These $50 earbuds blew me away with stunning sound and plenty of comfort

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Baseus Bowie 30 earbuds are available now on Amazon for $49.
• With a solid, well-blended sound, tight bass, and crisp highs, these earbuds sound great with any genre of music.
• The squeeze controls can be a bit tricky when you’re in the middle of exercising, and you’ll have to download the app to customize them.

It never ceases to amaze me how good earbuds and headphones have become, especially relative to their prices. When I was younger, I’d spend twice as much money on headphones that would be blown away by some of the cheapest earbuds on the market today. 

Also: This stereo amp made me feel like I was hearing my favorite songs for the first time

Thanks to a combination of software, materials, and design, it’s now possible to buy earbuds that sound far better than they should without breaking the bank.

Take the Baseus Bowie 30 earbuds They’re rich-sounding, offer a nice blend of bass, mids, and highs, and have impressive noise canceling. They even sound good on calls, but what’s most impressive is that you can purchase them for under $50. 

View at Amazon

Not only do they have a name that screams “cool,” but they are also capable of producing a sound that Bowie himself would approve of. Now, I’m not saying they’re audiophile-grade quality, but for the average listener, these babies are outstanding. Let’s dive in.

Baseus Bowie 30 tech specs

• 10 mm composite drivers
• Baseus AudioUp algorithm for improved bass
• True wireless with Bluetooth 5.3 for stable, multipoint connections
• Active Noise Cancellation up to -50 dB
• Frequency response: Up to 20KHz
• Six mics
• 65-hour playtime with the help of the case and an 800mAh battery
• Low latency to prevent choppy connections or interruptions
• IPX4 sweatproof and waterproof
• EQ modes via app (available for Android and iOS) with a “Find my earbuds” feature

My experience

When I first got the Bowies, I did not install the Basus app. Instead, my Pixel 8 Pro automatically detected the earbuds, and from the “Connected Devices” settings window, I was able to enable/disable Spatial Audio, HD Audio, Phone Calls, and allow access to contacts and call history.

Also: The best earbuds I’ve ever listened to are not by Bose or Sony

I assumed I’d probably need to install the Baseus app to get the best sound from the earbuds, but I held off on that because I wanted to see how they sounded out of the box. To my surprise, the sound these sub-$50 earbuds produced was quite good. I put them through the usual gauntlet of test tracks, starting with Rush’s “Signals” album. If I had to base this review on that album alone, I would be willing to recommend these earbuds to anyone looking for well-balanced sound on the cheap.

There’s plenty of bass (maybe even more than you might want), mids that aren’t too glaring, and highs that are crisp but not harsh. Upon first listen, the Bowie 30 earbuds ticked off all the right boxes.

The music

Even though they sounded great up front, I dove into even more music, starting with Mendelssohn’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which is a particular favorite of mine (despite the overused “Wedding March”). I found the entire suite to sound delightful through the Bowie 30s.

A bit of Chinese Prog Metal, by way of OU, and the Bowie 30s really came to life. If you like the band, you’ll love how they sound in these earbuds. OUs music can get a bit confusing at times, but with the Bowie 30s, you don’t miss a thing.

Concrete Blonde’s “Bloodletting,” one of my all-time favorite albums, was fantastic. I got lost in “Caroline” enough that it took me right back to grad school in the 90s.

The controls

Unlike most earbuds, you don’t tap the sides to control music playback, enable ANC, or answer calls. Instead, you squeeze either the left or right post. This is where my only gripe with the earbuds comes in. The default actions assigned to each squeeze are as follows: 

• L/R – 1.5 second squeeze to enable ANC
• L/R – double squeeze to pause or play audio
• L/R – triple squeeze to access the mic
• L/R – double squeeze to answer/hang up calls
• L/R – swipe up or down to increase or decrease volume

Does it seem like something is missing here? There’s no default action assigned to skip track, which is, in my opinion, one of the most useful functions you’d want. To skip a track with the squeeze motion, you’ll have to download the app and then customize the controls yourself. 

Also: I tested JBL’s newest earbuds, and their best feature is also the most understated

Luckily, you can assign different functions for each earbud, so I left the double-squeeze on the left earbud to pause/play, and double squeeze on the right to skip. Still, the default controls could be better optimized. 

Additionally, the squeeze actions themselves aren’t always the easiest to execute. It’s fairly easy to do when you’re standing still or walking. But running, on the other hand, complicates the process, especially if you’re used to simply tapping. 

ZDNET’s buying advice

If you value quality sound over ease of control, the Baseus Bowie 30 earbuds are a great buy. For just $49 on Amazon, you get a pair of earbuds that are as comfortable as any I’ve used and sound as good as some I’ve reviewed for twice as much. 

Additionally, the LED display that shows how much battery remains in the case is a nice touch. You’ll never leave home wondering how many charges your case has.