CHIFI LOVE Thread-A never ending IEM-Heaphones-DAP-Dongles Sound Value Quest
- Thread starter NymPHONOmaniac
- Start date
Slater
Headphoneus Supremus
Yup, the current version of BT20 is AAC compatible.
There have been multiple people that have verified with 100% certainty that the AAC codec is indeed being used between a BT20 and a stock iPhone (no jailbreaking or other voodoo required).
These people determined this via the iOS developer system logging functionality. This information was directly shared by an Apple engineer in a How2 thread on HeadFi.
The people that tested the BT20 were reporting exactly what the iPhone itself is reporting directly in the Bluetooth hardware logs.
It is not using SBC on an iPhone, but rather AAC. I don’t know if that applies to AAC-compatible Androids though; I can only speak about iPhone.
If you have a current iPhone, a Mac, and a BT20, you can verify this for yourself. Anyone can do it. I’d be happy to send you the instructions to do so.
Last edited:
Naschy
Head-Fier
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Hey guys,
Just want to say thanks again to anyone who helped with suggestions. This is a great thread, and community, for people like me that occasionally dip in and out of the audio field (nor are very audio savy to begin with
), and as a result aren't up to date on the more obscure, budget beating Chi-Fi world. It was daunting to begin with; initial searching brought up a whole plethora of seemingly arbitrarily named products: Tin T2, ****, 1More, CCA C10, ZSN, E1000 - whatever are these mysterious abstract codes, and why are there so many of them? SO many options! Luckily, you guys helped decipher it all. I had many suggestions and they truly helped me out.
I ended up going for the KZ ZS10 Pro. It's relatively new, so reviews and impressions are only now just starting to trickle in. If they're anything to go by, I'm very enthused with how it's been received.
After this thread I was looking at he TFZ T2. From what was written here and elsewhere, the quality and sound signature sounded like what I was looking for. The TRN IM1 was also suggested and I seriously considered it, but some feedback from others gave me a little pause. Same with the RevoNext QT5. They were shortlisted. T2 was the front runner though. T2 looked to be around $59 USD in-stock at the cheapest on Aliexpress.
Then I started to see stuff about the KZ KS10. I was peripherally aware of KZ when I initially started researching (KZ ZSN and ZSN Pro seemed to be what I seeing recommended), and knew they were a big player in the Chi-Fi space. Looked into the ZSN pretty heavily as they seem so ubiquitous and well liked. Seemed a good option. Stumbled across the ZS10 Pro and saw it was getting some good press. I watched a lot of Zpolt on YouTube, and he really liked them. The scarce videos from other reviewers there seemed to like them too. Sounded like what I wanted - slight V sound but with good detail and clarity across the spectrum. I saw they were available for around 32 USD on Ali at the time. Cheaper than the T2, which I'd also have to budget in a Mic cable for. Hmmm. Looked for written impressions, but they were few and far between. Those that did have them seemed to like them though. Hmmm. Damn, they also look really nice too with the metal plate and transparent shell. Hmmm... Bah, screw it - I'll just buy these! They tick all the boxes.
Anyway, I guess I'll know for myself soon enough. More reviews are coming out and I'm pretty happy I went this direction. All feedback seems to be generally good. Bad Guy Good Audio seemed to really like them and picked them over the more expensive options like the KZ AS16. I'll try and update with my impressions when I received them.
Again, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that helped with suggestions. It made the decision process so much clearer. Even those that didn't help directly, as reading back through this thread about IEMs I was uhmming and ahhing about was extremely beneficial.
And with that, I'm back down the rabbit hole - I know because even though I decided on what to get and purchased them, I still want to get the **** because it sounds so intriguing. *sigh* Thanks guys!
EDIT: I should probably mention I purchased on the 12th of May. They only just shipped though. Having a look at the dedicated KZ thread it seems like there's been a lot of recent activity since and the discussion on these is very positive. Guess we'll see if they suit soon enough.
Just want to say thanks again to anyone who helped with suggestions. This is a great thread, and community, for people like me that occasionally dip in and out of the audio field (nor are very audio savy to begin with
), and as a result aren't up to date on the more obscure, budget beating Chi-Fi world. It was daunting to begin with; initial searching brought up a whole plethora of seemingly arbitrarily named products: Tin T2, ****, 1More, CCA C10, ZSN, E1000 - whatever are these mysterious abstract codes, and why are there so many of them? SO many options! Luckily, you guys helped decipher it all. I had many suggestions and they truly helped me out.I ended up going for the KZ ZS10 Pro. It's relatively new, so reviews and impressions are only now just starting to trickle in. If they're anything to go by, I'm very enthused with how it's been received.
After this thread I was looking at he TFZ T2. From what was written here and elsewhere, the quality and sound signature sounded like what I was looking for. The TRN IM1 was also suggested and I seriously considered it, but some feedback from others gave me a little pause. Same with the RevoNext QT5. They were shortlisted. T2 was the front runner though. T2 looked to be around $59 USD in-stock at the cheapest on Aliexpress.
Then I started to see stuff about the KZ KS10. I was peripherally aware of KZ when I initially started researching (KZ ZSN and ZSN Pro seemed to be what I seeing recommended), and knew they were a big player in the Chi-Fi space. Looked into the ZSN pretty heavily as they seem so ubiquitous and well liked. Seemed a good option. Stumbled across the ZS10 Pro and saw it was getting some good press. I watched a lot of Zpolt on YouTube, and he really liked them. The scarce videos from other reviewers there seemed to like them too. Sounded like what I wanted - slight V sound but with good detail and clarity across the spectrum. I saw they were available for around 32 USD on Ali at the time. Cheaper than the T2, which I'd also have to budget in a Mic cable for. Hmmm. Looked for written impressions, but they were few and far between. Those that did have them seemed to like them though. Hmmm. Damn, they also look really nice too with the metal plate and transparent shell. Hmmm... Bah, screw it - I'll just buy these! They tick all the boxes.
Anyway, I guess I'll know for myself soon enough. More reviews are coming out and I'm pretty happy I went this direction. All feedback seems to be generally good. Bad Guy Good Audio seemed to really like them and picked them over the more expensive options like the KZ AS16. I'll try and update with my impressions when I received them.
Again, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that helped with suggestions. It made the decision process so much clearer. Even those that didn't help directly, as reading back through this thread about IEMs I was uhmming and ahhing about was extremely beneficial.
And with that, I'm back down the rabbit hole - I know because even though I decided on what to get and purchased them, I still want to get the **** because it sounds so intriguing. *sigh* Thanks guys!
EDIT: I should probably mention I purchased on the 12th of May. They only just shipped though. Having a look at the dedicated KZ thread it seems like there's been a lot of recent activity since and the discussion on these is very positive. Guess we'll see if they suit soon enough.
Last edited:
Slater
Headphoneus Supremus
Nice. I know the fact that they’re adding also aptX will be very welcome.
Would you be able to clarify with them which aptX? Normal aptX, aptX HD, aptX LL, etc?
Naschy
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2013
- Posts
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- Likes
- 25
I guess being out of the loop on this things means I also don't know much about the politics either. The only info I came across it in my travels was from this review where they mention the founders Li and Yue: https://www.headphonesty.com/2019/05/review-kz-zs10-pro/
BadReligionPunk
Headphoneus Supremus
Step in the right direction with the BT20. Not a huge step but a step none the less. Maybe next year we can get an LDAC support. I really like my BT20, just wish it supported LDAC or APTX HD.
Slater
Headphoneus Supremus
Yeah, they have a monopoly on the TW removable adapter form factor right now. For once they have the jump on KZ.
They could dominate if they added LDAC and/or aptX HD.
They’d be the only game in town, and could easily charge double (or more) what the current BT20 costs.
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