[miserybeforethemusic]

Presenting: the 2nd-Generation M5-TWS from ADV Sounds. Do note that ADV provided this review sample, even in light of my insistence that I would be brutally honest about my experience with them. They have accepted the challenge, and now so shall I.

Based on ADV's claim that the M5 has a "Neutral" signature, I have pulled the following pairs to use for comparison as well as the JBL Club Pro+, which are the most Harmon-esque pair I could find. Since neutral can be a rather nebulous term, I believe the variety presented should be sufficient for comparison.

My word, these are stunning. Camera can't even capture how nice in the hands these feel.

I have them on the charger at the moment, but I am so much more impressed with build quality than I thought I would be. Bar is going to be pretty high for sound now.

 

[3Putter]

So Apple is the best overall with sound quality and ANC?

Not to my ears but they are decent. Better can be had for much less. I am liking my Bang & Olufsen H95i 3rd Gen. Better sound and ANC is good. Not as good as APM's but close. Saved $250, too.

 

[Thesonofkrypton]

Probably wishful thinking but I just noticed that amazon uk has 'sony wf-1000xm4 true wireless earbuds' suggested when you type in wf-1000xm4 into the search field (it hasn't been doing that before). Not sure if that's an indication of what they have preloaded as far as stock goes or just what people search for most.

 

[Spa03]

I've been considering the Fiio LC-BT2, mostly because of the LDAC support. I have the Fiio BTA-30 transmitter, which works very well with my Sony WH-1000XM4 using LDAC. (edit)
The BTA-30 also supports AptX-HD, so the Ikko ITB05 may also be interesting. (pairing it with the Ikko OH1?!)
Have you heard the LC-BT2 as well?

Unfortunately nope, my IEM requires a lot of power to drive it properly so once found ITB05 I’m just set with it. Looks much better made too, felt really premium in hand. Unless your IEM requires a lot of power, which leads really just ITB05… other sets normal ones will be sufficient as my CF01 pairing with EJ07 is perfect event better than with Q5s.

Also noticed the back of the ITB05 unit each side was secured by 1 single pinhole screw so in very unlucky event the cable snapped should be fairly easy to open it up and attach event better ones I’m event contemplating doing that soon

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

other sets normal ones will be sufficient as my CF01 pairing with EJ07 is perfect event better than with Q5s

Wow, that's high praise. I don't have much of a basis for comparison on the BT transmitter end anymore; most of my TRN adapters have either been donated off or given up the ghost.

And I totally agree with you; it blows me away that one can connect the Tin P1 to a set of CF01 and have a genuinely enjoyable experience. And one heck of a learning process; I have learned a ton about Bluetooth stacks and audio routing within Android devices (many thanks to @samandhi for our offline rants and gripes). I have not yet had a chance to see if enabling the Gabeldorsche stack improves some of the issues we encountered as that will require serious critical listening, but there is an upper limit on signal to those; one the P1 dances with and often exceeds.

 

[Spa03]

Wow, that's high praise. I don't have much of a basis for comparison on the BT transmitter end anymore; most of my TRN adapters have either been donated off or given up the ghost.

And I totally agree with you; it blows me away that one can connect the Tin P1 to a set of CF01 and have a genuinely enjoyable experience. And one heck of a learning process; I have learned a ton about Bluetooth stacks and audio routing within Android devices (many thanks to @samandhi for our offline rants and gripes). I have not yet had a chance to see if enabling the Gabeldorsche stack improves some of the issues we encountered as that will require serious critical listening, but there is an upper limit on signal to those; one the P1 dances with and often exceeds.

Lol - that was mostly down to the tuning of EJ07, Q5s is towards warmer side hence cf01 allowed it to be more musical. Detail, stage and resolution is better (only very very slightly) with Q5s.

For flagship set such as the EJ09, difference is more noticeable but man I just can’t go back to the fiddly wire way any longer… I’m accepting the drop in sound (ok only slightly) in exchange with wire-free. I recon once swapped ITB05’s stock cable for something much better, it would more close to my Q5s+Single Crystal Silver setup. Will try that one day

 

[CocaCola15]

Back to basics here, with all the talk of combo units, TOTL TW phones, but the humble $99 presale Echo Buds are not bad at all. I took them for a noisy walk today on the streets of Old City Philly and the ANC actually worked pretty well, and the sound (with a touch of EQ via the Alexa app) is pretty close to the quality delivered by the CA buds. I compared all four pair I own last night on the same track and the winner was the Status Between Pro. Using Amazon Music HD to stream the track. Seems Status is still not delivering their latest batch, but for basic, on the go TW phones at a good price, the BPs are excellent IMHO. Now, the Echo Buds v2 I received match most of the online reviewers I've read so far. Seems they have all agreed not to release their reviews until May 13, the day early buyers got the Echo Bud latest version. No, they are not TOTL TW in-ear headphones, but for the non-audiophiles out there, a solid price to performance pair of TW phones.

I also managed to walk around without hailing Alexa, not once. I forgot I could use voice to control the Echo Buds, TBH. But it seems weird to talk to your headphones out on the streets.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

Oh man, these M5 sound impressions are going to be difficult. A lot of people are going to like these. Not to sound too cliché, but I heard dialogue in the background of A Perfect Circle's "The Stranger" that I never knew was there. Had to rip off an earbud more than once to make sure someone wasn't actually talking to me.

That being said, bass is well on the higher end of neutral, but not so warm that it overwhelms the midrange. Perhaps ADV may be choosing to define "neutral" in the Harman Target sense, but the M5 seem to have an ability to handle dynamics in a way that honestly makes me concerned about what the Club Pro+ would have cost without all the extra app development. This thing has been handling the background/studio vocals on APC's Thirteenth Step with such accuracy that it's honestly a little jarring.

If the AZ70W can pull these sort of details out of primarily acoustic material, the M5 manage to chew up modern material and spit it out polished, packaged, and with a bow on top.

 

[samandhi]

Oh man, these M5 sound impressions are going to be difficult. A lot of people are going to like these. Not to sound too cliché, but I heard dialogue in the background of A Perfect Circle's "The Stranger" that I never knew was there. Had to rip off an earbud more than once to make sure someone wasn't actually talking to me.

That being said, bass is well on the higher end of neutral, but not so warm that it overwhelms the midrange. Perhaps ADV may be choosing to define "neutral" in the Harman Target sense, but the M5 seem to have an ability to handle dynamics in a way that honestly makes me concerned about what the Club Pro+ would have cost without all the extra app development. This thing has been handling the background/studio vocals on APC's Thirteenth Step with such accuracy that it's honestly a little jarring.

If the AZ70W can pull these sort of details out of primarily acoustic material, the M5 manage to perform the same chew up modern material and spit it out polished, packaged, and with a bow on top.

Well, if you don't end up liking them, I would bet (by looking at the FR curve) that Crinacle will love them. The bass doesn't appear to be boosted as much as something like the MT.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

Well, if you don't end up liking them, I would bet (by looking at the FR curve) that Crinacle will love them. The bass doesn't appear to be boosted as much as something like the MT.

Which is ironic because I feel like bass strength exceeds that of the Melomania Touch. It's the upper midrange that seems to wildly vary between the two, but I think you nailed it:

The M5 is much more of a direct competitor to the Melomania Touch than the previous offerings I mentioned. And it's way too soon to tell whether I lean towards the British or the Japanese.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

For anybody who was planning to buy from Audio46 anyway, found the following coupon code in my inbox. I certainly don't need it:

Gotta use it by Monday!

 

[jsmiller58]

Oh man, these M5 sound impressions are going to be difficult. A lot of people are going to like these. Not to sound too cliché, but I heard dialogue in the background of A Perfect Circle's "The Stranger" that I never knew was there. Had to rip off an earbud more than once to make sure someone wasn't actually talking to me.

That being said, bass is well on the higher end of neutral, but not so warm that it overwhelms the midrange. Perhaps ADV may be choosing to define "neutral" in the Harman Target sense, but the M5 seem to have an ability to handle dynamics in a way that honestly makes me concerned about what the Club Pro+ would have cost without all the extra app development. This thing has been handling the background/studio vocals on APC's Thirteenth Step with such accuracy that it's honestly a little jarring.

If the AZ70W can pull these sort of details out of primarily acoustic material, the M5 manage to chew up modern material and spit it out polished, packaged, and with a bow on top.

I. Really. Don’t. Need. This.

It is already in the cart. Someone, please help me.

 

[bladefd]

I. Really. Don’t. Need. This.

It is already in the cart. Someone, please help me.

R.I.P. lol

 

[Luke Skywalker]

I tend to agree with you after having experienced the B&Ws, NFP and KEF at this exact moment. I think @Luke Skywalker is in love with his KEFs and I can totally see why.

Ha yes I am. I'm just catching up with this thread after a busy week... So interestingly, my KEF's stopped playing music at the gym a week or so ago. I figured that the battery was just dead but when I got home and took them out, they wouldn't connect or charge. I fiddled around with them for a while and then emailed KEF support.

Super fast reply... Actually two different guys reached out to me telling me how to do hard reset:

1. Please try out the HARD RESET process.
   1. Put back the earbuds into the charging case,
   2. Hold the “Multifunction” button on both earbuds for 8 Sec (LED turn white and blue alternately).
2. Please try to pull up two earbuds at the same time from the charging case and pair it again.

Here's the funny part... I opened the case to do this and of course... the damned things lit up. Stuck them in my ears and they worked perfectly and I've never had another issue.

I like to think of myself as a logical thinker and although I was happy that they just started working, I'm wondering how exactly that happened when I literally changed nothing and did the same thing I'd done probably 50 times.

So great support, loving the sound as much as always.

So what should I buy next? I'm looking for something that doesn't need to be EQ'd, like the KEFs. Maybe the Grado's? You guys seem to think highly of the B&W's and the NFP, but I've heard you need to EQ the falcon's and that drives me nuts. I always feel like it's not set quite right

 

[Luke Skywalker]

Some specs and several comments here lateley, suggests I should just keep my MTW2s and stay happy with that?

MW08 - muddy bass, too warm sound
PI7 - no volume control on buds/bad battery and the sound is not in line with the price?
Mu3 - bad ANC, no AptX (and "impossible" to get the hold of?)

Pureplay Z7, MT, Grado and Falcon Pro does not include ANC which I want... (MT with connection issues?, and the Nobles are very expensive as well).

Specs, looks, build quality and price had me going for the MW08, but you guys have scared me off...

What do think?

I would make a slight correction to what you say... I'd say the Mu3's have "average/decent" ANC. I can't hear any background noise as the gym or in the living room when there's tons of noise and I just want to chill but my Bose NC buds are definitely superior from an ANC standpoint