SAMSUNG GALAXY BUDS LIVE REVIEW: UNIQUE DESIGN AND MAXIMUM COMFORT
The success of Apple's AirPods spawned an army of clones . Many companies have drawn heavily on the design created in Cupertino, creating many very similar models that have gradually flooded the market. However, Samsung decided to distance itself immediately and with the Galaxy Buds range it preferred to aim for a more traditional design, at least until today.
The new Galaxy Buds Live in fact differ from any other
headset on the market, and they do it in the right way, distorting the design
compared to previous models but without sacrificing comfort, which indeed benefits
greatly from the particular look designed in Korea.
Design, materials and ergonomics
The "bean" shape of the Galaxy Buds Live strikes
from the first glance, there are no half measures, either you love it or you
hate it. Samsung has created a body with a sinuous line, where curves take
over. The Buds Live must be inserted entirely inside the ear, you have to pay
attention to position them correctly otherwise the sound you get could be
disappointing, or they could fall more easily. Once you have taken the hand,
however, it becomes easy to put them on , but it is difficult to do so on the
first attempt.
The material used for the shell is plastic and they are
available in three colors, white, black and the mystic bronze used during the
test. In the package there are, in addition to the charging case, also a USB
Type C cable and rubber supports to better adapt the earphones to your ear.
The dimensions are small while the weight is 5.6 grams,
nothing excessive especially if you think that Samsung has inserted a 12 mm
driver, Bluetooth receiver, accelerometer and battery inside the headphones.
The weight disappears once inserted into the ears and it is precisely at this
moment that one of the greatest advantages of the product can be appreciated,
namely its comfort.
The sensation you get is clearly different from in-ear
headphones, there is no pressure inside the ear but the headphones still remain
firmly in the auricle.
Obviously a lot depends on how they are positioned and on
the shape of the ear, but in the right context the Buds Live are impossible to
drop, a feature that would also suggest a sporting use, however, undermined by
the absence of a certification of resistance to liquids. . This does not mean
that a few drops of sweat necessarily create damage, we have been using the
Galaxy Buds Plus for about a year in the gym, three times a week, also without
certification, without encountering any problems. The fact remains that a pinch
of extra attention must be given.
The charging case has dimensions of 50x50.2x27.8 mm, rather
small, and can be charged both through USB Type C and without wires. The
earphone are easy to store thanks to a magnetic guide and the build quality is
good, with the use of a matte plastic that conveys an excellent feeling of
solidity.
Software, functions and listening test
The Galaxy Buds Live can be used by all Android and iOS
smartphones , thanks to the Galaxy Wearable application. The connection to the
smartphones takes place via Bluetooth 5 and SBC, AAC and Scalable codecs are supported,
the latter made by Samsung. It is an adaptive codec, which adjusts the bitrate
based on the quality of the Bluetooth signal and which allows, only on Samsung
smartphones, to also use the gaming mode, to lower latency. The software also
allows you to use some presets for the audio, which for example emphasize the
bass, or the highs, to activate the noise reduction and to customize the touch
controls, which can be activated by pressing on the body of the earphones.
The management of external sounds and calls is entrusted to
the three microphones installed in the headphones. As far as noise cancellation
is concerned, this feature isn't as effective as in other models, but it's not
surprising. The Buds Live are open headphones , the algorithms that manage the
cancellation of the sounds do what they can but, in the end, you will always
hear what surrounds you.
The intensity of the sounds with active noise cancellation
is slightly lower, however we are far from the performance of other earphones,
which, however, to achieve this goal have to plug the ear canal with a rubber
pad, decreasing the comfort. Thanks to the microphones, you can also select a
mode that reproduces the ambient sounds, to better hear what happens outside, a
function that, given the open nature of these earphones, we have used little.
The need is not felt because the isolation offered is minimal.
The external microphones are then used for the reduction of
background noise during calls: the algorithms work but tend to make the voice a
bit artificial, it is still a useful function when making phone calls in noisy
places. Finally, the possibility of using the Buds Live as a real microphone
when recording a video is interesting, but only possible in conjunction with a
Galaxy Note 20.
During our test we were happy with the Buds Live, there are
limits but the advantage of being able to wear these headphones for many
hourswithout the slightest annoyance it still remains important. During calls,
the noise reduction tends to modify the voice, making it more metallic, but we
have never had problems in making ourselves understood by our interlocutors,
same thing for the reception of the voice.
In crowded places, greater isolation would have improved the
perception of the interlocutor's voice during calls, but in this way the
comfort would not have been the same.
When playing music the Buds surprise, we weren't expecting
much given the open design but they didn't disappoint. A little bit of detail
in the mid frequencies is missing but the bass can be heard with the right
equalization: they will not be headphones for audiophiles, but if you do not
have particular demands they are fine.
Very good input lag, which allows you to watch videos with
virtually no delay in the voice (we tested them with a Note 20 Ultra). The
declared autonomy is 6 hours, during the test we used them up to 5 hours, it
all depends on the balance between listening to music, calls and active
functions. The case guarantees 3 full refills, for an autonomy that does not
reach the most expensive models but which is more than enough for daily use.
