Samsung Galaxy Buds Live True Wireless Headphones Review

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live True Wireless Headphones Review

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live True Wireless are unusually-designed noise canceling true wireless earbuds. They have a distinctive look, feel surprisingly stable and comfortable, and have a slightly warm and well-balanced sound profile that should suit a broad range of audio content. Despite their ANC system, they’re not the best choice of earbuds for overall noise isolation, though they’re surprisingly effective in filtering out low-frequency ambient noise, like bus or plane engines. Their slightly open fit generates a more spacious but also less consistent listening experience than most in-ears. Let’s read the detailed review with us!

1. Design & Build Quality

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live True Wireless Headphones Review – Design

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are distinctive-looking earbuds. Their bean-like shape and shiny finish on their outer casing make them stand out in most environments, though thankfully they don’t protrude very far from your ears. They’re available in the fairly conventional white and black color schemes as well as ‘Mystic Bronze’.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are decently comfortable. Unlike in-ear headphones, they don’t have traditional ear tips. Instead, the bottom-mounted speakers fire directly into your ear canal, so the buds don’t feel invasive. That said, they can start to apply a bit of pressure to the innermost part of the outer ear where the rest of the buds are, especially if you have small ears.

These are remarkably portable earbuds. They’re extremely compact and come with a small case. You shouldn’t have any issues fitting them into your pocket or tossing them into a bag.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are well-built. The buds and case are made of dense plastic with a glossy exterior and matte-finish interior. They feel like they could survive a couple of accidental drops or bumps without much of an issue. Unfortunately, the buds are only rated IPX2 for basic water resistance, which is a little disappointing at this price point. That said, we don’t currently test for this.

The Samsung Buds Live has a very stable fit. They’re compact, lightweight, and fitted with silicone wing tips that help keep them in place. You shouldn’t need to worry about having them fall out of your ears even during intense workouts.

2. Sound Quality

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live True Wireless Headphones Review

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live has a well-balanced, though somewhat warm default sound profile. Their well-balanced bass and mid ranges result in good amounts of punch and warmth as well as full-bodied, present, and detailed vocals and lead instruments. That said, fans of EDM or hip-hop may find the low bass a little lacking, which could be due in part to their slightly open fit. Their uneven treble range can also dull the brightness of upper harmonics in some mixes. If this isn’t to your liking, their companion app offers a couple of EQ presets to adjust their audio reproduction.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live has great bass accuracy. Fans of EDM and hip-hop may be pleased with their slightly overemphasized mid and high-bass response, which should give their favorite tracks a little more warmth and body without being too boomy. However, their slightly underemphasized low bass range results in a minor lack of thump and rumble. That said, since these earbuds are very sensitive to fit and seal, your experience may vary.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live’s mid-accuracy is great. Vocals and lead instruments should sound clear and detailed, though a slight dip in the high-mids can make some notes in this frequency range sound a little distant.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live has mediocre treble accuracy. Their uneven mid-treble range can cause some sibilants to sound alternatively dull and piercing. That said, due to their poor frequency response consistency, your real-world experience may vary.

The Samsung Buds Live delivers good stereo imaging performance. Their weighted group delay falls beneath the audibility threshold, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble. The L/R drivers are well-matched in regards to phase response and only have minor amplitude and frequency mismatch, which results in the most accurate placement of objects, like voices and footsteps, in the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our test unit, and yours may perform differently.

3. Microphone Quality

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live True Wireless Headphones Review

The integrated mics deliver disappointing recording quality. While your voice should be clear to those on the other end of the line, it may also be perceived as thin, muffled, and distorted.

4. Battery Life

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live True Wireless Headphones Review

The Samsung Buds Live delivers an unremarkable battery performance. They provide over seven hours of continuous playback time and have a case that yields over two additional charges, though real-world battery performance can vary depending on your usage patterns. Also, you can listen to content from one bud while the other recharges, though using them in this configuration doesn’t allow you to use their ANC function. Unfortunately, these earbuds don’t have any power-saving measures, like a standby mode or an auto-off timer, to help conserve the charge when not in use.

It’s worth mentioning that these earbuds have Samsung’s ‘PowerShare’ feature, which allows you to recharge their case by placing it on top of compatible Samsung smartphones. However, we don’t currently test this feature.

5. Connectivity

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live True Wireless Headphones Review

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live has okay Bluetooth connectivity. They don’t support quick NFC pairing and can’t pair with more than one device simultaneously, so you can’t stream music from your phone while remaining connected to your computer. Also, regardless of whether or not you use the gaming mode, their latency on PC is much too high for gaming or streaming movies. Thankfully, their performance on mobile devices is much better. You should be able to watch videos or play mobile games on iOS and Android devices with little latency.

These in-ears also have a separate gaming mode found only in the ‘Samsung Galaxy Wearable app on Android. This mode significantly drops their latency, which is great for mobile gaming or streaming video. That said, apps compensate for latency differently, so your real-world experience may vary.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live True Wireless Headphones Review

In inclusion, The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are adequate for mixed usage. They’re well-built, decently comfortable, have a very stable fit, and are exceptionally compact, making them a great choice for use on the go. They also have a well-balanced sound profile that should suit most genres and low latency on most devices. That said, due to their somewhat open fit, they leak quite a bit of audio, and you may have trouble achieving consistent audio delivery. Their touch-sensitive control scheme is also limited in overall functionality.

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