Seeking wireless earbuds that really sizzle
Designing something that is one-size-fits-all is analogous to making a pair of shoes that fit everyone. – Dr Robert Jackler, professor of Otolaryngology
WHEN you’re rocking out, the last thing you want to hear is “kerplunk.”
That would be the sound of your fancy new wireless earbuds flying out of your ears and into a puddle.
Apple’s AirPods, those white sticks dangling down people’s lobes, jump-started a big trend in headphones with separate buds that connect wirelessly to each other and to your phone. They’re liberating us from tangles and mismatched plugs. But after you cut the cord, what’s keeping your headphones on your head?
I think we need a new way to judge this new kind of earbuds. Or maybe it’s a very old-school way: headbanging.
I gathered three totally wireless earbuds with very different designs for staying on ears - AirPods 2, the new Beats Powerbeats Pro and the Bose SoundSport Free. Then I sought help reviewing the wobble factor from someone very accomplished at headbanging: Sammy Hagar.
“I am notorious - the little stick-them-in things don’t work for me unless they have rubber on them and they can really grip,” Hagar said. “I have large ears on the outside but small inlets.”
Sure, sound quality, price and call quality matter for headphones, too. But not if the darn things won’t stay in your ears as you bounce through life.
Our results surprised me, and offer an important lesson: Human ears are as unique as our feet. The outer parts of the ear vary in size by up to a third of an inch. Sometimes the left and right ears don’t even match. Women’s ears tend to be a little smaller, so Sammy’s wife, Kari Hagar, who is even better at headbanging, kindly joined our test, too.
“Designing something that is one-size-fits-all is analogous to making a pair of shoes that fit everyone,” says Dr Robert Jackler, a professor of Otolaryngology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. One technique that might help earbuds better stay put - going deeper into the ear canal - would require custom fits. Other than that, it’s all about adding stabilization from other parts of the ear.
“The ear canal is a unfriendly place for any kind of electronic device,” says Robert Sweetow, a Professor Emeritus of Otolaryngology at the University of California, San Francisco. It’s a “rain forest” in there, he told me, at 98.6 degrees and filled with varying amounts of hair and wax. Sweating can cause plastic devices that normally grab on to the skin to slip right out. The older we get, the more rigid ear cartilage becomes, too.
To pick the wireless earbuds that are right for you, approach them like shoes. Don’t be afraid to ask to try some on. • Apple AirPods 2, US$159 • (RM668) and up
How they stay in: If AirPods were shoes, they’d be flip flops. AirPods break all the design rules: They come in just one size, and don’t have adjustable tips that make a seal with the ear canal.
To develop their shape, Apple 3D-scanned hundreds of ears to find an oval form that it thinks fits many.
How they headbanged: The AirPods stayed put for all three of us during our most vigorous rocking, and were my panel’s overall favourite. Sammy says: “They felt like nothing in my ear - they disappeared real fast.” Adds Kari: “They were just easy to pop in.” • Beats Powerbeats Pro, US$250 • (RM1,050)
How they stay in: If the Powerbeats Pro were shoes, they’d be Tevas.
A large loop tucks behind the ear and reaches toward the ear canal, where an acoustic nozzle pokes in with silicon tips. Beats’ focus is clearly athletes who want headphones that feel locked in.
How they headbanged: All three of us could have rocked all night long. The Powerbeats Pro felt by far the most secure in our ears, without feeling heavy.
Sammy says: “Wouldn’t come out even if you got hit by a truck!”
How long they last: Each earbud promises up to nine hours of listening, and there’s up to 24 hours if you include the case. • Bose SoundSport Free, • US$200 (RM840)and up
What they look like: If the SoundSport Free were shoes, they might be downhill ski boots. And they protrude from the ears.
The material is soft and pliable, but it definitely feels like you’ve got something in your ear.
How they headbanged: One bud went flying out of Sammy’s right ear, while they stayed put for both me and Kari. Sammy’s problem might have been one ear is too shallow for the wings to securely grip on to.
Sammy says: “They’re just too clumsy sticking out there like that.”
How long they last: The buds promise five hours of play time, plus 10 more from the charging case.
Bose says they’re good for at least 500 full charge cycles, and there’s no way to replace the batteries in them. —Washington Post.