Amazon Echo Buds review: excellent value for money

Amazon waited for the second generation to launch its Echo Buds in France, available for less than €140 (€120 with only wired charging). Despite this attractive price which implies sacrifices, the multinational has endeavored to fulfill the specifications as much as possible. A philosophy reminiscent of Nothing with its Ear(1), headphones in the same price range that have proven that anything is possible.

And imagine that the Echo Buds have something to attract those who do not want to spend a lot of money to acquire complete headphones. Amazon’s proposition is stunning, and it’s even more compelling for Alexa fans.

So much for the design

You won’t buy the Echo Buds from Amazon for the design. On this point, the multinational has not shown great inventiveness. Its headphones look like two very thick circles that make you fear the worst for comfort (remember the JBL Reflect Flow Pro). They lack a bit of style, sacrificed on the altar of practicality. It is an assumed choice on the part of Amazon which, at least, takes care of the finishes.

We particularly appreciate the soft plastic that encompasses the electronics, available in black or slightly grayish white (some would say light gray). We also like the discretion of the logo: the smile dear to the brand is barely distinguishable to better blend into the tactile zone present on each of the headphones.

The Echo Buds are housed in a charging and transport case in a fairly compact format. The case is rather slender and somewhat reminiscent of that of the Apple AirPods Pro (less high). The thickness is sufficiently well controlled so that it can be placed in a pocket without any problem. It’s always a good point.

Alexa, Alexa, Alexa

The Echo Buds are headphones designed to maximize the use of Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant. Therefore, the configuration goes through the application of the same name. As you might expect, just follow a few steps to be able to use the Echo Buds – an operation that takes a handful of minutes. At the end of the setup, the app will give you an overview of what Amazon Alexa can do for you. Try.

Don’t like Alexa? You can still take advantage of the controls via the touch zones:

The application allows these shortcuts to be completely personalized (except ‘Touch once’) to, for example, assign playback controls to one earphone and volume management to another. This versatility is very valuable.

What is Alexa for? In addition to the possibility of asking it to launch a playlist (example: ‘Alexa, play music for sports’), the assistant can provide you with some information (weather, etc.), add a product to a shopping list or even control connected objects in your home. In short, the Echo Buds are just one more portal to the features offered by Alexa. It’s 100% optional, knowing that Alexa is generally doing well on requests (it’s better than Siri, in comparison).

A host of options for comfort

S, M, L and XL: the Echo Buds come with four sizes of tips, which can be combined with optional wings (for optimal support). Headphones are considered comfortable when they manage to be forgotten when they are worn and then when they are removed. On this point, the Echo Buds only do half the job: despite their design, you don’t really feel them when they are inserted. On the other hand, when you put them back in their case, you can feel some discomfort.

In terms of support, the Echo Buds are impeccable, especially with the famous fins. For sport, they are quite possible. Note that the application allows you to see if the headphones are correctly adjusted. If unsuccessful, you can try other tips.

A largely convincing sound

If you are not expecting mountains and wonders from the Echo Buds, then you will necessarily be delighted with their acoustic performance. Despite rendering it sometimes a little dry, the performances are astonishing for this price range. Amazon has found its workhorse to convince: bass, generous everything you need to bluff. For example, you just have to launch ‘breathin’ by Ariana Grande to be carried by the introduction. In the details, the Echo Buds quickly reveal their limits, with a tendency to fall into the dense as soon as it is necessary to act with a little more delicacy (read: when there is a lot of information to restore). For clarity, you have to put a few tens of euros more.

Your allies in a noisy daily life

The Echo Buds are just as surprising when it comes to noise cancellation. The active reduction is well within the average, even if Amazon is not yet at the level of the references (we still perceive a slight hiss of attenuation when no music is played). The surrounding mode is also very comfortable, thanks in particular to its very natural way of emphasizing sounds. This is a very encouraging copy offered by the multinational: the Echo Buds can really become your allies in a noisy daily life (example: an open space office).

5 hours of listening only

The Echo Buds only promise up to five hours of listening time on a single charge (15 hours in all, thanks to the case). An autonomy that is today in the low average, even if they compete with the headphones sold by Apple. Good point: the case is compatible with wireless charging for 20 € more, which is not common at this price. You can also fill the battery using the USB-C port.