Going fully Wireless IEMs. Too soon? Or are we there yet?

[erockg]

Sadly there really is no close second to the APP in call quality. The jabra 75t is probably it. I'm eager to hear your eval of the tronsmart apollo bold.

Actually, I've been using my Klipsch T5 II's for over a week now on Zoom calls at my home office for work. Zero complaints. Nobody has noticed a difference between them and my APP. Yet.

 

[Rob E.]

Looks like it'll be a while till the N10 pro is available in the US
From Nuarl support:


Snagged a cheap/used N6 Pro to test the Nuarl sound before then.

I've read (here on this thread) a lot of wonderful comments about the N6 pro's resolution. So, what's your impression?

 

[jant71]

Been using the Aviot TE-BD21F triple drivers for a few days. The overall sound is neutral with a slight warmness. It works well with almost all genres, especially for instrumental and movies. The sound is never fatiguing, but detailed at the same time. Aviot has done a very good job of extracting the maximum from each of the 3 drivers. Some companies put a gazillion drivers into their IEMs, but tune them to sound like they have a limited range (too bright or too bassy). Aviot makes the treble sound tight and fast, mids have a natural timbre and bass hits hard when required without sounding flabby. On top of hearing the music, the Aviot lets listeners hear how the music is played. Very impressive effort from Aviot.

Controls-wise, volume control is on the left bud, playback control is on the right bud. When unconnected for a few mins, the buds will auto off, it is also possible to manually power off and on them by pressing the buttons. The ability to manually turn it off and on means I do not have to bring the case out.

Went and found this again. Looks like they extracted some more from 3 drivers. Might have to pop on the 21J. Liking the red with the gold the size improvement and the adaptive. Also like Aviot auto pauses when ambient is activated. On my JVC I tap L to pause and then tap right for ambient. Since I always pause anyway it is good they set it that way. $150-ish price is good for what you get.

 

[logiatype]

I've read (here on this thread) a lot of wonderful comments about the N6 pro's resolution. So, what's your impression?

Should have them by the weekend. I'll tag you on my thoughts.

 

[typhoon838]

Appreciate it, thanks! And yeah, the XB90ex are super bass heavy with very sparkly treble haha. I'd buy another pair except they're like 3x-4x in price now :/

So I'm a bit of a basshead myself and really like the Mpow MS1, Tranya T3, and Tranya T10 all within that price range. If you want to spend a bit more, the Apollo Bolds are my favorite current pair but they're kinda nice and I wouldn't want to drop them haha

 

[webvan]

A few mode days to go before the arrival of the Bose Sports and QuietComfort Earbuds ! Just found an unboxing of the Sports version, it's eye candy I suppose

 

[FYLegend]

Creative Outlier Air 2...

5.6mm Graphene, aptX, "electrostatic" touch controls, improved mics/call quality, antenna upgrade, X-Fi ready. IPX5 and 12 hour/34 total battery life.

and Aviot TE-BD21J

Reworking of the older F model triple hybrid. BT5.2, aptX Adaptive, says more responsive Titanium dynamic and matched BA drivers and smaller housing. Qualcomm true wireless mirroring, Improved mic and ambient function. High performance touch sensors for the controls. USB C, IPX4 and 9 hours battery time. Comes with a leash which I like so you can hang them around your neck and even leave the case home. Release price in Yen converts to $140.
https://www.translatetheweb.com/?from=&to=en&ref=TVert_ct&dl=en&rr=HE&a=https://aviot.jp/

Maybe in Taiwan or Singapore you could get a price similar to that but I'm having a hard time tracking down Aviot and Nuarl in Canada. eBay has listings for some of their products but are usually around/above 250$.

The spec sheet for the Aviot also says it only has TrueWireless Mirroring and not Stereo Plus and the spec sheet implies it is only a master-slave connection.

In a recent video El Jefe said the SoundPeats H1 (which uses QCC3040) has seamless host-swapping for the earbuds rather than the clunky switching system of the QCC3020. Wondering if this means they only support TW Mirroring and not TWS Plus, and the Aviot is doing the same.

Auto-pause when ambient sound is activated CAN be convenient, but sometimes I just wish I could continue to play my music. On my TaoTronics 94 I can use the 20Decebel app for that but I'd rather not dabble into an app and have it as an option.

 

[regancipher]

I'm in the market for a new pair of TW IEM. I've used the Jabra 65T in the past and loved the seal and the way it sounded. I've also used the Powerbeats Pro and Airpods primarily for phone calls because I found the mic to be really good. I was about to pull the trigger on the Jabra Elite Active 75T got intrigued by the Tronsmart Apollo Bold. The battery life and price point looks great. Any input on the mic quality? I see it has 6 mics to help with noise canceling but don't know how that translates to phone calls. I am on the phone a good portion of the day so mic quality is high on my priority list.

The best earbuds I have found for call quality are the Edifier TWS NB2. They are really in a league of their own - you have to make a trade off (form factor is definitely designed with calls in mind) and they only support SBC (although they have played around with the bitpool settings so it is ultra low latency) but they are my go-to for wfh.

The Tronsmart Apollo Bold are different. They eliminate background noise indoors well, but a little too well as you can sound a little muffled yourself at times. This is to be honest to be expected since your mouth is further from the microphone than stem-based earbuds, but it's fine indoors as long as you take this into consideration.

Outdoors it does block out some background noise but the muffling becomes exacerbated, not to the point of the cheapy mpow etc but still, it's there, and it's again to be expected.

The Tranya T10 are great for calls if you are on a budget. I got rid of mine because the plastic on the top rubbed the cartilage and made them uncomfortable but it was undeniable they had a quality about them.

Finally, if you find yourself seduced by the 'AI mic' on the the Taotronics SoundLiberty 79.....don't be. Yes it is very good handling calls, but everything else on it is shocking!

 

[regancipher]

Andddd my T1XS direct from China has landed on my shores. In 4 days from ordering. That was really quick TBH.

Should probably be in my hands by this weekend as I work kinda far from where the buds will be shipped to (about 150km far ).

Can't wait to try 'em out at this point (especially to see if Gaming Mode is any better than the L2P on Apt-X for... uh... "light" gaming).

Enjoy! I've put a video tutorial on how to change the default language to English, as well as a QR code to download the apk android, on my instagram : regancipher.

If yours are like the majority of others that are on the market right now you'll be greeted by Chinese voice prompts out of the box!

There's also a mention on the video of how to switch the controls so you can use the touch control to adjust volume.

 

[regancipher]

Massive well done to @Tronsmart Official who delivered on their promise of Apollo Bold app support by the end of September!

I've been working with them to iron out a few creases in the Android version, in a week they have made GIANT strides, fixing or remedying everything I mentioned and have released it now on IOS and Android. The beta allowed you to upgrade from fw 1.0 to 1.4.0 - now they are on 1.2.3, so these guys must be working day and night!

The firmware must be updated one bud at a time. Take one out of the case, update, then swap them over and repeat.

This is their first iteration so the controls are fairly basic at this stage. The main screen gives you battery indicators, and toggle buttons for ANC and ambient. The three dots in the corner take you to the next screenshot, where you can update the firmware.

First thing to do is update the firmware. I was testing 1.04 so to move to 1.2.5 shows they've been pulling out all the stops - the new version supports different EQ's, enables customised touch control, and distinguishes between the left and right bud when used in single mode:

Updating the firmware is done as per the clear instructions:

1. Take Left earbud out of case which should remain open
2. Initiate firmware download and install. Do not navigate away from the app and ensure the case and buds have sufficient charge
3. Once complete, restore the updated bud to its place in the case and remove the other
4. Repeats step 2
5. You have updated your firmware!

The Equaliser is a little rudimentary but it does a job. I know they wanted to integrate a spotify-style dynamic EQ - unfortunately it was outside the scope of what was possible within the timescales.

The default profile seems to notch the bass off a little more.
The classical overcompresses the mids
Jazz is nice, probably my preferred EQ after the default
Pop rolls the top end off and is ideal for dance music where it can be uncomfortable on highhats
Rock is pretty awful -avoid!

The new default handles the bass nicely now, and doesn't compress the life out of the mids, so those of you complaining of subbass rumbles should try this EQ first.

Finally, the controller. I haven't tried changing the settings as I like the existing ones, but here they are:

There is a spelling mistake on ambient, but we can let them off

Finally, to answer some questions:

Q1 - Is Aptx-HD supported?
A1 - No, not yet. Tronsmart are working with Qualcomm to try and get there - the issue lies with Qualcomm, not Tronsmart

Q2 - Is the mic quality better?
A2 - No, it sounds identical, perhaps a little more distant and slightly better at cancelling out background noise, but this could be the placebo affect!

Q3 - Any other comments?
A3 - Connectivity is definitely more stable, the app is intuitive and easy to use. As we have seen with Edifier, first releases are quickly followed with updates, so hold fire on flaming them for the apt-xhd situation and congratulate them on keeping their promises!

 

[chinmie]

Massive well done to @Tronsmart Official who delivered on their promise of Apollo Bold app support by the end of September!



I've been working with them to iron out a few creases in the Android version, in a week they have made GIANT strides, fixing or remedying everything I mentioned and have released it now on IOS and Android. The beta allowed you to upgrade from fw 1.0 to 1.4.0 - now they are on 1.2.3, so these guys must be working day and night!

The firmware must be updated one bud at a time. Take one out of the case, update, then swap them over and repeat.

This is their first iteration so the controls are fairly basic at this stage. The main screen gives you battery indicators, and toggle buttons for ANC and ambient. The three dots in the corner take you to the next screenshot, where you can update the firmware.



First thing to do is update the firmware. I was testing 1.04 so to move to 1.2.5 shows they've been pulling out all the stops - the new version supports different EQ's, enables customised touch control, and distinguishes between the left and right bud when used in single mode:


Updating the firmware is done as per the clear instructions:

1. Take Left earbud out of case which should remain open
2. Initiate firmware download and install. Do not navigate away from the app and ensure the case and buds have sufficient charge
3. Once complete, restore the updated bud to its place in the case and remove the other
4. Repeats step 2
5. You have updated your firmware!


The Equaliser is a little rudimentary but it does a job. I know they wanted to integrate a spotify-style dynamic EQ - unfortunately it was outside the scope of what was possible within the timescales.

The default profile seems to notch the bass off a little more.
The classical overcompresses the mids
Jazz is nice, probably my preferred EQ after the default
Pop rolls the top end off and is ideal for dance music where it can be uncomfortable on highhats
Rock is pretty awful -avoid!

The new default handles the bass nicely now, and doesn't compress the life out of the mids, so those of you complaining of subbass rumbles should try this EQ first.



Finally, the controller. I haven't tried changing the settings as I like the existing ones, but here they are:




There is a spelling mistake on ambient, but we can let them off

Finally, to answer some questions:

Q1 - Is Aptx-HD supported?
A1 - No, not yet. Tronsmart are working with Qualcomm to try and get there - the issue lies with Qualcomm, not Tronsmart

Q2 - Is the mic quality better?
A2 - No, it sounds identical, perhaps a little more distant and slightly better at cancelling out background noise, but this could be the placebo affect!

Q3 - Any other comments?
A3 - Connectivity is definitely more stable, the app is intuitive and easy to use. As we have seen with Edifier, first releases are quickly followed with updates, so hold fire on flaming them for the apt-xhd situation and congratulate them on keeping their promises!

great! where can i get it? is it the same tronsmart app that's on playstore for spunky beats, or a different app?

 

[regancipher]

great! where can i get it? is it the same tronsmart app that's on playstore for spunky beats, or a different app?

Yep, same app on IOS for sure, I guess android would be the same

 

[Caipirina]

Massive well done to @Tronsmart Official who delivered on their promise of Apollo Bold app support by the end of September!



I've been working with them to iron out a few creases in the Android version, in a week they have made GIANT strides, fixing or remedying everything I mentioned and have released it now on IOS and Android. The beta allowed you to upgrade from fw 1.0 to 1.4.0 - now they are on 1.2.3, so these guys must be working day and night!

The firmware must be updated one bud at a time. Take one out of the case, update, then swap them over and repeat.

This is their first iteration so the controls are fairly basic at this stage. The main screen gives you battery indicators, and toggle buttons for ANC and ambient. The three dots in the corner take you to the next screenshot, where you can update the firmware.



First thing to do is update the firmware. I was testing 1.04 so to move to 1.2.5 shows they've been pulling out all the stops - the new version supports different EQ's, enables customised touch control, and distinguishes between the left and right bud when used in single mode:


Updating the firmware is done as per the clear instructions:

1. Take Left earbud out of case which should remain open
2. Initiate firmware download and install. Do not navigate away from the app and ensure the case and buds have sufficient charge
3. Once complete, restore the updated bud to its place in the case and remove the other
4. Repeats step 2
5. You have updated your firmware!


The Equaliser is a little rudimentary but it does a job. I know they wanted to integrate a spotify-style dynamic EQ - unfortunately it was outside the scope of what was possible within the timescales.

The default profile seems to notch the bass off a little more.
The classical overcompresses the mids
Jazz is nice, probably my preferred EQ after the default
Pop rolls the top end off and is ideal for dance music where it can be uncomfortable on highhats
Rock is pretty awful -avoid!

The new default handles the bass nicely now, and doesn't compress the life out of the mids, so those of you complaining of subbass rumbles should try this EQ first.



Finally, the controller. I haven't tried changing the settings as I like the existing ones, but here they are:




There is a spelling mistake on ambient, but we can let them off

Finally, to answer some questions:

Q1 - Is Aptx-HD supported?
A1 - No, not yet. Tronsmart are working with Qualcomm to try and get there - the issue lies with Qualcomm, not Tronsmart

Q2 - Is the mic quality better?
A2 - No, it sounds identical, perhaps a little more distant and slightly better at cancelling out background noise, but this could be the placebo affect!

Q3 - Any other comments?
A3 - Connectivity is definitely more stable, the app is intuitive and easy to use. As we have seen with Edifier, first releases are quickly followed with updates, so hold fire on flaming them for the apt-xhd situation and congratulate them on keeping their promises!

Nice one! I especially like that button / touches can be totally remapped even to ‘disable’ ... this way I disabled the casual first touch (most common offender when I try to readjust the fit) to nothing

the FW update was not as straightforward as I thought. There is always the fear of bricking a device. But all went ok.

one possible bug (for next update @Tronsmart Official ) is that it seems the ‘disconnect’ function is not working (yet?). I tried, it sends me to the connect device screen, as if I can connect again, all the while the Apollos continuing playing music.

 

[mikp]

Massive well done to @Tronsmart Official who delivered on their promise of Apollo Bold app support by the end of September!



I've been working with them to iron out a few creases in the Android version, in a week they have made GIANT strides, fixing or remedying everything I mentioned and have released it now on IOS and Android. The beta allowed you to upgrade from fw 1.0 to 1.4.0 - now they are on 1.2.3, so these guys must be working day and night!

The firmware must be updated one bud at a time. Take one out of the case, update, then swap them over and repeat.

This is their first iteration so the controls are fairly basic at this stage. The main screen gives you battery indicators, and toggle buttons for ANC and ambient. The three dots in the corner take you to the next screenshot, where you can update the firmware.



First thing to do is update the firmware. I was testing 1.04 so to move to 1.2.5 shows they've been pulling out all the stops - the new version supports different EQ's, enables customised touch control, and distinguishes between the left and right bud when used in single mode:


Updating the firmware is done as per the clear instructions:

1. Take Left earbud out of case which should remain open
2. Initiate firmware download and install. Do not navigate away from the app and ensure the case and buds have sufficient charge
3. Once complete, restore the updated bud to its place in the case and remove the other
4. Repeats step 2
5. You have updated your firmware!


The Equaliser is a little rudimentary but it does a job. I know they wanted to integrate a spotify-style dynamic EQ - unfortunately it was outside the scope of what was possible within the timescales.

The default profile seems to notch the bass off a little more.
The classical overcompresses the mids
Jazz is nice, probably my preferred EQ after the default
Pop rolls the top end off and is ideal for dance music where it can be uncomfortable on highhats
Rock is pretty awful -avoid!

The new default handles the bass nicely now, and doesn't compress the life out of the mids, so those of you complaining of subbass rumbles should try this EQ first.



Finally, the controller. I haven't tried changing the settings as I like the existing ones, but here they are:




There is a spelling mistake on ambient, but we can let them off

Finally, to answer some questions:

Q1 - Is Aptx-HD supported?
A1 - No, not yet. Tronsmart are working with Qualcomm to try and get there - the issue lies with Qualcomm, not Tronsmart

Q2 - Is the mic quality better?
A2 - No, it sounds identical, perhaps a little more distant and slightly better at cancelling out background noise, but this could be the placebo affect!

Q3 - Any other comments?
A3 - Connectivity is definitely more stable, the app is intuitive and easy to use. As we have seen with Edifier, first releases are quickly followed with updates, so hold fire on flaming them for the apt-xhd situation and congratulate them on keeping their promises!

good info, lets see if its stored the eq on the buds. Now waiting for it to come on play store (ive never owned some apple device).

 

[jant71]

Maybe in Taiwan or Singapore you could get a price similar to that but I'm having a hard time tracking down Aviot and Nuarl in Canada. eBay has listings for some of their products but are usually around/above 250$.

The spec sheet for the Aviot also says it only has TrueWireless Mirroring and not Stereo Plus and the spec sheet implies it is only a master-slave connection.

In a recent video El Jefe said the SoundPeats H1 (which uses QCC3040) has seamless host-swapping for the earbuds rather than the clunky switching system of the QCC3020. Wondering if this means they only support TW Mirroring and not TWS Plus, and the Aviot is doing the same.

Auto-pause when ambient sound is activated CAN be convenient, but sometimes I just wish I could continue to play my music. On my TaoTronics 94 I can use the 20Decebel app for that but I'd rather not dabble into an app and have it as an option.

I would have the Cleer Goal as an ambient model essentially since it let's you hear all the time naturally. My JVC drops the volume but doesn't pause. I just use it to talk through. The JVC might as well pause since it drops to a low level and can be heard but barely if noisy outside. Then again the JVC is more talk through and ambient tips are include and the real way to go ambient on them. I could even use the ambient tips on the Aviot. The auto pause works since I would do it anyway to go into a store or stop and talk to someone. The Aviot is more about being the SQ option and just needs talk through for me.