Rock solid cordless connection.
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds: Best sound canceling.
The Sport Earbuds have the exact same IPX4 splash-resistant score as the QuietComfort Earbuds, are equipped with Bluetooth 5.1 (my connection was rock solid) and share a similar style aesthetic, with 3 color alternatives offered. To be clear, they have no active sound canceling and an hour less of battery life– 5 hours instead of 6– in addition to no wireless charging. While they do stand out from your ears, theyre significantly smaller sized and lighter than the QuietComfort Earbuds and their case is about 30% to 40% smaller. The case still isnt as small as the cases for such rivals as the AirPods Pro, Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, Galaxy Buds Live and Jabra Elite 75t. It feels reasonably compact.
Check out more: Best real wireless earbuds for 2020: Apple AirPods, Google Pixel Buds and more.
I found them a little more comfy to wear than the QuietComfort Earbuds, which work fine for sporting activities. The Sport Earbuds will be much better for runners: For biking both the Sport Earbuds and QuietComfort Earbuds stick out from your ears and create wind noise– the Galaxy Buds Live are better for cycling.
The touch controls are responsive although fairly restricted. You can double tap the left earbud to advance tracks, tap the ideal bud as soon as to stop briefly, and tap and hold the ideal bud to access your voice assistant. There are no volume manages on the buds themselves.
IPX4 splash-resistant.
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Buds are smaller than QuietComfort Earbuds but they still protrude from your ears a reasonable amount.
Comfy, secure fit.
Smaller and lighter than QuietComfort Earbuds (and the case is more compact).
Voice calling could be better.
Outstanding noise.
Back then, Bose was calling them the Earbuds 500 and I got to attempt on a non-working model. At $179 (₤ 180, AU$ 300), theyre the more budget friendly, non-noise-canceling alternative to Boses flagship QuietComfort Earbuds, which retail for $279 (₤ 250, AU$ 400).
6:04.
2 major selling points.
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The Sport Earbuds have the same IPX4 splash-resistant rating as the QuietComfort Earbuds, are geared up with Bluetooth 5.1 (my connection was rock strong) and share a similar design visual, with 3 color alternatives readily available. While they do stick out from your ears, theyre significantly smaller sized and lighter than the QuietComfort Earbuds and their case is about 30% to 40% smaller sized. The Sport Earbuds do not sound quite as dynamic and their bass does not go quite as deep as that of the QuietComfort Earbuds, but theyre healthy with good information and punchy bass. And while its rather possible some of you who might believe the Sport Earbuds sound better than the QuietComfort Earbuds– everybodys brains and ears are different– I a little chose the QuietComfort Earbuds sound, though I d be happy to listen to either model.
As I stated in my review of the QuietComfort Earbuds, if excellent noise canceling is what youre after– or you simply desire the flexbility of having it– you should not be reluctant to spend the extra money on the Quietcomfort Earbuds.
As I said in my review of the QuietComfort Earbuds, if excellent noise canceling is what youre after– or you just desire the flexbility of having it– you shouldnt hesitate to invest the additional money on the Quietcomfort Earbuds. But if you dont need active canceling or find it grating (some individuals are delicate to it), the Sport Earbuds do deliver exceptional sound and a comfy, secure fit. That said, I do think with all the new real cordless designs coming out, Bose will eventually have to get these down in bit in cost (to less than $150) to make them more competitive.
The earbuds have an IPX4 (splashproof) water-resistance rating.
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Actually, the two most significant selling points for the Sport Earbuds are their fit and noise. Its not the biggest look, but some people enjoy the way Bose earbuds fit, and with the big ideas I was able to get a tight seal that passively seals out a lot of ambient sound and allows you to get optimal sound quality.
Sport Earbuds (left) compared to QuietComfort Earbuds (best)..
David Carnoy/CNET.
Bose has made an effort to lower the size of the Sport Earbuds after some people complained their predecessor, the SoundSport Free, were simply a little heavy and too big. And they are smaller sized. However Bose could only diminish them a lot without compromising too much battery life and efficiency, so theyre simply not as discreet looking as some rivals.
The Sport Earbuds dont sound quite as dynamic and their bass does not go quite as deep as that of the QuietComfort Earbuds, however theyre well-balanced with good detail and punchy bass. And while its rather possible some of you who might believe the Sport Earbuds sound much better than the QuietComfort Earbuds– everyones brains and ears are different– I somewhat chose the QuietComfort Earbuds sound, though I d be pleased to listen to either design.
The Sports Earbuds are smaller and lighter than the earlier SoundSport Free.
David Carnoy/CNET.
When it comes to how they compare to contending products in their cost variety, they do sound a little much better than highly ranked earbuds like the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus and Jabra Elite 75t. They just provide a little bit more clearness and more powerful bass with much better definition. Those designs have a more discreet style and deal remarkable voice calling performance.
Call quality assessment.
The SoundSport Free was slammed for only having mono sound for calls– meaning, the audio of a telephone call just came through the ideal earbud. The Sport Earbuds have stereo noise throughout calls, though the microphones are housed just in the right bud, so thats your only option if you wish to make calls with just a single bud. Call quality was respectable– I could hear callers well and they could hear me– but if I went into noisier environments, the volume of my voice would sometimes drop a bit.
Bose says that the SoundSport Free has 2 microphones in the best earbud for voice pickup, versus an overall of six mics on the QuietComfort Earbuds. (At least a few of those are utilized to manage the active sound canceling on the latter model.).
I think Boses engineers could make some enhancements via a firmware upgrade– or a minimum of Im hoping they can. For now, voice calling is just reasonable to decent however falls short of its rivals. It should be a bit better for a $180 set of earbuds.
The Sports Earbuds case is considerably smaller than the QuietComfort Earbuds case however it doesnt feature cordless charging (just USB-C charging).
David Carnoy/CNET.
Invest the additional $100 or not?
