For $350 you can get new features and old disappointments

While no one from Samsung would mention their fruity counterpart, these are designed to give the AirPods Pro a run for their money. Unfortunately, though, they fall in one key area.

While no one from Samsung would mention their fruity counterpart, these are designed to give the AirPods Pro a run for their money. Unfortunately, though, they fall in one key area.

Last week in New York, Samsung announced an update to the company’s folding phone and premium smartwatch lines, alongside the latest pair of Samsung Buds2 Pro. 

The Buds2 Pro features

Not only is the Samsung Buds2 Pro considerably smaller and lighter than their predecessors, but they also have 24-bit audio. It’s that 24-bit audio that’s the most exciting new feature, it’s like the difference between seeing a video in 1080p and 4K.

Usually, to get 24-bit audio out of a phone, you need a wired, external DAC to decode the higher quality music, getting you beyond CD quality. 16-bit audio (what you’ll find in almost all other Bluetooth headphones) is CD quality but doesn’t get to the standards of some musicians and audiophiles, which is why high-res streaming services like Tidal were founded.

That said, it is important to note that the limit of human hearing is 20Hz-20kHz, and 16-bit will get you to around 44kHz – double the spectrum of what most humans can comprehend. However, audiophiles (me included) will swear black and blue that you can tell the difference anyway because there is more depth and space for small details to be picked up. A good pair of 24-bit headphones paired with a good lossless audio track means you can hear fingers find their homes on the strings, feel the intake of breath from the singer, and better experience the sizzle on a hi-hat raise. The magic is in the parts you can’t truly hear but still feel somehow. 

To experience 24-bit audio, you’ll need lossless files, or a streaming service with hi-res audio like Apple Music, Amazon Music, or Tidal (Spotify has announced that hi-res is coming, but hasn’t given a date for the launch). 24-bit audio on Buds2 Pro is also only compatible with recent Samsung phones, so you can’t buy these buds to get that sweet, sweet hi-res audio on other phones. These are designed for Samsung users who are invested in the ecosystem.

As well as 24-bit, the Buds2 Pro has better device switching, and pairs more seamlessly across your Samsung devices, including 2022 model TVs (alas, my 2021 QN900A is too old to test it with). It’s that pairing across Apple devices that have Beats and AirPods so popular with iPhone users, so it’s a key feature for Samsung, particularly given Samsung makes just so many more products for the headphones to pair to. No word yet on whether the Buds2 Pro will auto pair with Samsung’s internet-connected fridges (but probably not).

If you’re trying to distract yourself from the environmental unfriendliness inherent to the true wireless form factor, almost all the plastic used in the Buds2 Pro is from recycled fishing nets, which is at least a step in the right direction.

Comfort

Yes, sound quality is extremely important in a pair of headphones, but with in-ear true wireless, sound quality is only half the picture. If the true wireless buds don’t fit well, they’ll fall out. If you can’t get a good seal, they’ll sound terrible. If they’re not comfortable, you’ll be thinking about how uncomfortable they are rather than getting lost in the music.

The good news is that the Buds2 Pro is ridiculously comfortable. At 5.5g each, they’re light enough to forget you’re wearing them. They’re 15% smaller than the original Buds Pro and are low profile enough that I can wear them while sleeping on my side as long as I have one hand under my head. You can’t do that with any of my other picks for the best true wireless headphones, and that’s going to be a big selling point for some people.

I did find that I had to adjust them in my ears a lot, particularly while eating. While the touch controls on the outside of the buds seem like a great idea, after pausing the music and turning ANC on and off a couple of dozen times, I finally turned off the touch controls so I could know peace.

Audio quality

When I first heard them on the show floor in New York, I was extremely impressed. I thought they sounded amazing. On the flight on the way home, I considered them almost on par with the utterly brilliant Sennheiser Momentum 4 over-ear headphones ($550), which is high praise.

However, back home, without the background noise of a plane, that’s when the cracks started to show. 

To start with the good, the bass response is much better than most other truly wireless buds, making music sound fuller. However, there is a fuzz around the edges of the notes when listening to lossless tracks on Apple Music, almost as though they’re blurry – just a touch of distortion/white noise. It doesn’t matter whether the buds are on ANC, transparency, or regular audio modes.

It’s something you might not notice if you don’t spend a lot of your time thinking about headphones and can’t do side-by-side comparisons, but next to the Technics EAH-AZ60 (my current pick for the best true wireless buds available if sound quality is your only metric), the Buds2 Pro lack clarity and have a very faint crackle.

Next to the Beats Fit Pro, Apple AirPods Pro, Samsung Buds2, and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3, the songs sound more full on 24-bit tracks, but less clear, and clarity is the whole point of 24-bit.

However, if you move away from 24-bit audio and go to a 16-bit source, like Spotify, most of that fuzz goes away. Becky’s So Hot by Fletcher has that nice crunchy distortion but isn’t overwhelmed. The little hi-hat runs keep their space in the distance while the wall of distorted sound builds in the bridge.

On an instrumental track like Full Heart Fancy by Lucky Chops, the saxophone and sousaphone shine, but the emphasis on bass keeps it a touch more grounded than it should be. On the Technics EAH-AZ60, the melody soars untethered because the EQ is a bit more neutral. Even on the flat, default EQ, it’s still just a bit bassy for genres outside pop, RnB, and rock on Buds2 Pro. It’s the difference between being able to pick which size ride cymbal the drummer uses, and not being able to fully tell if it's hi-hats or ride, and each person will have a preference for how they like it.

Chasing Twisters also sounds great on Spotify in 16-bit. I can hear resonance on the toms that I couldn’t make out in the 24-bit over the fuzz. The piano notes sound well defined, and the guitar is much clearer. I do find the drums are more emphasised over the vocals than I’m used to on headphones in this price bracket, but since I like drums, that’s fine with me. However, that vocal tear I always look for before the second chorus isn’t there as much as I would want in $350 headphones.

In the end, the Samsung Buds2 Pro isn’t perfect and doesn’t tick every box of what I’d want from 24-bit headphones. However, for $350, they tick enough boxes that I think they’re a great choice for Samsung users who want easy true wireless headphones that sound good and integrate seamlessly with their Samsung devices.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro are in stores 2/9/2022.

Alice Clarke travelled to New York as a guest of Samsung.