Samsung Galaxy Buds Live – good headphones, but not as much as Samsung would like
I use Samsung Galaxy Buds in the first version privately every day and I just love them. I checked the latest Galaxy Buds Live beans with great curiosity and they are actually good, but not as much as Samsung would like.
For me, truly wireless headphones are one of the greatest technological revolutions of recent years. When I did not have such a gadget, it seemed to me that it was just another bizarre product with dubious utility in everyday life.
In practice, such headphones have become my everyday companions, and I got used to them so much that in many situations these inconspicuous babies replaced me with good-quality headphones with ANC. For me, truly wireless headphones are one of the most interesting and contributing electronic gadgets in recent years.
Not a day goes by when I don’t use my first generation Galaxy Buds. What do I like them for?
I use them on a bicycle, on a walk, on a train (less frequently recently), and on airplanes (not at all recently). I connect the headphones with a smartphone, tablet and Nintendo Switch console, although in the case of the latter it required the purchase of a Bluetooth adapter.
I love the size of the Galaxy Buds case. Unlike its rivals, it is tiny and completely out of the pocket. I love the long working hours of the headphones. I also love the sound, especially in combination with the tiny size of the headphones.
The Galaxy Buds, however, have one major drawback. They age badly.
When I started using Buds about a year ago, they were something fresh and distinctive. They weren’t a cheeky copy of the Apple AirPods. Samsung had its own style.
Over the months, however, I can see big changes, because new truly wireless designs are added every month, and the Chinese see no problem in copying the designs of their rivals. As a result, visually, all headphones on the market began to merge into one whole.
In fact, there are two styles of headphones on the market: an electric toothbrush head (copies of AirPods) and an undefined shape of the lozenge. In both cases, it is really unknown whether someone is using the original solution, copy or copy-copy-copy.
And I know that for many people the appearance of the headphones is a third-rate thing, but if you have looked at the Galaxy Buds Live review, there is a good chance that you belong to a group of people who can appreciate good and innovative design.
It is the appearance that is the greatest asset of the new Galaxy Buds Live.
It is futuristic, fresh and very original. There is no other structure on the market that would look even similar. With all this, the Galaxy Buds are not overly weird. On the contrary, we have an example of a very good, minimalist and a bit futuristic design.
The new copper color of the headphones is perhaps too flashy. Personally, I would go for the white or black option, but if you’re brave, copper is sure to be eye-catching.
My biggest concern was how the new – almost completely flat – shape works in practice. And it works very well, which is a big surprise. The headphones have removable rubber bands, and we have two sizes to choose from, so we can choose the level of how much the headphones are to push in the ear.
In practice, it’s more about convenience than safety, because Galaxy Buds Live do not have any tendency to run away from the ear. They lie stuck. They are very light and contoured in such a way that, when properly inserted (which is not intuitive at first), we can forget about them. You can ride a bike with them or even run with them, and they should stay in your ears anyway.
The wearing comfort largely depends on the structure of the ear. In my case, I have no problems with using the headphones for several dozen minutes, but the closer to two hours in my ears, the more I start to feel some discomfort. On the two-hour train journey, I try to take my headphones out for a few minutes. This was the case with the Galaxy Buds and the same with the Galaxy Buds Live. A tiny object that bulges in your ear becomes quite bothersome over time. It’s just that this type of headphone was designed for everyday communication, not for transatlantic flights.
How do Samsung Galaxy Buds Live headphones play? Here we come to the chase.
At the product presentation, Samsung boasted a large (in its class) driver with a diameter of 12 mm, a bass channel and air vents that make the structure partially open, which was to improve the spatiality of the sound.
So much for the theory. In practice, the first time I put the headphones in my ears and turned on the music, I was… disappointed. The headphones sounded flat and the bass was much less than in the first Galaxy Buds that I am used to and which I know inside out.
I started to explore the topic and found out that the sound quality could be significantly improved. First of all, enabling dynamic mode in the application helps a lot. Second, it’s better to turn off ANC (we’ll get to it later). Third, the headphones must be put in the ear well. If we do it carelessly, the sound becomes worse. The headphones should be well pressed, so it is worth getting into the habit of a slight rotation ( tightening ) when inserting them so that they cover the ear canal as tightly as possible. This is done automatically after a few days with headphones.
When we apply these points, the Galaxy Buds Live sound good. Not great or groundbreaking, but just good. The sound level is very similar to the first Galaxy Buds.
From the engineering point of view, looking at the construction of the headphones, it is certainly a great achievement, but in terms of use … you would like something more. The appearance of the new generation is a leap to two classes higher, but the sound remained at a very similar level.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live – how does noise reduction fall?
The new Buds Live are equipped with the ANC Active Ambient Noise Canceling System. At least that’s what Samsung says. The system is there and probably even works, but in practice the effects are practically not audible. This is the worst ANC I’ve ever dealt with in headphones. The system is not able to eliminate any type of noise, and at most slightly attenuate the uniform noise. Sitting on the train, on the bike seat, or even at my desk with an open window, I can hear everything around regardless of the ANC setting.
I will say more. My first-generation Galaxy Buds mute the surroundings much better, although they do not have ANC. However, they have a canal structure, thanks to which the rubber that fills the ear canal tightly provides really good insulation.
Example? When I type on the keyboard, I can hear the sound of the keys perfectly in the latest Galaxy Buds Live, and in the case of the first Galaxy Buds it is almost completely muffled.
If you are going to buy Samsung Galaxy Buds Live headphones, just assume ANC is not here.
Samsung has retained one of its greatest advantages, i.e. working time.
The new Galaxy Buds Live beans play for so long that the battery is not a problem. The results are similar to the Galaxy Buds, i.e. in practice we have about 6 hours of listening on a single charge and a total of 21 hours when recharging from a case equipped with its own battery.
In a typical usage scenario, when I use the headphones for 20-30 minutes several times a day, I plug the case into the power supply maybe once a week. The battery is not a problem here. The more that if the electricity ran out, we can quickly recharge via the USB-C cable. Five minutes of charging gives you an extra hour of listening. For this we also have wireless charging, so in a difficult situation you can use the reverse charging on your smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live – Application and extras
We can use the Galaxy Wearable / Galaxy Buds application available for Android and iOS to operate the headphones. The features of the app are the same on both platforms. We can update the headphones software via a smartphone, activate or deactivate the ANC, or change the sound through six predefined equalizer settings.
We can also define (or disable) touch functions. Here we have the appropriate response to single, double and triple tapping the headphones, as well as holding the left and right. By holding one of the headphones you can, for example, increase or decrease the volume. There is a lot of it, but in practice it is different with touch detection. Especially since there is a small but very annoying lag between the touches and the response of the headphones.
The lag in sound transmission can be virtually eliminated by using the test function of the game mode. For this we also have the function of finding headphones if we lose one. The headphones then emit the sound at the highest volume level.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live headphones also have an easy connect feature, which works more or less like the Apple headphones. Galaxy Buds Live can be paired with multiple devices logged in to your Samsung account simultaneously. In this case, we can quickly change the sound source without disconnecting the headphones.
When using devices from different companies (MacBook, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra smartphone, Nintendo Switch), switching between devices is also not too bothersome. We need to pair the headphones with the given equipment once, and after opening the case, the headphones will connect to the nearest currently turned on device. Of course, if we want to switch the sound between several devices connected in parallel, then we have to manually disconnect and switch sources.
Highly recommended, but only if you haven’t had previous Galaxy Buds headphones.
If I had to choose headphones to buy at the moment, I would choose Galaxy Buds Live. Objectively, they will give a lot of fun to the user. They are miniature and original, have good sound quality, have a battery that lasts almost a week of everyday listening, and they work with all Bluetooth devices.
However, I look at Galaxy Buds Live from the perspective of the owner of the first Buds and here the enthusiasm is less. The tests completely cured me of wanting to switch to a new model, mainly due to the fact that the sound quality is not better and the ANC is only illusory.
The new Galaxy Buds Live can be a great base for next generations. If you manage to introduce better reduction and higher sound quality, then it will be worth replacing the older model with a newer one.
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Samsung Galaxy Buds Live – good headphones, but not as much as Samsung would like
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