Nothing - Ear (3)

I would suggest the nothing ear (3) for your criteria. The ANC is by no means top tier but it works well enough. I have the previous gen Ear 2024 myself and it works for me to commute on the always crowded underground metro and even if I’m not listening to music, they do tune out the train noise and the people around me. At most they sound muffled and far away, if that makes sense. The ear (3) has a much improved ANC system according to reviewers and it’s ANC algorithm is quite refined now but it’s not nearly as good as AirPods Pro 2. My ear 2024 has very good microphones though, even when I’m on a call in heavily crowded or windy areas, the person on the other end never had a problem with hearing my voice. The new Ear(3) has microphones in the case itself and a talk button. You just hold it near your mouth and toggle/hold (depending on your preference) and talk into it. Based on the reviews i saw, the case will boost your voice way too much in quiet areas so it’s best to use it only in noisy environments, where it really shines. Ear(3) also has an 8 band parametric EQ so you can really tune these things to sound exactly like you like it. They also have a hearing test where it basically figures out which frequencies you have trouble hearing and then boosts those and from personal experience, it makes a world of difference in the details I’m able to hear but I would recommend keeping the intensity at 20-40 percent otherwise it can over boost certain frequencies. Even when I had AirPods Pro 2 they couldn’t match my older 2023 ear(2) in sound quality because of the hearing test and my own tuning. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of tuning it, you can find presets on Reddit or YouTube and now there’s a section in the app where you can find QR codes of presets on the advance EQ done by audio engineers, audiophiles and regular user. Hope this helps :)

Overall, Galaxy buds are more reliable while the nothing ear is just better in specs and sound quality. Better anc than... actually most earbuds. Even there cheaper version, the CMF buds, though feel cheaper too, I have experience with and honestly I would say that they are better if it weren't for that cheep feel eventually going and messing with my phone when they're connected. Yes, it sounds like nothing wins here no matter what however for the sake of this being on the Galaxy buds sub, I have to promote the Galaxy buds here: the Galaxy buds connect better with Samsung phones and are probably a lot easier toget and RMA compared to the Nothings, at least here in North America. So just go ahead and get them. The B3 pros and Ear 3s are both roughly the same price and I would only recommend getting the cmf buds to Pro if you were to go with Nothing because they're cheaper. (Just be careful with the LDAC setting?)

Overall, Galaxy buds are more reliable while the nothing ear is just better in specs and sound quality. Better anc than... actually most earbuds. Even there cheaper version, the CMF buds, though feel cheaper too, I have experience with and honestly I would say that they are better if it weren't for that cheep feel eventually going and messing with my phone when they're connected. Yes, it sounds like nothing wins here no matter what however for the sake of this being on the Galaxy buds sub, I have to promote the Galaxy buds here: the Galaxy buds connect better with Samsung phones and are probably a lot easier toget and RMA compared to the Nothings, at least here in North America. So just go ahead and get them. The B3 pros and Ear 3s are both roughly the same price and I would only recommend getting the cmf buds to Pro if you were to go with Nothing because they're cheaper. (Just be careful with the LDAC setting?)

I'm using the Nothing ear (3) and I love them as well!

It’s funny you compared these two because I bought both to do the same lol Mostly interested in the 1mm bigger driver for the Nothing Ear. For me: Technics AZ100 -Pros •Longer Battery •Better Latency for gaming •The soundstage is wider and more immersive to me. •The bass feels more buttery/smooth than Nothing ear •Dolby Atmos setting is great for tv shows and movies. It also makes the soundstage for music wider and deeper. Sounds cool. •Better ANC •Better ease of use for touch controls than Nothing Ear’s weird grip controls •The clarity of the highs are so crisp and clean -Cons •Cheap looking case that also feels cheap. I expected more for the $300 price •App is ok but not as good as Nothing Ear •Dolby Atmos for music is cool, but drowns out the mids and highs a bit. Seems to lower the volume •Dolby Atmos head tracking is pointless. Yeah it’s cool but I don’t ever see myself using it •The db volume is much lower than Nothing Ear Nothing Ear -Pros •Cool aesthetically pleasing case that doesn’t feel cheap •Really awesome app with very detailed EQ options •The bass boost option is so awesome for a bass head like me •The personalized sound EQ feature amplifies frequencies that my ears couldn’t pick up as well before •More affordable price •Db volume is much louder than Technics. I have sensitive ears so I have to lower the volume quite a bit •The mids and highs do seem to be a bit cleaner and louder when having the right EQ setting •I would say the 1mm bigger driver does win against the Technics since the volume and bass are louder -Cons •ANC is not that good compared to Technics •Weird grip controls on earbuds •Soundstage does sound less open and wide to me. This sounds more “together center forward” for me •The bass is great but not as smooth satisfying as the Technics •The square case is an odd design choice •Less battery •No 3 point connection like Technics •There’s an option in the settings to help with game latency but when I switch it on it doesn’t really help and it causes the sound to skip every now and then

I use iPhone too and I have been using Nothing Ear 1,2 and am currently waiting on my preorder of Ear 3. I have used AirPods and they are great but I really like what I have been getting from Nothing for a little less$$

Tied between Nothing Ear 3, Huawei Freebuds 4, Redmi Buds 5 Pro, and Soundcore NC 4 Pro. Is nothing ear 3 actually that good? This may not be accurate as mic differs from one person to another, and how the demos are actually testing it. - After reviewing many demo mic quality videos on YouTube demoing the sound recording of the microphones, I can safely say that... (Get ready for this one) None of them are actually that good in terms of beating an apple headset with wired plugin! Surprise surprise! The tech is still not there somehow despite having the existing technology with Bluetooth/ wireless specialized mics. And surprise to you, high budget high quality earbuds folks who always buy expensive items for the "best sound quality" (what metrics are you using to dictate based on whether the product has "the best sound quality". Often I hear it's because of X brand and X price that they sell it for). But! In terms of earbuds category, I do think that in a quite room, as per the demos are show casing, Nothing Ear 3 has the one of the best and one of the closest ones to a studio quality microphone (it's actually not close, and you can still hearing a kind of muffling noise 😂) that is without having the need of getting a wire plugged in into your device or phone. As it has its own builtin microphone, "super microphone " into the case itself. And surprisingly it's not that bad when compared to the others. Yes it's incredible, and probably going to be now my only next choice in terms of microphone earbuds output sound quality. --- For those who are wondering why I am doing this long search for the best professional quality microphone earbuds, "what am I, stupid? Just use a wired headset!". Well in case you have been living under a rock, you should know that it is such a hassle and a big discomfort in terms of freedom of movements and including the flexibility of being able to use it during workouts or highly intensive activities then running back into the zoom meeting is much less of a hazard than having your phone accidentally being unplugged falling off your pockets due to the swift tangling of the wire, and then getting everyone to hear whatever meeting, music, or whatever you're playing. Whether be it in an airplane, airport, or you are the kind of person that has to go quickly to the bathroom and go back to whatever you're doing without having to remove your headset and adding that little friction in your day to day activities - its just worlds better to just have an earbud on, and you are good to go. No worrying that it will stop working because you accidentally splashed water or droplets of a drink you were having right beside it, because they are also usually high IP rating. -- Again, the earbuds mentioned here may not be accurately representative of the best mic quality earbuds in the market, but it's still substantial to show what actually is considered the best microphone earbuds in the market (and maybe in the world!). I'd be more interested in seeing your perspectives and what YOUR thoughts and experiences are when you were able to use different earbuds in your life time.

It's cut throat competition here, as I am continuing to see consistency with the Huawei buds free pro 4, and their quality is not but still slightly more muffled than the nothing ears 3, where nothing ears using the super microphone have slightly better edge in that regard. As I am seeing more demos now, and typing this message, liberty 5 sounds even much more crisp and better than liberty 4 nc pro in a quiet room, and maybe even the nothing ear 3 surprisingly. Edit: I think now it's down to the ones mentioned above in the post and: - MoonDrop Pill In a quiet room (usually they all sound good only in a quiet room, like very good, almost to indistinguishable from original mic from phone). - SoundCore 4 pro, SoundCore 4 nc, Soundcore 5 (to my ears 5 has the best clarity as per the demos compared to the others) - Apple Airdrops (but I hate the mechanicy sound that it makes you sound like)

You may be interested in Liberty 5' if you are purely interested in audio, and want some good call quality too. The sound demos speak for itself, and you can checkout both Kenneth Tanaka or Picky Audio (where he rated liberty 5's very highly in terms of sound quality due to their highest max volume in the market, and honestly also due to Dolby audio and Dolby Atmos they use, which is very juicy). But if your primary focus is on microphone,as per the tests, it is tied up to the above, with most likely winners is Liberty 5 (to my ears it sounds better than liberty 4 pro) Liberty 4's, and Nothing Ear 3..,, Freebuds huawei 4 pro, and 1more PistonBuds' (unlisted in the reviews there, but I just check the sound demos and it sounds very good). Another competitor we have now is the Elevoc Clear also targeted for better microphone quality.

Yeah, it does seem to be a concern I hear you. As I also tried one of nothing's lower end products the CMF's (or was it the Nothing (a) 's ?) and to my surprise in terms of battery life, they felt like a huge downgrade from the JBL's. And they weren't exactly that cheap either. And yes, I did hear some demos on the JBL Tour pro's, and they DO seen one of the best pairs out of all the JBL's in that regard of microphone quality. They also tend to have high IP rating on almost all their products I tried, which is very pleasing, I now shower and take a dip with my Endurance Race 2, though it leaves more room to be desired, and mic could definitely benefit from latest modern technology available in the market now. Like I recently was listening to demo's from a bud called 1More PistonBuds and wow just wow, and they are considered budget friendly. Then you have the Liberty's 5 and 4 also. Which is all focusing on the microphone department here today. I'm still stuck with JBL's at the moment unfortunately only because of their high endurance to hot environment (I bring them to hot saunas with me on 30+30 minutes bouts of sessions) and I shower with them and dip in cold plunges and sweat with them you name it, all the fun activities I did with them, and they stick quite while. Eating, bopping head, running for 10km+, all!

For context, I'm posting this major Reddit post because I am sick and tired of chasing and running after the perfect earbuds, while many people in YouTube say this is the best earbuds for microphone, and then they bring up something like jabras or denlons or the Geminis 2 which sounds like !@#$ when compared to the ones listed above - and even some earbuds when I cross checked them on other video demos showcasing the earbuds microphone recording, the highly vouched for OneBuds plus 4 aren't actually that good when I cross checked them on other demos. The earfun pros 4 earbuds are also not quite as good, as they have that muffled noise compared to the above, yes maybe they'll be better than SC's but not the rest. I could literally buy that nothing ear 3 for around 100$ right now and get better mic quality and probably even better ANC and maybe even better sound quality. We're going to keep researching to find out what is the best earbuds microphone quality par value. Many expensive earbuds have good sound, but in terms of ALL around sound quality (input and output through microphone) they are actually BAD PAR VALUE. It's fine if your only concern is the input sound and that's all you are satisfied about, but I feel like at that point you could still get away with much better alternatives par value. For me, and many of us who are constantly on the move, we care about how people hear us and don't want to put them through tortuous hell hearing us speaking from a fuzzy tin can for a 60 minutes session or however long. So I hope you guys understand why I'm so passionate about finding better microphone alternatives out there in terms of earbuds (and yes I am also considering wireless microphones, but those have their own problems also and not all of them turn out to be that good).

I’m using nothing ear 3, and it’s incredibly comfortable.

Metalcore, post hardcore and death core listener too. After testing out many of them you can't go wrong with these few Denon Perl Pros (only good after the hearing test they provide to make your unique sound profile) Technics AZ 100 (only good after tweaking the eq) Nothing Ear 3 2025 ( Great right out of the box)

U guys need to stop with the wired apple earphones. Yea they’re great but in extreme situation like the Philly or NYC subway u have NO chance to be heard. As there is 0 wired filtration. Plus no ANC so u get all that back noise mixed in with ur interlocutors voice. Whereas the other day, I was talking to my mom using the super mic on the ear 3 while sitting in a very busy Philadelphia Subway DURING FOOTBALL DAY!!! (If u kno u kno) And she thought I was sitting on my bed or something. Before with the AirPods pro 2 and the nothing ear 2024, tho’ the mics on the buds are pretty good and do a every good job in a busy environment but the trade off is that I’d have to speak loudly, which is not a option when u look like me and start speaking French, German and Kannada! I’d always have to stop my convo when the train approaches before getting on the subway or go idgaf and yell like a crazy person over. So yea the ear 3 was an instant buy for me! And I have 0 regrets. Picky ain’t lyin’ yo when he placed them no.1 on his call quality ranking.

U the reason why they made the nothing no ear 3. It’s bass galore on those!

After getting for just $100, the ear 2024 as I was looking for a cheaper replacement for my AirPods Pro 2 that have battery degradation. Now I’m the proud owner of the ear 2024, ear open, headphone 1, ear an and ear 3. I was patient and got them all discounted so… what do u think 🤔 I think about Nothing earbuds???

After getting for just $100, the ear 2024 as I was looking for a cheaper replacement for my AirPods Pro 2 that have battery degradation. Now I’m the proud owner of the ear 2024, ear open, headphone 1, ear an and ear 3. I was patient and got them all discounted so… what do u think 🤔 I think about Nothing earbuds???

I don't own any of those models, but I hang around here (probably too much). I think the Sennheiser, Technics and Sony are going to be the top of the list for pure sound quality. There are some reports of really good sound quality from the Jabra. The Bose are OK, but they're better known for their amazing ANC more than their accurate sound. I think the others are probably in the next tier down (though others will probably disagree). I own the Denon PerL Pros, which I think have pretty amazing sound quality, though I don't think they're super comfortable, because they're so big. I also don't like their app. I also own the Nothing Ear (2024)s, which have really good sound quality (though not quite as amazing as my Denon's), great controls & app, and okay ANC. Once you get into the >$150 space, it really starts to depend on personal preference, I think. Others might be able to give you their take. But you can also check out other unbiased reviews. I like SoundGuys, because they at least purport to have some objective testing. (They don't really like the Denon's, though, so what do they know!) SoundGuys Sennheiser: [https://www.soundguys.com/sennheiser-momentum-true-wireless-4-review-111429/](https://www.soundguys.com/sennheiser-momentum-true-wireless-4-review-111429/) Technics: [https://www.soundguys.com/panasonic-technics-eah-az80-review-122799/](https://www.soundguys.com/panasonic-technics-eah-az80-review-122799/) Sony: [https://www.soundguys.com/sony-wf-1000xm5-review-95465/](https://www.soundguys.com/sony-wf-1000xm5-review-95465/) Bose: [https://www.soundguys.com/bose-quietcomfort-earbuds-ii-review-78**772/**](https://www.soundguys.com/bose-quietcomfort-earbuds-ii-review-78772/) Denon: [https://www.soundguys.com/denon-perl-pro-review-107641/](https://www.soundguys.com/denon-perl-pro-review-107641/) (I don't think they used custom settings when they were doing the sound quality test... it was all out of the box, which makes no sense whatsoever.) Nothing: [https://www.soundguys.com/nothing-ear-review-114404/](https://www.soundguys.com/nothing-ear-review-114404/) Jabra: [https://www.soundguys.com/jabra-elite-8-active-gen-2-review-118807/](https://www.soundguys.com/jabra-elite-8-active-gen-2-review-118807/)

For sound quality, controls (I prefer squeeze controls), customized sound, call quality, and style, Nothing Ear >>>> EarFun.

If you're set on those, my thoughts: \> Denon PerL Pro Best sound quality sub-$200. Don't buy them for more than $150. I think the white versions are still that price. They might be really uncomfortable for you (they were for me) or might stay in your ears very well. If they fit, they'll be super secure for the gym, but if they don't they won't. ANC is very bad for the price. Also, they have the most quality control complaints around here (that might be an overstatement compared to real life, but it's something that gets floated on this sub a lot). \> Nothing Ear GREAT app; above average sound quality. Buds might become too sweaty to stay in effectively. LOVE the squeeze triggers for on-bud controls (many fewer misclicks, which I think is great especially for the gym). Maybe the Nothing Ear (a) for most of what you need at 30% less cost. \> Technics Best buds on the list, but I just don't think you need to p1ay that much if you're doing gym and casual listening. You're also paying for battery life (which you don't care about really), amazing call quality (which you don't care about really), spatial audio (which won't work with one bud), and the very cool magnetic fluid tech (which only gives high quality sound in careful listening situations). They do do well with bass, which is nice at the gym, and they've got a pretty good water resistance rating for gym-related activities, They're very very comfy for me, but each ear is different. \> Sony Another good choice, and at least they're cheaper now. But again you're paying for a lot of tech that you probably won't use that much. Pretty close to the Az-100s, and I think some people like their sound signature a little more, but it's a little more reference-quality, which isn't quite as good for the gym. [https://www.whathifi.com/advice/technics-eah-az100-vs-sony-wf-1000xm5-which-premium-wireless-earbuds-are-better](https://www.whathifi.com/advice/technics-eah-az100-vs-sony-wf-1000xm5-which-premium-wireless-earbuds-are-better) But really, if you're only going to be listening in one ear, and going to the gym, why invest in such high-end earbuds to begin with? Maybe try the EarFun Air Pro 4s, or the Liberty 4 NC (if you really care about ANC at the gym), or even something like the Baseus Bowie MC1? With one ear, you're not going to be able to hear the clarity and sounstage provided by the Denon, Technics, or Sony, and you'll be spending a lot on technology that you'll not likely be using much (mic quality, hires codecs, fancy apps, etc.)

In the <$200 range: \- OnePlus Buds 4 or Pro 3 (the pro 3's if you want squeeze controls, the slightly nicer case, and slightly better tuning). They're great all-arounders, with nice sound, great mic, good anc, and a good app. \- Nothing Ear (2024) or (3). The (2024)'s are often on $99 flash sales on amazon since the (3) came out. They're really good for sound quality. There have been posts recently about Nothing-branded buds having battery life problems, but I've not experienced that. \- Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro / 5. 4 Pro if you want the fancy features from the case; 5 if you want really good ANC and good sound from a reliable source. \- The EarFun Air Pro 4+'s will be released in a week. I don't like the EarFun Air Pro's sound, but the 4+ will have a dual-driver design, with an additional balanced armature driver that *should* add some clarity and separation (my biggest criticisms of the original 4's). They're less than $100, and a good value. \- Pick up a <$30 pair if you need something right now (I like the Tozo NC-9) and wait for the 11.11 sale on AliExpress or Black Friday/Prime Days. I expect that there will be lots of $200-300 buds being sold for $200 or under this season, including the Sony WF-1000XM5, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 TWS, and few others. Another Redditor posted a buying guide at various price points. I more-or-less agree with him, especially on the buds that are over $100. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Earbuds/comments/1oc6x9f/audiophile\_tws\_buying\_guide/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Earbuds/comments/1oc6x9f/audiophile_tws_buying_guide/)