SAMSUNG GALAXY BUDS 2 PRO REVIEW
We’re about to enter the new frontier in the earbuds in the garden walled fights. To enjoy the highest quality audio of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, it is essential to pair the earbuds using the Samsung phone. It’s always been going to be this way. With the Apple AirPods and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds, Google’s Pixel Buds, and other earbuds designed by companies that have a deep passion in the world of smartphones We’ve already seen numerous practical features, such as one-touch setup, auto switching between devices, head-tracking spatial audio, and more -which encourage users to match their particular brand of headphones to your phone in their pockets. The aim is to tie you into the system by progressively upgrading one device, and then one in the future.
However, the Buds 2 Pro, priced at $229 Buds 2 Pro are the first to showcase premium sound quality as the most exclusive. Connect them to your latest Samsung phone and you’ll be able to streaming wirelessly “24-bit high-fidelity audio” through services such as Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Qobuz, and many others, which offer high-quality and lossless music catalogs. Samsung says this will result in significantly better audio quality and a more enjoyable listening experience than the way things were prior to.
I’ll explore the details later however the main thing to remember is the fact that Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, for the most part, are excellent headphones regardless of the type of phone you own. In more than an entire week of testing I’ve discovered them to be Samsung’s most pleasant, best-sounding buds to date.
They Buds 2 Pro are 15 percent smaller than the first Galaxy Buds Pro and both the case and earbuds are now coated with a matte coating. I prefer it to shiny plastic, as the case remains smudge-free and the earbuds are much easier to hold onto thanks to the coating. The new earbuds weigh less as well (now at 5.5 grams each) they also feature an increased vent at the outside for better airflow, and to lessen any “plugged-up” sensation. They’ve proved to be extremely comfortable in the short time I’ve had the earbuds so far, and have remained in my ears for hours. The battery’s life has remained the same from the previous model, with 5 hours of listen with ANC activated and eight hours when it off. There’s another 18 / 28 hours of listening time via charger case. This is enough for the majority of scenarios, but nothing extraordinary in 2022. It’s the same for Buds 2. Buds 2 Pro maintain the same IPX7 water resistance as their predecessors.
It’s not long before you conclusively conclude that these earbuds offer amazing sound quality. With dual-driver technology and tuning provided by AKG and AKG, they surpass those of the AirPods Pro by one mile. It’s not surprising considering that Apple’s earbuds are getting close to 3 years of age. However, they are also superior to the superior Pixel Buds Pro in this area and are more in with my preferred headphones, such as the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 and Sony’s WF-1000XM4. They’re top-quality and have the clarity and depth that even their top tech rivals don’t have the same level of detail.
“Heavy Covenant,” by Hold Steady “Heavy Covenant” showcases their clarity and separation and gives the horns, guitars, as well as Craig Finn’s distinctive vocals plenty of space to breathe. As a huge fan of music from the ’90s I went back to “Omaha” by Counting Crows, and the Buds 2 Pro brought out the warm mandolin and accordion, while also giving the drums the natural kick. Returning to the present by listening to Orville Peck’s “The Curse of the Blackened Eye.” I was amazed by the vast soundstage Samsung gave these buds.
Is it a genuine “hi-fi” audio? For more than one week I’m still trying to figure the issue. Samsung states that its latest Seamless codec can let users of the Buds 2 Pro wirelessly stream 24 bit, 48kHz audio via Bluetooth. However, the company is not as transparent regarding the bitrate of this audio. To give an example the Sony LDAC codec can reach approximately 990kbps. This isn’t as high as lossless quality CD. Samsung spokesperson Jordan Guthmann told The Verge via mail the Samsung Seamless Codec can reach the bitrate of 2304kbps. This would result in lossless, high-quality sound.
The number is a bit skeptical to me. It’s an enormous leap over the existing earbuds and there’s no information in the Android developer settings menu to confirm the details of bitrate — only the 48kHz/24-bit part. The better-quality streaming is compatible in conjunction with every Galaxy smartphone with Android 8.0 as well as OneUI 4.0 (or later) (with 1.5GB RAM or higher). This is many of smartphones and adds to my confusion over the bitrate and the way Samsung could be reaching 2304kbps. We’ll have more news to report I hope not getting lost in the numbers. These headphones really sound fantastic so long as you’ve got the right seal and you can turn them tightly. They’ll also be compatible with Bluetooth LE audio as time goes on although Samsung hasn’t yet revealed what advantages this will provide.
Active noise cancelling is good. When you’re not playing music, you’ll be able to hear what’s going on in the coffee shop which is the price to pay for larger air vents and greater comfort. Once you’ve got any music playing the background fades away effectively, and you’re not likely to be distracted -even at a volume of about 30 percent. The transparency mode is very effective but isn’t exactly as natural sounding as AirPods Pro. AirPods Pro. I’m not sure why it’s so difficult for other companies than Apple to make that happen even today.
Samsung’s head-tracking spatial sound will do what you’d expect it to by shifting the soundscape when you move between sides. I’m seeing increasing evidence it’s a’love-it-or-hate it’ kind of feature for those. Personally, I like the 360-degree audio while watching videos However, I’m still not convinced that it’s an effective game changer for music. Samsung’s Galaxy Wearable application (only made available to Android) allows you to customize the sound EQ but noise cancellation can be turned switched off or on, and there are no manual adjustments allowed.
Samsung remains lagging in certain areas. Google has included multipoint Bluetooth connectivity in its Pixel Buds Pro, and the ability to connect with two devices at once is an enormous benefit. The most efficient thing Samsung does is automatically switch between Samsung-branded devices regardless of whether they are smartphones, laptops, tablets smartwatches or televisions. Perhaps that’s a nice feature for those who live in Samsung’s Samsung world however I don’t know any person who does. And it’s not providing the same convenience of multitasking as a proper multipoint.
Some ideas are clearly copied. Samsung’s Voice Detect feature operates similar to like Sony headphones in that, When the earbuds sense the fact that you’re speaking and they’ll go into transparent mode and reduce the volume to a set duration, ranging from five and fifteen minutes. Self-mumblers are advised to stay clear of this feature. There are also bizarre features, like default off “neck neck stretch alerts” which use headphones to determine whether you’ve been sitting with poor posture for ten minutes. If that happens it chimes in with the “time for stretching your neck” audio warning. I decided to leave the system on, since I’m soon turning 38 and no longer sitting down.
Samsung’s tap controls are sometimes a bit sensitive which is why you may be able to stop or pause a track when you adjust the earbud. There’s no auto-pause, so the music or podcasts will continue playing even when you take off any from the Buds 2 Pro from your ears. This is a bizarre oversight in earbuds priced at $230 but one that I’ve not found myself frustrated in the gym.
As you can see in our most recent Vergecast microphone test that this Buds 2 Pro wouldn’t be my first choice to make calls on an extremely loud ferryboat. However, in more conventional, daily uses, they’ll are able to do the job. The Sony LinkBuds along with Google’s Pixel Buds Pro both edge away Samsung’s latest headphones in overall quality, but.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are Samsung’s most wireless earbuds to date they’ve found an ideal balance of high-quality sound along with noise cancellation and comfortable. They’re best running in Samsung’s ecosystem, but are excellent in different Android devices. Some users will be disappointed that high-quality audio is only available to Samsung’s phones. However, this is a glimpse of where the technology industry will likely go the next time Apple releases AirPods Pro are rumored to include wireless Apple Lossless playback on iPhones. The walls are getting upwards and upwards between the technology’s most prominent players, even though there are some great headphones that are platform-agnostic at Sony, Sennheiser, Jabra and more. The Google Pixel Buds Pro should be considered a look for those who are big advocates of multipoint. But these Buds 2 Pro represent Samsung in the best way possible.