I imagine the suckiness is relative to whether or not they use a cheap DAC to transmit the signal, though depending on when you last tried them even the bottom tier ones you might find in a cheap-o pair will probably perform decently enough.
Not earbuds, specifically, but I got a fairly cheap (I think it was ~$15) USB-C DAC to connect my phone to the 3.5mm jack in my car and the quality and volume of the audio is quite good without any extra power needed beyond whatever the phone provides.
I imagine the suckiness is relative to whether or not they use a cheap DAC to transmit the signal, though depending on when you last tried them even the bottom tier ones you might find in a cheap-o pair will probably perform decently enough.
Not earbuds, specifically, but I got a fairly cheap (I think it was ~$15) USB-C DAC to connect my phone to the 3.5mm jack in my car and the quality and volume of the audio is quite good without any extra power needed beyond whatever the phone provides.