Amazon Echo Buds 2023 Review

The Echo Buds 2023 don't whisk you to another world like our favorite earbuds. They bring music into yours, balancing in your ears without isolating them from surrounding sounds. The quality of the music suffers, particularly in the bass frequencies, but your situational awareness does not.

Sound Quality

“There is something decidedly different in how sound is expressed through these buds,” says audio expert Gena Bradshaw. After listening to everything from pop bops to hip hop, heavy rock, and crooning country, we found that the Echo Buds offer decent clarity but lack warmth and punch in the bass line.

That missing power in the lower frequencies leans too heavily on the mid-range and high treble notes. The mid tones feel fleshed out, but the treble notes can lack clarity. When combined with lackluster bass, the sound can feel flat, muddy, and a bit lifeless. This hurt the overall sound quality score.

We noticed the lack of strong bass frequencies in songs like “Cuff It” by Beyonce, “Woah” by Lil Baby, “Lungs” by Townes Van Zandt, and “Snatched” by Big Boss Vette. And the drum line in “Itty Bitty Piggy” by Nicki Minaj sounds a little messy.

We appreciate the warmer, cleaner feel of the mid-tones in songs like “Heartbreak Swing” by Sumbuck, “Say So” by Doja Cat, and “Hurricane Season” by Trombone Shorty. Still, while they have good clarity, they feel a bit thin and gutless at the lower end.

Overall, the sound mix feels basic. It's inoffensive and pleasant at times, but favorite songs like “Motivation” by Normani, “Rich Men North of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony, and “Hard Drugs” (Live) by Susto feel watered down.

Vocals can also sound a smidge distorted. They feel obscured, like wearing your glasses with smudged lenses. Take the 1977 soft-rock hit “Blue Bayou,” Linda Ronstadt's soaring vocals in the first chorus sound so piercing at mark 0:45 that you must adjust the volume between the chorus and the verses.

At times, though, the unique sound profile works. When listening to “I'll Show You How” by Cinnamon Soulettes, it sounds authentic. The Echo Buds pick up sibilance from the vocalist and translate the staticky crackle of a record player.

Since these earbuds lack active noise cancelling and only offer mid-tier noise isolation, losing details in your music at lower volumes is easy. If you crank them to compensate, you'll lose some clarity, with more frequent vocal distortions. Even at the highest volumes, they feel underpowered.

Soundstage

The mission of an earbuds soundstage is to create the most in-person experience possible. Since live music and floor-standing speakers are usually in front of you, we're used to hearing music come from that direction, with some sound refracting from the surrounding stadium or walls.

A truly expansive listening experience is rare in an earbud, and it may not be that important to you, but if it is the Echo Buds may not be your soulmate.

Their semi-in-ear design doesn't seal the ear as snugly as some competitors, and they don't provide the cleanest soundstage. There's a reasonable separation between individual instruments, especially in the mid-frequencies, but it's hard to place instruments in space around you. We didn't notice any distortion muddling the mix.

The sound is more forward and direct than we prefer and can border on bracing, particularly with mellow songs that are light on bass tones, to begin with, like “Spin” by Sumbuck. The soundstage works reasonably well for easy-listening jazz but offers less consistent results with modern pop, rock, EDM, or hip hop.

When we compare the relative volume of each frequency coming through the Echo Buds (shown above as a frequency response curve) to our GearLab House Curve the differences reinforce our listening experience.

The bass levels are far lower in the Echo Buds than in our idealized curve, and the mid-tones are louder than most prefer. The treble section is closer to the House Curve but also misses the mark in places.

Comfort and Fit

The Echo Buds have a unique design that aren't as comfortable as most competitors. Amazon notes that the Echo Buds have a “semi-in-ear” design. Instead of using an ear tip that seals your ear canal and secures the speakers, they're made to rest in your ear without blocking it. Out of over a dozen testers, no one wanted to wear them for over an hour; most yearned for a break within 10 minutes.

Amazon Echo Buds 2023 Apple AirPods Pro 2

These earbuds are relatively large. They feel jarring and uncomfortable for smaller ears, with a rigid plastic that can feel painful on the outer ears. One tester remarked he'd like to burn them. Though these buds are more comfortable for larger ears, and some testers got used to the harsher feel, the lack of adjustability is an issue.

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Stability

Despite a less-than-stellar fit and feel, the Echo Buds remain relatively secure. They keep up on workouts, and even held on during our handstand. However, a few good head bangs sent them flying.

Noise Cancellation

The Echo Buds 2023 don't actively cancel ambient noise by neutralizing unwanted sound waves. All earbuds provide some level of passive noise isolation by physically blocking surrounding sound waves. Since these earbuds don't seal your ear canal, they are limited in that capacity as well. As a result, they earn one of the lowest noise cancellation scores.

That said, they do mute some surrounding sounds, particularly those in higher frequency ranges, like dishes in a cafe. However, passive noise isolation can only do so much, so plenty of that chaotic cafe background still lingers.

According to Amazon, the minimal noise isolation is by design. They're meant to let you enjoy music and respond to the world around you. Maybe they do this a little too well. It can be hard to hear your music at lower volumes, and we lost details of our favorite songs and podcasts.

The graph above can shed light on this letdown; you can see that they don't provide much protection from low or even mid-range frequencies. Again, your music won't sound its best at any volume through these earbuds.

Ease of Use

Amazon's Alexa app makes them easy to use. Opposing magnets in the case ensure that both earbuds slide into their spots every time.

App Features

Instead of creating a separate application, Amazon requires you to download the Alexa App to pair and control these earbuds, which work with iOS and Android. Controlling these earbuds feels especially seamless if you're already in the Amazon ecosystem.

The Alexa App will help you find your earbuds if you misplace them and lets you easily adjust the relative volumes of the earbuds' bass, mid, and treble frequencies.

You can also access some controls through the earbuds themselves using Alexa on-the-go voice commands or by setting up tap controls via the app.

You'll be able to answer and end phone calls, control your music, and mute the microphone with your voice or by tapping the earbuds.

Connectivity

We evaluate connectivity by analyzing reviews on Amazon, checking for any that mention connectivity issues. We didn't experience connectivity issues with Android and iPhones, but other users have.

The Amazon Echo Buds fell just below average for the group, with 1.42% of 1-star reviews citing connectivity issues.

Battery Life

To test battery life, we played a continuous stream of music at 75% volume until the they died.

The Echo Buds impressed by lasting a full 55 minutes longer than Amazon's claim of 5 hours, offering nearly 6 hours of runtime. The Echo Buds battery life is a little better than average, but might not get you through longer days.

A powered-up case should give you three more full charges. A quick charge will give you two extra hours of entertainment after only 15 minutes in the case.

Call Quality

When you're on the go, you might want to take a call and be confident that you'll be heard. We tested how well the microphone picks up voices during calls in quiet rooms and noisy environments. We gave our head simulator several recordings to emit from a speaker. It recorded the script through the earbuds.

These buds struggled in our subway stress test, where some words on the call cut out.

The Echo Buds were clearer in the office. They performed better with our male tester's voice than the female's, which sometimes sounded muffled. Overall, they performed good enough.

In ideal conditions, they sound good even if the female's voice isn't perfectly registered.

Should You Buy the Amazon Echo Buds 2023?

If you need reasonably priced earbuds, these can get the job done. If you already use Amazon's Alexa App, they'll slide right into your current operating system. They're also a potential contender if you don't like the feeling of in-ear tips, but many think they are uncomfortable anyway. Alternatively, if you're particular about audio quality, you might struggle to enjoy them. The listless base and temperamental treble will alter the feel of your favorite songs.

What Other Earbuds Should You Consider?