Yes, reader, I currently have far too many sets of earbuds in my possession. The main image above is just a small section of my collection.
I can argue the toss about different sets for different music styles, varied feature sets, ANC specifications and sports-worthy designs till the cows come home (British colloquialism), but the inescapable fact is, I only have two ears with which to listen.
What has testing all of these earbuds (and many, many more of the best earbuds around) over the past six years taught me? That we can all get a lot more out of what we buy. And I’m here to help with that – so let’s get going.
1. Fix the fit
I once laughingly told my managing editor I was going to run a feature entitled ‘People who wear earbuds incorrectly on public transport’. Obviously I can’t do that (privacy infringement is real), but you’d be shocked at how often I still see people wearing their buds all wrong on my commute – and even on TV shows. Nightsleeper, the six-part BBC One thriller where the Technical Director of the National Cyber Security Center tries to save lives wearing inexpensive JLab earbuds that haven’t been fitted well at all, I’m afraid I’m looking at you…
Do your earbuds have tails? That stem should be facing generally downwards, slightly angled along your cheek, vaguely towards your chin. No tail? There’s a twist-and-lock technique to this, to get the driver housing fitting securely in your auricles. Typically, the manufacturer has helped us out here, in that any branding will be the correct way up if we’ve put them in correctly.
Actual, physical, putting-’em-in aside, don’t settle… and by that I mean check out the bundled ear tips in the box.
Every set of earbuds you’ll buy today come with a selection of different sizes, because ear canals differ (see my guide to the best earbuds for small ears if yours are on the bijou side) and it’s worth trying each one, to see what works for you. You’re looking for a secure fit, but not one where you have to forcibly stuff the neck of the earbud into your ear.
Many earbuds now feature ear tip fit tests within the companion app (because we always download the companion app, don’t we?), so if yours does, allow it to run you through its quick checks before you move on.
If you’re still finding the fit a struggle despite switching out your ear tips, you might want to consider custom-fit molds made by a third party. These may render certain features immobile, but if you want the kind of sound and security you’ll only get with a perfect seal betwixt driver housing and ear canal, they’re worth it. I got custom-fit molds for my Sennheiser earbuds, and honestly, they were game-changing.
2. Sort the sound
Next up, you’ll want to tailor the sound to your own hearing as best you can. Do not accept the default factory settings!
Some earbuds have hearing tests to create a personal sound profile for you (JBL’s Personi-Fi in the JBL Live Beam 3 is excellent; as is the solution within Nothing’s flagship Nothing Ear) while others simply have a few EQ presets – and they’re called ‘Jazz’, ‘Spoken word’ or ‘Vocal boost’ for a reason.
If your buds allow you to create your own personal EQ preset, have a play with those sliders and find a sound you like, using your favorite music tracks, games or podcasts.
3. So fresh and so clean?
We’re all busy. I get it. But wherever you are right now, take a look at the neck, ear tip and grilles on your earbuds. Now, peer into the case where your buds live whenever they’re not in your ears. Like what you see? Well, when was the last time you gave them a good clean?
You can check out my detailed guide on how to clean your earbuds or even, if you own a set of ice-white AirPods, Apple’s casually updated guide on how to keep your AirPods in tip-top condition. The point is, a simple clean of your outer ear, the nozzle of your earbuds, and a gentle wipe of the case can not only make things sound better and keep you from getting ear infections, it can also clear the battery connectivity charging points of waxy deposits (all bodies create earwax; let’s not get weird) and thus enable more effective charging.
Did you know that plenty of earbuds these days offer a ‘gaming’ or ‘low latency’ mode? These essentially compress the audio quality you’ll be streaming over Bluetooth just slightly, thereby reducing latency for a better audio-visual sync when gaming or watching videos. See the Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 or EarFun Air Pro 3 for buds that can, but that’s just for starters.
Gaming on your commute? Catching up on Married at First Sight Australia? Found the mode in your app’s settings but not deployed it yet? You’re missing out, friend.
If you only want the best-quality audio, you can actually put your earbuds to one side for a minute and also consider the streaming quality your source device is pinging to the buds. This will differ depending on your phone (tablet, dedicated player or PC) and its OS, but it’s worth delving into your Settings, heading to ‘Sound & Effects’, ‘Sound & Haptics’ or just ‘Sound’ to see what you might be able to level up.
If, for example, you’re listening using AirPods using an iPhone, you’ll be able to deploy Personalised Spatial Audio under ‘Headphones’ in ‘Sound & Haptics’ on the current iOS. And I really think you should.
Also, within your music streaming service’s app, you’ll be able to find and tweak your streaming quality. Within Tidal’s Settings menu, for example, you can set your streaming over Wi-Fi to ‘Max’ (for up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution) and your mobile data streaming to ‘Low’ (up to 96 kbps) so that it won’t rinse your data plan. Useful.
Now, enjoy!
