Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus Review – For the Technocrat In All Of Us
“Need” is a rarely-invoked term in the headfi world, which is all about desire. However, with my business being transformed into a nightmare of Zoom calls and facemasks, I actually needed TWS buds, so I opted for the subject Buds Plus, which garner good reviews for comfort, battery life and functionality. These also received a solid “B” from the venerable Crinacle, who had some issues with their high end, but lavishly praised their bass quality.
At a street price of $109 (SRP $150), the Galaxy Buds Plus register as good value, with flawless (albeit plastic) build, a sleek charging case and a dizzying array of technological features, including wireless charging, direct Spotify access, AAC and ambient sound adjustments. The buds are very lightweight and extremely comfortable for long sessions; however I found the legume-like shape to be less ergonomic than the more conventional teardrop shapes, and the capacitative controls on each side are finicky and over-sensitive. The included silicon tips are of poor quality; however the buds may not fit into the charging case when shod with larger after-market tips. I finally found the best solution to be smaller-than-typical Comply-type foams, which enhanced bass and provided better seal than stock. Isolation in any event is below-average, probably by design, and wind and outside noise will intrude. Microphone and call quality, however, are superb.
Soundwise, the Plus presents a bright, Harman-curved signature, with modest subbass depth, enhanced midbass and somewhat de-emphasized high end. (NOTE: OOTB, before downloading the Galaxy Wearable app, these sounded shrill and anemic, with inadequate volume—setting the touch controls on the app to “Volume” and changing the equalizer from Normal to Bass boost, Dynamic or whatever gives these more oomph and fixes the issues).
Soundstage is very wide, with limited height and depth, and instruments are well-separated. However, imaging is somewhat diffuse; like stereo speakers placed too far apart, the performers seem too far from each other, which makes the overall presentation sound less than well-integrated—you remain conscious of hearing individual instruments rather than the conjoined band.
Low end is lean in texture and will not satisfy rap fans but is fairly deep and without bloom or bleed—it’s not the fastest, and I don’t rate it quite as highly as Crinacle, but it is credible nonetheless. I do note, that the tuning tends to focus your ears on the midbass, which lends these a slight incoherence. Lower mids are a bit recessed, but there’s some added energy in the 3khz region, which highlights vocals but makes them quite sharp or tizzy on certain material (acoustic guitar string, in particulars can sound strident). Treble is somewhat rolled-off and inoffensive—drumbeats lack snap and the very highest frequencies are missing, which seems to be an innate attribute of Bluetooth. Tonality is just a little bit off; horns sound canned and these lack the organic, natural quality of similarly-tuned wired phones like the Blon BL-03. Among TWS models, the Cambridge Melomania (review to follow) has less ambitious technology and a substandard mic, but sound significantly better, with a richer, less synthetic timbre and a more seamless presentation, although the Samsung trumped my wife’s pricier Airpods.
All things considered, I value these more for their utility and and comfort than for their musicality. They’ll remain my pandemic office go-to, which is a useful role, though I’d prefer to be elsewhere.
Conditionally recommended.
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