New intras true wireless the most affordable in Samsung’s catalog, the Galaxy Buds 2 want to make the luxury usually reserved for the high end affordable, in particular active noise reduction. Do they achieve this without too many compromises?
The Galaxy Buds 2 may be the least expensive headphones in Samsung’s catalog, but they absolutely must not be seen as headphones without ambition. On the contrary, we are surprised to see them come very close to the excellent Galaxy Buds Pro on many points. They would just have needed a slightly more versatile and musical sound reproduction for us to be able to recommend them without reservation.
Points forts
- Clear and precise sound reproduction.
- Excellent dynamics.
- Rather effective active noise reduction.
- Good voice pickup in hands-free kit mode (despite overly aggressive noise reduction).
- Compact headphones, very comfortable.
Weak points
- Lack of bass depth.
- Slight lack of musicality and sonic versatility.
- Very slippery glossy plastic construction, no IP certification.
- Volume adjustment from headphones possible, but impractical.
- Companion app not available on iOS.
NB: The reported price drop is calculated by comparing the lowest price of the day with the average of the lowest prices charged by all merchants for the product last month, with security rules to exclude prices from shops whose the VAT policy is not clear (known as “grey” shops, typically in the case of imports from China).
An alternative
Despite their ergonomic qualities, the JBL Tune 230NC TWS have not gone far from correctional because of their unbalanced and, to say the least, trying sound signature they offer out of the box. The equalizer present in the application saves the day and allows you to benefit from a sound experience with still some flaws, but much more pleasant, natural and generally satisfactory. JBL’s headphones are thus positioned as a pair of headphones true wireless very honest, which must still face fierce competition and sometimes significantly more interesting in terms of quality / price.
