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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   1687 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 25, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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What's the best bang for your buck (in terms of QOL) purchase you've ever made? The cheaper the better.

I'd say in-ear earphones with solid ANC are up there. I'm sitting outside the arrivals section of a busy international airport, and I felt mildly annoyed by the honking and general noise with earphones on and ANC engaged. Then I took them off to check and was practically deafened. Yup, they're cutting down 90% of the cacophony.

I own a pair of Galaxy Buds 3 Pros, purchased at about £130. I think they sound great, the ANC isn't quite as good as the Airpods I bought my brother on his birthday, but it's clearly a cut above my older Buds 2 Pro (Plus?). I happen to prefer the sound quality, and unless you've got an iPhone, they're about the best you can get on an Android device that isn't rooted and running Libre Pods. In fact, good ANC tends to improve sound quality overall in my experience, as it preserves bass by changing the acoustic impedance.

(The default Android kernel has a buggy, non-compliant Bluetooth stack. Until Google upstreams a patch, you need the root to get actual standards compliance and the ability to make use of all the Airpods' features.)

What's the best bang for your buck (in terms of QOL) purchase you've ever made? The cheaper the better.

IDK about best of all time, but my best recent lifestyle upgrade was a Bio-Bidet BB-1000.

I own a pair of Galaxy Buds 3 Pros, purchased at about £130. I think they sound great, the ANC isn't quite as good as the Airpods I bought my brother on his birthday, but it's clearly a cut above my older Buds 2 Pro (Plus?).

For whatever reason, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pros actually weren't quite up to the Galaxy Buds 2 Pros in terms of ANC. They were pretty widely knocked in for worse ANC at low frequency levels compared to the Buds 2 Pro, which was something that kept me from upgrading to them.

Father in law gave us a bidet for Christmas. Kids immediately learned how to turn it into a squirt gun. We had to return it.

Eh? I've used both back to back, and I can assure you the ANC is miles ahead on the old model. I haven't seen that claim made in a professional review so far, and I did check quite a few before purchase. I didn't see much of a problem on the lows, but the most annoying noise you want to cancel is usually mid frequencies or higher in my experience.

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