SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds 3 vs FiiO FT13 at a Glance
• SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds 3 — biggest strength: a genuinely do-everything design. Bluetooth 5.4, Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation with Galaxy AI, an Adaptive Equalizer that tailors sound to how the buds sit in your ears, and 6 hours per charge with 26 hours total from the case.
• SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds 3 — biggest trade-off: it's a sealed in-ear bud with no headphone jack and a battery that eventually needs charging — and with a 135-minute charge time, you'll want to plan around it.
• FiiO FT13 — biggest strength: serious acoustic hardware with zero battery anxiety. A 60 mm dynamic driver, Purpleheart wood housings, −26 dB passive isolation, and a swappable-plug cable that terminates in 3.5 mm.
• FiiO FT13 — biggest trade-off: it's wired only, over-ear, and built for a desk or a lap — not a pocket. No Bluetooth, no ANC, no case you'd slip into a jacket.
• Buy the Buds 3 if you want one pair of wireless earbuds for Switch play, commuting, calls-adjacent use and everyday listening.
• Buy the FT13 if you listen in one place, want isolation without charging anything, and care about that last bit of wired connection stability.
The Galaxy Buds 3 is the flexible choice. It's an in-ear bud in silver plastic, listed at just 5.4 g, with touch controls on the bud itself and Bluetooth 5.4 giving you a rated 10-metre range. In practice that means you can leave your Switch docked or sitting on the table and walk around with nothing tethering you. The spec sheet lists a balanced armature driver at 16 ohms, which tells you Samsung is chasing precision and detail rather than raw thump.
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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-20 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
Battery is the honest headline: 6 hours per charge, 26 hours with the case, and a 135-minute charge time. Six hours is a long Switch session; 26 hours covers a week of commuting. Who should buy it? Anyone who wants wireless earbuds for Switch play, plus a pair that doubles as their everyday listening and travel set — and who values the included 2-year limited Samsung warranty on this Amazon-exclusive version. Who should skip it? Anyone who insists on a wired connection, dislikes silicone-sealed in-ears, or wants user-swappable cables and pads. There's no jack here at all.
The FT13 is a different animal entirely — and it's honest about it. This is a closed-back, over-ear, wired headphone with a 60 mm dynamic driver and a composite diaphragm built from European birch pulp reinforced with carbon fibre and blended with wool fibres. FiiO's claim is a natural, smooth, emotionally rich sound, and the design choices back that up: a W-shaped diaphragm to increase vibrating area and efficiency, plus a U-shaped damping tube to regulate airflow and reinforce bass. The Purpleheart wood housings aren't decoration either — the material's hardness is there to reduce resonance.
The practical selling point for gaming is the −26 dB of passive noise isolation. That's isolation with no battery, no charging case, no firmware, nothing to run out mid-session. Combined with 32 ohms impedance and high sensitivity, it's designed to be easy to drive — the kind of headphone that behaves on a modest source rather than demanding a desktop amplifier. The 20 Hz–20 kHz range covers the full audible span.
Comfort and accessories are where it justifies its over-ear build. You get an adjustable magnesium-aluminium alloy headband with a clear scale and smooth sliding, so you can actually return to the same fit every time, and two sets of earpads — sheepskin leather and suede — for two different listening textures. The sheepskin headband is spec'd to reduce heat build-up over long sessions. Then there's the cable: a Furukawa single-crystal copper and silver-plated OFC hybrid with interchangeable connectors and four plug options, plus a carrying case, pouch and cleaning cloth.
Who should buy it? The player who sits down for hours, wants isolation without charging, and would rather have a cable than a codec. Who should skip it? Anyone who wants wireless freedom, pocketability, or active noise control they can toggle. This is a stationary headphone, and it's unapologetic about that.
• Best for Switch play without a cable → SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds 3. Bluetooth 5.4 and 10 m of rated range mean you're not tied to the console.
• Best for zero-latency wired Switch play → FiiO FT13. A pure 3.5 mm wired connection with no wireless link in the chain.
• Best for adjustable noise control → SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds 3. Adaptive ANC you can manage with a touch, rather than a fixed level of isolation.
• Best for isolation without charging anything → FiiO FT13. −26 dB passive isolation that works forever, with no battery to top up.
• Best for long sessions away from an outlet → SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds 3. 6 hours per charge and 26 hours from the case beats 135 minutes of charging downtime.
• Best for travel and pocketability → SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds 3. 5.4 g buds and a charging case versus a full-size wooden headphone.
• Best for tuning the sound to your taste → FiiO FT13. Two earpad materials and an interchangeable-plug cable give you physical variables; the Buds 3 gives you Adaptive EQ instead.
• Best for warranty coverage → SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds 3. The spec sheet lists a 2-year limited Samsung warranty on this version, against 1 year for the FT13.
In my opinion, most people searching for a headphone for Switch should buy the SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds 3. It's the pair that follows you from the sofa to the bus to the desk, it cancels noise actively, it adapts its sound to your ears, and the case means you're rarely caught empty. I'd only steer you to the FiiO FT13 if you know you want to sit down, plug in, and stay plugged in — in which case the wood housings, the 60 mm driver and that −26 dB of passive isolation are a genuinely more serious listening proposition. Two very good answers to different questions. Check the current price on Amazon for each before you commit, since that's the one variable I can't judge for you.
It depends on how you play, and I know that sounds like a dodge — so here's the concrete version. If you want wireless earbuds for Switch sessions and general everyday use, the Buds 3 is the more versatile pick. If you want a wired connection with nothing between the console and your ears, the FT13's 3.5 mm cable is the simpler, more stable option.
Should I be looking at neckband headphones for Switch calls instead?
The Buds 3 uses Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation with Galaxy AI, which adjusts electronically to your surroundings. The FT13 relies on −26 dB of passive isolation from its closed-back wooden cups and pads. Active is adjustable and works without a tight seal; passive never needs power and never changes behaviour mid-session.
Yes, that's the point of the interchangeable connectors — four plug options are included with the Furukawa hybrid cable. At 32 ohms with high sensitivity, it's designed to be easy to drive from ordinary sources rather than requiring dedicated amplification. Just make sure the device you're using has the matching output.
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