When I was a little kid playing princess dress-ups, long before I was old enough to pierce my ears, my mum got me some shiny clip-on earrings. They clipped onto my earlobes and were encrusted with dozens of sparkling fake diamonds, and they really helped with my role-play of ruling over the land of the teddy bears.
The Motorola Buds Loop is a set of true wireless open-ear headphones, and thanks to the collaboration with Swarovski, it’s covered in crystals. They’re easy to wear so we can all play princess dress-ups again, and I enjoy many aspects of it, including the concept.
But are the Moto Buds Loop worth the money? Or are they just a fun oddity?
Table of contents
- First impressions
- Specifications and price
- Comfort
- Audio quality
- Aesthetics
- Who is the Moto Buds Loop Swarovski Edition for?
First impressions
My first reaction upon seeing the Motorola Buds Loop was surprise that the case isn’t also bedazzled. I am a strong believer in that if you’re going to do something, you should do it. Commit. These buds don’t commit enough. I’ll get more into the aesthetic choices below, but I had high hopes that were not met.
As far as setup goes, it was easy. I opened the box near my phone and connected from the Bluetooth section in settings, and then was able to ride off on my bike listening to tunes five minutes later.
Motorola Moto Buds Loop specifications and price
| Audio technology | 12mm ironless drivers Sound by Bose Spatial audio |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Battery life | 8 hours of playtime with an extra 37 hours in the case. |
| Water resistance rating | Water-repellent design |
| Price (RRP) | $399 |
| Warranty | One year in addition to your Australian Consumer Law Rights |
| Official website | Motorola Australia |
In addition to those specs, it’s worth noting that the sound is tuned by Bose, so it sounds better than it looks.
But otherwise, it’s very clear to see that a large chunk of the $399 is for the crystals. At that price, you could get some really good headphones, or the best open-ear buds on the market. For $399 I would expect Bluetooth 5.3 at minimum, as well as an IP57 rating at least.
Motorola advertises the buds as being protected against “moderate exposure to water such as accidental spills, splashes, or light rain”, which is a bit vague. On a ride the other day, I got drenched when a truck drove through a puddle next to me, and I got splashed. Is that the kind of splash Motorola means? Or the kind of splash you’d see in a Neutrogena ad? With a specific IP rating, you can compare and contrast, not so much with “splashes and light rain”.
At least Motorola is more specific when it says the Moto Buds Loop are “not designed to be submerged in water”.
Comfort
This is a very challenging form factor to make comfortable. If you make the band too soft, it’ll fall off. If you make it too rigid (as Motorola has done here), it becomes uncomfortable if you don’t have the ideal ear shape.
I do not have the ideal ear shape. I can only get the left bud close enough to the entrance of my ear canal to get the optimal fit. By comparison, my right ear has lower-quality audio and the fit hurts.
This clip-on form factor is gaining popularity, with more and more headphones releasing in this style. Personally, I think it’s the worst of all worlds, but other brands (like Shokz and Bose) have managed to make it in a more malleable shape to better suit more ear shapes.
A reason why I think this style is the worst of all worlds is that it’s a pair of open-ear headphones that isn’t designed to be exercised in. One of the main benefits of open-ear headphones is that you can run or ride relatively safely in them.
While I don’t think Motorola would encourage it, I took the Moto Buds Loop for a 20km bike ride with absolutely no problems. They did interact with my helmet strap a few times in a way I found annoying, but they never felt in danger of falling out and (if I put them on in a non-optimal way, away from my ear canal), they were comfortable enough to be worn for an hour.
One thing I do really like is that the back plate of each bud has a physical button to pause or skip songs, and it worked most of the time! Not all the time, but it worked more often than it didn’t, and that’s something.
Audio quality
This style of headphones is designed for open-ear listening, so they’re going to sound different to a pair of AirPods or other more traditional true wireless headphones. The aim is for you to be able to hear the world around you and conduct conversations, while also hearing music or a podcast.
They’re not for audiophile listening or finding the beautiful details in a song. However, the Moto Buds Loop sound way better than they have any right to. Bose really crushed it on this one. They don’t hold a candle to my favourite open-ear buds (the Shokz OpenFit Pro), but they sound better than any other buds I’ve tried in this style.
With the buds in the (uncomfortable) proper position, I get a surprising amount of bass. Often on this style of headphones you can just hear the shadow of the bass, but I can hear the kick drum coming through and the meaty guitars in “Goddess” by Pvris just fine.
It’s better than I would expect on a delicate song like “Infinite Ache” by Kaki King. I get enough of the soundstage that I’m having a good time, even if I can’t hear the human details of fingers on frets.
These aren’t headphones I would choose for a first listen to a new album from my favourite band if I had other options. But were my ears able to comfortably get the optimal fit, I would happily use them while exercising when I was feeling blingy.
Aesthetics
Normally the aesthetics of true wireless headphones wouldn’t merit their own heading, but these Moto Buds Loop are really all about the aesthetic. The Swarovski crystals account for probably half the price.
I can see what they were going for: princess sparkle earrings. The problem is that, like on the case, they just didn’t commit hard enough. Had Motorola chosen a shinier, metallic material for the rest of the buds, they could have looked like premium jewellery. Had they covered more of the buds in the crystals, it would have been sparklier and worked better.
The problem is that these buds look like regular buds that have had some crystals glued onto the band. Which is what they are. The combo of sparkly crystals and (in the case of my Pantone Ice Melt review pair) light blue plastic is a lot closer to the dress-up princess earrings I wore as a very small child than the premium jewellery aesthetic Swarovski normally goes for.
It makes these buds look cheap and tacky, and it brings down the appearance of the crystals. Because of how they’ve been styled and paired, I really can’t tell they’re premium crystals. It’s also worth noting that Motorola has since released additional colours in this range.
I love the idea, and I think it is possible to execute this idea well. I just don’t think they’ve done that here. However, I’m an aging millennial. Maybe this is the aesthetic Gen Z is into. And if you love it, then I’m so glad this niche has been filled for you.
Who is the Moto Buds Loop Swarovski Edition for?
The Moto Buds Loop Swarovski open-ear earbuds are for people who love the way they look. You would buy this pair for purely aesthetic reasons.
You can get the same buds without the crystals for $100 cheaper. Plus, there are better headphones at the same price that (in my opinion) suit a wider range of personal styles. You’d buy these headphones because you like the way they look and want them to be a conversation starter.
The post Motorola Moto Buds Loop Swarovski review: Sparkle Sparkle appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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