Raycon earbuds offer good sound at a reasonable price \u2013 plus YouTubers love them \u2013 but are they really better than other earbuds?<\/b>
\nYou\u2019ve probably heard of Raycon earbuds from YouTube, as many of the streaming site\u2019s biggest names have at one time or another endorsed them for their great sound and even better prices. While that\u2019s obviously paid sponsorship on behalf of Raycon, you can\u2019t help but wonder what they\u2019re really like and, more importantly, if they\u2019re worth buying over other tried and true wireless earbuds from Sony, Samsung, LG, Amazon and Apple. To put them to the test, we reached out to Raycon to get a pair \u2013 their high-end active noise canceling The Work Earbuds. At $149.99 (around \u00a3100, AU$200), these cost as much as a pair of Apple AirPods or Sony WF-SP800N but come with a few extra features that might, on paper, make them feel like the better deal. Let\u2019s dive into the drawbacks and advantages of the earbuds \u2013 of which there are many \u2013 and then we\u2019ll get into their pricing and specs, and close out with an overview of the company and how it got so popular. The reason you were likely drawn to the earbuds in the first place was because they seem like a great cheap alternative to the Apple AirPods or Google Pixel Buds \u2013 and if you\u2019re only referring to the Everyday or Performance earbuds, you\u2019d absolutely be right. At just $79.99 (around \u00a360, AU$100), the Raycon Everyday has great specs and an 8-hour battery life on-board. It also includes a wireless charging case that provides another 24 hours of use. They\u2019re IPX6 water and splash-resistant, which makes them good for workouts, and users are typically wowed by their sound quality \u2013 which is pretty impressive for the price. Moving a step up to the Raycon Performance earbuds, you get a slightly better fit thanks to the built-in wing that hooks into your outer ear and a better overall battery life with the case. They\u2019re a bit more expensive than the Raycon Everyday earbuds at $110 (around \u00a380, AU$150) but they seem like a better option if you\u2019ve had problems with earbuds falling out during a workout. Last up is the highest-end Raycon The Work earbuds. They are certainly the most expensive of Raycon\u2019s earbud lineup, and therefore they really have to offer the most for their sticker price. To help justify the cost, these are the only earbuds to feature active noise cancellation and stems to really give you that AirPods-style look. They come with memory foam eartips \u2013 a nice bonus \u2013 and use six microphones to offer good call quality (hence the reference to work in their name). The problem with the earbuds is that users sometimes report issues with connectivity \u2013 an issue we also had with our pair \u2013 and getting the fit just right. Having tested hundreds of earbuds over the years, Raycon\u2019s The Work are some of the most finicky, even when you use the included foam tips that should conform nicely to your ear canal. Audio performance is good, however it requires a great fit to get that beefy bass response, something that\u2019s tough to achieve when the buds don\u2019t fit correctly. We\u2019d recommend starting with the Performance earbuds and only stepping up to The Work if you absolutely need the active noise cancellation for your commute. Otherwise a good passive seal with the Performance buds will get you just as good of sound quality and we think you’ll like them more than the Google Pixel Buds. We didn\u2019t lump them in with the earbuds because, well, they\u2019re headphones, but we also got our hands on The Everyday Headphones to test out as well. What the headphones promise is active noise cancellation in a pair of over-ear headphones with the same sound signature as the earbuds. Raycon says they\u2019ll last about 22 hours with ANC turned off but less when you\u2019ve got it turned on. They\u2019re also relatively cheap for over-ear noise-canceling headphones at only $99 (around \u00a370, AU$135). So what\u2019s not to like? Mostly they deliver on good sound, with surprisingly good stereo separation, but the sound spectrum definitely caters more to bass than anything else. The noise cancellation itself isn\u2019t all that powerful, especially when stacked against the leaders in the space like Bose or Sony, and it doesn\u2019t support any of the better audio codecs \u2013 you\u2019re stuck with SBC and AAC. At their price, they\u2019re seated nicely in the middle of the pack, but we wouldn\u2019t recommend them over any of the best noise-canceling headphones from our guide. Raycon is co-founded by Ray J, the American rapper turned reality TV star, alongside the other Ray, Ray Lee. The pair joined forces to create a wireless headphone company that aims to undercut the major players in the tech industry with more affordable options \u2013 though it currently only sells them in the US. Raycon as an entity has been around since 2017, and rose in popularity thanks to its mix of celebrity endorsements and YouTube affiliates. That, coupled with its already low prices and even further discounts have really paved the way for its success amongst the bigger players. On its website, users give Raycon\u2019s earbuds glowing reviews en masse and we found that largely to hold true with our testing, though many don\u2019t mention the downsides of the earbuds. Overall, Raycon is trustable company that makes decent products \u2013 but, like every company, those products aren\u2019t quite as perfect as they\u2019re made out to be.<\/p>\n