Anker SoundBuds Tag Bluetooth Earbuds

I have had several pair of headphones and earbuds in my time. Some expensive and others have been cheap throw aways, the kind given out at conferences. When Anker sent me this pair for review I was very excited. I was also very surprised at how well these earbuds compared to my Jaybird earbuds. So below is my review and comparison of the Anker SoundBuds Tag Earbuds. What I like. What I don't like and how they compare to my Jaybirds. I will start with a short overview.

  The Anker SoundBuds Tag earbuds came with a small soft storage bag, a sizing clip, ear wings in three different sizes, ear bud tips in three different sizes, 18 month warranty and a claim of six hours of play time. I used the SoundBuds as much as possible for about a week before I started to write this review. But it was not that hard to commit to the SoundBuds as they really are a nice pair of earbuds and a complete joy to use. I think one of my favorite features is how the earbuds turn on and off simply via the magnetic connection. Another nice feature is when you pull them apart they automatically reconnect to the last known device. I found this whole process to be a huge plus in my book. Now let me break down what I thought about the Anker SoundBuds Tag earbuds. I will start with my dislikes.

Dislikes:

1. The case: Yes the case is a nice size and has a nice opening and closing mechanism. My complaint is the super soft material it's self. It grips to the inside of your pocket making it annoying to both insert and to remove from your pockets easily.
2. The actual cable: My Jaybirds have a flat cable that feels study and looks really good. I really think that that all headphones should adopt this style of cable. The cable on the Anker earbuds are a decent length, but it feels thin and does not make me real confident as far as long term use.
3. The cable sizing clip: I really did not like this clip.
4. Owners manual statement: The manual clearly states to not drop the earbuds. This statement concerns me.
5. The battery gives no warning when it is about to die: They just seem to die.

Likes:

1. The magnetic off and on mechanism: The earbuds are square in shape with a magnetic connection. When the earbuds are connected they are off and securely hang around your neck with little concern of falling off. To power the earbuds on and connect to their last known device simply pull them apart and they are ready to go. I really have grown to like this feature in the week that I have used them.
2. Battery life: They claim 6 hours of use and six hours is what I got. I mainly used them for music but I did make a few calls. Charge seems about on par with our other bluetooth earbuds at about two to three hours depending on charger.
3. Fit: When I took them out of the box thought these were going to fit horribly. They are square, a tad large and the earwings are different than other types that I have used. But I was wrong. Once you put them in your ears they feel great and do not fall out unless you are really moving. They hold just as well as my more expensive Jaybirds.
4. Sound: And now here is the part everyone is looking for, the sound review. Let me start by saying that I like bottom end when it comes to music. I also prefer that get that boom at low volumes. These Anker earbuds deliver nicely. I was blown away when I first hit play on Whitney Peyton’s Automatic. I was expecting to hear distortion and the sound of earbuds that simply could not handle the bass. I was so wrong, and I am glad that I was. Whitney's vocals were clear, strong and right there backing Whitney's voice was a great hard hitting bass and focused sound. I then flipped to Whitney's song Woopty Woo Woo. The results were the same. The Anker SoundBuds at both low and high volumes were delivering her vocals clear with a strong and focused bass beat behind her. I was very pleased so far. Next up Megadeth's Countdown to Extinction. The bass guitar came in strong, high hats and cymbals clear not harsh and the guitars sitting very well in the mix. Drums and vocals both sounded great. These are a bass lovers earbud. All of this is happening with the volume around 3 maybe 4. Anything louder and my ears start to hurt real bad with any earbud. I almost always run earbuds around a volume of 2 for long time listening if I can. I did crank these for a second and again they sounded great. There were many times during the week I made the comment “damn”, “my Jaybirds were four times more expensive.” I really think these SoundBuds have a very good spund to them. Especially at the price of $35.99. After a few more songs from different bands I decided to jump into some podcasts. Again clean audio. No hissing and no harshness to the audio.
5. Call quality: It's 2017 no one really talks on the phone much anymore. But, for this review I answered some calls.On all calls (3 calls) the caller started they heard me and heard me well with little to no background noise. On my end the calls sounded fine. There is really not much to say on this.

Overall thoughts:

Cable could be better but this cable may surprise me. The look is not bad, the sound is great, the calls were fine and they are only $35.99. I paid $179.99 for my Jaybirds. The SoundBuds have a look to them. But it grows on you. Overall I say if you need or want Bluetooth earbuds that won't break the bank these should be considered. I have now had these SoundBuds for almost two weeks and I am still carrying them. I am just amazed at how much bass they have and how well I like the magnetic switch. I know that Anker sent these to me for a review at no charge but they are really that good as far as sound and call quality. We will have to see how well they hold up after I continue to carry them for a while. One thing I did notice is I did hear some breakup when I was mowing and had my phone in my left front pocket. I only really noticed this while I was mowing. While I was mowing I did move my phone to my right pocket and the issue went away. I did not notice this while I was just walking and had the phone in left pocket. Your mileage may very with this one. I think the receiver is in the inline controller connected to the right earbud. I would suggest leaving the phone in your right pocket while you are using these.

Here is link to the Anker page for more information.

AnkerSoundBuds

Anker SoundBuds on Amazon

here are some photos.