The more I use wire-free headphones, the more I wonder how I ever used wired ones. The latest pair I had the opportunity to try was the Nuheara IQBuds, a pair of buds that not only fit directly in the ear to play music, but helps enhance voices to help hear better.
The Nuheara IQBuds are easy to set up. An installation of the app on a smartphone makes pairing the IQBuds easy. Following some quick instructions onscreen will get them up and running in minutes. The app then can be used to play music, control the sound levels, and select the audio modes.
The IQBuds charge in their case, which doubles as a battery, and can last around four hours of continuous use. I was able to travel with them, and the IQBuds easily blocked out street and subway noises in New York City without a problem. The music sounded good in all the environments I tried it in, with the music sounding very clear, with a little weakness on the lows, without being a detriment to the bass.
When switching from music to one of the modes that allowed for pass through, I was able to hear people very clearly. I have trouble hearing people talk in loud environments, but the Nuheara IQBuds made it very easy to understand what people were saying without a problem.
While the Nuheara IQBuds are great headphones, I had two problems with them. The first was when I tried to run with the IQBuds in my ears, they started to slip out as I ran. Since I often run with my headphones, it’s important for me that they stay in firmly (which they very much did with casual use). The other problem is that the IQBuds started to hurt my ears after a couple hours. As someone who listens to headphones off and on all day between commuting and working, I needed to switch to other headphones in the middle of the day to give my ears a break.
I thought the Nuheara IQBuds were great wire-free earbuds for casual use. While I had problems with wearing them all day or running in them, they were great for my commutes or just walking around the city. I could quickly switch modes to hear people by tapping one earbud and starting/stopping the music by tapping the other. I definitely recommend them for normal use or to help enhance hearing in noisy environments.
