I got the E25's, black. Packaging is nice, comes with a brief, clearly written user manual which I used right away to see how to change the sound options. I use a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, and I took these buds out of the package, directly out of the case and put them right in. The default female voice told me they were powered on right away, sounding in both ears, in the order i put them in. Opened bluetooth options on my phone and they were already listed as "Raycon Everyday Buds." I touched the name and they connected right off without any issue whatsoever. Hit play on my music, and I love the sound. I just opened them today, so I'm waiting to see how these endure before giving full stars.
The button in each bud is a physical push button, a bubble that clicks. I like it because the sweaty strap from my bike helmet won't press it inadvertently like my old buds that just had "touch control." You can't see the bud when you reach up to touch it, so it's always a game of fumbling with where to touch it and how many "touches" would register. Especially when on the mountain bike, that frustrated me, but maybe you like it (wierdo)…
Sound quality:
I love all three modes. "Balanced, Bass and Pure" they all sound good while bringing in their individual strengths. For piano pieces, like Paul Cardall or Ludivico Eiunadi, Pure Sound is precise. For Van Halen, Nightwish, and Godsmack, Balanced sound and Bass modes are excellent. It's all subjective anyway, but I can hear the details and fairly crisp sounds.
Awareness Mode:
This is my first time trying buds that have a mode where they claim to allow you to hear ambient noise around you while still enjoying the music. Raycon calls it "Awareness Mode". It works, but not as i had hoped. In my mind, I had anticipated being able to speak while listening to my music and hear my voice and others' clearly through the electronic mic instead of through jawbone vibrations like when you plug your ears with your fingers and speak. These buds can do that, but you can only hear it faintly, and I find myself wishing I could turn up that volume. But if I turn it up, only the music gets louder and the ambient sounds are left behind as the music grows in volume. The ambient sound volume is constant, and only works well if I turn the music off. Which is a disapponting feature because then what's the point? Without the music, I might as well remove the buds right? All buds claim to have powerful noise canceling, but what I'm hoping for is exactly the opposite, I want to hear my music and all the ambient sounds while biking, running, and working at my computer. It should be like hearing the world around me but with cool music that nobody else can hear. Why isn't this an option? Maybe I'm the wierdo.
The fit is okay… It comes with multiple gel sizes. The default sizes were a bit tight, so I downsized them by one, and they are comfortable for about 15 minutes then I have to push them in again. Not quite settled on which size of gel I should be using. This shouldn't be that difficult but…
UPDATE: 8/24/22
I've had them for over a month now. Still working as they did they day I opened them.
*The container charges in just a couple hours
*The longest I have had these in is about 5 hours, my ears became fatigued from the fit before the battery ran out while I was backpacking. The buds charged up and container still had more than 50%
*PHONE CALLS: I haven't had problems hearing clear audio from the phone calls. When I ask the other caller how I sound they have told me I'm difficult to hear well. If i turn off Bluetooth and speak directly into the phone they report my sound as being much better. Not impressed with the microphone quality. But I have had no problems at all hearing the other caller clearly.
*I have not yet had any connection problems with my phone
*I still am disappointed with the Awareness Mode. It's very underwhelming compared to my daughter's Jabra Elite Active 75 earbuds with the same feature. Those are significantly better in this regard.
*I wear these while mountain biking, they stay in fine, but I don't bomb down the mountain either.
*I really wish I had the ability to adjust the equalizer settings but it's fixed in stone. The app is a complete joke, no functionality at all. No my friend, if you want to adjust the equalizer, these are not for you. I do wish I could adjust the bass to be more pronounced, and the highs to be a bit sharper.
12/2/2022 UPDATE: over 1 year ownership..
I still have these and they still work as described above, they hold charge forever. But at this point I'm ready for a different pair just because of the phone call quality and the weak awareness mode. I've also found that I can't remember how to use all the features because the push button functions aren't very intuitive, and no app to use for adjustments. I can answer a phone call, one push in either ear, but the quality is still reported as "difficult to hear." I'm going to be buying a different brand.
You should buy these if:
-You don't care about the awareness Mode
-You just want something that holds charge very well and will last a long time.
-Plays music with clear quality and have no desire to mess with sound settings.
-You want something with rock solid, reliable, connectivity.
You should not buy these if:
-You want to talk on the phone a lot
-You want to hear the details of what's going on around you clearly while still listening to loud music
-You like to adjust the equalizer
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