I wonder why they didn’t use their own chipset like they did with the W4? That was a strange omission on their part.

Keep in mind Bluetooth 5.0 is a very recent thing, and not every device has LDAC native, iPhones aside. Older devices may not have the low latency to support lossless. Either way the dongle is a thoughtful inclusion with that fact in mind.

TWS sets are actually decent quality nowadays, so that. Besides I’d rather lose a $400 TWS than a $4k IEM……

Stuck on iOS 15? Update your phone…. That’s kinda important since iOS apps don’t support older devices that are stuck on older versions of iOS unlike Android. Anyway iPhone only does AAC for streaming so you’re not burning any more battery…and don’t waste time trying to enable something like...

6 months of arguments for free? I’m good lol

I wonder how does it compare to the Pulse Explore? https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/sony-pulse-explore-earbuds-hands-on-absurdly-good-sound/

I mean you can always just sell them if you don’t like them? AKG usually does sales occasionally so it might be better to wait and see? Prime day is coming up and it might be one of the items on sale.

Rotary phones still existed in the 90s, as well as phone booths. Today is definitely more of a direct to consumer model than it ever was before.

To keep the thread on topic I’ll keep this brief. Before streaming, artists had to sign rights to their own music away for record deals, and there’s no guarantee that as an artist that you would even get a good deal, let alone a second contract. And anytime a song gets used in a commercial...

Artists make the vast majority of their money on live performances and merch. Not streams or album sales…Always have been that way.

Well there’s been numerous Hi-Fi alternatives to Spotify for some time now, why insist and wait for them? Apple Music/Tidal/Amazon/qobuzz offer hi rez too.

Sounds like it's portable but I'm guessing the target use is as a companion for a tablet or a laptop. I know for a fact that iPhone still has limitations on power output, and likely some Android phones do as well.

Honestly the sub $1k thing I keep going back to is my LCD-i4, B-stock, whenever it's available is roughly at $1k. Scales well with power (especially with a 4.4m cable), but it's perfectly happy with mobile sources. And with EQ the sound is like a chameleon, with TOTL realism and imaging. Some...

Customs are marriage...make sure you like what you hear first before committing to a custom.

Yeah, I’ll just pick them up when I see relatives in Japan. Thanks to the exchange rate it’s $250 in Japan or less.

Sounds like the Aviots are becoming favorites around here. It’s available on Amazon US now. https://a.co/d/03XQ2CbT

Anyone taking the plunge? https://shop.musicteck.com/products/brise-audio-fugaku?syclid=cpspqccom04s73am06lg&utm_campaign=emailmarketing_181270708514&utm_medium=email&utm_source=shopify_email I wonder if it will be at CamJam SoCal ? I would definitely like to hear it.

I'd imagine that labor would be a pretty big factor in costs, both the labor in coming up with novel designs, and the labor in assembling said design in a sellable unit. For all the kilobuck IEMs I'd imagine that it involves a decent amount of hand assembly time for 1 unit, no one is trying to...

It’s a ODM development kit. Just like a development PS5 you pay more for features that are relevant for development and not necessarily regular consumer use.

Is the Scyne even released? Pretty surprised that no one has ANY impressions on it unless it's a Japan only release.

We only have a limited capacity to listen to earphones and if you’re constantly trying new stuff I could see why some sets don’t get much use.

Honestly the only time I really use IEMs is in a cafe/airplane/desk where I can really sit down and enjoy them. I see it as a safety issue to use headphones in public like that ( traffic, walking, hiking, etc). Besides why not enjoy the area?

Here’s the problem with that mindset…what’s the value of a dollar? What’s your value of a dollar? Also someone may value those technicalities and shortcomings more than others. So there’s more gained by keeping it neutral and simply highlighting the differences in comparisons.

Any updates on availability? 🫣

I believe the ads are curated based on your search history and not on Head-fi. I get audio ads all the time on non-audio sites