About Scarbir
How do I test and review audio products?
1. Who am I, and why do I do this
Hi! My name is Bart - but call me Scarbir. :-)
In 2017, I fell in love with a ridiculously low priced wired earphone from China - the KZ ATE. It had (and still has) a nice smooth bass, warm sound and most importantly: I heard new details in the songs I listened to for years. Even though I already had a sweet speaker setup at home and the much praised 300 dollar Bowers & Wilkins P5 Series II headphone. I was flabbergasted, and knew I wanted to try out much more cheap audio, in search of more pearls like the KZ ATE.
Well… that hobby kind of exploded. Two and a half years and 150+ audio products tested later, I decided to start this site for honest reviews.
2. What do I mean by honest reviews?
The deeper I searched for more great affordable audio, the more I discovered that it's a world of many traps. Products that sound bad, can simply have the same raving user reviews as products that are genuinely good. Bad products sometimes carry up to twenty different names on AliExpress, and another twenty on Amazon. There are many fake user reviews out there, there are bad sponsored earphones and headphones... and then there's some (happily not all!) YouTube reviewers rather making a commercial about a product to make a quick buck, then to properly describe and review a product. So even when looking for reviews, it can be really hard to pick out the true affordable gems.
Finding gems is what drives me. I love a great audio product for an ever greater price. That's why, with over 400 earphones, headphones, Bluetooth sports earphones, earbuds and true wireless earphones tested, I setup this site for elaborate and honest reviews on audio products, starting of with my favourite true wireless earphones category. No commercial fakery here. :-)
I only write reviews after elaborative testing of the products. In the end, I include the pros and definitely also the cons of products in my reviews - because they matter. Then I add a 1-5 star score and take the product into account on all of my further tests.
I may not be the fastest earphone reviewer, because my honesty causes me to buy most of the earphones myself - rather than receiving them from manufacturers. What I lack in speed, I hope to make up for in extensive testing and honesty.
Please also read my disclaimer for responsibility/ accountability
3. What do my review scores stand for?
I've separated my collection into five ratings. Please take note: price-quality is always taken into consideration!
FIVE STARS *****: Excellent. Always one of the best choices you can make, for their price and in general, incredible value for money.
4.5 STARS *****: Great. Among the best wireless earbuds for their price
FOUR STARS ****: Good. I recommended this product for its price and in general.
THREE STARS ***: Worth considering. Decent or good for its price. Please pay special attention to possible cons. The product may be good for you, perfect even, but there are soms cons to take into account.
TWO STARS **: Disappointing. May please some people, but probably not us, looking for great audio quality for great prices.
ONE STAR *: Trash. Avoid and look further. There are so many better choices to make.
4. How do I test wireless earbuds?
I listen to wireless earbuds mainly on the Google Pixel 6A, as Android users make up to 70 percent of my readers, with the Pixel being the most used phone. I also test all earphones on the iPhone 12 Pro. This is how I test them:
Comfort: I wear the earbuds for hours in a row, to test their comfort and fit. I shake my head rapidly to see if they stay in and simulate runs - or take them out for an actual run.
Battery life: Unfortunately, it is impossible for me to try and test out the actual battery life on a single charge. What I do is use and listen to the earbuds for multiple hours and then check out the remaining Bluetooth battery percentage on Android/ iPhone and calculate it. It's often close to the statements by the brand, but actual outcome may vary by switching Active Noise Cancelling on/off, taking phone or video calls and the volume level of your playback.
Charging: I check if the charging via USB-C and wireless charging work.
Controls: I test using the controls standing still and on the move, to see how easy it is the control the earbuds. I also look into the earbuds' app (if there is any) to see if the controls can be adjusted.
Connectivity: I walk away from the earbuds to see if the connection to my phone lasts, and connect 2-3 devices to the earbuds to see how they handle multipoint connectivity.
Waterproof rating: I try to take out every earbud out in the rain to test their waterproof level - there's only been one earbud that failed because of it. I also take IPX7 waterproof earbuds under the shower, to see if they still work and aren't accidentally controlled by water streams.
Playback: I watch videos on YouTube and play games with them on both Android and iPhone to check for audio-video synchronization. For games, I play Call of Duty mobile as it's a demanding game, which also lets me test the spatial detail of the sound - is it possible to detect where footsteps and gunshots come from?
Calls: I always test the call quality on three levels: indoors in a quiet area, indoors with voices and sounds around me (when I don't have actual people around, I use 10 Full Hours of People Talking on always the same 8 volume bars on my MacBook Air and clap my hands and snap fingers) and outdoor while walking against the wind.
App: If an earbud has app support, I test the app on both Android and iPhone and check out the various functions, like ANC settings, control settings, firmware updates, and sound equalizer presets.
Sound: I test the maximum and minimum volume, listen to different kind of modern and popular music genres to see if I can enjoy them on active listening volumes, and test out technicalities too, in more challenging songs from my Scarbir TWS Test List on the highest audio quality setting on Spotify.
Comparisons: After I get a solid impression, I take out what I consider relevant competitors to compare them to directly. I check the sound quality - bass, mids, highs, soundstage, tonality and detail retrieval - on several instances, on a technical level, but also just to see if I like the sound when I just pick up the earphones at random times.
Please also read my disclaimer for responsibility/ accountability
5. How do I decide my 1-5 star rating?
I get that some of you would like to see the most objective star review score as possible, but it's so, so hard, if not a mission impossible to be totally objective. The comfort, the fit, the connection between a Bluetooth product and your smartphone, the power of the device you play music from, preferred sound signature: all are really personal. There simply are too many variables.
That's why I don't claim to have an objective scoring. After reading a review, you may feel like 'this reads like a four star review, yet it gets three stars'. Or: 'watching movies and calling gets two stars, still this product gets five stars overall'. It's true.
My overall score is decided directly on how the product fares against competitors, but just as important to me is: will I pick this up as my go-to audio product the next morning? Will I take this to work? Will I pick this one if I want to really enjoy listening to music for the next hour? Can I keep on listening without wanting to listen to another earphone or headphone? The more likely it is I answer yes to those questions, the more likely a five star rating is within range. :-)
By the way: if there is a game changer for a certain price, I'll make sure to update and readjust other scores and reviews when needed.
6. Do I buy all my products myself?
Most of them. Some of them are sent to me for free for reviewing purposes. I test all products equally honest however. If I don't like it, I'll write it. You can see whether I received an earphone from the manufacturer or whether I bought it myself underneath each review.
7. ‘I am a manufacturer of audio products, can I send a review example?’
If you are a manufacturer of earphones, headphones or other audio products and you accept my honesty as described on this page - and would like your product reviewed, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Please take note: I don't do commercial actions, giveaways or sponsored reviews. Honesty is all I care about.
8. ‘Can I do review suggestions?’
I am not sure if I can handle your review request, but sure, you can do review suggestions! Please head over to the contact page. :-)
9. ‘If you have to buy most of the earphones yourself, can I support you?’
I actually got this question a couple of times. So yes, now you can donate via PayPal! It is greatly, greatly appreciated.
Happy hunting for great affordable audio!
- Scarbir
