Samsung Galaxy Buds Live  Headphones Review

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are distinctive-looking earbuds. Their bean-like shape and shiny finish on their outer casing make them stand out in most environments, though thankfully, they don't protrude very far from your ears. They also have air vents to reduce pressure and to help make your audio feel more spacious. They come in several colorways: 'Onyx', 'Mystic Bronze', 'Mystic White', 'Mystic Black', 'Mystic Red', and 'Mystic Blue'.

These buds have a decently comfortable fit. They don't enter your inner ear, and the buds' bottom part sits outside your ear canals. However, they can put some pressure where they sit inside your outer ear, especially if you have small ears. Using the controls doesn't hurt, though.

The control scheme is disappointing. Like the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ Truly Wireless, their touch-sensitive surfaces are decently easy to use but have limited functionality. By default, you don't have controls for activating voice assistant or adjusting the volume. You can add one or the other by remapping the long-press command, but you lose the ANC control function. While they don't provide voice prompts, you get audio feedback whenever a command is registered. It makes them a bit easier to use, but all the beeping can be annoying, especially since you hear one for every increment of volume adjustment.

On either earbud:

• Single tap: Plays or pauses audio.
• Double tap: Skips the track forward. It also answers or ends a call.
• Triple tap: Skips the track backward.
• Touch and hold: Turns ANC on or off. It also rejects a call. You can also swap the ANC controls to volume or voice assistant control in the app.

They have a very breathable in-ear fit, which is typical for earbuds. They won't trap heat against your ears or make you sweat more during workouts.

They're very portable, like most truly wireless earbuds. The earbuds are very small and easy to fit into most pants pockets and bags, even inside their case.

The carrying case is great. It supports Qi wireless charging and Samsung's 'PowerShare' feature, allowing you to recharge it by placing it on top of a compatible Samsung phone. Thanks to its satiny finish, it looks quite premium, and the case has a solid but lightweight design. Indicator lights on the inside and outside of the case show the case and buds' respective charge statuses.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are well-built. The buds and case are made of dense plastic with a glossy exterior and matte-finish interior. They feel like they'll survive accidental drops or bumps without much of an issue. Unfortunately, the buds are only rated IPX2 for resistance against very light rain or minor splashes, which is disappointing since many earbuds are rated at least IPX4, including the Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless.

These buds have a very stable fit. They're compact, lightweight, and fitted with silicone wing tips that help keep them in place. You won't need to worry about having them fall out of your ears, even during intense workouts.

• Samsung Galaxy Buds Live earbuds
• Charging case
• 2x silicone wing tip stabilizers
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• Manuals

The Samsung Buds Live have a well-balanced, somewhat warm default sound profile. Their bass and mid ranges result in good punch and warmth, as well as full-bodied, present, and detailed vocals and lead instruments. That said, fans of EDM or hip-hop may find the low-bass a little lacking, partly due to their slightly open fit. If this isn't to your liking, their companion apps offer a couple of EQ presets to adjust their audio reproduction. Since they don't have an in-ear fit, they're more prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery between the left and right driver, so you must take the time to ensure a good fit.

These buds have disappointing frequency response consistency. There are significant deviations across the entire frequency range, in part to their relatively open fit. If you have differently-sized ears, you may be prone to bass and treble deviations, as the limited wing tip options make it difficult to ensure a good fit. You'll have to take the time to adjust the fit of these buds each time you use them to achieve more consistent bass and treble delivery.

The Samsung Buds Live have great bass accuracy. Their slightly over-emphasized mid and high-bass response adds warmth. Instruments like the bass and drums throughout the song Come Together by The Beatles have a bit of extra punch and body without sounding muddy. However, the slightly underemphasized low-bass range results in a minor lack of thump and rumble. Since these earbuds' sound delivery is very sensitive to fit and seal, your experience may vary.

Their mid accuracy is great. For the most part, the response is even, although it's slightly bass-tilted. Vocals and instruments are present in mixes, but are nudged to the back of the mix and are a bit dull.

The Samsung Buds Live have alright treble accuracy. The response is underemphasized, so vocals and instruments sound a little veiled. The mid-treble is more uneven, so depending on the frequency band, some sibilants, like cymbals, sound dull, while others sound bright. Due to their poor frequency response consistency, your real-world experience may vary.

Their peaks and dips performance of the Samsung Buds Live is alright. There's some mismatch between the L/R drivers across the frequency range, which contributes especially heavily to a deviation in the low-bass range, with the left bud exhibiting an extended bump that generates some boominess. The uneven underemphasis in the mid to high-mid also affects the left driver and nudges vocals and lead instruments toward the back of the mix. A slight peak in the low-treble range also results in minor harshness, but more so in the right driver. The sharp dip and the adjacent spike in the mid-treble range make some sibilants alternatively dull and piercing for both drivers. It's worth noting that the buds are prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery due to fit, seal, and positioning, which can explain the mismatch between the left and right drivers.

Many of Samsung's products we've tested have solid imaging performances, which indicates quality control and ergonomics. Imaging varies across units, though, and our unit's L/R drivers have minor amplitude and frequency mismatch, which causes a slight imbalance in the stereo image. In addition, there's also a peak in the phase response's high-bass to mid-mid. This is audible with real-life content, and voices aren't placed accurately in the stereo image.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live have a poor passive soundstage, which is normal for earbuds. Because of their design, sound doesn't interact with your outer ear, so audio seems to come from inside your head rather than speakers around you. However, due to their open-type fit, they produce a more open, spacious listening experience than closed-back in-ear headphones like the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ Truly Wireless.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance is good. There's some distortion in the right earbud around the high-bass to low-mid at normal listening volumes. There's also a peak in the low to mid-treble in both ears at moderate and high listening volumes. Still, most frequencies fall within good limits, producing clean and pure audio.

These are the settings used to test the Samsung Buds Live. Except for the noise isolation test, their ANC system was turned off for our testing procedures, as the system relies on the feedback from pressure sensors on the inside of each bud. This made it difficult to test them using our test rig and required several test passes. We observed no difference in frequency response measurements with ANC turned on or off. Our results are only valid when you use these earbuds in this configuration.

These earbuds have a mediocre noise isolation performance. These buds have an open-fit design, allowing you to hear your surroundings while listening to audio. At the same time, they also have an ANC system to block out background noise, which is unusual. Overall, the ANC does a good job of blocking out bass-range noise like rumbling bus and plane engines. However, it doesn't improve their passive noise isolation capabilities regarding higher-pitched sounds like ambient chatter or humming computer fans and it doesn't attenuate as much overall as the open-back Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Truly Wireless. There are sensors in each earbud that prevent the ANC from turning on unless you have them both in your ears.

These buds have mediocre leakage performance. Due to their open fit, they leak more audio than other in-ear headphones. The escaping audio occurs mostly in the low to mid-treble range, producing a fairly thin and sharp sound. It's annoying and can be heard by people around you, even in a moderately busy environment like an office.

The integrated mic has a disappointing recording quality. Your voice is bright but thin, muffled, and distorted, making it slightly tricky to hear you clearly.

The mic's noise handling performance is okay. It does a decent job of separating your voice from moderate ambient sound, but it can get drowned out in noisy environments like a subway station or busy street.

The Samsung Buds Live deliver an unremarkable battery performance. The manufacturer advertises them to last six hours continuously, and we measured just over that. That said, battery life can vary depending on use. If you need more hours of playback time, their carrying case supplies an additional 2.5 extra charges. You can also use one earbud while the other charges in the case. Unfortunately, unlike the JBL Tune Flex True Wireless, they don't have any power-saving features like an auto-off timer.

The Samsung Wearable app is good. You can change EQ presets, switch ANC on and off, and remap onboard controls. The app is only available on mobile devices and is called 'Samsung Galaxy Wearable' on Android and 'Samsung Galaxy Buds' in the iOS app store. The Android version has a few features you can't access on iOS, including a gaming mode for lower latency and features related to Samsung's virtual assistant Βixby. If you're using an Android phone, you can also switch on 'Relieve Pressure With Ambient Sound', which is supposed to help reduce any pressure or compression you feel in your ears when the ANC feature is off. However, the earbuds already feel open and don't create a plunger-like feeling. Unlike the Beats Studio Buds True Wireless or the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Truly Wireless, they don't have a mode that lets in ambient sound when you want to stay aware of your surroundings. However, this isn't much of an issue since the buds let you hear your surroundings well once you turn the ANC off.

In addition to these two mobile apps, you can also access the Galaxy Buds app on Windows PCs. This app offers many of the same features, like EQ presets and noise control, as the apps mentioned above. However, there isn't a low-latency gaming mode.

These buds have okay Bluetooth connectivity. They don't support quick NFC or multi-device pairing, so you can't stream music from your phone while remaining connected to your computer. They also have high latency with PCs, meaning you may have audio syncing issues while watching a movie on your computer. They have low latency with iOS and Android devices, so you won't notice audio lag when watching a video on your phone. They also have a gaming mode to lower latency. However, this feature is only available on Android devices. Although the results using this mode are higher than Android latency when not using it, latency is still very low, so your audio and visuals stay in sync if you're streaming a video or mobile gaming.

These earbuds are wireless only. They come with a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging their case.

These truly wireless earbuds are compatible with Βluetooth-enabled PCs but can't connect any other way.

The charging case will provide roughly two and a half extra charges. You can recharge it wirelessly via Qi-enabled chargers, PowerShare-compatible Samsung smartphones, or the included USB cable. Aside from a USB-C charging port, it has no inputs.