Another earbuds question, with snowflakes
February 22, 2022 10:08 AM Subscribe
I purchased some Jabra 75Ts recently, and they suck for my purposes. What is a wireless earbud that will work for me? (Or, if I need to return to wired earbuds, what should I consider?) Details inside.
There have been some great AskMe threads on wireless earbuds recently. Following these, and Wirecutter, and what appeared to be an emergent earbuds-at-that-price-point Internet consensus, I got some Jabra 75Ts. Here is how they suck:
1. The call quality is shit. Everyone thinks I'm on the toilet every time I talk to them from my apartment. Or, if I'm walking the neighborhood, I sound like I'm on the tarmac somewhere.
2. The sound scrambles constantly. There is bleepy-bloopy interference when I walk to my car in the morning. I walked 45 minutes to my friend's house recently, and the whole way I couldn't make it through an entire song without long periods of broken transmission. It is my suspicion that because live on a hill, and walk through hills, when I'm ascending or descending, the signal gets fucked. However, this also happens on what I perceive to be flat terrain. It makes me want to throw them into oncoming traffic.
Everything else about them seems great! Comfort, button functionality, mute, pause, all that.
So this is what I need from earbuds:
1. Good call quality on both ends of the call.
2. Uninterrupted playback of audio, using a Samsung Galaxy S8 that sits in my left pocket, either jeans or chinos. This is especially important when I'm on a walk, which, again, may entail some hills.
So, here is where I'm at:
1. Is there a wireless earbud set that has met these needs for you? (Price point be damned.)
2. If this simply is not a reasonable set of needs with wireless earbud technology, what is a pair of wired earbuds that sounds good, has good call quality, and is durable when used primarily from a smartphone that is in someone's pocket. (I always have an issue with the wires fraying after several months.)
3. Is there some kind of firmware update or downgrade or other tweaking of 1's and 0's that would fix my problem?
There have been some great AskMe threads on wireless earbuds recently. Following these, and Wirecutter, and what appeared to be an emergent earbuds-at-that-price-point Internet consensus, I got some Jabra 75Ts. Here is how they suck:
1. The call quality is shit. Everyone thinks I'm on the toilet every time I talk to them from my apartment. Or, if I'm walking the neighborhood, I sound like I'm on the tarmac somewhere.
2. The sound scrambles constantly. There is bleepy-bloopy interference when I walk to my car in the morning. I walked 45 minutes to my friend's house recently, and the whole way I couldn't make it through an entire song without long periods of broken transmission. It is my suspicion that because live on a hill, and walk through hills, when I'm ascending or descending, the signal gets fucked. However, this also happens on what I perceive to be flat terrain. It makes me want to throw them into oncoming traffic.
Everything else about them seems great! Comfort, button functionality, mute, pause, all that.
So this is what I need from earbuds:
1. Good call quality on both ends of the call.
2. Uninterrupted playback of audio, using a Samsung Galaxy S8 that sits in my left pocket, either jeans or chinos. This is especially important when I'm on a walk, which, again, may entail some hills.
So, here is where I'm at:
1. Is there a wireless earbud set that has met these needs for you? (Price point be damned.)
2. If this simply is not a reasonable set of needs with wireless earbud technology, what is a pair of wired earbuds that sounds good, has good call quality, and is durable when used primarily from a smartphone that is in someone's pocket. (I always have an issue with the wires fraying after several months.)
3. Is there some kind of firmware update or downgrade or other tweaking of 1's and 0's that would fix my problem?
Best answer: I seriously recommend neckband type BT headset if you want reliable connections. The problem is multi-fold.
1) The two earpieces have to sync with each other as well as your phone.
2) The signal has to go THROUGH your body and/or your head to get to you, even at short distances, and as you move your head and move around, the distance varies
3) Tiny earpieces mean tiny antennas and transmitters to catch signals. (which compounds 1 and 2)
Neckband type headset avoids 1 and 3, and has larger area for antenna to deal with 2, as well as much longer battery life.
With that said, if you MUST have wireless earbuds, given you have a Samsung, why not Samsung's own Galaxy Buds 2? It even has its own noise cancellation, and uses a proprietary codec for more fidelity.
posted by kschang at 10:39 AM on February 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
1) The two earpieces have to sync with each other as well as your phone.
2) The signal has to go THROUGH your body and/or your head to get to you, even at short distances, and as you move your head and move around, the distance varies
3) Tiny earpieces mean tiny antennas and transmitters to catch signals. (which compounds 1 and 2)
Neckband type headset avoids 1 and 3, and has larger area for antenna to deal with 2, as well as much longer battery life.
With that said, if you MUST have wireless earbuds, given you have a Samsung, why not Samsung's own Galaxy Buds 2? It even has its own noise cancellation, and uses a proprietary codec for more fidelity.
posted by kschang at 10:39 AM on February 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
1. Is there a wireless earbud set that has met these needs for you?
[...]
3. Is there some kind of firmware update or downgrade or other tweaking of 1's and 0's that would fix my problem?
For what it's worth, I have not had the issues you describe with the Jabra Active 75t's or any of the other three different wireless earbuds from different manufacturers that I've used regularly over the past few years, on Android, iOS, Windows, or macOS.
I have solid Bluetooth connectivity everywhere in my neighborhood except for two specific stretches of sidewalk where I suspect there are inconveniently-placed power transformers, audio amplification equipment, or something of that nature. One of those stretches is by an auto shop, the other is by a power station. These "bad Bluetooth zones" are both on reasonably flat stretches of sidewalk, so I very much doubt that the situation is hilll-related.
My phone is normally either in my hand or in a jacket or vest pocket, and very occasionally in a front pants pocket. If your phone is always in a back pocket, you might try moving it.
posted by All Might Be Well at 10:41 AM on February 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
[...]
3. Is there some kind of firmware update or downgrade or other tweaking of 1's and 0's that would fix my problem?
For what it's worth, I have not had the issues you describe with the Jabra Active 75t's or any of the other three different wireless earbuds from different manufacturers that I've used regularly over the past few years, on Android, iOS, Windows, or macOS.
I have solid Bluetooth connectivity everywhere in my neighborhood except for two specific stretches of sidewalk where I suspect there are inconveniently-placed power transformers, audio amplification equipment, or something of that nature. One of those stretches is by an auto shop, the other is by a power station. These "bad Bluetooth zones" are both on reasonably flat stretches of sidewalk, so I very much doubt that the situation is hilll-related.
My phone is normally either in my hand or in a jacket or vest pocket, and very occasionally in a front pants pocket. If your phone is always in a back pocket, you might try moving it.
posted by All Might Be Well at 10:41 AM on February 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
I’ve had an older pair (65s) for over 2 years now, using them with iPhone 7 and 11, and they are brilliant. I don’t have the issues you describe, my phone is in my pocket or bag, I live on a hill, and I don’t have any issues while walking around here. I had a really cheap crappy pair before these with major phone in pocket failure, which drove me nuts, so I know what you mean.
I have the Jabra Sound+ app on my phone, I think it has updated the firmware - do you have that? It might help.
One of mine starting playing at lower volume and after a brief ‘am i going deaf’ moment, I googled and found that ear debris had blocked up a little pin hole - poked it clear with a pin and instantly restored.
posted by ElasticParrot at 10:55 AM on February 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
I have the Jabra Sound+ app on my phone, I think it has updated the firmware - do you have that? It might help.
One of mine starting playing at lower volume and after a brief ‘am i going deaf’ moment, I googled and found that ear debris had blocked up a little pin hole - poked it clear with a pin and instantly restored.
posted by ElasticParrot at 10:55 AM on February 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
When I have connection issues, it is nearly always an issue with my phone, not with the headphones. Rebooting tends to solve my issues. Have you tried using a different bluetooth device with the headphones and seeing if that solves issues?
I would also suggest updating the firmware with the Jabra app like ElasticParrot mentions.
FWIW, I have a pair of 65ts and a set of series-A Google Pixel buds, and the Jabra's are significantly better in all of the criteria you mention. Dealing with connection issues is super annoying so I hope you get it figured out!
posted by papayaninja at 11:10 AM on February 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
I would also suggest updating the firmware with the Jabra app like ElasticParrot mentions.
FWIW, I have a pair of 65ts and a set of series-A Google Pixel buds, and the Jabra's are significantly better in all of the criteria you mention. Dealing with connection issues is super annoying so I hope you get it figured out!
posted by papayaninja at 11:10 AM on February 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
The Jabra 75t also has the weird aspect of only the right earbud connecting to your phone, and the left earbud connecting to the right one. So try putting your phone in your right pocket/right side of your body instead of your left as that will reduce some interference caused by your body in the way.
posted by meowzilla at 11:15 AM on February 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by meowzilla at 11:15 AM on February 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
I believe these headphones have multipoint Bluetooth connection? Try turning this off (if you can). I have Jabra and Sony headphones that are able to connect to multiple devices…and it always makes them sound like absolute garbage when it’s activated.
In theory, multipoint is huge convenience, but I think in practice it opens the door to a huge amount of RF interference.
posted by voiceofreason at 11:23 AM on February 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
In theory, multipoint is huge convenience, but I think in practice it opens the door to a huge amount of RF interference.
posted by voiceofreason at 11:23 AM on February 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
I am absolutely in love with my Shokz OpenComm, though they're not earbuds. Call quality is lovely, and the noise cancelling works crazy good, even outdoors in wind or near traffic.
I admit - they're not earbuds. I've pretty much had it with earbuds at this point. For me, they have all the positives of earbuds and none of the negatives. They pretty much live on my head these days.
posted by stormyteal at 11:30 AM on February 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
I admit - they're not earbuds. I've pretty much had it with earbuds at this point. For me, they have all the positives of earbuds and none of the negatives. They pretty much live on my head these days.
posted by stormyteal at 11:30 AM on February 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
Is there any chance you got counterfeit Jabras? There's been a lot of fakes flooding Amazon and smaller sites like Newegg. I've had both the 65Ts and 85Ts and they've been overall good (though with age the 65Ts went bad in ways unrelated to what you described) but I ordered an over-the-ear Jabra headset from Amazon that was absolute garbage that I didn't have time to run down the issues with that I strongly suspect was a counterfeit.
posted by Candleman at 12:52 PM on February 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Candleman at 12:52 PM on February 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Are you sure you don't have a defective pair? I have the 75t earbuds and haven't experienced the problems you cite, although I live in a very flat place. However, I had problems with the left earbud cutting in and out on me and, after a very brief back-and-forth with customer service via email, they are replacing my earbuds under warranty.
posted by DrGail at 2:44 PM on February 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by DrGail at 2:44 PM on February 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for these responses, everyone. I've reached out to Jabra about possibly defective headphones, as a starting point. Very much appreciate.
posted by kensington314 at 4:56 PM on February 22, 2022
posted by kensington314 at 4:56 PM on February 22, 2022
I love my Nothing Ear(1). This was after having a shitty fit with Galaxy Buds Pro, which kept falling out of my head.
Admittedly, I don't make a lot of calls with them but when I have, I haven't had any problems. They're definitely the best fitting buds I've used.
I dropped one unknowingly in a puddle and found it ten minutes later. It gave me some issues after that and Nothing sent me a new pair in 2 days.
posted by dobbs at 5:43 PM on February 22, 2022
Admittedly, I don't make a lot of calls with them but when I have, I haven't had any problems. They're definitely the best fitting buds I've used.
I dropped one unknowingly in a puddle and found it ten minutes later. It gave me some issues after that and Nothing sent me a new pair in 2 days.
posted by dobbs at 5:43 PM on February 22, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
(I notice if I have my phone in my pocket that my body can cause the interference that you mention especially if I'm wearing one earbud on one side, which I do mostly, and have my phone in the opposite side's pocket.)
posted by RoadScholar at 10:24 AM on February 22, 2022