Recommendations for Budget Wireless Earphones with Passthrough Sound

NoApostrophePlurals on 17/04/2025 - 02:05

TL;DR
Want BT earbuds with audio passthrough
Needs good battery life
Sound quality not vital
Must be cheap, $50 or less?
No hard plastic eartips

Hi, after some recommendations for budget bluetooth earbuds with audio passthrough. They need to be cheap, have a long battery life and have adjustable tips. Not the hard style like airpods.

I've had Sony WF-1000XM3 and WF-1000XM4. The battery life on the 2s sucked and then degraded even worse over time. The battery life on the 4s were excellent, but then degraded quite badly as well that they won't last more than 2 hours before needing a charge so I'm not keen on getting the 5s and I don't want to spend that much anyway.

Need them so I can watch videos and still be able to hear toddler and baby crying. I come home late from work and will usually eat and watch something at the same time and take over from the wife.

Currently using cheapo Baseus E19 earbuds and I'm happy with the comfort, quality for the price and battery life. However, I have mindlessly had them in and forgotten that I can't hear the outside world with them in and have woken a very tired and angry wife, more than once. I now resort to just having one in and listening in mono.

The sound quality doesn't have to be great, because the chewing sounds while I eat, no matter how soft and slow, really muffles the audio as it travels from my jaw to my ears. I do suppose with good passthrough, I could crank the volume up to drown out the chewing sounds.

Electrical & Electronics Bluetooth Earphones Earphones

Comments

  • SYLTB on 17/04/2025 - 07:18
    -1

    the audio as it travels from my jaw to my ears

    This is called bone hearing/bone conduction, and all brands' (see also here ApostrophePlurals!) earbuds pretty much cannot bypass this.

    • NoApostrophePlurals on 17/04/2025 - 10:27
      -1

      I didn't need it mansplained to me haha I'm well aware what's happening. I dont need it bypassed, I'm just saying thats why audio quality isn't of paramount importance.

      I have passthrough on my Sony earbuds. I experience the same issue obviously, but the reason I need passthrough is to hear my kids crying, which I do with the Sonys. I failed to mention though that the left earbud only gets about 20 mins battery life, rendering them pretty useless. The right side for whatever reason lasts for about 2 hours.

  • FrontBottom on 17/04/2025 - 10:13
    +1

    The Scarbir site is always a good starting spot.
    e.g https://www.scarbir.com/guide/best-cheap-tws-with-anc

    • NoApostrophePlurals on 17/04/2025 - 10:28

      Ah i have come across that site in the past!

      Would it be right to assume that if earbuds have ANC, then they will have audio passthrough?

  • bob smith on 17/04/2025 - 11:12

    Shokz would be good for you but doesn't meet your price requirements.
    I use them most days.
    Riding/running so i can hear traffic. Also use them in the office so i can hear my surroundings in case someone needs my attention.

  • scotty on 17/04/2025 - 11:34
    +1

    In order to hear the ambient sound, your earbuds have to be/have either

    • Passthrough
    • Bone conduction, or
    • Open ear

    Anything with passthrough would chew battery and are potentially more expensive. Bone conduction headphones are great for sports and many are waterproof, but most aren't true wireless so might not be comfortable for sleeping.

    You can find many TWS earphones with open ear design for cheap though. Most are just having small speakers projecting sound into your ear, without blocking your ear canal so you can still hear ambient sound. I have something like Baseus AirGo AS01 that clips on your ear lobe so pretty light weight.

    • NoApostrophePlurals on 19/04/2025 - 02:50

      Holy shiii.. I have THE Scotty replying to my forum post??? I feel.. warm and fuzzy!

      I have yet to try open ear earbuds, main reason why is because although I don't wear them to sleep, I do wear them in bed and I move side to side and rest my ears into the pillow. These might be a bit more uncomfortable or even fall off completely.

      Anyways, I'm going to try ghe Moondrop Space Travel and see how they go!

  • yippy on 17/04/2025 - 14:22

    Moondrop Space Travel. Battery life is ok but not spectacular.

    • NoApostrophePlurals on 19/04/2025 - 02:21

      You're onto a winner amongst all the comments! Not an ATL, but they were on sale on Amazon for $37. Thanks! They seem very well reviewed for their price!

      • yippy on 19/04/2025 - 05:29

        They're amazing for the price. The $37 is actually the normal price, that's how much I paid for them back in 2023.

  • deeevan on 18/04/2025 - 08:18

    No hard plastic eartips

    Why? Discomfort? What models have you tried? I found my Soundpeats Air2/3s very comfy, while my Haylou GT6 feel bigger and scratchier.

    Half in-ears would tick all other boxes by allowing you to hear ambient noise and have slightly less occlusion effect because well… They're less occlusive. No ANC or transparency mode required means longer battery life.

    • NoApostrophePlurals on 19/04/2025 - 02:26

      Tried wife's airpods, own Huawei Earbuds SE3, own Xiaomi Redmi Buds 5. Overall fit and seal is bad, one size does not fit all IMO.

      • deeevan on 19/04/2025 - 11:26

        The intention is a bad seal so you can hear your family and less of your chewing.

        I agree one size does not fit all, I'm suggesting you try more. Redmi Buds 5 aren't half in-ears, scarbir review mentions a slippery finish on the Huawei Earbuds SE3 giving a poor fit, and you know the shape of the airpods is not for you.

        • NoApostrophePlurals on 20/04/2025 - 02:03

          I know you're trying to help with a solution, but I'm not going to waste my time and money trying more. I know what fits and is the most comfortable, there is no need to deviate because it's your preference. I gave my list of requirements, it's as if I have to go into painstaking detail to explain why for people to not diverge from my requests or they are simply just ignoring me or disregarding what I want lol

          I should have just kept it simple snd not given any reason why I want what I want.

          Basically I want earbuds that do what Sony WF-1000MX4s do, but don't have to do it as well, and I want them much cheaper, so when their battery life degrades, I don't mind or I can cheaply replace. They have to be rubber tipped because that's what I prefer. I also don't need insane battery life, just good. Like 2-3 hours is sufficient.

          Anyways,

          yippy gave me the solution I was after with the Moondrop Space Travel.

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