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  • One calendar month later

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  • SPECS
  • THE GOOD
  • THE Not And so Good
  • Blueprint, hardware, what's in the box
  • Audio quality, features, and battery life
  • Should you buy it? Rating 7/x

Every bit near phones have left the headphone jack behind for good, truthful wireless earbuds have gone from optional accessories to must-haves for on-the-become listening. While Samsung, Apple, and Jabra fight it out in the premium space, there's still plenty of competition available for depression and mid-range options. Amazon is no stranger to providing quality alternatives at lower prices — it's kept the budget Android tablet alive single-handedly with its Fire tablets. Whether information technology tin practice the aforementioned with earbuds is another question birthday.Amazon released its start-gen Echo Buds back at the tail-stop of 2019, promising a premium earbud experience without paying an arm and a leg. The company is back with a second shot at-bat, complete with a lower cost, a more compact design, and some new features. The market for TWEs has come up a long way in the last twelvemonth-and-a-half, though, and Amazon'southward buds could use one more pass before they're set for primetime.

SPECS

Connectivity Bluetooth 5.0
Driver 5.seven mm dynamic driver
Bombardment 5 hours with ANC and Alexa enabled, 15 hours total with case
6.5 hours with ANC and Alexa disabled, 19.five hours total with case
Weight Earbud: 5.7 k (without ear tip or wing tip)
Case 44.four chiliad (47.6 g for wireless charging example)
Dimensions Earbud: 20.0 x 19.1 10 nineteen.1 mm (without ear tip or wing tip)
Instance 66.8 x 28.six 10 39.i mm
Price with wired-simply instance, ix with wireless charging instance

THE GOOD

Sound quality Even without tweaking any EQ settings, the buds sounded pretty good out of the box.
Charging USB-C, plus a bully (optional) wireless charger from Anker.
Case It'southward just small enough to hands fit in a pocket, and the private charging LEDs are articulate and easy to read.
Cost The $99 introductory price is right in line with other mid-range TWEs.
Independence You can use the left or right bud separately from each other without any issue.

THE Not SO Skilful

Fit and comfort No matter what I tried, the Repeat Buds never felt right in my ears.
Touch controls They're overly finicky and oftentimes activate while adjusting 1 or both of the buds.
ANC It might reduce the sound of your air conditioner this summertime. Otherwise, information technology doesn't alter much.
Passthrough audio Hope you like listening to a loud hiss noise.
Hands-gratuitous Alexa It works well, but it can't interact with every app on your phone.

Pattern, hardware, what'due south in the box

When Amazon commencement announced its 2nd-gen Repeat Buds last calendar month, many people — including myself — found the enormous Amazon "smile" on each earbud tacky. Thankfully, the logo is relatively understated in person; it looks more similar an odd gray smudge than any recognizable pattern. The outer shell of the bud is large, simply the matte blackness plastic looks and feels pleasant. It'south a textile I wish Amazon had stuck with throughout the rest of the Buds — the sleeky black plastic lining the interior looks pretty cheap and is jump to gather scratches, dust, and ear wax over time. Thankfully, the exterior of the case sticks with the same matte black plastic as the earbud casing.

The biggest issue with the Echo Buds' design is the bodily shape of each unit. Amazon has opted for a cylindrical frame instead of sloped or angled. Information technology'southward but not a natural shape. Most mod TWEs — be they from Samsung, Jabra, or Apple tree — characteristic some sort of molded design to piece of work with the contours of the human ear. With the Echo Buds, yous either have to push an entire plastic body into your ear to hold it in place or let them dangle and hope neither falls out near a drain. Earbud comfort volition e'er depend on the shape of your ear, but it's hard to imagine whose ears these are actually made to fit.

Left: Jabra Elite 75t. Right: Amazon Echo Buds.

To help keep the buds secure while in motion, Amazon has included detachable wings in various sizes. They aid continue the clunky buds in identify, but they as well add more pressure level to your ear. Unfortunately, they're also pretty tricky to have off and put on, and they can make it trickier to get the earbuds lined upwards with the charging contacts in the case. Runners will be happy they're here, only an improved design would've negated the need for optional wings.

The hardware isn't a complete bust, though. Amazon has color-coded the earbuds according to size, so it's easy to tell which pair matches without comparing side-by-side. The redesigned case is splendid as well, with strong magnets for both the buds and the hat. Individual LEDs for both earbuds and the case also made it easy to tell the accuse level for all three units.

Amazon sells both a wired-only and a wireless charging version of the Repeat Buds, along with an official charging dock from Anker. I really liked the charging pad — it'south an extra purchase, but it displays individual LED indicators for both the buds and the case and can charge any Qi-uniform phone as well.

In the box, you'll find the earbuds inside their charging case, besides as the interchangeable ear tips, wings, a USB-C cable for charging, and the usual setup guide.

Sound quality, features, and bombardment life

Whatsoever flaws with the pattern aside, Amazon's latest earbuds sound pretty good. They won't blow you away with incredible bass or audiophile-level reproduction, merely as far every bit Bluetooth headphones become, you won't be disappointed. Head-to-head against Jabra'southward Elite 75ts (my daily drivers), the Echo Buds pack less of a dial in both low and mid-range, simply the highs never sounded tinny. Cranking up the bass and mids in the Alexa app helped brand upwards the divergence, and I came abroad pleasantly surprised. Also, I was told that my microphone sounded fine from the other end of calls. These should go you through your next Zoom coming together without whatsoever issue.

Unfortunately, I wasn't as impressed by the rest of the listening feel. Active noise cancellation is enabled by default, but you won't be able to tell. Exterior of a reduction in noise from air ventilation systems and running water, zilch in the world effectually me seemed to be muted. The same goes for passthrough way, which uses the mics to give you a sense of your surroundings. Even at the default volume, it produces a loud hiss that undercuts whatever media playing in the groundwork. Finally, the included bear on controls were finicky, ofttimes pausing or skipping tracks while I readjusted its position no thing how advisedly I placed my fingers.

Hands-costless Alexa works well, as long as yous accept the usual limitations of Amazon's voice assistant. I had some bug getting Spotify to piece of work with Alexa, but afterwards reselecting it every bit my default music service, information technology eventually was back up and running. Though the response tone is wearisome to let yous know information technology'south listening, the buds rapidly catch up without missing any commands. You lot'll need to make certain the apps you lot're using sync with Alexa — don't wait to use vocalisation commands to pause playback in YouTube Music, for instance.

Battery life is a little underwhelming as well. The buds concluding effectually five hours with ANC and hands-gratuitous Alexa enabled, which is nearly the accepted minimum in 2021. Unfortunately, the example merely holds two additional charges, so you'll want to go on a cable handy. The buds don't plough off after an extended period of going unused, and so make certain they go back in the case when you're washed listening.

Should yous buy information technology? Rating 7/10

Amazon Echo Buds (second gen)

Peradventure. Everyone'southward ears are unlike, only I call up the shape of the Repeat Buds is inherently flawed. Unfortunately, I just don't expect this design to be comfortable to almost users, even with the interchangeable tips and wings. The plastic frame is just too hard and unforgiving without any sort of slope to provide a proper fit.

If they practise manage to fit your ears, the second-gen Repeat Buds provide a good listening feel, especially if you lot're invested in Amazon'south ecosystem. While ANC isn't up to the quality of premium earbuds, it's nigh what I'd expect for noise-canceling-equipped earbuds below the $100 mark.

Purchase information technology if...

  • Alexa is your banana of choice.
  • Y'all want premium features at an affordable price.

Don't buy it if...

  • The inside of your ear isn't flat.
  • You lot won't be near a charger for days on end.

Where to purchase

  • Amazon

UPDATE: 2021/06/29 6:00am PDT BY Volition SATTELBERG

Ane month later

I've used the Repeat Buds on and off once more in the calendar month since my initial review, and I all the same haven't constitute a way for them to fit both snug and comfortably in my ears. A couple of placements I've tried exercise experience slightly more pleasant, especially without the included wing tips, merely they aren't well-nigh as secure. It still required me to fuss around with the earbuds every few minutes, especially when working out, and that oftentimes included adventitious pauses or playback skips from the impact controls.

So even though I've mostly switched back to my Jabra Elite 75t'due south as my daily commuter, there are a couple of conveniences provided by the Echo Buds that I really miss. The ability to employ each bud on their ain is relatively rare in sub-$100 headphones, and it's bully that Amazon's gear up tin do information technology. The aforementioned goes for wireless charging — throwing the buds on a pad later on the gym is super unproblematic and prevents those unfortunate occasions where your headphones are dead before you even realize information technology.

As long as they fit your ears, the toll for the Repeat Buds makes them pretty much unbeatable, besting even Google's new Pixel Buds A-series unless you need Assistant instead of Alexa. Although Amazon promised the gear up would face a post-launch price bump to $120, they've actually dropped down for Prime number members, going on sale as depression equally $fourscore ahead of Prime Twenty-four hour period. If you can concord off for a deal, they might be a amend budget pair of headphones than even Google can offer. That alone makes them worth a recommendation.