"They are the perfect companion for those who love Amazon Alexa."
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Speakerphone Alexa
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Good sound quality
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First class call quality
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Excellent transparency
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Bad battery life
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Mediocre ANC
When Amazon launched the original Echo Buds in 2019, they set a new standard for what we can expect from a $ 130 investment in a set of true wireless earbuds. They sounded great, had effective active noise cancellation (ANC), and let you talk to Alexa without tapping any buttons.
They weren't perfect: battery life was just mediocre, they were a bit bulky, there was no wireless charging option, and you couldn't customize the controls very much. But Amazon still managed to set the bar very high, and for a while they were our top pick for the best true wireless earbuds.
But since 2019 there has been an explosion of new options and new brands. ANC, which used to be an exotic and expensive extra, is now showing up on earbuds that cost $ 100 or less. Battery life has improved by leaps and bounds, and decent sound quality is easier and cheaper than ever.
This means that the latest version of Amazon, which I will call " Echo buds 2 ($ 120 or $ 140 depending on whether you want wireless charging or not) must be a real step up from its predecessors to keep up with the market.
Has Amazon succeeded? Let's take a look at the Echo Buds 2.
What's in the box?
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Amazon is a leader in sustainable, recyclable packaging. The Echo Buds 2 are delivered in a small cardboard box in which only a small amount of plastic wrap is used to protect the charging case. There is no foam and no zip ties. Inside, you'll find the earbuds in their pocket, a USB-C charging cable, four sizes of silicone earbuds (including the ones pre-installed on the buds), two sizes of wing tips (with a spare set of the smaller size), and a quick start guide.
design
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The first thing you will notice about the Echo Buds 2, especially if you are familiar with the first generation, is its size. Not only are the earbuds smaller, but the charging case is too. They are not quite as compact as the Apple AirPods Pro, but they compare well with many other models, such as the Jabra Elite 75t or the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro.
The earphones are available either in matt black or in an eggshell color, which Amazon calls "glacier white". They are smooth and seamless and have no defined area for the touch-sensitive controls. A discreet Amazon Smile logo is the only decoration.
The charging case is also unadorned. Its rounded corners make it convenient to hold and pocket, but its bottom is still flat enough to stand upright on a desk (or a wireless charging mat if you opt for the $ 20 upgrade ).
Gone is the micro-USB port, which appeared to be out of date as early as 2019. It has been replaced by the current industry standard USB-C. A small LED indicator on the front shows the charging status or battery level of the case, while a series of similar LEDs in the case provide the same information about each earbud.
Conclusion: these are very comfortable buds.
The earbuds are easy to install and remove from the charging jacks, and balanced magnets keep them there when you are not using them. A big improvement over the previous model: Even with the largest wing tips installed, the earbuds make a good connection to their charging contacts – something that didn't always work on the first-generation Echo Buds.
My only criticism is the charging case lid: it's easy to open and close, but the hinge doesn't have a notch to prevent it from accidentally flipping over, which it often does.
Amazon has retained the Echo Buds' IPX4 water resistance, which means they can easily withstand rain and heavy sweat without being damaged. Just don't immerse them in water.
Set up
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When it comes to true wireless earbuds, there isn't usually much to say when you want to pair them with your phone or tablet. Opening the case or removing the earbuds is enough to put them into pairing mode. At that point select it from the available devices in your bluetooth menu and there you go.
It's a little different with the Echo Buds 2. You'll need to download and install the Amazon Alexa app first, if you don't already have it, and then open the lid of the charging case.
The app will automatically find the earbuds and guide you through the rest of the process. It's quick and hassle-free unless you're using an iPhone with a lot of previously connected devices in your bluetooth menu. In this case, it may take a long time for the Echo Buds 2 to be recognized. It eventually worked for me, but I had to do a factory reset on the earbuds by holding the pairing button on the charging case for 10 seconds.
Convenience, control and connections
Original Amazon Echo Buds (left) and Echo Buds 2 Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
With a smaller overall shape than the original Echo Buds, the Echo Buds 2 are indeed a little more comfortable, and I imagine people with smaller ears will definitely find them easier to wear. But it's the Echo Buds 2's ventilated design that makes the biggest difference in the "feel" of wearing them.
To explain, many people find it uncomfortable to put earbuds in their ears when their ears are completely blocked by an object. There may also be suction or pressure in your ear canal under certain circumstances. Some people are particularly sensitive.
To mitigate this, some earbuds, like the Jabra Elite 85t, are built with tiny air vents that allow a little air to flow through the earbuds. Venting the Echo Buds 2 really makes a difference, but it also comes with some tradeoffs that I'll get into below.
Conclusion: these are very comfortable buds. You can use the optional wingtips to secure their fit for vigorous activities, but I found they were fine without them.
The Alexa app, which helps you get the most out of the Echo Buds 2, has a fit test tool that can help you determine if you've chosen the right earbuds. It's very convenient. Too often people choose the earbuds they see fit based on their belief in ear size ("I am a medium") rather than the tips that offer the best seal. Given the importance of a good seal to sound quality and the ANC – especially with ventilated earbuds – it's a good idea to do a fit test.
Pro Tip: If you ever find earbuds sounding weak or not having as much bass as you hoped, you are almost certainly using the wrong earbuds. Try a larger size and don't be afraid to use different sizes in each ear – we (and most of us) are not highly symmetrical beings.
The Bluetooth connectivity is absolutely solid and I didn't experience any dropouts.
I still prefer physical buttons for earbud controls, but the Echo Buds 2's touch controls are as good as they come. You get four touch gestures: single tap, double tap, triple tap, and tap and hold. They are the same for every earbud and allow you to control play / pause, answer / end, track jump forward / backward and ANC / transparency modes. By using the same controls for each earbud, you can only use one without losing options. However, there are also very few customization options.
In the Alexa app, you can change the tap and hold feature from ANC / transparency to voice assistant access (Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant), but the other gestures cannot be changed.
As with the first generation Echo Buds, you cannot control volume without using the buttons on your phone. The lack of customization and volume control is a little annoying, especially since the Alexa app has so many other options, but at least Amazon added the single and triple tap options – the original Echo Buds only had two gestures.
The Echo Buds 2 have wear sensors that automatically pause and resume the music when you pull the buds out or put them back in. This works like a charm and reacts instantly to changes.
The Bluetooth connectivity is absolutely solid and I didn't see any dropouts or weirdness between the two earbuds, but their range is limited. I was only able to move about 25 feet from my phone indoors – a much shorter distance than most of the real wireless earbuds I've tested.
Sound quality
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Clear, balanced sound is what you can expect from the Echo buds 2.
Their soundstage isn't particularly wide or deep, but they have a really generous frequency response that can be extensively changed using the EQ settings in the Alexa app.
The sound is ready to use right out of the box – perfect for workouts or listening to a variety of genres, from hip-hop to EDM. However, move the three-band equalizer's sliders and you can adjust it from big and boomy to light and airy.
Unfortunately, with no EQ presets in the app or the ability to create your own presets, you can move these sliders every time you switch the content type from music to podcasts for the best balance.
Like many true wireless earbuds, the Echo Buds 2 have a sweet spot for sound quality when it comes to volume. At around 60%, they deliver a complete, rich performance. However, this balance can drop dramatically as you turn down the volume.
I feel that this is partly due to the ventilated design. They naturally block less external sound than non-ventilated earbuds. So you'll need to turn up the volume to compensate for this – even if you're using ANC.
Noise cancellation and transparency
The first Echo Buds used Bose's Active Noise Reduction (ANR) technology, but the Echo Buds 2 swapped that out for Amazon's ANC technology. Amazon claims this change will result in a significant improvement in performance. "It effectively suppresses twice as much noise," says the expert guide that accompanied our Echo Buds 2 rental devices.
ANC on the Echo Buds 2 is a mixed bag.
I spent about an hour switching back and forth between the two versions to see if I could verify this claim, but I couldn't. Here's the dilemma: While it's true that the Echo Buds 2 suppress more audible sound when using ANC than the ANR on the Echo Buds, the ventilated design of the Echo Buds 2 initially allows for more sound.
The Echo Buds 2's ANC also creates audible background noise when activated. This could be the result of an excessive ANC setting, but unlike the transparency mode which can be adjusted, ANC is either on or off.
The original Echo Buds don't produce as much sound shift when you turn on ANR, but they passively isolate the sound so well that they don't really have to be that aggressive. Also, when turning on ANR, no new noise is introduced.
In short, ANC on the Echo Buds 2 is a mixed bag. You'll likely get the most out of it listening to music while you commute or in a busy space like a Starbucks, but if you're hoping to create a cone of silence for enhanced focus – the kind of magical sound that the AirPods make Extinguishes Pro and Jabra Elite 85t can perform – you may be disappointed.
The most important function of the Echo Buds 2 is hands-free access to Amazon's voice assistant.
The transparency mode, on the other hand, is excellent. You can fine-tune how much external sounds are amplified, and at the very end of that spectrum, the earbuds even offer some hearing enhancement.
What I'm less excited about is the time it takes to switch between ANC and transparency. Up to six seconds have passed from the time you started the tap and hold gesture to the time these modes changed. This may be acceptable if you switch modes when entering or exiting a building. However, if someone tries to talk to you, you'll want to switch as soon as possible – preferably right away.
All about Alexa
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It goes without saying that the most important function of the Echo Buds 2 is hands-free access to Amazon's voice assistant. If you own Echo smart speakers, or an Amazon Fire TV device, or one of the many third-party speakers that you can interact with with Alexa, it's fantastic to have them on hand and calling no matter where you are or what you are to do.
I'm not going to go into all of the things Alexa can do – this list is far too long – but it's worth highlighting a few commands that are especially useful when you're on the go:
Music, volume, modes: You can have Alexa control virtually all aspects of your media experience, including changing the volume (which you can't with gestures), answering calls, switching between ANC and transparency, and choosing music from a variety of services like Amazon Music. Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and more. It even reads out the remaining battery life of Echo Buds.
The new Echo Buds deliver crystal clear voice quality.
Alexa Transit: I couldn't test this feature as it isn't yet available outside of the US, but it looks very handy. Alexa can now respond to a series of questions and commands related to getting around, whether you're walking (“Alexa, how do I get to the Empire State Building?”) Or using public transport (“Alexa, what's that Status of? ") The Q-Zug? ”). The answers are context sensitive. So if there is more than one Q move, the one that is closest to you will be chosen. Setting places like home and work in the Alexa app makes these interactions even more useful.
I found that the Echo Buds 2 responded very well to the Alexa wake-up word and that Alexa's response time to various commands was quick and I had to repeat myself far less than with the Echo Buds. If you are dependent on Alexa at home, you will probably quickly wonder how you ever survived without her when you are not home.
Battery life
On the one hand, the Echo Buds 2 gives you the ability to extend your normal playtime from five hours to 6.5 hours by turning off ANC and using Alexa with a wake-up word. On the other hand, her charging case only contains two full charges (the previous version contained three).
When ANC and Alexa are engaged, you will see a maximum of 15 hours of stamina. That's significantly less than any other true wireless earbud for the same price. For example, the $ 130 Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro gets seven hours per charge and 26 hours when you include the charging case.
Get up to two hours of music playback on a 15-minute quick charge.
I haven't had enough opportunity to fully review Amazon's battery claims, but from what I could see they appear to be correct.
Call quality
For most true wireless earbuds, call quality is an afterthought. Many claim to have done a good job, but in my experience few do. The Echo Buds 2 are the exception. They deliver crystal clear voice quality.
I was walking through some very busy intersections with lots of traffic and other competing noises, and somehow it always sounded like I was standing in the middle of an empty room.
You may be able to get slightly better call quality with the Bose QuietComfort earbuds. However, since these cost more than twice as much as the Echo Buds 2, I doubt you'll get more than twice as good results.
Extras
If you enable location services in the Alexa app, you can use them to find your missing Echo Buds 2. The app shows the earbud's last known location and can force the buds to send out a chime as long as they aren't insider their charging case.
If you don't have a Fitbit or Apple Watch, the Echo Buds 2 have a built-in accelerometer that you can use to count basic steps. You can track your walks or runs and the app saves a history of your achievements.
Our opinion
With the Echo Buds 2, Amazon fixed some of the weaknesses of the original Echo Buds while cutting the price by $ 10 if you don't need wireless charging. And while they don't throw it out of the park at every feature (ANC and battery life come to mind), they're still an excellent option for those who want to take Alexa with them everywhere.
Is there a better alternative?
You can find several models of true wireless earbuds that you can use to access Amazon Alexa, but only the Echo Buds 2 (and the original Echo Buds) allow you to speak hands-free with Alexa.
Because of this, they are in a class of their own.
But if you don't mind pressing a button before speaking, I can think of two excellent alternatives, including:
- $ 130 Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro: Better sound, better ANC, and better battery life.
- $ 150 Jabra Elite 75t: Better sound, better ANC, better battery life, customizable controls.
What is the guarantee?
Amazon grants a one-year warranty on the Echo Buds 2.
How long will they last?
The Echo Buds 2 seem very well built, as is their charging case. You can replace the earbuds when they are worn out. The biggest concern will be battery life. If this drops significantly under normal use at five hours per charge, you may need to replace these faster than earbuds with a longer starting point.
Should you buy it?
Yes. If you love the idea of taking Alexa with you wherever you go, the Echo Buds 2 are an affordable, comfortable, and great-sounding set of true wireless earbuds.
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