[Tommy C]

Bose has solid customer service. I expect they will address it with you.

Yeah, I sure hope so.
Not really worried just find the suggestions of the Mods of the Bose forum to be ridiculous. Definitely a shake my head suggestions lol

 

[Tommy C]

If you only use them in your house or say at work they will probably not drop out. The moment you go outside and you aren't near a lot of solid vertical objects they are done for. They do great in small rooms. In a large weight lifting room they are a nightmare.

As of 8 days ago mine were still terrible. They belong to the store again. I really wanted them to work. As for customer service, while I never contacted them directly, in the forums I got nothing but runaround bull over and over. NEVER a straight answer. The fact that they were incapable of being honest put me off to the extreme.

Pretty much so far. No issues indoors even with multiple BT devices nor cellphones around me. In a busy environment they are not as good.

 

[webreaper]

Okay, so as the OP, here's a quick summary of where I'm at.

I've been on the hunt for some BT IEMs for a while, but without much success. Sony WF1000X have been roundly slated, Zolo Liberty's have varying reports with a lot of people talking about dropouts. Bose SoundSport Free have good reports, but they're too open-backed and unwieldy. Bose E8s seem to have the best reviews of sound quality and connection stability but they're fiercely expensive and still suffer occasional dropouts, apparently. The other problem I have is that I have a set of Sennheiser IE80s with custom-moulded sleeves, which give amazing sound, comfort and noise insulation - and I didn't really want to give them up. So I abandoned the idea of wire-free IEMs, and when they were on discount last month I ordered a PlusSound Exo BT Cable.

PlusSound is a tiny company with a small number of employees, but they're extremely responsive to emails, and customer service is superb. Because of their size/popularity the build time is quite long - it was 10 weeks from when I ordered to when it was delivered.

After a few hours' use, here's my impressions.
- Comfort: excellent. The controller/BT unit looks unwieldy but is unnoticeable in real use because it's so light. Controls are simple. Weird thing is that on my cable the 'up' volume was at the bottom and vice versa, but it's no biggie.
- BT connection: seems rock-solid so far. At home, on the train and walking down the street, I've had no dropouts at all so far (2-3 hours use). When trying out how to wear them (cable under the chin, or round the back of my neck) I found the latter resulted in a poor connection, but I've no idea why. Looped under the chin it's unbreakable, regardless of the pocket I have the phone in (Galaxy S7E). While getting breakfast in the cafeteria I left the phone on the side and walked over to the cutlery stand - about 20-30ft away - and the connection didn't drop.
- Sound quality: very good. Drives the IE80s really well. Bass actually seems to have a bit more oomph than with my 3.5mm cable; I'm guessing the PlusSound DAC is slightly better than the S7's. Really pleased with the sound, and so far haven't been able to hear any BT hiss at all. A few test tracks ('Fields of Joy' and 'Sister' by Kravitz, '1984' by the Eurythmics, and 'Release the Pressure' by Leftfield) all delivered with clarity and gusto.
- Battery: haven't had a chance to test this fully, as I've only used them for a 2-hour stint so far. But no concerns as yet.
- Video Lag: This was a big concern to me, because I watch a lot of movies during my commute. First attempt was pretty awful - a DTS rip playing on VLC for Android and the sound was about 2s out of sync. However, Netflix shows played with perfect sync, and when I tried Archos Player I could use the audio delay setting to get perfect sync. Downside is that Archos doesn't support all codecs. Eventually, I've switched to MX Player, which has audio sync settings - but even then it was still impossible to get the sound and video to match. The solution was to turn off hardware decoding on the audio, and then everything lined up perfectly.

To sum up, very pleased. All the quality and performance of my choice of IEMs, plus the ability to continue using my custom sleeves, but without the hassle of a long cable, is a total win.

PS: Unfortunately, the first BT cable I received turned out to have the wrong connectors (they were for Custom IEMs/CIEMs, instead of Sennheiser IE80s) but Christian at PlusSound rectified it for me quickly and sent me a complimentary replacement. Rather than just let them sit in a drawer, if anyone in the UK has CIEMs and wants one of these cables, email me (mark@otway.com), and we'll sort out paying PlusSound something, and I'll post them on.

 

[rhsauer]

Thank you guys for a very informative thread. Recently just started testing a few TW earbuds. While doing research noticed these new Jabra's (Elite 65t and Elite Active 65t):
https://www.jabra.com/bluetooth-headsets

They haven't been released yet but in case somehow somebody has tried these (i.e. via pre-release review sample) would be very interested to hear your thoughts.

I pre-ordered these from Best Buy several weeks ago and they arrived last night — a pleasant surprise, because the Jabra website still lists them as “coming soon” and the Best Buy website lists them as “Sold Out Online.” Bottom line: they far exceed my expectations. They sound great, the microphones work incredibly well (I was able to make a clear call this morning from the subway platform at Grand Central), they fit extremely well, they’re comfortable and they isolate very well. I have the Jabra Sport Elites, and the 65t’s are better fitting and more comfortable (for my ears, anyway), have better microphones and have a more refined sound. (Slightly less bass, but still warm and clear, with no sibilance.) Even though Jabra lists the usual 10 meters/33 foot range for these, when connected to my iPhone X I was able to roam my entire apartment without a signal drop off, which exceeds the range of even the Class 1 Bluetooth 4.2 devices I’ve used. I used them for about three hours last night and the battery was still at 70%, according to my iPhone. Finally, they connect to my Mac using the AAC codec, like the Jabra Sport Elites. Very happy with these.

 

[San Man]

My E8s still continue to be very solid. I can count the number of dropouts I've had on two hands, maybe even one hand.

My only gripe is that I wish they could play a little louder. iPhone X as a source, primarily listening to Apple music while at the gym and on the go. Some pandora too.

 

[clerkpalmer]

I pre-ordered these from Best Buy several weeks ago and they arrived last night — a pleasant surprise, because the Jabra website still lists them as “coming soon” and the Best Buy website lists them as “Sold Out Online.” Bottom line: they far exceed my expectations. They sound great, the microphones work incredibly well (I was able to make a clear call this morning from the subway platform at Grand Central), they fit extremely well, they’re comfortable and they isolate very well. I have the Jabra Sport Elites, and the 65t’s are better fitting and more comfortable (for my ears, anyway), have better microphones and have a more refined sound. (Slightly less bass, but still warm and clear, with no sibilance.) Even though Jabra lists the usual 10 meters/33 foot range for these, when connected to my iPhone X I was able to roam my entire apartment without a signal drop off, which exceeds the range of even the Class 1 Bluetooth 4.2 devices I’ve used. I used them for about three hours last night and the battery was still at 70%, according to my iPhone. Finally, they connect to my Mac using the AAC codec, like the Jabra Sport Elites. Very happy with these.

Thanks for the feedback. I enjoyed the Elite Sports until they were overtaken by the Bose in the SQ and fit department. I thought they were a good product that was well ahead of the curve given that they came out so early and almost never dropped out. The SQ on them was passable but that's about it. It's good to know they improved the SQ. Did you get the active version or the regular?

 

[MIBUK]

I pre-ordered these from Best Buy several weeks ago and they arrived last night — a pleasant surprise, because the Jabra website still lists them as “coming soon” and the Best Buy website lists them as “Sold Out Online.” Bottom line: they far exceed my expectations. They sound great, the microphones work incredibly well (I was able to make a clear call this morning from the subway platform at Grand Central), they fit extremely well, they’re comfortable and they isolate very well. I have the Jabra Sport Elites, and the 65t’s are better fitting and more comfortable (for my ears, anyway), have better microphones and have a more refined sound. (Slightly less bass, but still warm and clear, with no sibilance.) Even though Jabra lists the usual 10 meters/33 foot range for these, when connected to my iPhone X I was able to roam my entire apartment without a signal drop off, which exceeds the range of even the Class 1 Bluetooth 4.2 devices I’ve used. I used them for about three hours last night and the battery was still at 70%, according to my iPhone. Finally, they connect to my Mac using the AAC codec, like the Jabra Sport Elites. Very happy with these.

Do you have the sports version? Have you run with them on if they are the sports version?

 

[turbobb]

@rhsauer - Thx for chiming in! Have you played around with the app? Also any cut-out's so far between the two?

 

[rhsauer]

I have the regular version, not the sports version. (I don’t think the sports version is available yet). The fit (for me) is very stable, and I'm sure I'd have no trouble running in them. YMMV, since fit is very dependent on ear size and shape. (The Jabra Elite Sport did not fit at all with any of the supplied tips -- I had to use a tip that doesn't fit in the case perfectly.) The connection seems stable, generally. I’ve had one instance where I needed to put the buds back in the case for a moment to “re-pair” them to each other (the left bud wasn’t getting a signal). That happened (rarely) to the Jabra Elite Sports too. There’s also some sort of transmitter near the door to my office that causes all Bluetooth headphones to go crazy as I walk through that door, and these are not immune to that. I noticed they are now available again for order on the Best Buy site.

 

[Tommy C]

I haven’t found a perfect or close to perfect wireless IEM.
In terms of sound I would rate PSB TW1 the highest and then Bose, Soundsport Free and then Sony. I haven’t tried B&O e8 and not planning to as they use leather in their case and I don’t do leather.
Back to topic, the lack of carrying case of the PSB is a bit annoying, not a deal break if you carry a small backpack or a power bank in your pocket - not ideal but not a deal breaker. The open back design of Bose is pretty much a deal breaker for me. Even at work I can hear everything around me, they are probably best suited when jogging but in a noisy environment sound quality drops dramatically so it’s reallt counterproductive.
What bothers me the most is that with all those true wireless IEMs while making a call sound is coming out from one side only.
This is super frustrating because I need them also for calls during the day and it’s just annoying.
I’m going to look into Jabra due to sound coming out from both buds during phone calls, based on what I was told.
I’m starting to question myself if for the money and sound quality do I really need a true wireless earphones when a product like Focal Spark while not completely wireless is much cheaper but sounds very good and has a solid battery life for about 8+ hours.

 

[clerkpalmer]

If you are an android user definitely check out the new rbh bt set discusses above. Built in dac and amp should make for a sweet sounding set.

 

[Tommy C]

If you are an android user definitely check out the new rbh bt set discusses above. Built in dac and amp should make for a sweet sounding set.

Thanks, im actually an iPhone user but will look into that.
How are you enjoying your Bose and PSB so far?

 

[Tommy C]

Just as an FYI - Bose Soundsport Free is 25% off from Bose Canada, Best Buy, Amazon Canada and most major retailers.
It looks like this is a promo buy Bose itself.
Is V2 coming out soon or what?

 

[Tommy C]

Jabra Elite Sport and the Bose Soundsport Free both on sale now in Canada and U.S.
The Jabra is surprisingly good. Feature-packed and solid connection and while the sound of PSB is better Jabra offers a more complete package if you need the additional features and charging case.
Bose still has issues with video syncing and they are very limited in noisy environments. While they sound good the open design makes them sound really bad if you’re in a loud gym, mall or just strolling down a busy street. While at home they sound lovely though, but what’s the point then...

 

[TooFrank]

My E8s still continue to be very solid. I can count the number of dropouts I've had on two hands, maybe even one hand.

My only gripe is that I wish they could play a little louder. iPhone X as a source, primarily listening to Apple music while at the gym and on the go. Some pandora too.

Agree on sq etc. Loudness for me is ok. Have you tried different tips? Better isolation will in theory give higher volume.