yurbuds inspire 300A couple of months ago, I accidentally washed my last set of Apple earbuds. I was pretty sure I had one more pair in the house, but I guess my son took them back to college after Christmas–he’s notorious for walking off with any earbuds that aren’t tied down. I’d been dreading this day because the Apple earbuds fit my ears so well, and the sound quality, while not great, was good enough.

When I started my hunt on Amazon, I discovered that most earbuds with an in-line microphone (required since my earbuds are also my phone headset) are now the “noise-isolating in-ear” type, and I found a pair which received good reviews, so I ordered them. And discovered that they don’t work for me. Even when inserted properly, they hurt my ears, and the sound quality was like listening down a well. Back they went.

I headed off to Best Buy, resigned to dropping lots of money on a set of Bose earbuds. I have a pair, purchased before they came with in-line microphones, and they do stay in my ears, but damn, they are expensive. Wandering the aisles, praying for an alternative, I saw the yurbuds Inspire 300 for Women. They said they were guaranteed not to fall out. I was skeptical, but they were a third the price of the Bose, so I bought them.

Gotta start by saying I’m not crazy about the color. I preferred the black and red of the ones for guys, but I do have small ears, so I figured, if they worked, I could live with pale blue. It was off-putting to realize I needed a video to tell me how to put them in properly, and my first couple of tries failed miserably. They fell out easily and hurt like crazy. I finally asked my husband for help, and he was able to get them in, first try. (Darned husband who isn’t spatial relationship challenged!)

There’s this trick where you put them in at just the right angle and twist. It took me a couple more tries, but once I got it, I got it, and now they go in just as fast as my old Apple buds. And you know what? They don’t fall out. My Apple buds always fell out of my right ear (but not the left, oddly enough). The yurbuds don’t. They get a bit loose when I put up my hood, but then I adjust them and they stay put for an entire walk.

Sound quality is between the Apple earbuds and my Bose, which means it’s just fine for me. Audiophiles might not agree. I use them for audiobooks, music and watching video. If the sound quality is off, usually a slight re-position makes a difference. The microphone works fine. When I was interviewed for the Kindle Chronicles podcast last week, I used them and Len said the sound quality was good..

One cool feature? The back of the buds are magnetic, so they snap together, which makes storing them easy. The cord is no more, and slightly less, tangle-prone than others, but they still tangle. I store them in my Nest earbud holder, which keeps them tangle-free.

Lots of reviews on Amazon say they don’t last long, with one ear going out within a few months. That’s why I waited to review them. I’ve had them almost two months now, and so far, so good. I use them just about every day, so it’s not like I’m babying them. I’ll update this post if something happens.

If you’re picky about the comfort and fit of your earbuds, I’d say look at these.

3 COMMENTS

  1. I’m reluctant to spend a lot on earbuds because — as you’ve discovered — they often get lost, or go through the wash, or simply break after regular use. I quite often snag the cord while walking or exercising, which eventually breaks the wire inside the insulation.

    My latest purchase — yet to arrive — is a wireless headset with Bluetooth reception. If that works as advertised I’ll be able to take along a tablet with a 3G connection to the gym, keep it in my bag, and stream audio to it from the cloud while I listen remotely. Of course, things don’t always work out that way…

    • @Jon, I’ve had trouble with Bluetooth headsets. Every one I’ve tried has worked when I test it out but as soon as a call comes in, it fails. I’ll be curious to hear how yours works for you. yurbuds has a wireless version too, which does tempt me.

  2. I do like them but no, they do not last long. My second pair keeps cutting out in 1 ear and that is what happened with my first pair. Since it is a wire issue, maybe wireless would be better…but they do not seem to get good reviews either. I will definitely not buy the corded yurbuds ever again.

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