I traded my Award-winning wireless earbuds for a pair of “trendy” wired earbuds – is being stylish worth the sonic sacrifices?

Take one look around a crowded London Underground train carriage, and you’ll see an interesting revolution in the world of audio. Wired earbuds are back, and they’ve become a serious trend among my generation. Yes, I can hide it no longer; I am Gen Z.

Let’s not dwell on that and get back to the matter at hand. Wired earbuds were, once upon a time, the only discreet in-ear option for listening to music from your smartphone, and there was rarely a point where I didn’t have a pair hooked up to my iPhone 5 during my time at secondary school.

For my sake, I won't share what I was listening to through those earbuds.

Speaking of, remember when phones had headphone jacks? I do, and while I have to give Sony credit for being practically the only manufacturer to keep the socket on its smartphones, I have come to terms with the fact that the battle against wireless audio alternatives is more or less over.

I bought my first pair of AirPods in 2018, and I quickly upgraded them to the first-generation AirPods Pros in 2021 after realising that cutting the cord really was the future – and I haven’t really used a pair of wired earbuds since.

However, my TikTok For You Page informs me that 2026 is the new 2016, and I’m seeing a lot of trendy, well-dressed individuals online and IRL with wired earbud cords trailing from their ears and into pockets.

In a feeble attempt to be vaguely fashionable, I have decided to imitate them. I have banished my five-star Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 wireless earbuds and my Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones to a drawer, as my pocket is now occupied by a pair of wired USB-C earbuds.

And you'll never guess which earbuds I've picked...

The popular choice

I’ve decided to go with the most popular pair of wired buds, according to what I’ve seen online and in London: the Apple EarPods.

From what I gather, the main draw of these earbuds isn’t anything to do with their sonic credentials, but instead their features.

The wire is a huge asset for those who are prone to losing earbuds (a friend of mine is currently on his third or fourth pair of AirPods, I’ve lost count), as they naturally keep the buds attached to your phone.

Furthermore, the microphone on the Apple EarPods seems to be surprisingly good for a pair of £19 earphones. I put this to the test, speaking to one of my friends over the phone while exiting a busy London Underground station and the results, err, spoke for themselves – I didn’t have to repeat myself once.

I think this is a key reason that these earbuds are so popular, as I frequently see influencers on TikTok record voiceovers for their videos using the microphone built into the Apple EarPods. And of course, for calls or voice notes, for us mere mortals.

You also don’t have to worry about the battery running out. Plenty of times when using wireless earbuds, I’ve got comfortable in my seat for a long plane ride or coach journey, only for my earbuds (and the charging case) to be completely dead.

The plug-and-play guarantee, plus no pairing faff or battery anxiety, has been my biggest pro from making this swap. With wired earbuds, I know I’ll be able to enjoy my music on my morning commute without any complications.

Another bonus has been the physical controls. Using these has been an absolute treat after dealing with unreliable touch controls on many of the wireless audio peripherals I’ve used over the years. The tactile volume and play/pause buttons "just work", and I found myself using them more than I’d expect.

However, it’s not all rosy in Apple EarPods land. My biggest issue with these buds is the fit. Apple’s hard plastic earbuds have never agreed with my ear shape, and I’m reminded of many embarrassing instances in which I’d have to chase one of my AirPods as it tumbled down the road after leaping to freedom out of my ear.

The EarPods are, thankfully, a slightly better fit, and they didn’t fall out quite as much, but they didn’t feel very secure either. I struggled to get any sort of seal, and while I’m not expecting miraculous noise isolation without silicone ear tips (more on that momentarily), I found that my music was easily drowned out by the screeching of the Northern line.

I’ve had to turn the EarPods up to maximum volume to counteract this, whereas my Pi8 earbuds can happily sit at the middle volume point while remaining perfectly audible.

These downsides comprise the most important aspect of any earphones for me: audio quality. Which is why I don’t think I can make the EarPods my day-to-day earbuds.

The fact that I have to crank the volume up to compensate for a poor seal and lack of noise cancelling, and I've found that bass and dynamics leave a lot to be desired. That being said, I found the mids and highs to be clear and balanced, which also meant that vocals sounded pretty good.

Now, is it fair to compare a pair of £349 noise-cancelling wireless earbuds created by one of the most notable British hi-fi brands to a pair of £19 wired earbuds?

No, it is not, but considering I’ve seen plenty of people online supposedly drop their AirPods in favour of the wired alternatives, it’s also quite a relevant comparison.

This means that, unfortunately (but ultimately not surprisingly), I won’t be joining the trendiest echelon of London’s most fashionable individuals.

However, not all hope is lost…

The smart choice

Surprise! I haven’t just been using the Apple EarPods. I’ve also taken the five-star Sound Magic E80D buds for a test drive as part of this experiment, and these have yielded much better results.

These buds come with a selection of silicone eartips. Personally, the dual-layered eartips suited me, as I could burrow them into my ear holes for a more secure fit and better sound isolation.

Furthermore, these buds sound great and are a cut above Apple EarPods. They sound fuller and more dynamic, and the tighter seal against my ears does wonders for the bass.

It’s not all perfect. As expected, they don’t rival my Bowers & Wilkins buds in terms of volume or musicality.

I also found cable noise to be pretty problematic with these earbuds. The sound from the cable rubbing against my coat was irritating, although this may become less prominent in the warmer months when I can comfortably leave the house without layering up.

There's also the annoying “L” shape connector. It’s amazing for laptop use, but using them with a phone is another story – as someone who shifts their phone between hands fairly frequently, I found the palm of my hand often clashed with the wire.

And this is the one instance in which style counts (I’m testing “trendy” earbuds after all), so seeing “Made In China” staring at me as I plug them in is somewhat utilitarian.

My overall choice?

I won’t beat around the bush here – I’m going back to my wireless earbuds and headphones. I’m sorry.

That being said, there are some genuine audio and quality of life upgrades that I enjoyed while trialling these wired earbuds.

Not having to charge my earbuds, and the tactility of the physical controls, were both major bonus points, but the lack of noise cancelling proved to be the biggest hurdle in how I use my earbuds day-to-day. Having to crank these wired buds to their limit is far from ideal (and I’m being constantly nagged by my phone that the volume is too high).

For the sake of my music (and my ears), I’ll be crawling back to the imperfect, but ultimately preferable, world of wireless earbuds.

MORE:

Check out our picks for the best wireless earbuds

As well as the best wired earbuds

And read our full Sony WF-1000XM6 review