Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Headphone Review: Beans In The Ears

Many children born in the 80s and 90s of the 20th century remember the phrase “bananas in their ears.” Then the so-called in-ear headphones. But now, it seems, at the suggestion of Samsung, it will be possible to say about some that they have “beans in their ears.” This is because the Korean company released the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live headphones shaped like beans. If you’ve never seen them, you might at least remember the coloured Bertie Botts from the Harry Potter universe. It was rumoured that these headphones would even be called Galaxy Beans (Bean – bob, ed.) However, we got the name Buds Live. Well, let’s figure out what’s good about this new Samsung product.

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Samsung Galaxy Buds Live: Package Contents

Like all Samsung products, the headphones come in a beautiful laconic white box with a name on the lid. The set inside is also as discreet as possible.

There is a box with headphones, a USB-C cable for charging the case, and tiny pads that can’t be called ear pads. And there is nothing else here. However, probably not necessary. A power adapter could come in handy, but now everyone is pushing for sustainability and cutting back on bundles. Moreover, every home has an adapter, and you need to charge the headphones once a week.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live: Appearance

We at ITZine.ru tested bronze headphones. I must admit that they are wonderful and look premium. The colour follows the latest trends and even matches the recently launched Samsung Galaxy Note20.

The headphone case is not very large, which makes me very happy. Many TWS (True Wireless – completely wireless, ed.) Headphones of 2019-2020 have a healthy case and do not always fit in your pocket. Apple set the standard here with its AirPods, which can easily fit into a bag and jeans. And it’s great that Samsung headphones are about the same size. They are comfortable to wear, with no discomfort. There are magnets inside so that the headphones hold well and quickly “stick” to the case’s charging. Simple and intuitive to use.

The headphones themselves are almost half the size of the competitor. But the principle of work is different here. Instead of earplugs, Samsung has made almost all earbuds, but wireless and with a rigid fit in the ear. Thanks to this, the earphone does not fly out of the auricle, but, unfortunately, not in every ear. It fits comfortably. Buds Live can be uncomfortable in small ears. In my ears, by the way, everything is fine (not me in the photo). Unless you need to get used to pulling them out of your ear because they sit like a glove, but there are no legs with a microphone.

The design of the earbuds is very futuristic. When you see them, it seems that this is some alien gadget from the movie. Unless there are some wires and flashing lights missing. There are no buttons. All control is done using hidden touchpads on the open surface of the headphones.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live: Features and Experiences

Of course, no one will be releasing flagship headphones without noise cancelling in 2020. And, of course, Galaxy Buds Live has noise reduction. And I have questions for him. Everything is, as usual, the mode of excluding noise from sound through the application is turned on, everything is deleted, but too little. Perhaps I’m used to earplugs, where the shape itself helps to eliminate noise from the ear. But the noise cancellation in Buds Live seemed too soft to me. They practically do not drown out the voice, which is probably not bad if you use headphones at work. That is, external noises are turned off, but if colleagues decide to talk to you, everything will be heard. But in an aeroplane, this option, of course, is not particularly suitable because some engine hum can still be heard. However, these are nuances that are more than offset by an interesting design and good sound quality.

The sound in Samsung Galaxy Buds Live is excellent. It’s not for nothing that the guys from AKG made it. In general, since Samsung bought Harman / Kardon, they have almost no equal in sound. Indeed, the company’s portfolio now includes AKG, JBL, Bang & Olufsen, and other well-known brands. There is a huge driver for such headphones, as much as 12 mm. It is also connected to the bass amplifier Bass Duct. The headphones support AAC and Samsung Scalable Codec. In general, if you really love the high-quality sound and only listen to FLAC from your smartphone or professional player, Galaxy Buds Live will be able to reproduce this.

The voice here is transmitted using bone conduction. That is, microphones pick up sound from the bone and not through the air. This is understandable; the headphones have no protruding parts. If the microphones were outside, there would be a lot of noise along with the voice. And here, everything is very well thought out, and the voice is obtained practically without interference. True, due to the bone’s vibration, there is still some boom, but you can talk even in the wind. Even in the subway, the noise practically does not affect. The microphone is hidden inside the ear.

Outside, you can find two more microphones. It may even seem that it is through them that speech is transmitted. But no, these are microphones for noise reduction. It is from them that the headphones receive sound, which is subtracted from what is fed into the ear. How it was possible to cram so many technologies into such a small case is a mystery even for such a geek like me.

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What’s more important to me is wireless charging. A couple of years ago, I almost completely ditched wires. There are wireless charging stands everywhere in the house. And the fact that the headphones can be charged on them is great. And of course, who doesn’t know about the reverse charging function in the latest flagships of the Galaxy line, including the Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note10, Galaxy S20, and Galaxy Note20. If the headphones are dead, you can recharge them from your smartphone. And that’s great.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live: App

Headphones can be controlled simply through the touch panels. And with the help of the basic function of the smartphone, adjust the volume. But it’s better to install an application anyway. It has several interesting functions. The app exists for Android and iOS…