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solo118

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 16, 2011
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Anker, Soundpeats, Taotronics, etc! So many to choose from on Amazon! They all look so damn similar, and I just can't make up my mind on which one to buy.

I need a pair to go with my iPhone X, I am traveling next week and need to pick something up quickly on Amazon. I really wanted BeatsX, but the reviews do not justify the price unfortunately. I want to pick up a budget pair now, and hopefully if Beats upgrades their BeatsX I can buy those in the future as my go-to pair.

I have a few items in my cart below, but if anybody has any other ideas I would GREATLY appreciate it!

Soundpeats- On lightning deal right now, $20!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074THH5Q2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2NTRQSLKX00J5&psc=1

TaoTronics- They have other models, but these seemed like their best model (I might be wrong here of course!)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075SYJCQN/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A2KUZVNQ9LP7N9&psc=1

Anker- Same as above, they have others but these seemed to be their best model
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0756T7R5T/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A294P4X9EWVXLJ&psc=1

Bonus! Photive- Totally wireless, these look really cool but I am skeptical. I guess they are a bit more low key which is really cool, but is it worth the price of entry?
https://www.amazon.com/Photive-Wire...&sr=8-3&keywords=photive+bluetooth+headphones

Thank you all in advance! Any suggestions in my price range would be greatly appreciated!
 
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I was given a set of these to evaluate by the vendor:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0756Z5KFR

They're $39.99, higher than your number, but they work quite well. They have good sound and I use them daily with my A/V receiver when riding my Spinner bikes. I've also paired them with my iPad Air 2 and Samsung Galaxy Edge 7 phone. I also have AirPods and two different Bose Bluetooth headsets for comparison - these are pretty darn good for the price.
 
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I was given a set of these to evaluate by the vendor:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0756Z5KFR

They're $39.99, higher than your number, but they work quite well. They have good sound and I use them daily with my A/V receiver when riding my Spinner bikes. I've also paired them with my iPad Air 2 and Samsung Galaxy Edge 7 phone. I also have AirPods and two different Bose Bluetooth headsets for comparison - these are pretty darn good for the price.

Thanks I will check them out!

I must be going crazy, but all of these earphones look very similar (just different branding on it) Is it possible these items are just a commodity that the companies buy and rebrand? Or are each items developed individually?
 
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Thanks I will check them out!

I must be going crazy, but all of these earphones look very similar (just different branding on it) Is it possible these items are just a commodity that the companies buy and rebrand? Or are each items developed individually?

I think there is a lot of rebranding, hard to believe that there are that many manufacturers out there.
 
I think there is a lot of rebranding, hard to believe that there are that many manufacturers out there.

What I was afraid of, lol! I am basically comparing the same product! I think Taotronics has slightly better features (4.2 bluetooth, battery meter on the status bar, and the claim of noise cancelling mic) so it might just be the way to go. I will also wait another day or two to see if BeatsX comes up on warehouse deals....
 
What I was afraid of, lol! I am basically comparing the same product! I think Taotronics has slightly better features (4.2 bluetooth, battery meter on the status bar, and the claim of noise cancelling mic) so it might just be the way to go. I will also wait another day or two to see if BeatsX comes up on warehouse deals....

The TaoTronics are likely a safe bet - I have several of their products (I was in their distributor's product test program - Sunvalley) and they have always worked well. The Bluetooth transmitter I use on my A/V receiver is from TaoTronics.
 
The TaoTronics are likely a safe bet - I have several of their products (I was in their distributor's product test program - Sunvalley) and they have always worked well. The Bluetooth transmitter I use on my A/V receiver is from TaoTronics.

Thank you so much.... how the heck do I get into their testing program :)
 
Thank you so much.... how the heck do I get into their testing program :)

They contacted me - I had always tried to leave detailed reviews for purchases on Amazon and that popped up on their radar screen when I left reviews on their products. The distributor - SunvalleyTek - was always real good on support and making sure that the buyer was satisfied.
 
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I've been using these for a couple of weeks now. $20 and last about 3 hours although I only use them about an hour at a time for working out.

They're pretty much a cordless version of the powerbeats. Pretty solid so far.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075FX39V9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
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I use the taotronics one you posted. For the money they are great. I solely use them for the gym: lifting, cardio, stretching, etc. They stay in my ears great and the battery life is good enough for 3-4 1.5 hour sessions at the gym. If you can get them as a lightning deal that's even better. I paid $20 for mine.

Generally when it comes to low cost audio, I like Taotronics. We have one of their bluetooth speakers and its worked great for 2 years running now (it's the bose look alike one)
 
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Thanks I will check them out!

I must be going crazy, but all of these earphones look very similar (just different branding on it) Is it possible these items are just a commodity that the companies buy and rebrand? Or are each items developed individually?

I'm willing to bet that it's like iphone cases or most other accessories, there's only 1 or maybe 2 factories that actually make the components and the various companies just license the name and sell it under a different brand. Nearly all of the ones you mentioned look nearly identical so they're all probably close if not exactly equal in performance.
 

Can't speak to their Bluetooth earbuds, but, I do have their wired buds and have been very pleased with them. Good sound quality, sturdy.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0R4TNL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think there is a lot of rebranding, hard to believe that there are that many manufacturers out there.

True. When you see the exact same product, just with different branding on it... Ran into this with workout armband cases. Everyone is getting their stuff from the same factories. And nothing new, and not just on low-end: recall many years ago pricing new laptops, and Dell and Gateway had exact same laptop (motherboard, screen, memory, disk, casing) coming from exact same factory (only difference was GPU and company logo).
 
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