Forget Sony & Bose! 13 of the BEST clip style buds compared! Huawei, Shokz, JBL & more — Transcript

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1. 0:00After testing a dozens of pairs from the
2. 0:02big name giants to the scrappy
3. 0:04underdogs, we've narrowed it down to the
4. 0:06five best clip-style earbuds and the
5. 0:09five that give you most bang for your
6. 0:11buck.
7. 0:11>> And spoiler alert, some big brands like
8. 0:14Bose and Sony didn't make it to this
9. 0:17list.
10. 0:19>> [bell]
11. 0:19>> If you're new here, I'm Kevin.
12. 0:20>> And I'm Rohan.
13. 0:21>> We're a bunch of ear holes doing double
14. 0:23takes on tech for a while now.
15. 0:24>> And if you're new to clip-style buds,
16. 0:26then you better catch up. Here's what
17. 0:28they do and don't do well.
18. 0:30>> They're open-ear style buds that clip to
19. 0:32your ears instead of going into your
20. 0:34ears. Some people just don't like that
21. 0:36kind of penetration.
22. 0:37>> You can be very aware of your
23. 0:38surroundings, like I'm right now,
24. 0:39because my ears are wide open.
25. 0:42>> And they're insanely comfortable, fit
26. 0:43securely around your ears, and generally
27. 0:45are very well protected against the
28. 0:47elements.
29. 0:48>> But like you and I, nothing and nobody
30. 0:50is perfect, because these don't seal off
31. 0:52your ears. So, don't expect features
32. 0:54like noise canceling yet.
33. 0:55>> Yeah, and thanks to the same reason, you
34. 0:57can't quite expect the sound quality to
35. 0:59be the same. And this is a pro and a
36. 1:01con. They can be a look, because if you
37. 1:04squint, you might think we're wearing
38. 1:05earrings.
39. 1:07Especially him.
40. 1:08>> Come to that. All right, so we're going
41. 1:10to start with the five best,
42. 1:12irrespective of the price, and we're
43. 1:14going to count down to the best one. And
44. 1:16later, we'll talk about the five best
45. 1:18value for money. But at number five, the
46. 1:20Baseus Bowie MC2 comes in, because
47. 1:23Baseus has been the underdog, right? We
48. 1:25always keep an eye on it. And the MC2 is
49. 1:27a massive upgrade over the previous
50. 1:29models.
51. 1:30>> Yeah, they've kept the physical buttons,
52. 1:31which we love, and added detachable
53. 1:34cushions to customize the grip. You get
54. 1:36special audio and a significant boost in
55. 1:38battery life, making these an incredible
56. 1:40value pick.
57. 1:41>> These are pocketable and sound
58. 1:42surprisingly great for the price, and
59. 1:44we'd be happy to suggest these to most
60. 1:46people.
61. 1:47>> Yeah. And Baseus has a bunch of other
62. 1:48models, and the Inspire XC1 is also a
63. 1:51good choice if you can get a good deal
64. 1:53on them.
65. 1:53>> Moving on to a better known brand now,
66. 1:55the JBL Sound Gear Clips
67. 1:58>> is JBL's take on the clip style.
68. 2:00Visually striking with a
69. 2:01semi-translucent case and buds that look
70. 2:04more like high-tech earrings than audio
71. 2:07gear. They pack a surprisingly rich
72. 2:08sound with sparkly treble and the app is
73. 2:11loaded with extra microphone settings
74. 2:13including a rare mute toggle right on
75. 2:15the bud.
76. 2:15>> They lack a wear sensor, but the
77. 2:17responsive touch controls and solid
78. 2:19build make them a great middle ground
79. 2:21option for those who want brand name
80. 2:23reliability without the Bose or Sony
81. 2:25price tag.
82. 2:26>> Moving on to number three, the EarFun
83. 2:28Clip 2. EarFun has a knack for packing
84. 2:30every possible feature into a budget
85. 2:33product.
86. 2:33>> That's right, Gavin. The Clip 2 adds a
87. 2:35theater mode that really widens the
88. 2:37sound stage and includes one of the most
89. 2:39complete control sets we've seen
90. 2:40including a customizable call button
91. 2:42with a mute function even.
92. 2:44>> While they don't provide much sub bass,
93. 2:46the clarity is excellent for the price
94. 2:48and they even throw in AI translation
95. 2:50features for good measure.
96. 2:51>> But then we have to go to number two,
97. 2:53the Shokz OpenRun 2. These are the
98. 2:56direct successors to the buds we always
99. 2:58found ourselves reaching for.
100. 3:00>> Yeah, Shokz has introduced a dedicated
101. 3:01bone conduction microphone here to
102. 3:03ensure your voice cuts through the chaos
103. 3:05and they've upgraded the pinch controls
104. 3:06with a force sensor to stop those
105. 3:08annoying accidental triggers.
106. 3:10>> Yeah, the silicone covering on the buds,
107. 3:11it does feel premium and adds to the
108. 3:13grip. The sound profile does lean a bit
109. 3:15towards the dark and bassy side which is
110. 3:17a good thing when you're out and about.
111. 3:19The earbuds are interchangeable
112. 3:21automatically assigning left and right
113. 3:23when you remove them from the case.
114. 3:24>> Yeah, and an honorable mention here, if
115. 3:26you're okay to drop a few features like
116. 3:28wireless charging and Dolby audio, then
117. 3:29their budget OpenRun Air are still
118. 3:32great.
119. 3:32>> And their first generation.
120. 3:34>> Oh, yeah, the OpenRun 1. They're still a
121. 3:36killer offering. So, if you can snag a
122. 3:38good deal on those, they might still be
123. 3:40worth it.
124. 3:40>> And we come to number one, the Huawei
125. 3:43FreeClip 2. The reigning king was the
126. 3:46FreeClip 1. It has been dethroned by its
127. 3:48own heir.
128. 3:49>> Yep.
129. 3:50The FreeClip 2 has traded that standard
130. 3:52plastic case for a gorgeous denim-like
131. 3:54texture that feels like a premium
132. 3:56fashion accessory. The touch controls
133. 3:57across the entire surface of the bud are
134. 4:00responsive and quite customizable in the
135. 4:02app.
136. 4:03>> The microphone quality remains the gold
137. 4:04standard for this category. They still
138. 4:06sound fantastic and Huawei has managed
139. 4:09to shrink down what's already a small
140. 4:11case to half its size, guys.
141. 4:13>> While still packing in wireless charging
142. 4:16and an IP rating. And adding swipe
143. 4:18controls for volume was a good addition.
144. 4:20The only real downsides are that the
145. 4:21swipe control isn't as reliable as a
146. 4:23button. The shiny jewelry look might be
147. 4:26a bit loud for some and a global product
148. 4:29and app availability can still be a bit
149. 4:32of a headache. Oh, and they're not
150. 4:34cheap.
151. 4:35>> And did we say that the original
152. 4:36FreeClips are still the second best
153. 4:38option on this list? They tick so many
154. 4:39boxes, so snag them if they're on sale.
155. 4:42>> Yeah. Those were the best clip-sell buds
156. 4:44if money wasn't an object, but not all
157. 4:47of us are trillionaires. So, these are
158. 4:48the best value-for-money picks where a
159. 4:51combination of performance and price are
160. 4:53in perfect balance.
161. 4:54>> So, we're starting at number five, the
162. 4:56Moondrop Pill. You know, the Moondrop
163. 4:58Pill, that's where it comes in with
164. 4:59value for money, around 60 bucks. And
165. 5:02the Moondrop app has tons of sound
166. 5:04options. You get like a full parametric
167. 5:06EQ, there's kind of an EQ marketplace
168. 5:07that, to be honest, not many others are
169. 5:09doing.
170. 5:10>> Yeah, it's a very audiophile take on
171. 5:11sound. The mids and highs sound really
172. 5:13nice, but the bass dialed way back. So,
173. 5:16we think these sound way better indoors
174. 5:19than they do out and about. Now, the
175. 5:21case is pill-shaped, which is fun and
176. 5:23whimsical, but pocketable?
177. 5:24>> Not so much. And it kept popping open
178. 5:26even inside our bag, which got old real
179. 5:28fast. Call quality, yeah, nothing to
180. 5:31write home about there. And they've got
181. 5:33multipoint, sure, but the touch
182. 5:34controls, they sometimes go off by
183. 5:35accident, sometimes just from turning
184. 5:38your head.
185. 5:39>> Then at number four, the OpenRock E.
186. 5:42Now, this is very much a budget option
187. 5:44and the biggest selling point is that
188. 5:46it's a budget option.
189. 5:47>> It's hard to argue with that price. And
190. 5:49comfort-wise, you can have these in for
191. 5:51hours without thinking about them. The
192. 5:53catch, there's no multi-point. So, if
193. 5:55you want to jump between a laptop and
194. 5:56your phone, you can't. It's one device.
195. 5:59That's it.
196. 5:59>> And then we have number three, the JLab
197. 6:01Flex Open at $50 are designed to stay
198. 6:05secure during exercise. They feature
199. 6:07multi-point connectivity, and while the
200. 6:08touch controls have a learning curve,
201. 6:10they function effectively.
202. 6:11>> The raised logo serves as a fully
203. 6:13customizable touch surface. It supports
204. 6:15single, double, triple, and long taps,
205. 6:17plus volume control, which is a clever
206. 6:18design. Their call quality is highly
207. 6:21impressive, though one of us found the
208. 6:22plastic constructions slightly
209. 6:24uncomfortable, it's scratching up
210. 6:26against the ear.
211. 6:27>> Generally, these are a robust choice as
212. 6:29long as you aren't focused on extensive
213. 6:31sound customization. And then number
214. 6:33two, the SoundPEATS Pop Clip. Yeah.
215. 6:37We're big fans of the design on these.
216. 6:39The buds are left-right interchangeable,
217. 6:42feature customizable button controls,
218. 6:44and offer a comfortable fit.
219. 6:46>> While they aren't the best choice for
220. 6:47phone calls, you still get multi-point
221. 6:48connectivity and app support. On the
222. 6:51audio front, there very few buds that
223. 6:53generate as much bass as this, so it's
224. 6:55quite impressive, even if the overall
225. 6:57sound quality isn't the absolute best on
226. 6:59this list. But now, it's time to move to
227. 7:02number one.
228. 7:03>> The ultimate budget pick.
229. 7:04>> Yeah.
230. 7:05>> The QCY Cross Sky C30. We were generally
231. 7:09impressed by this model because it
232. 7:11firmly takes the crown as our best
233. 7:12value-for-money pick.
234. 7:14>> Despite being one of the lowest-priced
235. 7:16options on this list, the sound is
236. 7:17actually quite good. We're getting solid
237. 7:20features like multi-point connectivity
238. 7:21and an app that includes a game mode.
239. 7:23>> Yeah, and while the touch controls are
240. 7:24responsive, be mindful that contact with
241. 7:26clothing can trigger ghost taps. Just
242. 7:29note that the call quality isn't the
243. 7:30best in the group, and the shiny
244. 7:31aesthetic may be an acquired taste.
245. 7:34>> That's a wrap, guys. Some of our
246. 7:35favorite and highly recommended picks
247. 7:36for clip-style earbuds. Were there some
248. 7:38that we missed? I'm sure we did. Let us
249. 7:40know in the comments down below.
250. 7:42>> Or do you own any of these? Let us know
251. 7:44as well. Now all of the products we
252. 7:46talked about will be linked in the
253. 7:47description and signing up to our
254. 7:49newsletter keeps you in the know on the
255. 7:51latest discounts for these products,
256. 7:53too. Subscribe here. A big thanks to our
257. 7:55viewers tested members special thanks to
258. 7:57our my members. Thank you Crocs
259. 7:59land rats panda and Rachel. And if these
260. 8:01buds didn't scratch your itch then check
261. 8:03out this round up we did where you can
262. 8:05see even more clips style options.
263. 8:07>> Or if hook style is more your speed then
264. 8:09this one's for you.
265. 8:11>> Do we do we?