Not everyone is an audiophile, and that’s okay. But once you’ve seen (or heard, I guess) the light of getting a little bit more than usual, it’s hard to go back. So what exactly is “a little bit more” when it comes to wireless earbuds? It’s not always easy to identify, but you’ll know it when you hear it, and the OnePlus Buds 4, while not looking like it on the surface, are definitely delivering that something extra.
See Buds 4 at OnePlus
Speaking of looks, let’s start there. If minimalism is your thing, you’ll find nothing to gripe about when it comes to the $130 OnePlus Buds 4. The pair I was sent is “Storm Gray,” which is to say, uh, gray. I prefer the shape of the case over the OnePlus Buds 3, which evolves from a pillow-like rectangle into an oval-ish egg shape. The gray also has a gunmetal-like finish to it, which, despite not being flashy in any way, is a nice touch. The buds themselves are… earbuds. There’s a medium-long stem, and, in general, they look as though they’re designed not to call a lot of attention to themselves. And if we’re taking the messaging from OnePlus at face value, which is the only value to take it at, that’s exactly what they are. They’re minimalist buds that fade into the background instead of making a statement.
OnePlus Buds 4 Nothing special outside, but better than average sound for the price. Pros Big bass
Big bass Great ear-tuning test
Great ear-tuning test Solid active noise cancellation Cons Boring design
Boring design No standout features
The good news is that whatever these wireless buds lack in design, they more than make up for in the way they sound. The OnePlus Buds 4 delivers an above-average listening experience and are priced competitively against comparable pairs of earbuds like those made by Nothing. Sound-wise, they also feel like a step up from the OnePlus Buds 3, especially when it comes to bass—a surprising strong suit of the OnePlus Buds 4. Though some bassy earbuds can sound over-simulated to a degree, I found that the OnePlus Buds 4 deliver a more natural-sounding low end, especially when you couple them with OnePlus’ “Golden Sound” listening test that can assess both your ear canal and your particular hearing levels and then tailor the sound of the earbuds to you personally. TV Girl’s “Fauxllennium” has been my testing song of choice as of late, and after I used Golden Sound to tune the buds to my specific hearing, I was able to hear mids and highs much better amid the bass and low end. It’s not that it was muddy with the out-of-box balanced tuning, but there’s no beating having each frequency tailored to your ears.
This type of personalized tuning technology isn’t unique to OnePlus’ buds. A few years ago, Nothing partnered with a company called Mimi that brings a similar sound profile experience to the Nothing X companion app. The whole process is very similar to Golden Sound and can tailor the audio tuning to the frequencies you hear (and don’t hear). OnePlus’ version works just a little bit better. I noticed a fairly drastic difference in my satisfaction with the sound after taking OnePlus’ hearing test. Such a big difference, in fact, that I would go as far as to consider Golden Sound mandatory if you’re buying these buds. No, really, if you don’t take this hearing test, you’re leaving money on the table.
Whether you prefer the OnePlus Buds 4 audio tuning over competitors like the Nothing Ear will largely depend on preference. Out of the box, I find the OnePlus Buds 4 and their 11mm ceramic-metal diaphragm woofer definitely deliver a more bass-forward experience, but that can also be adjusted in the HeyMelody app by choosing presets and even adjusting the level of “BassWave,” a feature that dynamically boosts bass depending on the song. Again, the same can be said for competitors like the Nothing Ear and Ear A, which both have preset and granular EQ. Speaking of the HeyMelody app, you should give that a download if you choose to pull the trigger on the OnePlus Buds 4 since that’s where you’ll activate other features like low-latency mode, which is ideal for gaming, and OnePlus 3D audio, which is OnePlus’ equivalent to Apple’s “Spatial Audio” and can change how playback sounds depending on how you tilt your head.
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