Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Wireless Earphones Mystic Bronze
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Wireless Earphones Mystic Bronze (UK Version)
Pair with compatible devices. At a touch
You’re more in control than ever before – in fact, you don’t even need to use your phone. Just give your Bluetooth wireless earphones a tap to play, pause and skip to the next track. Put Galaxy Buds Live earphones in pairing mode near a PC using Windows 10 Swift Pair⁴ and get your best work done.
⁴Compatible with PCs running Windows 10 April 2018 update or newer.
| Weight: | 5.6 g |
| Size: | One Size |
| Dimensions: | 5 x 2.78 x 5.02 cm; 5.6 Grams |
| Model: | SM-R180NZNAEUA |
| Colour: | Mystic Bronze |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included) |
| Dimensions: | 5 x 2.78 x 5.02 cm; 5.6 Grams |
| Size: | One Size |
I didn’t realise how much volume my old ear buds had lost until I bought these. It took a few attempts to get them in comfortably but once I’d sussed that, the sound is crystal clear and really comfortable, with great noise cancelling.
They have great sound and pretty good bass when you set them up properly, sound is very clear with deep bass I wouldn’t expect from in ear speakers. They are not as good as over the ear speakers but that’s expected.
Noise cancelling works pretty well I can barely hear trains going past me when they are turned up.
Battery power is really good in my opinion, get plenty of hours out of them even with calls included.
I highly recommend these.
The style is different to what I am use to and takes a little while to get use to but sure I soon will. Being able to turn off/lock the touch button feature is great so hoods can’t catch it and skip tracks etc. Though I’m unsure atm how sensitive the button is. I’ve managed to skip tracks etc just from putting them in my ears.
So far very please with quality and the bonus of the sale helped finally get them. Still not sure full price that I would justify the cost.
Oh, also the battery life is pretty good. You can watch more than 2 films with no breaks. I tend to forget that I am wearing these.
Connection is also stable and fast!
Sound quality is amazing too unless you are looking for a generous amount of bass.
I was pretty sceptical at first but they turned out to be way above my expectations. If you are not into in-ears like me and want to get bluetooth earphones, this is the best one.10/10
They do stay in place even when I run, and the battery lasts long
Can hurt when put in the wrong way.
I didn’t get 2 different shape wingtips for some reason only the big one although they feel comfy enough for me without the wingtips.
Sound quality isn’t the most amazing but it’s still quite good quality imo only worth it when on a deal with this sort of quality.
This is definitely amazing for my ears as I have small ear canal and buds tend to not fit in there without either extreme pain or them popping out.
Also I love that these don’t have a feeling of pressure in your ear that I hate.
I’m really pleased with them and they fit me fine. Easy to use recharge and carry around.
They’re also helping with my tinnitus.
Downside is this reduces physical noise reduction.
Sound really good.
Not so great in noisy places.
Bought as a present for my grandson who says yes they are fine.
Really good, stay put when exercising. Sound quality is great.
Some of the best buds I’ve used personally, also the colour is very nice.
After trying other brands these buds are superior. The price was very good ,the sound quality is excellent.
Bought as a present for my partner. He loves them
I lost one of tge headphones otherday. I also downloaded the app for Samsung live. Witch I used to find my headphones nd it started to bleep for the location nd found it. Very happy with this item worth tge money
I like the ease of charging and comfort wearing them
Really love these, sound quality is great and battery life is excellent.
I like listening to books whilst I poo pick ! These work !
Perfect earbuds almost forgot that I wear them. Activ noise cancellation not exist. Bas is great. Overall great earbuds. Recommended.
Noise cancelling isn’t the best, as expected with the design of the earbuds, but it’s not a deal breaker and is still sufficient depending on your environment.
I haven’t had them for too long, but the battery life seems to be pretty good so far, it has last a whole week so far without me needing to charge it, though it depends on how much you use it.
Earbuds are great just a bit annoying next day they were priced cheape
Vigorous shaking won’t dislodge them as all and unlike those earbuds with the stem, the is nothing sticking out your ears to get caught in your coat, hood or anything else brushing by your ear. This means you don’t get the usual fall out of the airpod copy designs.
Sound wise is excellent. Not up to the same standard as true in ear earbuds due to the lack of isolation, but still excellent with good range of bass. I’ve had Huawei freebuds, aftershocks as well as a few others and these blow then out the water in terms of sound and bass.
Also note that these are not isolating, you will hear the outside world. I personally prefer that so I can hear people talking and other things such as train announcements. Further the noise cancelling, it’s so subtle due to the design of the earbuds, you might as well save the battery.
My only gripes are the touch controls are limited, the magnet to hold them in the case is weak and you can’t connect to 2 devices at the same time (multi point connection). You have to disconnect from 1 device and then connect to the other. However, I am happy to sacrifice those for the comfort and sound quality I get.
Very stilish and work well.
These are comfortable earbuds which stay in my ears.
I haven’t tested them out while running yet, though.
The sound quality is good although can lose connection if about 8 metres away from device.
Good quality sounds, the fit is odd but probably cause I haven’t had these type of ear phones before.
Work very well for me. A comfortable fit once you are used to them. Charge lasts long and the noise cancellation feature is great.
Love these , they fit so comfortably and the sound is amazing
Good quality product I highly recommend this to all of my friends and family
I use them for making calls and listening to music the sound so clear and crisp for both
I am not a fan of noise cancelling, so these are perfect for me.
Beautiful sound. Totally comfortable.
Highly recommend. They work seamlessly with my Samsung phone
Very good and quality item. Amazon is great fir delivery, fast and secure….
Found the noise cancelling wasn’t very effective on an aeroplane, even on business class but otherwise excelle
A little uncomfortable in the ears but well worth it at a good price
These were fantastic value for money and I absolutely love them. They are one of my favourite items I never leave the house without.
I can’t usually use earphones that don’t have a head strap or ones that hug your ear so I was really pleased to find these. They actually stay in my ears- even when running.
Connect wirelessly to your phone. Long battery life.
Sound quality is also very good
These are OK, they hurt your ears after a while. I can’t wear them the way they tell you to as they kill your ears. Even got the silicone covers for them and they still hurt
Not noise cancelling at all
There ok rubbish to link with Samsung tv connection breaks all the time but with iPhone iPad and Samsung tab s 7 they work well
Noise cancellation? If you find it let me know .. but apart from that there ok and the price is good for what you ge
I find these the most comfortable earbud design ever! I have very small esr canals which means I struggle to keep ear phones in normally, however as these ear buds use the ridges of your ear to stay in, it makes them very secure and comfortable for use. The sound is perfect for me during listing to music and phone calls. User controls are fiddly to begun with but once you remember how many taps to use and roughly where the sensor is these become mindless tasks. I was so pleased with these earphones I bought a second pair for my teen who was delighted with them also. The white colour is trendy and timeless, whilst the black looks sophisticated and discrete. Both perfect options for all ages.
These earbuds were everything I was looking for. When I first order I was hesitant as I was worried it wouldn’t fit in my ears as the don’t go in the canal, I need not have worried they are perfect fit and feel secure and comfortable. Only negative is a little hard to get used to answering the phone. Sound is quality, good sound cancelling (can hear traffic, which I appreciate). At this price too, great value from a great brand. I recommend them.
Great sound great price very pleased with well my partner is as i bought for him
Took me about a week for my ears to get used to them. Apart from a glitchy connection while it’s raining/about to start raining (for some reason), they are almost perfect.
One keeps falling out ny ear. I must have 2 different shaped ears cause the other one stays in perfect.
Noise cancellation & sound quality I am pleased with my product.
Brought for daughter’s birthday she loves them fab price and excellent quality thanxs you made her day x
Nice sound quality that has a decent sound stage and you can hear music and podcasts over the sound of pretty busy traffic and pedestrians. It’s pretty comfortable so you can wear it for hours on end and despite the weird design they don’t look weird nor do they protrude from your ears but nor do they fall out even if you jog with them. I’ve literally tilted my head 180 degrees and they stayed in.
Lastly you don’t stick these rights into your ear canal which is great as I do not like those ear buds and am hoping there are more alternatives like the galaxy ear buds coming in this space as the apple airpods are expensive.
I’ve also used them in light rain and they were fine.
The battery life has been fine and the charge case is really small so easy to put in your pocket
Lastly it was super easy to pair with my pixel. I haven’t used the app as I don’t want to sign my life away to Samsung with all the permissionns6 they want but it of the box is fine as is.
Cons:
The noise cancelling is non existent and basically false marketing. I don’t mind as I want to still hear my surroundings for safety as I walk but also be able to hear my audio content but they should not be advertising it as noise cancelling, as it makes no difference.
Overall I recommend if you want a decent pair of non apple earbuds with good sound quality that won’t break the bank and that you can wear hours on end without discomfort.
As it is written on the tin, came on time and production is legit. At times it does go out of sync, and i find it difficult to control it via touches.
The best ear plugs I’ve brought sounds excellent unlike other ones I have brought and wearing them is excellent you forget there in your ear well done to samsung
10/10
As well as sound quality and volume level.
Easy connection and pairing.
I prefer the way these buds fit in my ears, without the silicone seals.
I am in my late 50’s and previously paid 40-50 for wireless earphones – these are in a different league
Super sound, easy to use and tapping works to change track or pause!
Worth every penny!
Loving these so far, the sound quality is good. Had an issue which seems common where the right bud wouldn’t charge. Seems to have fixed itself right as I was about to return. Great buds just be wary of faults.
Bought to go with my Samsung s21 but ended up selling it so have paired them with my redmi note 11pro and works grea
The souls is great, hey are super comfy on my ears. That was actually the only thing that worried me but fortunately they fit perfectly in my ears. Bronze colour is so beautiful.
I didn’t have any trouble setting them up, I can say they are 100% genuine since my phone recognized them immediately and the battery lasts long enough for me too.
Got them on a deal with amazon, but these are a great deal, my daughter loves these buds. She says they have a comfortable feel, great sound, and are easy to maintain.
Great product sounds is good noise cancellation good battery life is very good very happy with produc
Battery life is really good. Touch controls are on point and very it’s very convenient but not best quality sound. ANC is not worth mentioning as I didn’t find any difference.
You won’t be disappointed with these ear buds with excellent sound and build quality.
Love these buds, have a black pair and bought the rose gold for the wife. They just work so well with Samsung devices not sure why you would buy anything else.
Highly recommended
Very comfortable, looks perfect good sound quality, perfect price for them as well battery life very very good noise cancellation is very perfect So highly recommended this product from Samsung- really very good quality
Love these. Great sound, good battery life. Only thing that could be improved would be the touch sensitivity when tapping them to pause/skip. Love them though and highly recommend.
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.
Got this for a gift for my Wife. I had got a set first of all and returned due to no noise cancellation. My wife in the other hand had no issues, this was due to her ear canals being smaller and the earbuds a better fit. There is earbuds sleeves which you can buy to make a better fit, for me the sleeves did not work. If they fit your ears these are a fantastic set of earbuds fully loaded with tech and a great app.
-The sound quality is good.
-Comfortable to wear
-Good for calls
-I dropped one of mine in the sink fully submerged in water but once it was fully dry it played just as normal.
-After first setup they connect/disconnect to device easily
Cons:
-If you’re looking for full ANC these aren’t for you. Without the silicon seal at the ear you’ll always hear a bit of traffic outside.
-In the same sense the allowing ambient noise to be aware of your surroundings doesn’t properly work without a full silicon seal.
-A personal preference for me , I don’t get the same secure feeling that they wont fall out that I get with other earbuds. I know they wont as I’ve made countless attempts as an experiment before I used them at the gym but I like the reassurance.
-The sound quality is good.
-Comfortable to wear
-Good for calls
-I dropped one of mine in the sink fully submerged in water but once it was fully dry it played just as normal.
-After first setup they connect/disconnect to device easily
Cons:
-If you’re looking for full ANC these aren’t for you. Without the silicon seal at the ear you’ll always hear a bit of traffic outside.
-In the same sense the allowing ambient noise to be aware of your surroundings doesn’t properly work without a full silicon seal.
-A personal preference for me , I don’t get the same secure feeling that they wont fall out that I get with other earbuds. I know they wont as I’ve made countless attempts as an experiment before I used them at the gym but I like the reassurance.
In the diagrams and videos youre advised not to wear the buds without wingtips otherwise its supposed to be quite painful.
I found it to be the opposite! Using the wing tips and trying different sizes, they were all very painful. So i tried without, and it was actually a lot better and LESS painful. They fitted better and didnt pop out.
Im not confident to go out wearing these while walking though.
The sound quality is still really good, i think the pros do tip the scale very slightly with that but its a very subtle difference.
Noise cancellation wise i have to disagree with some other reviews, i actually thought it was quite good once youve got the buds securely on. Just make sure that youve turn the noise cancellation on, its not automatic. Ive found putting the wearable widget on my phones homescreen helps with turning the different audio settings on and off.
In conclusion, was the buds live as good as i had hoped? Sadly, no. I can see why they dropped this design when they introduced the buds pro. But i can see why some people may prefer them, based on the structure of their ears.
In the diagrams and videos youre advised not to wear the buds without wingtips otherwise its supposed to be quite painful.
I found it to be the opposite! Using the wing tips and trying different sizes, they were all very painful. So i tried without, and it was actually a lot better and LESS painful. They fitted better and didnt pop out.
Im not confident to go out wearing these while walking though.
The sound quality is still really good, i think the pros do tip the scale very slightly with that but its a very subtle difference.
Noise cancellation wise i have to disagree with some other reviews, i actually thought it was quite good once youve got the buds securely on. Just make sure that youve turn the noise cancellation on, its not automatic. Ive found putting the wearable widget on my phones homescreen helps with turning the different audio settings on and off.
In conclusion, was the buds live as good as i had hoped? Sadly, no. I can see why they dropped this design when they introduced the buds pro. But i can see why some people may prefer them, based on the structure of their ears.
– Excellent sound quality for a non-sealed fit, with a surprising amount of bass and good volume.
– Solid connectivity to my iPhone XR.
– App is compatible with iOS so you can adjust sound profile (with EQ presets) and get firmware updates.
– Relatively low profile, don’t stick out of your ears too much, don’t interfere with caps/beanies.
– Wing tips ensure secure fit, never had them fall out, even when used on a run.
THE BAD
– If you have small ears like me, you may experience pain after about 30/40 minutes wearing these where the wing tip presses against the upper part of your concha. This experience will be highly variable between individuals so you’ll just need to try them to find out if it’s a problem for you. For me these are just a little too uncomfortable to perform as a daily driver earbud I can leave in for a few hours while out and about and forget about. Unfortunately I’ve missed the return window but will be selling these as the fit just doesn’t work for me unfortunately.
– Noise cancellation is weak, but you can’t expect much from this open design. I actually found if you have them seated properly it does make a difference to reducing any low level droning noises when I’m in the office.
CONCLUSION
As with many earbuds, these are excellent as long as the fit suits your ears AND you are looking for an open design. I liked everything about them but just couldn’t tolerate the fit. You may fare better though!
– Excellent sound quality for a non-sealed fit, with a surprising amount of bass and good volume.
– Solid connectivity to my iPhone XR.
– App is compatible with iOS so you can adjust sound profile (with EQ presets) and get firmware updates.
– Relatively low profile, don’t stick out of your ears too much, don’t interfere with caps/beanies.
– Wing tips ensure secure fit, never had them fall out, even when used on a run.
THE BAD
– If you have small ears like me, you may experience pain after about 30/40 minutes wearing these where the wing tip presses against the upper part of your concha. This experience will be highly variable between individuals so you’ll just need to try them to find out if it’s a problem for you. For me these are just a little too uncomfortable to perform as a daily driver earbud I can leave in for a few hours while out and about and forget about. Unfortunately I’ve missed the return window but will be selling these as the fit just doesn’t work for me unfortunately.
– Noise cancellation is weak, but you can’t expect much from this open design. I actually found if you have them seated properly it does make a difference to reducing any low level droning noises when I’m in the office.
CONCLUSION
As with many earbuds, these are excellent as long as the fit suits your ears AND you are looking for an open design. I liked everything about them but just couldn’t tolerate the fit. You may fare better though!
So a comparison is not an easy one.
However issues and niggles….
The earbuds themselves are lovely, fit snug for day to day stuff, not so good for vigorous movement.
Noise cancelling is great.
Sound quality is very good too.
I have had one issue of one earbud not charging in the case….they were sent for a samsung repair and all fixed, superquick.
The only main issue I have with day to day use is the touch controls. If you slightly brush your ear, taking off a scarf or similar you just fleetingly touch a bud and it stops playing, you then spend next 30 seconds touching the bud again just to get it to play. Same when wanting to purposely stop the bud, touch again for an age….you end up resorting to your phone to pause the music.
Whether all touch control are like this? Who knows? But at least with the old Raycon earbuds there’s a button, works everytime.
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.
What I will say for anyone considering these is to first think about your use. I mostly use earphones for commuting and the gym, while using bigger overear headphone for home and plane travel.
For commuting the buds live have been good, the sound quality is decent with plenty of equaliser options via the Samsung Wear app. The fact they don’t completely seal in the ear means you can hear the outside world better which is useful (and safer) when commuting.
For the gym I haven’t found them great. First reason is they move around a little when working out and need constant adjusting. Second is that because they don’t create a seal in your ear, loud gym can almost completely drown out your music. Several times I was forced to have my volume almost maxed out just to hear my own music clearly. Not an issue I had with my original buds.
So if you don’t need to block out the outside world these are a good option. If you do, and want Samsung, I would recommend the buds+ or pro.
Pro’s:
Great sound quality
Lovely fit without being invasive like some earphones
Wireless charging
Price (at circa 80)
Excellent for phone calls.
Bluetooth Connection
Controls easy to use
Cons:
Noise cancellation is at best poor
Not sure of there suitability for sport due to fit and IP rating
Firstly i own and have owned multiple sets of headphones from Earfun, Bose, Jabra to name a few. For this review i am comparing the Samsungs to the Bose QC 35 Mk2 and the Jabra active 65T, both of which i use regularly.
Right of the bat if noise cancellation is a priority look elsewhere, at best the ANC on the Samsungs is marginal and at worst virtually non existent. The fit, i think will also divide opinion. Personally i love the fit on these earphones, they sit in the outer ear and rest there without needing to be squeezed into the ear canal. Initially i found it unsettling but have worn them for a while on walks they stay in place just fine, i am not convinced this would be the case however if you want them for rigourous exercise.
Sound quality is excellent, i would say overall it is smooth which is great for both music and podcasts, they are not the most detailed of earphones but strike a good balance and they would be easy to use for long listening periods. They are much better than the Jabra 65T, to be honest there is no contest and only slightly behind the Bose QC35 which in itself is excellent given the price point.
This sound quality extends to calls where people could hear me clearly and i had no trouble using them for extended conference calls.
Onto their weaknesses, ANC is poor and i think a lot of this is down to the fit and there shape both the Bose and Jabra i mention are better here by some margin even though the Jabra’s dont have ANC, just their tight fit blocks out more noise. For ANC the Bose are clear winners. At their full price i would probably mark the Samsung’s down for this but at 80 there are many more positives than negatives.
Summary:
I doubt at the price point of 80 these can be bettered for sound quality, fit, finish and convenience, i am really impressed. For this review i am using them with a galaxy S20 and you need to download the wearable app to fully utilise the settings and capabilities. For now i will be using the Jabra active 65T for my running and the Samsungs for pretty much everything else. Ultimately in this test the best headphones are the Bose QC35 MK2 but these cost me 280 so is hardly a fair comparison but when ANC is important (travelling, flights etc) i will be using these.
Day 1: Brought these yesterday and received today along with my new s21+
I had to buy these as with this iteration of the smart phone Samsung have decided NOT to include a regular 3.5 headphone connection (Not kool Samsung)
Oh well, I hated wires anyways but I’ve tried a few different wireless headsets with my previous Galaxy s9 phone and tbh I had to send them all back.
I fiest went through my cheap and cheerful stage of spending between 15-50 and then when all of the ones I tried had some deal breaking negatives I decided that you do indeed get what you pay for, and I for one am cursed with quality taste…
I then tries some lg tone, sony xm3 and none would take calls very well, even the 200+ sony microphone was really bad which was annoying as for the music they sounded great.
Day one of these Galaxy Buds live has been a pleasure and I’m kinda surprised as I was expecting, well a bit less tbf
As I took them out the box I thought they looked well made and better than the screen shot, not gonna lie ,I was pessimistic because I thought they looked a bit like a hearing aid but to be fair they look pretty kool.
They auto magically started to pair with my phone and I didn’t have to touch a button before hand which was also very nice.
After they paired they opened some software on the phone and it had the usual stuff and also a equaliser so I didn’t need to pair it with my laptop to adjust it etc.
Took a few calls and they couldn’t tell I was using a headset and to me the call was perfectly clear.
Listen to some tunes and they also sounded great.
So overall to keep it short and sweet, they work well, your get great call quality and enough bass and mids for the best mid range wireless headphones for the price.
I would recommend it thus far.
If anything changes I will update this post.
I have a replacement being delivered today, so I will soon know if my buds are faulty, or if it’s just a poor product.
Update:
So, I’ve received my replacement and can confirm that the first set were faulty. After 2 days of using these out and about, I have no complaints. Sound is clear and loud enough. Buds fit nicely with the larger wingtips, although they do feel like they’re falling out at times. However, when I go to adjust it, they feel secure in my ear. My only complaint is the touch point is a bit suspect. Sometimes the slightest touch stops your music, and other times, it takes multiple taps before there’s any action. Battery life seems good.
I’m happy with this purchase. A lot of other buyers seemed to have the same problems I was experiencing, therefore I guess Samsung made some bad batches. I would recommend these though.
These buds come in a cute case that charges the buds when you put them back inside and the case is chargeable as it itself has a small battery inside it with small light that shows up red yellow or green depending of its state of charge, just to note you only get the necessary cable used to charge the case but no charger, I use a laptop USB port to charge mine this takes around two hours or so to full capacity.
I really like these buds and recommend them as they look really good and fit well and don’t fall out easily. The sound is adjustable for the different settings in the app that I use on my Galaxy M31 (Wear), these change with the setting selected, This has no adjustable bands to change the sound at frequency level or range eg 20hz to 20000hz. The buds sound good anyhow and this does not change my opinion about them and would recommend them for use out and about when walking or on a bus, just don’t expect them to block out all sound from around you. Overall I really like them and am happy to recommend them and have a good battery life and look cool in either bronze or black!!.
The buds fit well into my smallish ears and haven’t dropped out yet. They do take some getting used to so persevere if you can. I changed the fitted rubber bits so have the smaller one on one side and bigger on the other which works for me as due to a past ear injury I found the pressure built up more in one ear when wearing for hours and this helped. You can adjust a setting in the app as well. Callers can hear me well even if I have a beanie on covering my ears and I can hear them as well too. Outside noises do intrude but you can still hear your music/callers. I have had music playing low and spoken to people whilst on the phone and in person for shirt periods and can hear both ok.
The downsides…the mic picks up every external noise which is where the noise cancellation comes in…however mine only really seems to work when people call me…the noise reduces for them not me..! When the equaliser is on dynamic mode, callers hear everything (nc is on), the external noise lessens when you switch to normal or different modes. I havent seen much difference at my end.
Tapping the buds to skip tracks etc take a lot of getting used to and can be frustrating at times as you have to tap in the right spot, I swear mine moves at will lol.
The buds come in a neat case which holds its charge well. The battery on the buds drains quicker if noise cancellation & dynamic mode is on but the case fast charges so you can go several hours without plugging into the grid. It uses the newer USB-C cable and charges from the back of the newer Samsung S10 upwards phones (wireless power sharing).
The app is simple enough to use and controls all the settings for the buds. There is a basic tutorial on the app on how to use it and you can also set a routine on there eg ‘at xx time if connected by Bluetooth play Spotify tracklist…’
Overall I’m very happy with my purchase.
PS the ones I received were genuine Samsung so no issues registering them on my account.
Wasn’t thrilled overall with the purchase, but I was glad I paid a lot less than the regular pricing and, again, they could perform just fine. However, just got a new phone today, a Samsung this time with Bluetooth 5.0, but a very budget device (we’re not going anywhere, why spend 1K?). Connection was an absolute breeze, all automatic, very Apple-ish, and then there’s the sound quality; when connected to a good modern device, it is brilliant. Really great. I don’t know if they’d preform as well with a modern Bluetooth 5.0+ non-Samsung device, but with this budget Samsung they’re practically faultless.
Before today I would have awarded two stars, but now they’re an easy five. It’s also nice listening to music without sticking anything in my ear canals. I’ve not used the noise cancellation, but why they’re on a device that doesn’t isolate you like in-ear earphones is beyond me. The only nit-picking issue I have are the two sets of little wings which you swap around to adjust the fit; the small ones are a little too small for them to stay safely in my ears, the large a little too large which make my ears ache a little after an hour (first world problems). In short, just make sure you buy at the right time.
IN CONCLUSION – A good pair of buds if you want great sound and volume. Well worth the 119 I paid for them. If you want noise cancellation, simply put, look elsewhere, because these fail miserably.
The fit was strange at first — I felt that they might fall out at any moment. Turns out, I was slightly incorrectly inserting them — I needed to place the bottom portion more pointing towards the head — I don’t want to say push them in, because they DON’T enter ear canal, but the bottom should be slightly ’tilted’ towards the ear canal. And possibly, rotated forward, slightly. Suddenly the fit became snug and absolutely secure. Also, the sound became a lot more defined.
The sound overall on these is magnificent. I can’t believe certain frequency levels. I don’t use Noise Cancelling on the daily basis, because I end up leaving these in my ears for most of the day, and still want to hear other people. But when I am in a noisy office and want to enjoy my music better, I turn on the cancelling and it becomes quite amazing.
The battery life is fine and wonderful. The responsiveness of the touch is high, albeit delayed by about half second. I love how they start (connect) immediately to my phone and sense the music signal.
I highly recommend checking out the Galaxy Wearable app, and notice the Find My Buds option. This came in handy the other night, when I dropped one at night in a dark grassy spot. I didn’t know about the feature, and went home to wait for the next day daylight to search the area. I couldn’t find it at all, even in the daylight. I opened the app, and saw that the buds were both connected, so I knew it’s nearby. Then I saw the Find My Buds feature, and I made this bud beep. It sounded like birds chirping, and I found it in a matter of a few seconds. Amazing.
The 2 super minor gripes I have with these:
The case is lovely but I would prefer a more ductile feel as to what side to open it from. I often open it with one hand, while walking the dog, and I would love to be able to find which side of the 4 sided box to pry open with the finger — it feels perfectly symmetrical and I can’t tell without looking how to open it.
The start/stop touch is sensitive, so I end up pausing music often when I slightly push the bud into my ear, or adjust it. I don’t need to do it often, and I know I can adjust it by holding it on the sides, but still, a quick push sometimes is all I need, but it stops the music. It would be absolutely cool to be able to reprogramme the touches, not only the touch-hold abilities.
These 2 minor gripes are nothing to worry about though — these buds worth every penny, for me.
* 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.
Some years back I spoiled myself with a lovely set of B&O H9i headphones, lovely pair of quality noise cancelling headphones if you have around 300 to blow, I snagged mine on sale when they first came out, I think they’ll set you back about 280 now, well worth every penny in my opinion . Anyway, back to what I bought today and you want to know more about.
Let’s talk about the new Samsung Galaxy Buds Live. OK ok… I’m not one to join the “gotta have the latest in technology” hype but I did. I’ve been wanting a set of ear buds for some time that are easy to connect, wireless and came within a fraction to the sound quality of my fancy pancy B&O headsets without the cumbersome problem of toting around a full headset. Let’s face it, my handbag is already big enough to carry the kitchen sink so to find another one that could accommodate my headphones too will just give hubby something else to moan about, this is where this little gems come into the picture. Let’s talk about the pros and cons shall we? After all that’s what you want to know instead of me harping on about my martial problems.
Just so you know what I’m hooking these things up to for ease and sound quality, I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus and hubby has a Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, he has to have a better gadget than me even though he has no idea how the damn thing works, I have to help him set everything up on it… Grrr
Connection.:
Blow me down! Flaming easy as pie but make sure you have the “wearable” app installed if you don’t already, I have a Samsung watch already connected so all I did was made sure the app was updated. Open and close the tiny charging case and va-la, it’s connected 10-10 for connecting. Once connected via Bluetooth re-connecting is way too simple, just open the case and they automatically connect, ready to use and play my music where I left off. If hubby can connect these without my help then they are dead easy to set-up!
ANC:
Open the “Wearable” app and sound adjustment is there for you to fiddle with, although basic it’s effective enough. This is where you’ll also find the elusive ANC. With noise cancelling there’s only a slight change, no where near my B&O ability to drown out my husbands voice along with the mutts constant barking but at least with these I’ll hear the lorry bearing down on me when I’m out and about walking so that’s a plus! Thanks Samsung, you may save my life with a less than effective ANC in the real world. On the other hand they were OK for drowning out common noise, simple background noise, telly and normal talking at higher volumes. With that said you’ll never get a good noise cancelling with ear buds, only a good quality headset will deliver on that so I give these a 8-10 for ANC for earbuds and not comparing them to headphones
Design:
Cute tiny things, very discreet and strangely comfortable to wear for long periods. I have the bronze colour and hubby has the black ones, lovely colour choices and look expensive. Matching cases too but I think the buds weigh more than the cheap feeling plastic case. I was surprised at the size of the damn case! Hell! Have Samsung no idea how big my bag is? I’ll loose the thing with one toss in my bag. Saying that it’s a perfect size to slip in your jeans pocket but if your like me and have added a stone or two since lockdown then you’re wearing joggers or leggings with no pockets, so I guess it’s back to trusty Amazon to search for a protection case with a hook thingy attachment and to protect the cheap feeling case itself. I’m giving a 10-10 for the earbuds but a 5-10 for the case, for the price we paid I would have expected a bit better quality case.
Sound:
I’m quite impressed with the sound banging out of these. They don’t sound “tinny”. Bass is good. Again compared to my B&O’s they come close, they are AKG’s with that said. Strong enough bass, loud enough and just a little distortion at high volume but nothing to bitch about. For earbuds I’m impressed. I use to love the Apple wired earpods, nothing held a candle to them but with Apples wireless ones, I always thought people looked silly having a white tube hanging from their lugs so they didn’t interest me. Samsung have up their game with these. I’m loving the sound quality with a wide range of genres of music I’m listening to.
Sound 9-10
Phone Calls:
Made a few calls using the earbuds. Seamless call connection and they sound perfect. I can’t tell the difference with sound quality between using just your phone or if you’re speaking through the earbuds. Well done Samsung on that! I’ve said “OK Google” whilst listening to music and she popped up ready to complete my request so no problem there.
10-10 for calls and speaker/ mic quality
Overall I’m impressed! Are they worth the full price I paid of 179? Probably not but as I’m not just paying for the earbuds, I’m paying for research, the materials, everyone involved in production, updates, delivering and so on, I get the price so I guess it’s fair and they are 40 cheaper than Apple’s earpods. I would expect to pay around 140-160, the lower price being on sale and the higher price being at full price. I was happy to fork over my hard earned brass at 179. so I’ll quit my bitching on that subject. Seeing I’ve been working the entire time during lockdown and haven’t been able to go anywhere to spend my money, I spoiled myself with these. I’ll let you decide.
Would I recommend them? Probably but with so many choices of earbuds I think it’s a personal preference. Why didn’t I choose B&O earbuds you ask? Price… These were about half the cost with probably the same sound quality. Again with all said these are earbuds so the sound quality will never match headphones but come damn close. I’m satisfied with my purchase. I think they are great to use with my phone and are low profile so I don’t look stupid or rude in public wearing them.
I’ll give these a 9-10 as the case let’s them down.
One last thing, if you’ve opened “developer options” on your Samsung phone as I’ve done, turn it off as it affects the volume output. I was a bit upset that the output of sound was about 2/3 of hubby’s. I paired my buds up to his phone and realised it was my phone, switched off developer options and I now received full volume. If you have no idea what I’m talking about then don’t worry, your volume should be fine.
Update: After reading reviews about a “fake” products being received I want to assure you that mine are 100% genuine as I had to register them on the Samsung website in order to receive my free charging pad. I’m wondering if they are ordering from the “other” sellers listed below Amazon’s bit?
Still enjoying my earbuds… drowning out the barking mutts and hubby moaning that’s there’s only re-runs on telly!