Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have been on the hunt for a good pair of bluetooth headphones for years. I first started at Best Buy, and tried a few of the 100+$ Motorolas. Either they always sounded like garbage, or simply were not nearly loud enough. I gave up on Bluetooth. Fast forward a few years, I am now an avid Amazon shopper. Reviews, reviews, reviews. This helps so much with shopping for something so finicky. I have tried several pairs of bluetooth headphones from Amazon. Some were okay at best, most were not worth using over wired. But I craved that convenience of the bluetooth. I've tried Avantree Sacool, Avantree Jogger, Kinovo 240's, And Soundbot 220's. These buds are closest compared to the Avantree Sacool Bluetooth buds, so for the purpose of this review, I will compare to those. I will start with the features I disliked most about the Sacool, and compare them to the Mpow Swift. COMFORT: The Avantree's were semi comfortable once in your ear, but never really felt secure. When running, I did have to often jam them back into my ears - Not pleasant. With the Sacools, it seems that comfort was more of an afterthought, if it was a thought at all. The Mpow Swift is 100% better, and not only the best bluetooth earbuds I've tried on, but are the most comfortable earbuds I have owned (wired or bluetooth). They come with many different tip sizes, which are great, but the real value is in the extra ear attachment pieces included. I have no doubt that there is an attachment & earpiece setup for everyone. I personally love the smallest buds, with the medium 'wings' that are soft silicone and lightly slide into a groove in your ear. This helps hold them in securely VERY well. CONTROLS: The controls of the Sacool are what ultimately turned me off of it. The buttons were on the left bud (I strongly prefer right), and were extremely soft & squishy. You had to press very hard to get the buttons to press, and when they were pressed, you hardly had any idea that they were. Not to mention, this vigorous button pressing always drove the buds into your ear canals. The Mpow Swift is done MUCH better. There are 3 buttons, really. The 'Multiuse' button (which turns them off/on, takes calls, etc.), and volume up and down. Songs can be skipped via holding vol+ or vol-, and it works pretty reliably. The best feature of these controls is that they're on the right bud, and they're CLICKY and easy to press vs mushy and unresponsive. Furthermore, the Mpow Swift adds in voiceover controls. When they turn on/off, the buds play out 'Power On, or Power Off', when in pairing mode, the headphones say 'Pairing', and when connected, say, 'connected', they even say 'out of range'! This is an amazing feature and is a vast improvement on most bluetooth earbuds that play a different tone ding as each of the above events happen (if you're lucky). Big thumbs up to the Swift. CABLE: The Avantree Sacool required that the cable wraps around your ear. This was not comfortable when you first put the earbuds on, but admittedly, you did forget about it over time. However, the Swift's stay securely enough in your ear that no cable wrapping around the ear is required. In fact, the cable on the Swift plays no role in the fit - You can put the cable down the front of your shirt or the back of your shirt, or just let it hang in either position!! I LOVE that I can have the cable going down the front of my shirt rather than flopping around in the back like the sacool's. My only complaint about the Swift's cable is that it is rather long, so it can get in the way more if you don't tuck it. However, the longer cable comes in handy when you only want to keep one bud in, and let the other hang or put on the back of your neck (when at work, or having a conversation). COMPATIBILITY: I was impressed with the ease of pairing to all of my devices with the Swift. I was able to pair to my Android Galaxy S5, Lenovo PC, iPad Mini, and desktop with a bluetooth dongle. The quality was impressive in all scenarios, and did not require any third-party drivers or software. I was able to connect to each device within 1 minute. Not much more to say here - I believe that these will work with any device you throw at them. SOUND QUALITY: For budget bluetooth headphones, this is where the Swift REALLY shines. These buds have incredible sound. They're comparable to the wired buds that came with my Galaxy S5 in all levels of volume & pitch. The volume is plenty loud - I've never had to hit max volume even when sprinting on the treadmill (noisy). With many of the over-the-ear bluetooth headphones I've tried, max volume was barely enough to keep me motivated while walking. When I use the smallest buds, and get the Swift deep into my ears, they do isolate probably 50% of ambient noise. Take that as you will - I love it myself, and if you wanted to hear more ambient noise for awareness, you could always keep them from sealing your ear canal as deeply with bigger buds. Lastly, I'd like to point out that when I use these for an hour or so, and switch to the Sacool by Avantree, the Avantree's are such lower quality that there is a (previously unnoticed) white noise sound in the background. When I put the Swift's back on, it goes away, and the sound quality is superb once again. VALUE: While these might not be the absolute best build or sound quality in the market (see: Jay Bird), I do believe that they are the best value. They're extremely cheap given what they are, and are MUCH better than devices in the same price range. Do not hesitate to buy these simply based on the fact that 'you get what you pay for'. EDITED 11/6/14: I just had to come back to say how superb these headphones have been. I ordered the 140+$ Blue Buds X By Jay Birds, and I returned them and came back to this. I will admit, the Blue Buds sounded better than the Swift, but the Swift is superior in comfort and build quality to me. While the Swift is slightly bulkier, they don't look as cheaply made to me, and they stay in my ears phenomenally. No discomfort, and I can put the cord down the front of my neck (tucked down shirt, this is my preferred wearing method) or drop it down my back. There are no cable management clips or fasteners with this unit, so if you prefer the behind-the-head style I'd recommend some zip ties to keep it snug. You should be able to find some thin, green zip ties at a dollar store. Rubber bands may suffice. Pictures: http://www.evernote.com/l/AO6UI8YERoVD0K8MqYEQbeZEbTR64fPfAu8/