From Our September Issue
Earphones have always been a student’s everyday carry item. Whether it is to listen to music on the bus or watch a YouTube video while waiting to be picked up, one can assure students will have it on them. And now with school being conducted online, it has become an even more essential item to have.
The issue is that the most common and popular earphones, Apple’s Earpods, ditched the standard 3.5mm cable for Apple’s lightning cable, meaning that students with the new gen Earpods couldn’t use their earphones on their laptop for their classes, leaving them having to use their laptop built-in speakers that can sound tinny and make it hard to hear other people.
So, the solution to this dilemma can be easily solved by buying wireless earphones. Instinctively, one’s mind might go straight to Airpods or Airpods Pro thanks to Apple’s marketing, but there are a lot of great wireless earphones that are actually better, cheaper, and would be a better option to buy not just for online school, but overall as well.
The first category is budget earphones. Not everyone has two hundred and something dollars burning a hole in their pocket, so for those that still need true wireless headphones on the cheap, here are some of the recommendations.
Coming in as the cheapest wireless earphones for only $30 is the G-wack J29. But don’t be fooled by the price. It has a four-hour battery life and it quick charges in one hour. It has an easy to use button interface and a small form factor making it convenient to take it on the go. It’s modern look, great sound quality, and thumpy bass can make anyone forget how cheap it truly is.
Next up in the budget category are the JLab JBuds Air Sport. Hence the name, these earphones are for those looking for something to use while working out or running. Costing only $70, it comes with the same hook feature that can be found in the much more expensive Power Beat Pros assuring that these earphones won’t ever be falling off. With the jump in price comes a jump in battery life holding juice for up to six hours making it a great pick up for any athlete trying to save some money.
The last item and most expensive in the budget category are the Aukey T10s with the price of $90. The Aukeys feels like high-end earphones with a low-end price, with its Bluetooth 5.0, USB C connector, wireless charging, and small and compact case. Like the previous earphones it too lasts six hours, but it has more refined touch controls making it easier to control.
Now, if money isn’t an issue then getting Airpods Pro would be the most likely move for any student. Unbeknownst to them, there are actually better sounding, more customizable earphones on the market. It’s just not marketed as much as Apple’s. So with that we move onto the latter category high end.
The first earphones in this category are the Sony WF-1000XM3s. It might have a terrible name, but it has so many amazing features. It can be connected to Sony’s app to provide an extensive customizable EQ, letting the user create the sound style they want. Being $20 dollars cheaper than the AirPods Pro at $230, it still has better noise cancelling with more in depth adjustments that can be made in the app. The XM3s can last up to six hours, but adding the three additional charges the case can hold it totals up to 24 hours of battery life. In addition they can crank out 90 minutes of music playback after only charging for ten minutes. It’s elegant case, professional looking buds and better sound quality make it an amazing choice for any bass loving audiophile.
As great as the XM3s are they are not designed to be used for rigorous activities as they are not water resistant and can fall off with enough movement. Which leads to the next earphones, the Bose SoundSports Free. At $200 dollars they provide the best sound quality of any sport earphones. They too have their own app to customize EQ and have an IPX4 rating, meaning they can take on sweat and rain and still be fine. They last up to five hours and after adding the case’s two extra charges it can hold it totals to 15 hours of battery life. As advertised, these earphones won’t be falling off as they hold a tight grip due to its wing tip design. For any athlete that wants to listen to music and shoot hoops this is the perfect pickup.
Lastly on the list of high end earphones are the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 2. These are regarded as the best sounding wireless earphones on the market. And their $300 dollar price tag reflects that. These buds take the best of both Sony’s and Bose’s earphones and puts them together. It takes Sony’s top tier noise cancelling and EQ and combines it with Bose’s water resistance and small profile to create one of the best wireless earphones one can buy. They last up to seven hours, and after adding the case a total of 28 hours.
Granted the Sennheiser are the newest one out of the three, meaning it currently holds no competition, but it will soon as Bose’s response the Quiet Comfort Earbuds are up for preorder and Sony is currently developing the XM4s.
It’s easy to fall for Apple’s beautiful masterpiece marketing, but when one truly takes time to look around, they can find that there truly are so many more unique, powerful and sometimes cheaper earbuds out there that would be way more beneficial for the average student in need of a earphones for a teachers zoom call.
