REVIEW – I have a problem. I keep saying yes to more TWS earbud review offers. I guess that’s not a bad problem to have though since I keep getting to try new pairs of Bluetooth earbuds with the hope that each pair will be a little better than the last pair. So with that in mind, the latest pair of earbuds that I’ll be showing you today are the JLab Audio Jbuds Air Executive True Wireless earbuds. Let’s check them out.

What is it?

The JLab Audio Jbuds Air Executive are TWS earbuds with touch controls.

Hardware specs

Speaker: Φ8mm Dynamic, Neodymium Magnet, 20Hz-20kHz, 32 Ω
Output: 103±3db
Battery Life: 6 hours in each earbud, 24+ hours in case
Earbud Charge Time: 1.5 Hours
Rapid Charge: 15 min charging = 1 hour playtime
Case Charge Time: 2.5 Hours
Bluetooth 5
Range: 30+ ft.
Support Protocols: HSP/HFP/A2DP/AVRCP

What’s in the box?

• JBuds Air Executive Earbuds
• Charging Case with Integrated Charging Cable
• 3 Sets Gel Tips
• 1 Set Cloud Foam Eartips
• 1 Set Cush Fins
• User guide

Design and features

The JLabs Air Executive earbuds borrow some style ideas from Apple’s Airpods with their dangling microphones.

The earbuds are available in your favorite color as long as that color is black. They do have the JLab Audio logo in silver to provide a little pizzaz.

Although you might think that the logo is a button, it’s not. These earbuds are controlled by touch. I’ll talk more about that later.

Each earbud has two electrical contacts near the eartip. You’ll also notice what JLab Audio calls the cush fin around the outer edge of the earbud. This silicon cover comes preinstalled and is supposed to help keep the earbuds in your ears.

One of my favorite things about the JBuds Air Executive earbuds is the charging case. This case is covered in faux leather which gives it a pretty snazzy look and feel. But even better is the fact that the case has a built-in USB cable.

There are 3 LEDs on the top of the case that glow white to show the battery charging status of the case. The two outside LEDs will glow blue while the earbuds inside the case are charging if the case itself isn’t in the process of charging.

Pairing and functionality

Pairing the earbuds with my Huawei P30 Pro was quick and easy. When the charging case lid is opened, the LED on each bud glow blue to signal that they are ready to connect. From there I just chose “JLab JBuds Air Executive” from Bluetooth devices list and paired them.

Fit and comfort

Everyone’s ears aren’t identical, so I can’t say how the JBuds will fit you. I can only comment on how they fit my ears. The left earbud fit fine with the default sized ear tip installed, but the right earbud frequently fell out of my ear when I was working out. I didn’t have this problem when just sitting at my desk, and only noticed the problem when I was active and moving around. I tried the other ear tips including the foam tips but I had the same issue with the right earbud falling out of my ear.

If we overlook the fact that the right earbud falls out of my ear, I found the JBuds to be comfortable enough to wear for an hour or two at a time.

Touch controls

As I mentioned earlier, the JLabs do not have physical buttons but use touch controls. The controls require that you remember what single, double, triple, and touch hold gestures do for each earbud. I won’t list out all the controls, but for example, a single tap on the left earbud is volume down. The same thing on the right earbud is volume up. A double tap on the left earbud triggers Siri or OK Google, and the same thing on the right earbud toggles between play and pause. You get the idea.

For the most part, I found the touch controls to work pretty well. But once in a while when I tried to perform a single tap on the right earbud to raise the volume, would be translated into a double tap and cause the music to pause.

Sound quality for music, video, and calls

I tested the JLab Audio JBuds Air Executive TWS earbuds with my Huawei P30 Pro smartphone, and with a Dell laptop at my day job. I tested by using Amazon Prime streaming music, Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix. The earbuds sounded good with all types of music that I tried and I was happy with the sound quality of the music that I like to listen to.

These earbuds have 3 EQ settings that you can switch between by triple tapping the left earbud. You can cycle between JLab Signature EQ setting which has amplified vocals and bass, to a Balanced EQ setting that has no additional enhancements, or the Bass Boost EQ setting which amplifies the bass and sub-bass. I stuck with the JLab Signature EQ setting.

I am also happy to say that I could use these earbuds while watching streaming video on YouTube and Netflix. The audio and video synced very well with no noticeable delay which is something I can’t say about all earbuds I have tested.

For calls, I could clearly hear the person on the other end of the call and they could ear me as well. Like most earbuds, they fit tightly in your ears, you will hear yourself talking in your head which may or may not bother you.

What I like

• Charging case has a built-in USB cable
• Touch controls
• Comfortable fit
• 3 built-in EQ settings

What I’d change

• Include larger cush fins to allow for better fit customization
• Allow either earbud to be used by itself instead of just the right bud

Final thoughts

With so many TWS earbuds on the market, it’s tough to stand out in the crowd, but the JLab Audio Jbuds Air Executive True Wireless earbuds do just that by offering a handsome charging case that has a built-in USB cable along with a pair of earbuds that fit well, sound good, and have touch controls. I have no problem recommending these earbuds based on their features and price.

Price: $69.00
Where to buy: JLab Audio
Source: The sample for this review was provided by JLab Audio.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: TWS earbuds

JLab Audio JBuds Air Executive TWS earbuds review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 26, 2019 at 10:59 am.

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REVIEW – It’s been a while since I’ve been acquainted with Soul Electronics. Back in 2013, I reviewed the (no longer made) Soul SL150CB headphone and found them to be surprising in a good way. Forward to 2019 and things have changed for Soul. They’ve added a few true wireless earphones to their mix of headphones, earphones and portable speakers. The question is if Soul can continue to surprise with the new ST-XS2 true wireless earphone.

What is it?

The Soul ST-XS2 true wireless earphones are an update to the popular ST-XS earphones—which I have not heard. They feature improved water/sweat proofing, double battery life, USB-C connectivity, ear hooks, Bluetooth 5.0 and a transparency mode for the ability to hear surrounding sound.

Specs

• Weight: 5g
• Dimensions: 21W x 15H x 17D (mm)
• Bluetooth: 5.0
• Speaker diameter: 6mm
• Battery Life (Talk or Music time): Up to 5 hrs X 5 (Up to 25 hours On-The-Go. Varies by volume level and content)
• Bluetooth Range: 33ft
• Driver Type: Dynamic

In the box

• Ear tips
• Portable charging case
• USB Type-C charging cable
• Carabiner
• Ergonomic C-shaped ear hooks

Design and features

The Soul ST-XS2 true wireless earphones are small (of course), come in four colors: black, white, blue, and pink, and are quite comfortable. Inserting and removing is quick and easy. Because of their comfort, they can be worn until the battery needs charging (about 5 hours) without issues. Soul sent me the white version which looks pretty classy, especially with its aluminum logo band embedded into the lid of the case.

The case is relatively small—although larger than Apple’s AirPods case. It will charge the ST-XS2 earphones five times equaling a total battery life of  25 hours. Not too shabby! There’s a single light on the case to indicate if it’s charging the earphones or not. Each earphone has a built-in light to indicate its individual charging status. Also, an iPhone will show how much battery life is left in its Batteries widget.

The case is made of a cheap-feeling plastic. It doesn’t feel as substantial in the hands as the Apple AirPods’ case. There’s a logo tag attached to the case’s exterior for attaching to a belt-loop or other similar item with a supplied aluminum carabiner. 

The ST-XS2 earphones magnetically attach to the interior of the case. This helps them snap into place for proper a charging connection and prevents them from falling out. The case charges via faster USB-C, which is quickly becoming the standard for charging.

Much of the comfort of the ST-XS2 earphones comes from included C-shaped ear hooks. These soft silicone hooks help the earphones stay in place making it almost impossible to shake loose from the ear. They come in two sizes plus one without the hook.

The ST-XS2 earphones are totally wireless. This simply means that there are NO wires, like some so-called wireless earphones that are connected to each other by a … wire. Keep in mind that totally wireless earphones are much easier to lose.

The ST-XS2 earphones have what Soul calls “Transparent Audio Mode.” This allows you to hear outside noises while listening to music, making it safer to walk on a busy street and still remain aware of your surroundings. Note that the ST-XS earphones are not noise canceling, so some exterior noise will always creep in, but transparent audio mode enhances that.

Bluetooth connection is quick and rock solid, but that’s not the cool part. What’s nice is that when pulled from the case and put in your ear, the ST-XS2 earphones connect faster than any other wireless earphone I’ve yet tried—with the exception of Apple’s own AirPods, which connect ridiculously fast. That’s impressive from an earphone that strictly relies on Bluetooth.

What’s not so impressive is phone call quality. People I talked with said it sounded like I was talking through a speakerphone. I was easily understood and I could hear the other party fine, it just didn’t sound natural. Note that I have never had call quality as good as AirPods no matter how much the earphones or headphones cost.

If this sounds like I’m comparing the Soul ST-XS2 earphones to AirPods, I’m not. It’s just that—like it or not—AirPods are the de-facto standard for wireless iPhone users.

Another (somewhat) disappointment is audio quality. I say somewhat because it’s an ear tips issue. Even the largest ear tips supplied by Soul do not provide a seal that allows decent bass—and I don’t have a large ear canal. When listening to music, bass is seriously lacking in both tone and presence. I could only get enough bass when pressing and holding the ST-XS2 earphones deeper into my ears. I imagine people with smaller ears won’t have this problem.

I fixed the problem by using some larger ear tips from my collection of various tips from previously reviewed earphones. However, I shouldn’t have to do that. The good news is that the ST-XS2 earphones will still charge in the case with my larger, borrowed tips. Why Soul doesn’t provide larger tips than they do is a mystery to me.

With the borrowed tips, the ST-XS2 earphones sound quite good. Being able to hear bass makes all the difference. The sound signature is “V” shaped. This means that bass and treble are slightly enhanced while the middle frequencies (where vocals lie) are slightly recessed. This aural setting is more commonly used for rock and modern music, so most people should be quite pleased.

What I like

Most people will also be pleased with the price. True, the ST-XS2 earphones aren’t as convenient or as quick to connect as AirPods, but they cost much less. They also sound good, depending on that all-important bass seal.

What needs to be improved

Soul needs to supply larger sizes of ear tips. 

Final thoughts

For the price, the Soul ST-XS2 earphones are a decent totally wireless contender in an overcrowded market. Add their ability to connect almost as fast as Apple’s own AirPods and they become one of the best you can get—as long as the tips provide a proper fit.

Price: $99.99 US
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this product was provided by Soul.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: TWS earbuds

Soul ST-XS2 true wireless earphones review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 17, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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REVIEW – Wireless earbuds are being released and changed at a rapid rate. Only two years ago, there were few options. Now, companies seem to bring out new styles and feature-sets daily. Today’s model is the Slide, from PaMu. This is the third set of totally wireless earbuds I’ve reviewed from this company, and they are all different. Let’s get to it.

What is it?

A set of wireless earbuds with great sound and a really long play time, and, oh yeah, a charging case that can also charge your phone wirelessly.

What’s in the box?

• Wireless earbuds
• Charging case
• Three sets of ear tips
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable

Hardware specs

• Bluetooth 5.0
• Dual Microphone Noise Reduction
• IPX6 waterproof certification
• 10 Hours music playback on a charge
• touch button control

Design and features

The PaMu Slide earbuds are much thinner and lighter than the company’s earlier models. They have plainly taken a clue from the elongated tube reaching down from your ears that the AirPods first popularized, but rather than having a thick cylindrical shape, these are rounded rectangles pulled out of a gumdrop. The size of the units allows the company to give us longer battery life and better fidelity. The company says these have three times the play time, half the power consumption, and eight times the transmission capacity as the Scroll models. The Scroll, by the way, set two IndieGoGo records: most money raised in a TWS earphone campaign ($3,387,480) and most backers ever (62,334). Improving on these statistics will take some doing, but I found the claim believable. PaMu has certainly been learning something in their growth from the first unit, and these are set to start at a $49 backing.

Setup

The setup of a Bluetooth device is Gadgeteer 101, but this one throws you a curve. After you are asked to pair once and agree, you’ll see an identical pairing dialog. The two earbuds are connected to each other but act independently so that you can use only one, yet still have phone and digital assistant connectivity. And they show up in your lists as two different items.

Bluetooth 5 gives these guys a solid connection that will last while I step away and leave my phone on my desk at home, or if I’m around tons of other interference, like others using Bluetooth, or also syncing my keyboard and mouse to the sound source. It’s a very strong link, which means it wants to re-connect, so moving between devices sometimes means unpairing from the previous device. This is a fairly common issue with using Bluetooth devices with multiple sources, however.

Performance

The sound and syncing of the Slide earbuds are great. The sound is full and watching movies, whether streamed or being played from a device, was always in sync. Gameplay was first-rate, too. (The sound from earbuds, even ones of this size, is not as good as over-the-ear headphones or a great set of speakers, mind you. But, for in-ear wireless headphones, these are great.)
The battery charger will recharge the earbuds for a huge number of times. The number “ten hours” was released, but I don’t listen to earbuds enough to time this type of battery life. Let’s just say this: I was not able to have the earbuds run out of power, and the case never “needed” charging, but I charged it every time it got below 2 dots, which wasn’t often.

One of the real super-powers of this unit is the hidden Qi charger in the bottom of the case. If you double-click the button that’s beside the charging port, a light will come on around the button. If you then balance your phone on the case, it will engage charging, and give you 10-15% charge before it stops. It will still have 2 dots for the earbuds at this point, which is one or two full charges, according to the literature. This is a really cool function, in a world where phones are sucking battery life for everything from video and photo duties to playing games and music.

The one thing that really caused issues with these earbuds, however, is that I ‘d wear them while walking from my office to my car, get into the car and plug my phone (the sound source) into my stereo. This would transfer the sound to my stereo for the drive home. I would then remove the PaMu Slides from my ears and place them into their case to charge. No problems so far. I’d drive down the ramps of the deck and when I’d hit the first bump while driving, the Slides would rattle in their case and re-acquire the phone while my podcast keeps playing through the earbuds, not my stereo. By this time, I’m in traffic, and I’m wondering, “Where did the sound go?” The remedy? When I plug in my stereo, I have to unpair the Slides from the phone completely to prevent them from reacquiring the phone. This killed all the joy in my heart every time I tried to use them. I love the PaMu headphones when I’m using them, but once I turn them off, I can’t trust that they will stay off. This is the main strike against them. It’s a deal breaker for me, having to pair and unpair them each and every time I use them.

What I like

• USB-C!
• Really long play
• The phone charging trick
• Sturdy case

What needs to be improved

• The loose connection that reactivates the unit’s connection to your device
• I’d like to see an option to turn off the two-unit pairing, if possible.

Final thoughts

Like many items in today’s tech world, there are occasional fatal flaws. With each iteration, PaMu has shown that they are thinking and iterating well. The first unit had a flimsy cover and the battery case ran out in just a few charges. The Slide has a huge battery that lasts a good long time, and the buds themselves have great batteries as well. If only they would stay in charge mode when you place them in the charger. I’m going to experiment with some tissue or something to try and make them stop reconnecting with every little bump.

Price: $49.00
Where to buy: Indiegogo
Source: The sample of this product was provided by PadMate.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: TWS earbuds

Padmate PaMu Slide TWS earbuds review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 10, 2019 at 12:00 pm.

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REVIEW – Every time I think I’m done looking for the perfect pair of wireless earbuds, someone offers me a new pair to try and I just can’t help but accept because Gadgeteers always be questing for greatness! This time I’ve been testing driving the Skullcandy Indy TWS earbuds. Let’s see if they end up being my new favorites.

What is it?

The Skullcandy Indy TWS earbuds are truly wireless earbuds that feature touch controls (yay, no annoying buttons!).

Hardware specs

Headphone Type: True Wireless In-Ear
Connection Type: Bluetooth® 5.0
Impedance: 16 Ohms ±15%
Driver Diameter: 6mm
THD: <3% @1khz
Sound Pressure Level: 95±3dB
Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20KHz
Weight: 10.5g (earbuds); 59.5g (case)

What’s in the box?

• Skullcandy Indy earbuds
• Charging case
• micro USB charging cable
• 3 sizes of ear gels
• 1 stability gel
• User guide

Design and features

The Skullcandy Indy TWS earbuds look somewhat similar to Apple Airpods since they have the dangling plastic piece.

The Indy earbuds have what Skullcandy calls ear gels and stability gels which are basically eartips and an ear wing that gives the buds a secure fit in your ears even if you’re running.

These earbuds do not have any physical buttons (YAY!). Instead, they have touch controls on the round part of the outside casing. You’ll just have to learn the gestures which include tapping the left bud to turn down the volume, tapping the right earbud to turn up the volume. You can also tap and hold the left earbud to go back a track and tap and hold the right earbud to go forward a track. Double tap the right side to play/pause or answer/end a call.

The battery charging storage case is easy to open and easy to insert/remove the earbuds. The battery contacts are on the dangling end of each earbud so you have to properly seat each earbud in its individual silo where it is held in place with a magnet.

Three LEDs on the front of the case provide a visual indicator of the juice left in the case and red LEDs on the earbuds glow red while charging.

Unfortunately, the case uses micro USB to charge. Someone, please remind me how long USB-C has been out now?

As mentioned before, these earbuds fit securely in your ears and I had no worries that they would fall out during my workouts. Everyone’s ears are different, so I can’t promise that they will fit you. But they did for me and I found them to be comfortable enough to wear for an hour or two at a time.

Pairing and functionality

Pairing the Skullcandy Indy earbuds with my Huawei P30 Pro was quick and easy. When I opened the charging case lid, the LED on each bud started flashing white to let me know that they were in pairing mode. From there I just chose “Indy” from Bluetooth devices list and paired them.

Unlike other TWS earbuds that I have reviewed in the past, like the Mavin Air-X earbuds, you can’t just take out one Indy earbud from the charging case and start using it by itself. You have to remove both earbuds before they connect to the paired device. From there you can return the left earbud back to the case and just use the right earbud. But, you can’t return the right earbud to the case and only use the left earbud because as soon you return the right one, you’ll hear an Asian female voice say “disconnected” in the left bud and game over.

Sound quality for music, video, and calls

I tested the Skullcandy Indy earbuds with my Huawei P30 Pro smartphone, and with a Dell laptop at my day job. I tested by using Amazon Prime streaming music, Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix. The earbuds sounded good with all types of music that I tried and I was impressed with the sound quality. Of course, it depends on the source of your music. I found listening to music with Spotify was really disappointing, but Amazon Prime Music sounded great with excellent bass, highs, and mids. If I would have only tested with Spotify, I would have rated the Indy earbuds much lower than what they are capable of so just keep that in mind.

I am happy to say that I could use these earbuds while watching streaming video on YouTube and Netflix. The audio and video synced very well with no noticeable delay which is something I can’t say about all earbuds I test.

For calls, I could clearly hear the person on the other end of the call and they could ear me as well. But since these earbuds fit tightly in your ears, you will hear yourself talking in your head which may or may not bother you.

I do want to mention that I experience random connection drops with these earbuds using various apps like Amazon Music and Spotify. These dropouts were not consistent as far as only happening with a specific app but happened with all the apps that I used during my tests. The drops didn’t happen frequently which was good but happened about once an hour where the audio would just go dead for a second. This would happen regardless if I was sitting at a desk or walking around. I can’t be 100% sure that the problem wasn’t with my phone dropping a connection to the streaming service instead of the earbuds losing connection with the the phone, but I don’t think that was what was happening.

What I like

• Secure and comfortable fit
• Touch controls
• Great sound quality

What needs to be improved

• Can’t use the left earbud by itself without leaving the right earbud out of the charging case
• Infrequent random connection dropouts

Final thoughts

At the $80 price level of the Skullcandy Indy TWS earbuds, I have to say that they are impressive with fit and comfort and of course with sound quality. The only dings I can give them are that you have to take them both out of the case even if you just want to listen with one earbud and the infrequent audio drops. But other than those two minimal gripes, I’m happy to report that the Skullcandy Indy earbuds are now my faves!

Price: $79.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Skullcandy.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: TWS earbuds

Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless Earbuds review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 4, 2019 at 2:01 pm.

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