Konnek Stein True Wireless Earbuds

UPDATE: Within a few weeks, the ANC became problematic. The loud static I mentioned in the original review no longer needs physical contact; it starts within a few seconds of the going into ANC mode. I still use these earbuds when I go to bed, but I have to make a point of ensuring they aren’t set for noise cancellation, which removes one of their strongest selling points. Still good earbuds for the price, but no longer the bargain I originally considered them. ——————————- Before I started using AirPods Pro, I went through a fair number of wireless earbuds. I bought this set of Konnek Stein because I was looking for something to wear to block out noise while I sleep (snoring in particular), and my AirPods weren’t going to work for the job. In part this is because when their charge runs low, AirPods make a noise that wakes me up. I wanted active noise cancellation, comfort, and a decent battery life, and I didn’t want to pay much for something that was mostly going to be used while I slept. The first thing that struck me when I tried on these earbuds was the fit, which turned out to be perfect for me with the default tips. These things stay in solidly, and they’re comfortable. Obviously your individual mileage may vary, since your ears aren’t going to be the exact same size as mine, but I’ve had other earbuds that really irritated my ears if I picked a tip large enough to keep them securely in my ears, so this was an early entry in the “plus” column. The earbuds connected easily to my phone, but these days I consider that the bare minimum for Bluetooth devices. If it had been difficult, I’d have considered them to be defective. Now we get to where these earbuds really shine. Active noise cancellation is the whole reason I bought these things. You have to cycle through the three modes to get to ANC, but once you do the difference is dramatic. Even with nothing playing on them these earbuds cut the ambient noise in the room to near silence. Then I tried playing the white noise track I use when I sleep (Unreal Ocean on the MyNoise app, for those who care) at a moderate volume, and I couldn’t hear anything else in the house! !’m not exaggerating when I say that the noise cancellation on these is better than on my AirPods Pro. ANC on my AirPods and most other earbuds I’ve used just reduces the volume of outside noises a little, but with those could always clearly hear someone that someone was speaking to me, or the phone was ringing, even if it was a little muffled. With these, someone either has to shout or tap me, because at normal volume I just don’t hear them through the cancellation effect. The sound quality can best be described as “excellent for the price”. Look, these are never going to match Apple or Bose for clarity and richness of sound, but the sound is clear, and the quality is better than I’ve heard in other earbuds under $40. The battery life is solid for the price range. I routinely get at least five or six hours from full charge to empty, and that’s in ANC mode which is supposed to speed up power consumption. Okay, now for my nitpicks. Like many wireless earbuds, these are controlled by touching/tapping the main body of the earbud. Essentially this is like trying to tap your own ear canal with something in the way, a gentle tap is usually enough, but it can still make an unpleasant noise. I’ve gotten used to the controls being on the stem, like on Apple products, and going back to the “tap your ear” method is a definite drawback, albeit a minor one. As I mentioned, I sleep in these. Most of the time they work very well, but there are two caveats. First, if you rub something against them, like when shifting your head on the pillow, the ANC doesn’t compensate very well and instead you get a loud “needle on the record” scratching sound. It doesn’t happen often for me, but if you’re a more restless sleeper it could be a problem. Second, every once in a while the pressure of the pillow on the earbud has been enough to shift out of ANC mode. If you happen to sleep in a hoodie or wear a knit cap to bed, the hood or cap provides enough of a barrier that neither of these problems seem to arise, but I realize that many people don’t cover their heads to sleep. All in all, I’m extremely happy with my purchase, and I’d recommend these to anyone looking for a low-cost, good quality sound experience.