[Chetan2412]

So my xperia 1 ii arrived for anyone interested in aptx vs aac, or iPhone vs Android.

It's about 20% louder than the iPhone with dolby atmos enabled, vocals are a lot more present. Without atmos I'd say it's maybe 10% louder, not very noticeable.

SQ wise, you get more clarity, but less warmth. Sounds a tad clinical. Could be the Sony sound signature there. I prefer the iPhone sound signature personally, it's suits these a bit better.

As an aside, it could also be the volume bump is small because the Sony has low output volume, I tried the headphone jack and the volume was woefully low, unacceptably actually. So this might be a factor. But indeed, an aptx device with dolby atmos will give a nice bump in volume over an iPhone with these.

I would have expected no difference at all in sound signatures. You are bypassing the DACs in both phones. Only the DSP in the buds are being used.

I guess the difference in volume is the DSP's handling of the AAC vs APTX.

These findings are making me rethink how i thought bluetooth audio works.

 

[TK33]

I was aware that LDAC was extremely sensitive to proximity and would hardly even trigger its highest bitrate mode in most practical situations.

This is not true. My Qudelix 5K does LDAC 990 consistently with my LG V60 and I don't even need to do anything is Developer Options. Don't get any dropouts and I can keep my phone charging while I just control everything from the 5K. Works great.

 

[mainguy]

I would have expected no difference at all in sound signatures. You are bypassing the DACs in both phones. Only the DSP in the buds are being used.

I guess the difference in volume is the DSP's handling of the AAC vs APTX.

These findings are making me rethink how i thought bluetooth audio works.

To be fair people in this thread said playing via the case vs from the phone would make no difference, then a bunch of people tried it and it is a step up for sure.

I think without being engineers who actually worked on the devices its impossible to say, at the software end our understanding is always limited.

I expected no difference in signature either. It’s definitely there, not subtle by any means. Interesting result

 

[Chetan2412]

To be fair people in this thread said playing via the case vs from the phone would make no difference, then a bunch of people tried it and it is a step up for sure.

I think without being engineers who actually worked on the devices its impossible to say, at the software end our understanding is always limited.

I expected no difference in signature either. It’s definitely there, not subtle by any means. Interesting result

I fully agree with you!

 

[Chetan2412]

This is not true. My Qudelix 5K does LDAC 990 consistently with my LG V60 and I don't even need to do anything is Developer Options. Don't get any dropouts and I can keep my phone charging while I just control everything from the 5K. Works great.

Yes the LG phones are known for streaming LDAC really well. Shame LG is out of the phone business now. Their DACs were amazing too.

 

[TK33]

@Mr.Toad when you did your swap, did you have to submit a repair request and ship to them first? Did they send you a shipping label?

I am being told I should submit a repair request. Problem is the form doesn't even list the PI7 (doesn't look like it has been updated yet).

EDIT: disregard. B&W got back to me and advised that the product you choose does not matter. I submitted a repair ticket so we will see what happens.

EDIT 2: got the warranty repair authorized but looks like I have to pay for shipping to them. This is unfortunate and really hope the new set works or this is going to become a really expensive TWS if I have to keep shipping it back to them. Luckily I got these at a discount as part of the Touch of Modern sale (took 3 weeks but actually shipped from B&W) but I am still very disappointed. Would have been better off waiting to buy from Best Buy or somewhere with a good return policy.

 

[TK33]

For those who are interested in call quality, call quality seems very good on the PI7. I was told I sound about the same as whatever I was using before (Galaxy Buds Live) and the person I was talking to could not hear my PTAC running 2 feet away, the Dyson air purifier on fan speed 7 across the room or the AC running in the adjacent building (also had my windows open). I had noise from all three sources at once in the background to test the call quality.

EDIT: I also tested myself on the Mic Test app that I like to use and can confirm they are about the same with Galaxy Buds Live sounding a bit clearer. That may be due to the open design of the Galaxy Buds Live being much more comfortable to use for calls.

Hopefully the replacement PI7s will fix some of the connection issues I was having. Battery life for me has been as advertised but I listen at 20-30% volume on my V60. It is very loud when I first pair it and I feel like I have blown my eardrums out everytime I do a factory reset (4x now in the last three days).

 

[Mr.Toad]

@Mr.Toad when you did your swap, did you have to submit a repair request and ship to them first? Did they send you a shipping label?

I am being told I should submit a repair request. Problem is the form doesn't even list the PI7 (doesn't look like it has been updated yet).

EDIT: disregard. B&W got back to me and advised that the product you choose does not matter. I submitted a repair ticket so we will see what happens.

EDIT 2: got the warranty repair authorized but looks like I have to pay for shipping to them. This is unfortunate and really hope the new set works or this is going to become a really expensive TWS if I have to keep shipping it back to them. Luckily I got these at a discount as part of the Touch of Modern sale (took 3 weeks but actually shipped from B&W) but I am still very disappointed. Would have been better off waiting to buy from Best Buy or somewhere with a good return policy.

I bought them from the B&W online store which has a 30 day return policy (here in Canada, at least). So I submitted a return request and bought a new pair. They emailed me a Fedex shipping label, so the return was free. I haven't actually got my money back yet, but I presume it will sometime before the apocalypse.

 

[Atjt]

My node2i friend, i have the same issue, BUT i just had this from bluesound "
Thank you for getting back to me with the update.

In this case, to help me better understand the situation may you please pair your Node 2i to your B&W earphones via Bluetooth.

Then, play a song from one of the music streaming services on our BluOS Controller App to your earphones, and once the song finishes please pause the playback.

From here, may you please then send me a diagnostics log from your Node 2i.

Please ensure that you are able to see and select your Node 2i under the "My Players" drawer (house-shaped icon) within our BluOS Controller App before proceeding.

You can send this log by going to Help -> Send Support Request in the BluOS app. You can find this on the left side of the desktop app or by selecting the 3 lines in the top left corner of the mobile app."

I have just sent the logs...They should be able to prove the node2i is transmitting in aptx hd, and the issue is with the Pi7, so we can go back to B&W with evidence.

Interesting feedback from Bluesound, I have sent them the response from B&W that state the PI7's are always on ready to receive all codec's.... but as you have other headphones that connect at aptx hd to the node2i it does point to the issue been with the PI7.. lets see what bluesound say
"
Thank you for getting back to me with the update and diagnostics log from your Node 2i.

Upon analyzing the diagnostics log I did notice that the Bluetooth Codec being transmitted is APTX.

Therefore, to help us narrow down the issue I would advise making sure that your B&W PI7 has APTX HD set as the receiving Bluetooth Codec.

If you are unable to locate this setting or require further assistance regarding this, then once again it will be best to consult the owner's manual OR contact the manufacturer (B&W) from here. "

 

[TK33]

Interesting feedback from Bluesound, I have sent them the response from B&W that state the PI7's are always on ready to receive all codec's.... but as you have other headphones that connect at aptx hd to the node2i it does point to the issue been with the PI7.. lets see what bluesound say
"
Thank you for getting back to me with the update and diagnostics log from your Node 2i.

Upon analyzing the diagnostics log I did notice that the Bluetooth Codec being transmitted is APTX.

Therefore, to help us narrow down the issue I would advise making sure that your B&W PI7 has APTX HD set as the receiving Bluetooth Codec.

If you are unable to locate this setting or require further assistance regarding this, then once again it will be best to consult the owner's manual OR contact the manufacturer (B&W) from here. "

Sounds like a handshake issue to me. I sent a note to customer support regarding some issues I have been having and they noted it has been forwarded to development (I did mention the Node 2i issue as well).

 

[Mr.Toad]

Interesting feedback from Bluesound, I have sent them the response from B&W that state the PI7's are always on ready to receive all codec's.... but as you have other headphones that connect at aptx hd to the node2i it does point to the issue been with the PI7.. lets see what bluesound say
"
Thank you for getting back to me with the update and diagnostics log from your Node 2i.

Upon analyzing the diagnostics log I did notice that the Bluetooth Codec being transmitted is APTX.

Therefore, to help us narrow down the issue I would advise making sure that your B&W PI7 has APTX HD set as the receiving Bluetooth Codec.

If you are unable to locate this setting or require further assistance regarding this, then once again it will be best to consult the owner's manual OR contact the manufacturer (B&W) from here. "

If only manufacturers would talk to each other directly instead of going the user - victim, really - this would all be so much easier.

 

[MarkParity]

Sorry wrong thread.

 

[corgifall]

After using the PI7 for a week, I'm fairly impressed by the little wireless buds. They're gonna sound a bit too strong in the low end for a fair amount of people but I still think this is very detailed and tuned for a "fun and musical" sounding TWS unit. This has also been the best unit for calls besides the airpods pro which do calls better for sure over the PI7. I have zero complaints for calls. I get a few weird hiccups with bluetooth cutouts on my iPhone 12 pro every now and then, but by simply putting one earbud back in the case and pulling it out again, It seems to fix the issue. Lastly, While I think the charging case transmitting audio is a neat feature, I couldn't tell an audio quality difference between normal bluetooth and using only the case as a source. I think with a few firmware updates the PI7 will get a little more reliable and I must say this has been my favorite TWS earbud so far.

 

[TK33]

After using the PI7 for a week, I'm fairly impressed by the little wireless buds. They're gonna sound a bit to strong in the low end for a fair amount of people but I still think this is very detailed and tuned for a "fun and musical" sounding TWS unit. This has also been the best unit for calls besides the airpods pro which do calls better for sure over the PI7. I have zero complaints for calls. I get a few weird hiccups with bluetooth cutouts on my iPhone 12 pro every now and then, but by simply putting one earbud back in the case and pulling it out again, It seems to fix the issue. Lastly, While I think the charging case transmitting audio is a neat feature, I couldn't tell an audio quality difference between normal bluetooth and using only the case as a source. I think with a few firmware updates the PI7 will get a little more reliable and I must say this has been my favorite TWS earbud so far.

I agree. It is a bit bass heavy for me but I really did enjoy them when they worked. Mic quality seemed excellent for calls as well. With Spinfit tips, the bass has better detail and texture in addition to the treble improving dramatically (even if it is a bit bright for my taste). With the stock tips, everything sounds a bit too smoothed out for my taste. I wish they had different tuning tips with different filters like the SE846 (I use the stock blue filters on those).

Unfortunately, I don't think I got through a single song without a skip so they got sent back today for warranty repair/replacement. Case seems very useful but, unfortunately, didn't really work without skips either. Hopefully the replacement is better. B&W has been very responsive so I have to give them credit for that. Missed them as soon as I dropped it off as the post office.

Cant wait to get them back. Feel like a kid counting the days to Christmas right now...

 

[corgifall]

I agree. It is a bit bass heavy for me but I really did enjoy them when they worked. Mic quality seemed excellent for calls as well. With Spinfit tips, the bass has better detail and texture in addition to the treble improving dramatically (even if it is a bit bright for my taste). With the stock tips, everything sounds a bit too smoothed out for my taste. I wish they had different tuning tips with different filters like the SE846 (I use the stock blue filters on those).

Unfortunately, I don't think I got through a single song without a skip so they got sent back today for warranty repair/replacement. Case seems very useful but, unfortunately, didn't really work without skips either. Hopefully the replacement is better. B&W has been very responsive so I have to give them credit for that. Missed them as soon as I dropped it off as the post office.

Cant wait to get them back. Feel like a kid counting the days to Christmas right now...

Bummer, I hope they get back in your hands fully functioning asap!