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I preordered the Echo Buds when they were first announced, and tried them out for a while.

Had to return them because the microphonics while walking were really bad, and the noise cancellation didn't seem comparable to the Bose QC30's I still use, even though the Echo Buds's were supposedly "powered by Bose".




Can't comment on microphone while walking because I rarely talk while walking.

But Amazon's were advertised as Bose "noise reduction" rather than straight out "noise cancellation" (this was made very clear in the specs and in reviews), and in that respect, it does what it's supposed to. I wear my Echo Buds on my daily walks listening to podcasts and for all purposes it works pretty well. (I also own a pair of Bose headphones which are too bulky to wear on walks)

I will say that the Echo Buds' noise reduction don't work well on a plane, I'll give you that. Tried it.

Apple's AirPods Pro has real noise cancellation, but it's also double the price.

I'd say Echo Buds are pretty good deal at the $100+ price range.


> Can't comment on microphone while walking because I rarely talk while walking.

I was talking about microphonics [1][2] i.e. the noise caused by the earbuds vibrating(?) when I walk.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microphonics

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/dd4gqi/tws_iem_...


Thanks, I wasn’t familiar with that technical term.

I just put on my Echo Buds and started walking. If I’m understanding microphonics correctly, it means a rustling electrical sound when there’s mechanical vibration. This does not happen with my Echo Buds.

However, I do hear the thud of my footsteps. I’ve accepted that this happens with any in ear headphones. Not sure if there are any IEMs out there that don’t have the footstep problem.


> However, I do hear the thud of my footsteps. I’ve accepted that this happens with any in ear headphones. Not sure if there are any IEMs out there that don’t have the footstep problem.

The thuds annoy me a lot, but I found that in the Bose QC30 (which I still use), the Sony WF1000XM3, and the AirPods Pro (which I've tried), it somehow seems less obvious.




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