Amazon True Ancsteeleengadget
Amazon improved its Echo Buds in almost every way when it came out with the second generation last year, and at $120, they’re a solid option for those who don’t want to spend a ton on ANC headphones. Now, Amazon has knocked 58 percent off the second-generation Echo Buds, bringing the models with a standard charging case down to just $50. That’s $20 cheaper than they were last year during the holiday shopping season.
The online retailer learned from the shortcomings of its original Echo Buds and fixed many of them in the redesign of the latest models. The buds are 20 percent smaller than previous models, they’re also slightly lighter, and the entire design is IPX4 splash-proof. The sound quality has been significantly improved: the sound sounds less compressed and you will be able to hear the differences at low, medium and high volumes. In the Alexa companion app, you can play around with the EQ if needed, while also adjusting settings for ANC mode, Alexa hands-free mode, and power saving mode.
Amazon has gone from active noise reduction to true active noise cancellation on these buds, making a world of difference. The headphones block out ambient sounds and the Passthrough function, which lets some ambient noise through, sounds more natural than other headphones. Naturally, you also get Alexa voice commands on these headphones, and the assistant can do more than it could before, control music and podcast playback, search for specific shows on Amazon Music, and recommend other content you might want to listen to. .
Battery life is pretty decent, too—you’ll get about five hours of listening time before the Echo Buds need more juice, and their case can give you two hours of listening time after just 15 minutes of charging. While call performance could be better, the second-gen Echo Buds are still a good choice if you rely on Alexa for a lot of things or want a pair of ANC earbuds that won’t break the bank.
