I do not normally write reviews but the reviews here aggravate me as they have not done their due diligence, have flat out no idea, just regurgitated their first emotional impulse, or have absolutely nothing to do with the product. I also feel because they don’t carry a big name as Apple or Samsung does on the audio scene, they automatically get cut short because of branding. I experienced this firsthand when I told my brother I picked up a pair of these buds and he immediately responded with “don’t Amazon devices suck with their sound?” Listen, maybe at one point they did, but with every new product, improvements can be made. Just because you had a bad experience once doesn’t mean you always will. Just a few reviews on here that I want to clarify. Someone said you need to download the Alexa app to use the buds. No, you don’t. If you want an express setup, fine-tune it with the ANC, and the EQ to get the best experience, it would better serve you to download the app. I don’t see why that’s a problem considering every other bud out there asks the same thing. You can use the buds but in order to tune anything, you need to download their corresponding app. I had to do the very same thing with every other bud I tested. I hear people were baited with the free audible subscription. I didn’t buy these for free audible, if you did, you bought them for the wrong reason. If you already redeemed a free code, why that would be a shock that you can’t keep buying Alexa devices to redeem your months of free (insert subscription offer) only to be able to return the product and basically do that indefinitely baffles me. And why not receiving audible for free has actual anything to do with the product, I will never know. I understand that if you were promised a free gift and didn’t get it, that would be a bummer. But take that up with Amazon, not on the review of the buds that have no bearing on the status of your Audible subscription. These buds are great. I tested them side by side against the Airpods Pro, Samsung Buds Pro, and the Huawei Freebuds Pro. In sound fidelity, soundstage, and overall roundness of sound, the Echo buds win. For context, I have a studio for voice-over work. I use JBL reference monitors. For headphones, I use the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO. I tested all buds against studio-quality reference speakers and sound engineering software. Of course, none of the buds stood a chance, however one was clearly better than the rest. The one that most clearly represented the music and sounded most closely to the reference monitors were the echo buds by a mile. Bass: 8.5/10 Echo buds: The bass was very thumpy and rumbly, hit nice and hard when it was supposed to, and did it with a high level of clarity. 9/10 Huawei: Just as good as the Echo Buds, maybe even touch better overall, slightly more precise. 4/10 Samsung: There was bass when there wasn’t supposed to be. Seemed like it was on all the time and was very muddy with no clarity at all. 5/10 Apple: Decently responsive but didn’t have the power to hit hard when the track called for it. Mids: 9/10 Echo buds: Captured every note of voice and captured the whole orchestral range without anyone instrument dominating due to a lack of quality equalization. The good thing with these I can easily change the equalization if need be. 7/10 Huawei: Good but very bland, clarity wasn’t all there. Still, not bad at all. 5/10 Samsung: That bass is muddying this up something terrible, I even had it on the “clear’ setting in the EQ. The lack of a proper EQ makes it impossible to make these buds work. The presets are garbage. 8/10 Apple: I cannot deny these are very good and capture everything well with a great soundstage for a bud. Treble: 9/10 Echo buds: Very round, not tinny. Clear and concise. 7/10 Huawei: Gets there but a few notes start to hurt your ears, too much. 4/10 Samsung: I’m starting to hate these now. Once again these are muddied by that awful bass that doesn’t even hit hard. The EQ makes it sound tinny and very high to break past the overblown bass. Didn’t realize they were Beats by Dre. But name sells so… 10/10 Apple: This is where these really shine, the higher notes are perfectly represented on their own. The lack of punchy bass leaves them feeling flat and not rounded out. The echo buds may not be the best in a particular area. But in my testing, they are without question the overall winner. And for the price, that’s just a bonus. ANC: Tested with vacuum, exhaust fan, central air AC unit, on a crowded street, and inside an airplane during flight. (ANC hiss and distortion is present on all buds but some more so than others, be objective, not dramatic) 4/10 Echo buds: Yikes, these did not do well. Some reviews say it doesn’t work, it does, stop being dramatic. However, they do not nearly stop incoming noise the way the others do. It stops a lot of the bass but high notes seem to come right through. When you turn the ANC on and off it's clearing stopping all the bass and some mids from coming in. Little bits of hiss and distortion. 8/10 Huawei: Very impressed. 7/10 Samsung: Good job 9/10 Apple: This one easily did the best with the smallest amount of hiss and music distortion. Passthrough: 7/10 Echo buds: Very present and loud hiss, but realistic, not electronic sounding. 6/10 Huawei: Not a lot of hiss but sounded electronic or robotic. 6/10 Samsung: Hiss is there but not robotic, rather a bit muffled if anything. 8/10 Apple: Does a very good job but a slight electronic sound can be heard. Some people said the Echo buds are always recording you. Ok, no it isn’t, but you can also turn the microphone off at any time. It even says it in the description. “including the ability to mute the mics with the Alexa app.” Everything else like customizability preferences, fit and feel, call quality, assistant responsiveness, etc., are all subjective due to the nature of different people and different circumstances and environments. Closing thoughts: I understand the music and sound people enjoy is subjective and that’s not how this is rated. This is rated objectively, using the onboard EQ of the buds to get them the closest to reference as possible. I prefer to listen to my music as the artist intended. The echo buds objectively got the closest to reference while maintaining their roundness and soundstage overall. However, if ANC is the biggest factor in your decision, might I suggest the Sony WH-1000XM4. I do not mean to sound dismissive but we are talking about buds and they have limitations. If you are looking for buds and the intended purpose of them therein, the Echo Buds deliver. They also include the most ear and wingtips to cater to almost every ear type. They are the best overall package and at half the price, win-win.

UPDATE: So, I have workout out which involved some jump rope and a bike ride. I did have to put one of the wing tips on the buds to ensure they stayed put. T should be noted that I was purposely waving my head and exaggerating movements to test the fit. One ear had some issues keeping the earbuds 100% secure, so I just put wing tips on both. Now, totally secure and comfortable enough. As far as Alexa, there are still times when she does not acknowledge being summoned. Not a big issue, but it does happen. I purposely took a call while riding my bike with a good amount of wind. The person did not question anything I said the entire conversation and stated, when asked, that it just sounded like I was in a car with maybe a wind cracked. That was with ANC activated. Battery did not seem the best, but I was purposely using Alexa and the touch prompts a lot to test it. Overall, I stand by my 4/5 rating. Alexa not working flawlessl and maybe an average battery are the reasons for the rating. To be fair, Siri does not understand me a lot and AirPods are not great either so... WELL worth the price! Ok, so if this is not my first Amazon review, it’s my second. I felt the need to do a review, although somewhat premature, because of all the negative reviews I’ve seen on this product. I was kind of confused how so many people had the product when it just came out last Thursday 🤷🏾‍♂️. So, I received the product yesterday. Pairing was straightforward with simple instructions. I was fully prepared to be discontent with them due to the reviews; but, when I put them in my ears... they fit well. First, let me say that I literally have ‘non-earbud ears’... as every earphone/bud I’ve had/tried does not fit well. The AirPods do sit in my ear comfortably; however, they are not secure enough to stay while working out or doing too much activity. My Powerbeats are secure due to the ear hook, but I’m constantly adjusting them. I purchased some cheaper MPOW earbuds with an AirPod design, and they are uncomfortable and don’t stay secure in my ear. I’ve tried others and had the same issue. With these echo buds, I did opt to use the smaller tip and they fit nice and secure with minimal ear discomfort. I don’t think it’s possible to eliminate all ear discomfort with this type of earphone that is meant to seal the ear cavity. So, I’m happy about the fit being secure and comfortable enough- the ear fit test was perfect on both earbuds for me. That may be the thing that determines if the sound, ANC, and passthrough are good because they were all pretty great. Music had a good amount of bass, mid, and treble for me; but, I did adjust in the app which is a nice option. ANC and passthrough were definitely noticeable when switching between the two, and the amount of passthrough can be adjusted in the app. The app is nice as well with many different indicators, customizations, and options for the earbuds. Alexa worked pretty good; but, there was no response on occasion when I tried to summon the assistant. I do like how you can customize Alexa, and tomorrow I will be testing a morning routine I devised. I’ve only had the buds for a few hours, so I’ll need to do some further testing of them. But, I was looking for an earbud that fit well and these seem to check that box... so I’m good. All the other stuff, especially the app with all its options, is just icing on the cake 👍🏾 These def appear to be a 4/5... but I didn’t really check call quality or actually lift weights, bike ride, etc to test them.