Affordable active noise cancellation and hands-free Alexa control
Editors‘ Note: The Amazon Echo Buds With Active Noise Cancellation were previously sold as the Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen). Amazon now offers a separate pair of earphones without noise cancellation known as simply the Echo Buds. Read our original review of the Echo Buds With Noise Cancellation from May 13, 2021 below.
We’ve been recommending the first-generation Amazon Echo Buds ($129.99) for nearly two years now thanks to their combination of hands-free Alexa voice control and solid active noise reduction in a true wireless design. While there’s not much reason to upgrade if you already own a pair of the originals, the second-generation Echo Buds are smaller, lighter, and offer genuine active noise cancellation for $119.99 (or $139.99 if you opt for the model with a wireless charging case). While the noise cancellation here can’t compete with the likes of Bose, the second-gen Echo Buds offer enough functionality for the price that they’re easy to recommend to Alexa fans looking for a relatively affordable pair of noise-cancelling wire-free earphones.A Smaller, Lighter Design
The Echo Buds themselves are short, rounded cylinders with nozzles extending at an angle for the eartips. According to Amazon, they’re 21% smaller than the previous model, with shorter nozzles to improve ear comfort. The casings of the earpieces are covered in matte black or white plastic, with large touch-sensitive surfaces across the back panels.
The touch surfaces provide basic controls, with one tap controlling play/pause, two taps skipping forward a track and answering/ending calls, three taps going back a track, and tapping and holding to switch between active noise cancellation and pass-through audio (which lets you hear your surroundings without remove the earpieces). You can change what the tap-and-hold gesture does through the Alexa app (available for Android and iOS), with different commands for either ear. This is the only way to enable any volume control on the Echo Buds, and if you want to have both volume up and volume down gestures enabled, you lose the ability to physically switch between ANC and pass-through audio modes. You can’t customize the tap gestures, but you can toggle them on and off.
These controls work well when the earphones are in your ears, but the touch-sensitive surfaces are so large that it’s easy to accidentally tap them when inserting or removing an earpiece. I also found that my hoodie occasionally accidentally triggered the sensors, as did raindrops when I wore them in the rain.
A fit kit is included, with four different pairs of eartips and two pairs of silicone sleeves with short earfins in different sizes, to provide a comfortable, secure fit.
