Samsung Galaxy Buds Live: Great Choice For Casual Music Listeners
August 30, 2020Type: Wireless
Functionally: Bluetooth v5.0, wireless charging
Colour: Mystic Bronze, Mystic White, Mystic Black
Battery Life: 21 hrs (About 6 Hours earbuds)
Active Noise Cancelling: Yes
Rating: 8/10
Weight: 5.6g (42.2g case)
Price: RM699.00
As a self-proclaimed audiophile, sound quality is extremely important to me. Less than stellar bass and mediocre clarity simply will not do. Unfortunately these are issues that plague most modern earbuds. As cool as they might look, the substandard droning from the drivers are off-putting. That’s why the cord cutting fad, took a while to convince me to make the switch.
The entire market is flooded with these awful contraptions, fooling many into believing that this is best that wireless earbuds have to offer. This held true for several years, until Sony stepped up its game and delivered some really good devices. It proved that wireless earbuds can produce great sounding audio, provided that you had the moolah to acquire a decent pair.
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Now, Samsung has followed suit, and oh my, what an effort it is. The regular Galaxy Buds are good, but the Buds Live are in a different league. They have more in common with costume jewelry than they do with generic earbuds. Encased in a svelte claim shell case not unlike that used to store a pair of earrings, the appeal is simply mesmerizing.
Credit: Samsung
As good as Apple’s Airpods Pro are, visually, the vanilla looking earbuds are lost in a sea of similar looking devices from a several manufacturers. But the same can’t be said of the Galaxy Buds Live. There isn’t any thing out there that offers the same elegance in presentation and colour-popping vibrancy. Its unique, in several ways.
Most contemporary earbuds carry a significant amount of bulk, which is necessary to house the drivers, batteries and noise cancelling tech. Somehow, Samsung has managed to cram that stuff into the earbuds that are no bigger than the size of jelly beans, which they happen resemble. It’s remarkable how far technology has come in such a short time.
The Looks
They’re intentionally shaped this way to conform to the outline of your outer ear. Once on each ear, the respective earbuds are to be twisted clockwise then pushed into the ears to form a seal. They fit quite well, but only after several forceful attempts to do so. However, the fit isn’t as snug as earbuds that come with cone shaped silicone buds.
This results in some seepage of surrounding ambient sounds into the ears, which hampers overall sound quality. Samsung does provide different sized rubber fittings and the presence of Active Noise Cancellation can temper this issue, somewhat. Speaking of ANC, it’s pretty decent at blocking out unwanted noises, which helps amplify the music sound quality.
ANC can be enabled through the Galaxy Wearable app, and the same is true of many other functions that accompany the Buds Live. The app is a’ must have’, because it simplifies the pairing process and sound management features. Once the claim shell case is opened, the earbuds turn on, and just as they’re inserted into your ears, swiftly connect to the paired device.
The App
It’s this level of seamless integration that persuaded me to adopt the cord cutting life. The app has the ability to keep you informed of battery life, alter sound properties to suit various preferences and disable its touch sensitive surface. The top half of each earbud support touch gestures. A single tap plays or pauses music, double tapping skips to the next song.
If for some reason, you’re having a difficult time pairing them to your smartphone, press and hold both earbuds for about 3 seconds and release when you hear SONAR-like beeping sounds. This signals that they’re in pairing mode. Now, you can pair them with several different devices at once, but this can prove to be nuisance because it will randomly connect to any one of them.
One needs to be deliberate with their touches, because only firm contact will trigger the appropriate response. This prevents unnecessary interruptions to your music when trying to re-seat the earbuds. Though they fit well in the ears, sometimes they can get dislodged due to enthusiastic chewing or vigorous head movements.
But they only weigh about 5 grams, and after a few days of use, you’ll forget that they’re even there. This is one of the main appealing reasons to buy the Buds Live. Unlike contemporary competitors, they don’t feel heavy or intrusive. They are pretty yet extremely subtle, which means they’re barely noticeable from afar.
Sound quality is really good, which isn’t surprising. Depending on how you’ve got the equalizer setup within the app, the sound recreation is pretty punchy and crisp, which are welcomed attributes. However, it can be difficult to distinguish music from the foreground to that reverberating from the background. Both seem muddled together, which is a mark against the Buds Live.
Admittedly, this is only true for certain types of tracks, but overall, the audio delivery is respectable especially when the instruments and beat gradually shift between the left and right earbud. The experience is seamless, which offers greater depth to the overall music quality. For the best experience possible, leave the equalizer on dynamic or bass-boost.
The other options don’t seem to do the sound quality adequte justice. The delivery is a little underwhelming, shallow and less crisp. They can prove useful for certain instrumental tracks, but only a few. But these options within the app, allow the Buds Live to adapt to a wide variety of music genres, not just a few.
I like them, they tend to offer a neutral listening experience. But with that said, they are meant for the average consumer, not audiophiles who value stellar audio quality as much as they would a Rembrandt. And on a full charge, you should get close to 6 hours of battery life, which becomes 21 hours with the help of its case.
Should I Buy One?
The Galaxy Buds Live offer a better than average music experience. It is on par with mid to higher end wireless earbuds. But they aren’t as good as ones from the likes of Bose or Sennheisser. Like I said, these are really good earphones for the average Joe. But aren’t suitable for people who demand pin-sharp precision and clarity.
If you’re looking for a good pair of wireless earbuds, these will suit you just fine. The hardware and sofware work seamlessly together to provide you with a relatively worry free, and enjoyable listening experience. Just don’t expect be blown away by the music quality. They are quite pretty and comfortable to use, which will help them serve you well for several years.
