Waarom ik klaar ben met die dure AirPods (en waarom je dat geld beter aan iets anders kunt besteden)
Was het dinsdag of woensdag? Hoe moet ik dat weten? Wat ik me wel herinner, is dat het stortregende en dat ik met een doorweekte jas in de intercitytrein zat, ergens halverwege Eindhoven en Utrecht. Je kent die reizen wel. De ramen beslaan, het ruikt naar natte hond en koffie, en de helft van de passagiers staart lusteloos naar een klein schermpje
Er zat een man schuin tegenover me. Twintig of vijfentwintig, schat ik. Hij was behoorlijk aan het prutsen met zijn linker oortje. Hij trok dat glimmende witte, maar al te bekende buisje uit zijn oor, staarde ernaar alsof het ding zojuist zijn bankrekening had geplunderd, en duwde het terug in dat kleine witte doosje. Je hoorde die typische magnetische klik. Vijf seconden wachten. Terug in zijn oor. En nog eens. En nog eens.
Op een gegeven moment zuchtte hij zo diep dat de vrouw naast hem opkeek, en hij smeet dat kleine doosje met een harde klap op de klaptafel. We keken elkaar even aan en begonnen een gesprek. Het was zo'n bizar herkenbaar verhaal. Hij had die oordopjes amper anderhalf jaar geleden gekocht. Hij had er een flinke som geld voor betaald, ik geloof ergens rond de 230 euro. En nu? Nu viel de linkerkant steevast na tien minuten uit. Zijn iPhone-scherm bleef volhouden dat de batterij nog 100% vol was (wat misschien wel het meest frustrerende is, dat je telefoon je gewoon voorliegt), maar in werkelijkheid zat hij de rest van de rit zwijgend naar een veld te staren. Ik voelde echt met die jongen mee. Want eerlijk gezegd? Ik heb precies hetzelfde meegemaakt.
Hoe bizar is het eigenlijk dat we oordopjes zomaar weggooien?
Als je er objectief naar kijkt, is het eigenlijk volkomen absurd wat we tegenwoordig allemaal accepteren van die grote techmerken. We leven in 2026, zeg nou zelf! Een blok kaas kost tegenwoordig een fortuin in de supermarkt, je energierekening is een lachertje, en toch laten we ons massaal wijsmaken dat het volkomen normaal is om tweehonderd (of voor die 'Pro'-versies zelfs driehonderd!) euro uit te geven aan twee kleine batterijen die vanaf de eerste dag al kapot gaan.
Want, tja, dat is nu juist de kern van de zaak. Dit is geen complottheorie over geplande veroudering op het dark web; dit is gewoon simpele scheikunde. Lithium-ionbatterijen degraderen. Punt. En omdat Apple en dergelijke alles met liters industriële lijm aan elkaar lijmen in die belachelijk dure behuizingen, valt er absoluut niets te repareren. Dus na een jaar of twee gooi je in feite ruim tweehonderd euro rechtstreeks de prullenbak in. Is dat niet te absurd voor woorden?
Die hele "Apple-belasting"—het feit dat je een fortuin betaalt voor een klein wit logo en dat de halve straat kan zien dat je "erbij hoort"—ik ben er helemaal klaar mee. Ik weiger er gewoonweg nog langer aan mee te doen.
De laatste tijd ben ik, puur uit koppigheid (en ja, ook een beetje nieuwsgierigheid), eens buiten die strakke, aantrekkelijke bubbel van de grote fruitmerken gaan kijken. Ik wilde weten wat er gebeurt als je gewoon een goedkoper merk kiest. Iets wat je niet meteen in elke bushalte ziet hangen. Toen stuitte ik op EGS. Ik wilde gewoon testen of goedkoop nog steeds betekent dat het klinkt als een wesp in je oor. En spoiler alert: ik was eigenlijk best wel verbaasd over hoe absurd goed die spullen tegenwoordig gemaakt zijn.
Het begon met de KW13 (gewoon omdat ze goedkoop waren).
Look, in the beginning, I just bought the KW13. Why? Because they cost less than 35 euros and I needed a set for when I forgot my headphones. It was literally an impulse purchase. I didn't want any hassle. I wanted something that just turned on as soon as I closed the door, without having to create three accounts and calibrate app settings first. And well, they simply do exactly what they are supposed to do.
But what really struck me – and this used to be a real nightmare with those cheap budget earbuds – is how incredibly stable the connection is. I walk through Utrecht Central Station quite regularly for work, right during the evening rush hour. In the past, with other sets, I knew exactly where on the platform my Spotify would stutter. Probably due to the thousands of other Bluetooth signals, NS Wi-Fi hotspots, and who knows what other radiation is flying through that hall. With these things? Absolutely nothing. Zero stutters. Apparently, there is some newer chip inside (Bluetooth 6.0 or something, whatever), but for me, it just means I no longer have to listen to stuttering podcasts when I have to run for my connection.
And one more thing: watching videos on your phone. I quite often lie in bed at night aimlessly scrolling through YouTube or TikTok. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is more annoying than watching someone whose lips are moving while the sound only lands in your ears a quarter of a second later. That used to drive me absolutely crazy with cheap earbuds. With the KW13, it’s just perfectly synchronized. That sounds like the most normal thing in the world now, but if you’ve ever tried cheap earbuds from Action for ten euros, you know what a misery that can be.
Why open-plan offices should be banned (and the A50 PRO)
Anyway, I do switch things up sometimes these days. Although that KW13 is perfect for the street, I really need heavier artillery at work. I honestly don't know which sadist ever came up with the idea that "open-plan offices" are good for productivity, but I would like to have a serious talk with them. Colleagues three desks away loudly analyzing their weekend padel match on the phone, or someone practically smashing their laptop keys through the table... sometimes I just want to lie under my desk and scream.
I discovered the A50 PRO for moments like that. Personally, I’m not a big fan of technical marketing jargon, but these things actually have active noise cancellation (ANC). And I don’t mean some half-baked fake version that only cuts off the hum of a refrigerator. No, this really works. You put them in, hold the side for a moment, and the world literally goes on mute. That talkative colleague? Gone. That crying baby on the train the other day? No problem. It brings such a ridiculous amount of peace to your mind; it’s more than worth those fifty euros to me.
Oh, just a quick word about calling, by the way. I used to be mortified when I was in a Teams meeting with a budget setup. I'd get the question again: "Are you in the bathroom or something? You sound like you're underwater." With the A50 PRO, they apparently did something smart with the microphones (they call it ENC, I believe). It filters out wind and cars before the other party hears it. Now I can just walk out on the street and have a meeting without people complaining.
My aversion to stuffing your ears (hello V8)
And then there's another thing. I have quite a few friends who refuse to wear earbuds as a matter of course. Why? Because they find it gross and annoying to shove those silicone plugs into their ear canals all day long. I get that. If I wear them for a long time, my ears start sweating too, they get itchy, and every time you take a step, you hear a sort of dull thump, thump of your own heels reverberating through your skull.
Because I recently started trying to run again (and cycle a lot), I got the V8 for that purpose. It’s one of those 'open-ear' types. It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it’s actually very simple: they don’t go into your ear, but they hook slightly over your earlobe and the little speaker floats right in front of it. For the first ten minutes, I really thought: this is going to fall off at the first gust of wind. But that doesn't happen.
In traffic, this is a real gold mine. The Netherlands is full of bike paths, but nowadays you get whizzed past left and right by whisper-quiet Teslas and those souped-up fat bikes that pop up out of nowhere. With regular earplugs in, I sometimes literally cycled with sweaty hands. Now, with that V8, I just put on some nice music, but if one of those fat bikes behind me starts honking, at least I hear it.
And that battery is really a joke. I am super lax about charging. I just toss that little case in my jacket and forget about it. The other day, I took them with me for a whole week for the gym and my commute. At the end of the week, that little LED screen on the case still indicated that it had power. They claim 40 hours, and although I really don't feel like sitting next to it with a kitchen timer, I believe it immediately.
Which one do you need then?
Friends often ask me: "Nice story, but which of those things on www.eargearshop.nl/collections/draadloze-oordopjes should I just buy?" To avoid repeating myself, here is my opinion, without the hassle:
EGS KW13 draadloze oordopjes (around 35 euros): Just get these if you want a simple set for walking the dog or watching videos on the couch. They have that stable Bluetooth 6.0 connection and you get about 7 hours of use out of them before they need to go back in the case. No fuss, just works.
EGS V8 open-ear draadloze oordopjes voor sport en fietsen in Nederland (around 40 euros): Definitely grab these if you do a lot of sports, ride a bike, or just hate things that sit deep in your ears. The open-ear design is super chill and the battery, at 40 hours in total with that 530 mAh case (it even has a handy little screen), is insanely long.
EGS A50 PRO draadloze oordopjes met ANC voor rust in een rumoerig kantoor(around 50 euros): Do you spend a lot of time on the train or work in a noisy office? Go for it. The ANC blocks that annoying background noise and the microphone is simply good enough for all your professional calls. A bit more expensive, but worth it for the peace and quiet alone.
Things I am often asked (FAQ)
1. But does that stuff actually work normally with my iPhone or MacBook?
Yeah, right, right. Apple really wants you to think that their products only communicate with other Apple products via some kind of magical space radiation. Nonsense. Bluetooth is universal. You go to your settings, tap the name, and you're connected. The first time, that literally takes four seconds longer than with an AirPod. If you want to pay an extra 150 euros for those four seconds, by all means, do so.
2. "Don't they break very easily or something?"
Always check if they have an IPX5 rating (or something similar). That means, more or less, that if it suddenly starts pouring rain in the Netherlands, your earbuds won't immediately short-circuit. The build quality is really good these days; those cases don't feel like cheap plastic toys at all anymore.
3. I sweat quite a lot at the gym, won't those things fall out?
No, for that you really need the V8. Because it hooks behind your ear instead of clamping into your ear canal, they won't slip out when you're working up a sweat on a treadmill.
The harsh conclusion
In short, just stop blindly lining the pockets of the richest companies on this planet, purely for a bit of status or because you think you have no other choice. It is 2026. Affordable sound has matured by now.
Use your common sense, buy something good for less money, and go out for a nice meal with what you save. Believe me, you'll get a lot more enjoyment out of that in the end than from a dying little battery in a white plastic stick.
