REVIEW – I’m as amazed that tiny earbuds can send booming bass sound out of such tiny transducers as I am that huge jets can go airborne. Repressing my youthful exuberance, the OnePlus Buds 3 have the best sound of any in-ear type buds I’ve tested. I’m not an expert audiophile but I hear well and have musical experience. Come and see how I got to my Buds 3 conclusion and whether they may be a deal for you.
What is it?
OnePlus Buds 3 earbuds are in-ear, wireless, rechargeable earbuds.
What’s in the box?
- OnePlus Buds 3 earbuds
- Charger carrying case
- Small, medium and large earpieces
- 8.5” USB-A to USB-C charging cable
- Standard tiny font paperwork
Tech specs
- Dual dynamic drivers
- Basswave™ enhancement
- 10.4mm woofers, 6mm tweeters
- 3 microphones per earbud
- Sample rate: 96kHz
- Bit depth: 24 bit
- Bit rate: 1 Mbps
- Hi res audio with LHDC 5.0 (Low Latency High-Definition Audio Codec)
- Up to 49dB adaptive noise cancellation
- Up to 44 hour playback
- 10 minute charge yields 7 hours playback
- Google Fast Pair technology
- Simultaneous dual device connectivity
- Touch volume and other controls
- Colors: Splendid blue, Metallic gray
- 94ms low latency
- IP55 water and dust resistance
- Additional controls and settings in the HeyMelody smartphone app
Design and features
I installed the OnePlus ‘HeyMelody’ app from the Google Play Store to my phone. There’s a feature in the app to do a hearing test and make Buds 3 adjustments tailored to one’s own hearing abilities and needs. The sound was good with the Buds 3 before I did that test and changed settings, but was even better afterwards.
Out of the box the Buds 3 volume can be adjusted by swiping up or down on the shaft of the earpiece and tap or double-tap to answer and end phone calls. Additional controls such as forward, reverse and pause can be done on the earpieces if you adjust settings in the HeyMelody app which leads to your phone’s Bluetooth settings, which the app customizes for the Buds 3.
The Buds 3 earbuds have noise cancellation capability. More on that below in the Performance section.
I found battery life to be very good with the Buds 3. I got most of a full day of listening from them before having to recharge.
The case is the charger for the earbuds and it charges them pretty quickly. A LED on the front of the case illuminates when you open the lid. It reports the charge level of the case. The LED is green if it’s fully charged or yellow if the charge is mid-depleted. If the LED is red it’s time to charge the case.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
I set up the Buds 3 earbuds to work with a OnePlus 12R phone. Setup was very fast with only a few intuitive steps. I would hope the setup goes as well with any other brand of phone.
Performance
I’ve played drums in bands and have a bit of studio experience. Before you check me off as hearing impaired because of the percussion, I’ll share that I’ve always protected my ears, since I only have two.
Some in-ear monitors I’ve used seemed mainly for hearing protection vs. being good sound reproducers. My over-the-ear headphones produce excellent sound over the whole spectrum. I’d rate the Buds 3 earbuds as pretty close to the sound quality of some of my over-ear headphones.
I first listened to a podcast with the Buds 3 and a commercial in the middle of the show featured soft rock music in the background. I was surprised at the sound quality from the commercial. I could hear the bass drum, bass and lead guitar, the snare drum and cymbals, and the voice part of the commercial was balanced as well.
I might have chalked that up to really professional commercial-making, but all the music I listened to sounded good with the Buds 3. With rock music, the Buds 3 delivered the sounds from the bass kick drum lows on through to the vocals, to the snare drum, and the highs of the cymbals.
The bass response from the Buds 3 is impressive, and the high frequencies were not sacrificed in the process. The Buds 3 deliver well balanced sound. Highs, lows and mid-range sounds are clear in the mix.
While the Buds 3 transmit musical and vocal sound accurately, I can’t tell much difference between the Buds 3 Noise Cancellation and Transparency modes. For example, I can hear my office clock ticking through either mode. That clock ticks loudly, but I’d expect a mid-frequency sound to be well decreased with noise cancellation.
I’m feeling doubtful about the 49dB noise cancellation claim. OnePlus says the noise cancellation “adapts to your environment” so I created more noise in a room yet the noise cancellation did not seem to increase any. Some of my safety earplugs only decrease sound by 30-40dB and they seem to cut out more environmental sound than do the Buds 3.
So don’t go target shooting or use a power saw with the Buds 3. Use them for music and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by their primary function.
I only had to re-pair the Buds 3 once with my phone. I have some earbuds I have to pair with each and every use. I unpaired the Buds 3 while walking because I forgot the case, and couldn’t make them pair again when I got home. It’s an easy fix. The case has a small button in the case that when pressed for 10-15 seconds makes the Buds 3 re-pair to the phone.
What I like
- Great bass response and balanced overall sound quality
- Excellent battery life from the Buds 3 buds and charging case
- The Buds 3 overall quality makes their price range reasonable
What I’d change
- Extra large size earpieces would be useful
- Slightly thicker rubber for the earpieces may add to their stability upon removal
- Improvements to the noise cancellation
Final thoughts
A true audiophile probably looks at the OnePlus Buds 3 price and concludes there must be deficiencies in them. I hear impressive, balanced, enjoyable sound from the Buds 3 and am comfortable giving them a solid recommendation.
Price: $99.99
Where to buy: Amazon, OnePlus
Source: The sample of this product was provided by OnePlus and the company did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
