For the gym or any activity where you don’t want any wires in the way in any capacity, finding a good wireless set is hard, but I think in general, having a wireless adapter is good enough if you’re just pairing from your phone. For instance, my Hiby R3 works at a BT receiver as well so I’ll use it with my phone with the R3 in my pocket. Apparently some standalone adapters like the ES100 and BTR3 are very good though.
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I just bought the AKG Tuned Samsung Galaxy Wireless Buds. Actually I bought two. The first one I got over the weekend was promptly stolen my me as I showed my new store grab by the lovely lady. She has now taken it everywhere she goes, and I cant even get a moment with it to measure it. 
So I ended up just getting my own set today. Supposedly it’s pretty decent, tuned to harman target pretty much spot on (though its not my preferred target curve). I’ll try it out a little later.
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I have the non wireless ones and they are pretty decent…the wired pixel buds are just as good… mostly use them both for long phone meetings. Interested in hearing your take on the wireless model.
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Funny, I just got a pair as well a couple days back. Didn’t pay anything for em though, so that should factor in to my impressions 
As far as I’m concerned they hurt like hell even with ideal configuration (large tips, medium wings)— sensitive ears and all that jazz. For what it’s worth though I will say that this is about as good as I expect of anything other than really tiny, bullet-shaped IEMs, so I’m actually impressed by how comfortable they feel (and the main reason I endure it is because I got them for free; I did just say that was gonna be a factor).
I can definitely see that these are tuned to the new Harman in-ear curve, which comes as no surprise since Harman has been a subsidiary of Samsung for the last little while, only that they’re very much lacking in proper sub-bass compared to the massive (+8dB boost at the bottommost frequencies. I’m pretty sure I’m getting a proper seal so it’s really just the driver not managing to do ultra-low frequencies justice, in my opinion. 70Hz and lower is definitely audible, but is largely uninspiring.
I have an S9+ so also have access to the Galaxy Wearables app and the five additional EQ profiles and miscellaneous other features it provides. The five are Bass Boost (midrange and treble attenuated), Soft (treble attenuated), Dynamic (midrange attenuated), Clear (bass attenuated), and Treble Boost (no thank you); they offer decent enough variation for non-configurable presets, though I’d have appreciated proper EQ sliders. I normally just stick with the stock profile though, occasionally switching to Dynamic just because it works at lower volumes. For when I feel like listening at somewhat higher volumes, I switch to the Soft setting.
I’d say the sound profile is overall unengaging. Even ignoring the lack of proper sub-bass it’s flat and sterile, leaning into lean and bright territory, which isn’t exactly my cup of tea. Trailing decays are almost nonexistent and initial attack is soft, exacerbating the whole boring-ness of the presentation. Imaging has alright directionality, muddled at times, but the images themselves are paper-thin and lack any sense of depth; what depth it does have is concealed beneath a layer of grit which I guess qualifies their whole timbre. I don’t have any useful experience with IEMs in general but will say that macrodetail didn’t leave me wanting for much in the context of casual listening. When actually listening to music I struggle discerning nuances that I’ve come to take for granted listening to headphones just out of my mobile, but that’s perhaps an unfair comparison since said headphones aren’t really in the same price category (yep it’s the HP-3s). Dynamics are flat, classical and even some pop rock songs I always go back to when I’m feeling low just don’t have the same oomph. The lean tonality does lend itself to “analytical” listening since there’s hardly any bass to mask details in the music, but it’s still a bit of a struggle at times.
For whatever reason I pick up a slight grammophone-esque quality to the sound when adjusting to it off the Klipsches. Last time I heard something like this was the Sony PFR-V1 which I loaned and penned a write up of a few weeks back, leading me to think it was an elevation around 2kHz again. I took a few quick measurements with my phone mic to confirm but found nothing to that effect— instead I see the tonal balance as being surprisingly linear through the audible spectrum, except extremely lacking in lowermost frequencies (not at all surprising) with a massive trough in the mid-treble region (surprising); the whole region from 4-9kHz is a massive 15dB downward slope followed by a sharp +10dB climb peaking at 12kHz which I thought would be extremely offensive to me given how I felt about the Fostex TH-X00 Ebony’s 11kHz blip but just seems to manifest as slow fatigue over marathon listening sessions.
Eh, ear canal resonances. Weird. Or I could be treble-deaf now which is just as likely at this point really.
The wireless range on Samsung’s proprietary Scalable codec is pretty decent, I can leave my phone in my room and the Buds are still effectively useful about 5m or so away through a couple thick walls. Have yet to determine usable range with direct line of sight but I’d really rather keep to the same room as my phone because sound quality and latency are obnoxiously bad otherwise. Think songs stuttering or dropping out entirely only to come back a second or two later.
Ambient Sound is a useful feature that helps me keep aware of my surroundings, and I appreciate that you can choose to have the Buds prioritise voices which I assume means it only lets sounds within a certain frequency band, ones with irregular patterns as in speech, pass through. The only downside is that the built-in microphones are horrible (tested by borrowing my sister’s phone and talking to her on the Buds), so what ambient noise I do get to hear is tinny and harsh— this does not jive well with the Buds’ tonal balance.
These don’t have active noise cancellation, but it’s impressive at passive. Again, no real point of reference for IEMs, but these are better at isolating from external noise than the stock Samsung buds that come with the S9 and S10— maybe the Advanced M4 with Comply tips did a better job but I’ve long since lost those. Really, these would be great for walking along the street in traffic and you want to keep your ears from getting blown out by truck horns, which is a very real concern on my commute. Fit is also good enough that I don’t worry too much about the Buds just falling off my ear if I sneeze too hard, but I would recommend getting something with a proper neck band at least if you plan on running or going hiking with them.
I just tried headbanging hard enough to make my temples hurt, shaking side to side as well. Nope, still secure. They do stick out of the ears a bit though, which while appreciated for the fact that it makes taking them out much easier might also prove tempting for others to do the same in less polite neighbourhoods. Also really uncomfortable lying down on my side.
I’m being deliberately critical to offset my inherent niceness about things, but on the whole I’d say these do the job well enough if the treble spike doesn’t bother you— the sort of environments you’re likely to wear these in don’t necessarily lend themselves to critical listening, so as far as getting acceptable levels of resolution without sliding the volume control past the red line these are perfectly acceptable. They’re also great for listening to podcasts or YouTube let’s plays (yes I like those) in bed or while walking around the house.
Obligatory snapshots— just used my phone since I don’t own a proper camera:
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I am thinking of buying my 20 year old daughter some wireless iems for her iPhone XR. The wired ones she got with her phone keep crapping out. Just some cheap ones as she’s not really into sound quality but they’ve got to be half decent at least. Any suggestions would be welcome. My area is wired iems not wireless. Thanks guys in advance.
If she’s already invested in the Apple ecosystem I don’t have very many horrific things to say about AirPods really. Mild U-shaped response, thumpy (but rather soft/indistinct) bass and a bit of a low/mid treble peak that might be fatiguing at higher volumes, but it does a lot well for modern music. There are some Jabra ones I’ve tried before that were actually rather impressive in store demo conditions, might have been the Elite Actives? Bit pricey though, but with resolution and clarity that does the price justice.
The new Drop x Nuforce ones look excellent, and measurements+impressions by Marv over on SBAF are really encouraging. Would have gone for those had it not been for international shipping, which has effed me over a few times before now— would avoid as often as possible.
SoundPeats True Free look like a good option for under $50, but measurements show a bit of a 10kHz spike. Could be coupler resonance so I’m not unduly concerned now, plus my own experience with a large yet somehow inoffensive 12kHz peak on the Galaxy Buds are pretty encouraging.
Or, again, I could be going treble deaf.
The reason I’m recommending the AirPods despite their not being the last word in resolution or finesse at their price point is the excellent convenience and QoL improvements for someone with multiple Apple products. They don’t sound horrible unless you need balanced sound and/or isolation. About my only real concern would be her cranking them to unsafe levels to compensate for higher than average ambient noise, in which case the SoundPeats would be a good budget recommendation.
Addendum: also apparently AirPods are how kids nowadays “flex on plebs”, I think it’s called (HAHA). They’re something of a status symbol among non audiophiles much like the original iPods were years back, which might be a good thing or a bad thing depending on whether you’re more concerned about your daughter impressing other people or other people exercising sticky fingers.
I just find it hilarious that some people I know on Android use AirPods just so others in school can see the stems coming out of their ears.
Oh, Tyll formerly of IF did a random post-retirement throwaway review of some affordable Funcl IEMs that he thought very highly of for the price category. A friend over on the other forum that isn’t Head-Fi pointed me in their direction when a different friend of mine (not an audiophile… wireless really is becoming a thing) asked me about an affordable pair. Here’s his review: https://youtu.be/tpEPPywEY-o
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Thanks for your very thorough answer. To be honest I had thought about AirPods too. As I say it’s just to listen to her music really and she’s no audiophile by any means. The AirPods are very good at what they do and like most Apples products are designed to within an inch of their lives. I will also peruse the other suggestions too. Thanks once again I appreciate it.
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I’m very rarely useful except in extremely niche instances so happy to help when I can. If anyone needs advice about using circumaural 'phones while out and about, I’m happy to oblige :))
She’ll love them, kids being how they are about shiny toys (cough). All the best!
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This little thing has become my usual suggestion for inexpensive, wireless, good performance, IEM versatile supporter product.
Some good reviews in here and out there, you can swap IEM depending the kind of connection you choose ( two pins or MMCX) and with a lot of good chinese IEM in the $18 - $45 range there is enough to look for fun. Also it pair perfectly with iPhones.
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Airpods are pretty decent. Imo they don’t sound/measure all that bad. Sure, you’re paying mostly for convenience, but if she has an iPhone, it’s hard to beat for wireless.
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Doesn’t Fostex have a similar thing coming out?
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Agree, and unlike a lot of the other True Wireless headphones, they are great for phone calls.
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Our friends at KZ have an option as well. I have one on route.
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Thanks everyone for the suggestions I appreciate it.
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I use these with my BGVP DMG for gym duty… they work really well also
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Thanks for the recommendation.
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I can recommend that you don’t buy the Anker Sound-something that are highly rated on Amazon, they are pretty crappy 
Apparently the BT20S exists now, which adds AptX. If that’s the case, that pretty much seals the deal as a true wireless recommendation.
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Anker Soundcore Spirit? I have a set for gym/subway/street use. Yes, they are fair and come with a double dose of flabby bass. However, the large silicone tips isolate very well in my ears, so the overall experience is decent for a noisy environment.
Regarding sound quality, I haven’t found enlightenment with any sub $150 Bluetooth products. So, cheap and disposable is fine for now.
No, I think they are called Anker Soundbuds Slim or something like that, they were highly praised on Amazon Spain. I did try to use them for indoor cycling but the connection kept dropping unless I held the source within a metre or so.
I have them in a drawer somewhere. I tried them again a couple of months ago and they didn’t last more than 10 minutes in my ears.