Battery life. Samsung claim that these have a 7.5-hour battery life with ANC turned off, and that a 5 minute top-up in their case adds an extra hour of battery life, both of which I've found to be true. This will be enough for most people, however it's a shame that they don't have the 11-hour battery life that the less expensive Buds+ have. Negatives: • Noise cancellation. As many reviewers have pointed out, these are not the earbuds for you if noise cancellation is a priority. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with Samsung's ANC technology, their open design just means they naturally let in more of the sound of your surroundings than traditional earbuds do. • Lack of aptX support. Only owners of modern Samsung smartphones will be able to take advantage of the Buds Live's SSC (Samsung Scalable Codec) support (which is also a requirement for their 'Gaming mode' feature). Users without one of these Samsung smartphones won't have comparable connection quality due to their lack of support for the more universally supported aptX codec. Notes: • If the conchae of your ears are larger than those of the people in the Buds Live promotional pics (like mine are), or you're just generally struggling to find the right fit for them in your ear, then I would definitely recommend calling Samsung's customer service team and asking for a pair of Buds Live Sleeves (seen in my photo), which they will send to you for free. The sleeves have meant I've gone from only getting a good fit some of the time to getting the perfect fit virtually every time. • If you're using these with a Windows PC, I'd recommend installing Tim Schneeberger's open source unofficial Galaxy Buds Manager, which allows you to customise things like the Bud's touch controls from your PC rather than having to do it through your phone.

Their low profile design means one can sleep on one's side on a pillow without them pressing too hard into one's ear. Also the rounded design presents no edges to get snagged and one can get changed with these in. While secure I wouldn't feel comfortable using them in an environment where if they fell out they'd get lost or broken. Their expense is a factor in this. The Earbud style means it sits in the outer ear, outside the ear canal, however unusually for an ear bud it's able to reproduce sub bass or at least an impression of it e.g. the rumble starting 3:27 of Hans Zimmer's 'Why so serious?' They have a full range sound including sub bass energy, clear mids and an enegetic treble even if it's not the most resolving. Initially they sounded very mediocre however within an hour the sound had picked up - I'm not sure whether this is from burn in, where the drivers loosen up through excursions, or my finding out how best to position them or my brain simply adjusting to them. Certainly the sound quality and frequency response is very dependent on positioning and I started by positioning the earphone's 'speaker' which is in the lower part of the bud so it fed sound directly into my ear canal and then turning the buds well under 45 degrees so they remained closer to the horizontal than the vertical. The active noise cancelling had little effect for me and while my son noticed an effect purely passive noise isolation from any conventional earphones with right sized ear tips would likely be better. These also leak more than conventional buds with ear tips so those around you will hear your music. Having said all this if you don't like the feel of ear tips in your ear canal but don't want to completely sacrifice deep bass then these are a good option. The mids/vocals are clearer than those of the Mpow M30 and the overall sound is on par with the Haylou GT1 Plus. More details and a sound demo are in a video review on my Amazon profile's YouTube channel. While the Samsung Wearables app offers a few equalisation presets I only used the 'Normal' or 'Dynamic' setting which it seemed to default to. 'Soft' seems to reduce treble for those sensitive to it and 'Clear focuses on vocals. This app updated the software on the earbuds themselves the first time I used it and it looks like new features are being added from time to time. So in summary well done Samsung. An innovative design with good sound in a comfortable and stylish design. So long as noise isolation, sound leakage, the comfortable rather than impactful bass presentation and sheer cost are not issues these are worth considering.

Ich war etwas zögerlich, die Kopfhörer zu bestellen, da viele eine ganz schlechte Kritik abgegeben hatten. Ich hatte bislang das Vorgänger Modell in Verwendung und war über dessen Tragekomfort nicht sehr angetan. Dazu ist zu sagen, dass mein linkes Ohr inkl. Gehörgang sehr klein ausfällt und ich daher schon grundsätzlich Probleme mit jeglicher Art von in-ears habe. Die Samsung Bugs waren für mich jedoch ein praktikabler Kompromiss. Ich hat nun die bohnehörmigen buds bestellt und war sofort positiv überrascht. Sie sitzen perfekt, nichts fällt heraus und sie klemmen sich gut in die Ohrmuschel. Der Sound ist okay, auch mit der entsprechenden Einstellung am Handy sehr laut. Zwei Dinge gefallen mir nicht: das Handy muss man mit sich rumtragen, die Bluetooth Verbindung ist nach läppischen 5 Metern bereits unterbrochen und für mich als abendlichen Hörbuchhörer kann ich sie im Bett zum Einschlafen nicht tragen. Ich müsste ausschließlich auf dem Rücken liegen, denn sobald Kopfkissen und Ohr miteinander verschmelzen, drückt es den Ton ab und zudem wird es schmerzhaft unangenehm. Alles in allem finde ich den Sound und den Tragekomfort für diesen Preis angenehm und in Ordnung. Ich habe allerdings in den letzten 2,5 Jahren bereits 15 verschiedene Modelle bestellt und an allen mehr oder weniger viel auszusetzen gehabt. Diese dürfen nun bleiben. Am liebsten wären mir Ohrhörer die auf Schaumstoff basieren, sowie Ohropax, aber das ist wohl noch Zukunftsmusik.

I love these earbuds, so comfortable.

Ancien modèle d'airbuds galaxy en forme de "haricots"mais très efficaces et pratiques

Die Samsung Galaxy Buds Live überzeugen vor allem durch ihren sehr angenehmen Tragekomfort. Sie sitzen leicht im Ohr, drücken nicht und sind auch bei längerer Nutzung bequem – ideal für Alltag, Arbeit oder Spaziergänge. Der Sound ist klar und ausgewogen, besonders für Musik, Podcasts und Telefonate. Die Verbindung ist stabil und die Bedienung über Touch funktioniert zuverlässig. Auch das Design ist modern und unauffällig. Wer keine In-Ear-Stöpsel mit Silikonaufsätzen mag, bekommt hier eine sehr gute Alternative mit solider Klangqualität. Insgesamt ein rundes Produkt, mit dem ich sehr zufrieden bin.

A pesar de que parecen muy aparatosos, son ligeros y cómodos, se ajustan bien al oído y se manejan muy bien desde el móvil o desde el ordenador, la calidad del sonido es excelente, la batería es muy muy duradera, se cargan a través de la caja y se limpian con facilidad, desde luego son unos fantásticos auriculares, el precio quizás un poco elevado pero es lo que hay, el diseño es muy estudiado, son muy cómodos y los puedes llevar mucho rato sin notarlos, para usarlos como manos libres funcionan muy bien, el micrófono funciona bien y te oyen sin problemas, en definitiva es un gran producto y recomendable de comprar.