[BruceBanner]

Hi peeps,

All my current wired IEMs are dying around me, and I thought I should take this opportunity to explore the world of BT and whether things have improved in the last 4-5yrs where they still seemed in their infancy. To give you an idea of my gear and background I currently have used the following things;

Sources
Hidiz AP100
Alien Shozy
Various Cowon DAP (mid to low range, no Plenue's)
Walnut+M-Audio amp (my current rig)


IEMs
PFE 232's (rip)
Yamaha EP100
Hippo VB's
etc.

I do not wish to use any BT IEM with a phone, period. Thus a transmitter to use with say the Walnut/M-Audio amp will be necessary.

Areas of Concern

I've always had large ear canals, and many IEMs with stock ear buds are not sufficient. With all my IEMs I have used the Triple Flange style (Large) to provide a good seal. However even after a small while they need gently pushed back in as they can slip out. Because of this issue I highly doubt any BT IEM where the receiver is built into the IEM directly will suffice, I am guess they will weigh too much, provide additional bulk and uncomfortability that will annoy me and not be a good pairing for me. I'm imagining the kind of BT IEM I will enjoy is the ones with a small cable between the two that dangles/sits behind the neck. If the cable is taken over the ear then that is also definitely welcome as that seems to be another prerequisite for me.

So... what's a good BT IEM that you can recommend that might be on par with my previous IEM experience and a transmitter to pair with it? I wouldn't want to be volume capped either in anyway. 320kbps playback is fine, I'm not really into the FLAC stuff.


TIA

BB

 

[baskingshark]

Hi peeps,

All my current wired IEMs are dying around me, and I thought I should take this opportunity to explore the world of BT and whether things have improved in the last 4-5yrs where they still seemed in their infancy. To give you an idea of my gear and background I currently have used the following things;

Sources
Hidiz AP100
Alien Shozy
Various Cowon DAP (mid to low range, no Plenue's)
Walnut+M-Audio amp (my current rig)


IEMs
PFE 232's (rip)
Yamaha EP100
Hippo VB's
etc.

I do not wish to use any BT IEM with a phone, period. Thus a transmitter to use with say the Walnut/M-Audio amp will be necessary.

Areas of Concern

I've always had large ear canals, and many IEMs with stock ear buds are not sufficient. With all my IEMs I have used the Triple Flange style (Large) to provide a good seal. However even after a small while they need gently pushed back in as they can slip out. Because of this issue I highly doubt any BT IEM where the receiver is built into the IEM directly will suffice, I am guess they will weigh too much, provide additional bulk and uncomfortability that will annoy me and not be a good pairing for me. I'm imagining the kind of BT IEM I will enjoy is the ones with a small cable between the two that dangles/sits behind the neck. If the cable is taken over the ear then that is also definitely welcome as that seems to be another prerequisite for me.

So... what's a good BT IEM that you can recommend that might be on par with my previous IEM experience and a transmitter to pair with it? I wouldn't want to be volume capped either in anyway. 320kbps playback is fine, I'm not really into the FLAC stuff.


TIA

BB

U can perhaps look into the TRN BT20 or TRN BT20S. They are BT adaptors that come in MMCX or 2 pin variants that allow u to reuse your detachable IEM and just connect the IEM to it. So u can preserve the sound signature of your existing IEM.

Quite good connectivity and battery life, no frills. BT20S is just a waterproof version with sightly better battery life.

 

[BruceBanner]

U can perhaps look into the TRN BT20 or TRN BT20S. They are BT adaptors that come in MMCX or 2 pin variants that allow u to reuse your detachable IEM and just connect the IEM to it. So u can preserve the sound signature of your existing IEM.

Quite good connectivity and battery life, no frills. BT20S is just a waterproof version with sightly better battery life.

Oh cool! I still have the PFE 232's and its just the cabling that's died (I've been through 3-4 pairs in the few years I've had them). Do you know if the TRN BT20 is compatible with them? I'll have a look myself now and see if I can find out.

 

[assassin10000]

Oh cool! I still have the PFE 232's and its just the cabling that's died (I've been through 3-4 pairs in the few years I've had them). Do you know if the TRN BT20 is compatible with them? I'll have a look myself now and see if I can find out.

Doubt it. Pfe has a proprietary connector iirc.

There are also neckband options, like the Shure RMCE-BT2, Fiio LC-BT2 and TRN BT3S. To name a few out there.

These usually will have MMCX or 2-pin connector options, that work with a majority of the IEM's on the market.


Looks like you're probably either going to have to find a compatible IEM that works for you. Or look into a TWS set that both fits you and sounds like you want.

A description of your preferred sound signature and music preferences may help with recommendations.

 

[BruceBanner]

Doubt it. Pfe has a proprietary connector iirc.

There are also neckband options, like the Shure RMCE-BT2, Fiio LC-BT2 and TRN BT3S. To name a few out there.

These usually will have MMCX or 2-pin connector options, that work with a majority of the IEM's on the market.


Looks like you're probably either going to have to find a compatible IEM that works for you. Or look into a TWS set that both fits you and sounds like you want.

A description of your preferred sound signature and music preferences may help with recommendations.

Yeah, proprietary, drat. Such a shame... I may look into getting the cables fixed one day (once Covid eases up and posting around the world has become reliable again).


Thanks for putting me onto the TWS, I can see a local Aussie seller has the TWS600 sitting on sale for $139AUD (instead of $250AUD), 6g per ear phone, that's pretty light, and I can see that they come with triple flange tips which is what I need. Someone wrote as a 'Con' in a review that the tips are 'Large', but that's actually a Pro for me


The only question that remains is what kind of transmitter can I invest into to connect whatever BT IEMs to non BT players. I'm really not interested in phone, phones never go to nearly enough volume for my liking + bulky.
Currently I am quite please with the Walnut + M-Audio amp combo, giving me a 3 Bass adjustment level and EQ with the Walnut. I tend to run the Walnut on 'Jazz mode' and change the Bass level on the M-Audio depending on track/album. I really just hope to keep this combo and add a simple transmitter to pair with the TWS600 (or whatever). I note that the TWS600 are running BT5, which seems welcomed by many and solves a lot of drop outs. I think deep in my 'DAP drawer' I may have an old Jaybird APT-x transmitter

It's probably got no battery life left, it's several years old sitting idle, rarely used...

So something like this but perhaps utilising BT5?

Hmm... <goes to Fiio page>