Headphone Sound Quality - Overear vs earbuds

#1

Any thoughts on why the sound quality of the over ear models have not matched those of the earbuds, specifically Liberty pro 2 & 3’s?

#2

I think it more-so comes down to what style you prefer.

Also the 2 Earbuds you mentioned have dual drivers.

#3

Its totally another concept of construction

#4

I’m sure there are multiple technical reasons, but not being overly technical I will leave any answers to those who know more about the subject.

#5
  1. Sound quality is subjective, so it’s not a given your statement is correct. Have you put the L2P and L3P and Q35 over your ears to compare?
  2. The L2P/L3P had launch prices of $150 / $170, the Q30/Q35 was $80 / $130, so the over-ear price was significantly lower. Obviously Soundcore could launch a higher cost, higher price “Q40” with some improvement in sound quality but, for now, it’s arguable Soundcore has deliberately yet to aim for highest sound quality.
  3. Dual drivers inline is claimed to give wide low-distortion sound which benefits the L2P/L3P, so they could do something similar in the “Q40”. Mind’s eye is that’s a challenge as the in-ear dual driver works as they really small, but externally would necessarily become large? Heavy? Perhaps it’s the case prototypes were better sound quality but uncomfortable and deemed won’t sell well. I have Q30 and comfy!
  4. injecting sound directly in the ear canal gives less scope for distortion than placing externally, it may be the case better folks than us have done objective sound quality tests and determined you can never do as good external as in-ear?

Personally I don’t see need to improve sound quality of any of the Soundcore products, particularly over-ear, I see need to improve build quality (I’m on my 4th Q30 unit due to defects) , ANC (my best ANC products are Sony, not Soundcore), and the many comments from those using wired to have more intelligent mic use.

I’d also advise Soundcore to keep to using buttons, not contact swipe, as that’s an awful idea, I have to disable swipe on my Sony over-ear and disable touch control for in-ear and love the Q30 buttons and the X10 button. Touch controls cause accidental touch and with our big brains we can easily learn and remember where buttons are and what they do.

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#6

I knew there would be a reasoned technical response from you :+1:t2:

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#7

As an owner of Q30 I wouldn’t say those are low quality. In my opinion sound is great for the price.

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#8

I really appreciate the thoroughness in your response. You are absolutely correct in sound being objective and I provided my thoughts based off two things…first and foremost my “opinion” from yes, testing/comparing all 3 models you’re listed. My simple, non-technical ears responded by being blown away by the L2P’s & L3P’s which I own. While I enjoyed the Q35’s I sent them back because my simple ears were not wowed. I also based my thoughts off what seems to be the consensus of most youtube reviewers I hold in high regard. My love is so strong for my L2P’s, of which I refer to as the “legends” and my L3P’s that I feel locked in on the Soundcore brand and am holding out hope an overear model will one day be released that’ll satisfy my taste…blow me away, wow me. Again, I appreciate your response as was extremely insightful!

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#9

They not tried, and if they did try they concluded to not release.

Human ears don’t move externally so we evolved to use sound distortion to detect sound direction.

Our external ears deliberately distort sound so we can infer where sound comes from. So over-ear can’t sound good.

However, what in-ear sound products do is train the brain to accept sounds which can never be created externally.

I’d love a Soundcore audio engineer to chime in…

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#10

I will say my personal preference is over ear. I feel I get better sound quality. But then again I have many issues with earbuds due to shape of my canals and size as well. Many people say buds are better but i will say for me buds sound like under water although the fit of the l3p does improve the sound quality for me I still think my q30 gives me a crisper sound. I never had a problem with mine and wear them a lot while i sleep lol along with my glasses.

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#11

I would also think soundcore has done a lot more with earbuds than headphones.

So there should be improvements as they go. I just hope the design is solid. (Their Strike gaming headset, I think, had a weak sliding band issue and you do not hear much about now)

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#12

There’s been plenty of warranty replacements for Q30 for them to know what needed improvement in build.

#13

I will join @cazzy66 in saying I prefer over-ears

#15

My order of preference is:

  1. Speakers
  2. Over Ear Headphones
  3. Earbuds

For pure sound quality, I prefer wired over Bluetooth.

PS That’s all depending on your sound chain though (Example: If you’re listening to Compressed MP3’s it won’t matter, but with FLAC/Hi-Rez files combined with a Good DAC and Nice Amp it will.) .

#16

DAC means…

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#17

DAC = Digital to Analog Converter.

Most files (CD’s MP3’s, FLAC, etc) are stored digitally now (1’a and 0’s) and have to be converted to an Analog Signal (music) so it can be played by your Earbuds, Headphones, and Speakers.

Notes:

  1. Records/Albums/Reel to Reel Tape are Analog so no is DAC is required.
  2. Obviously Digital Tape is not analog so a DAC would be required
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#18

From my understanding of sound waves, it depends on the person and the type that works best for them. This is the first set to fit my ear properly after trying several types of earbuds. I use over-the-ear type when playing live as they tend to isolate sound better.

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