[Tommy C]

For those that have the Elite Sport, do they sync well with video?

Yeah, that was the first thing that I checked. Mine sync perfectly with YouTube vids, using the YouTube app nor browser.

 

[rhsauer]

If you don't have the case with you, do these turn off at all? My thought would be that I'd want to bring the headphones on my 40 minute walk to and from work, but I probably wouldn't want to bring the case with me daily.

Yes, you can turn them off without the case. But the case is so small you won’t mind bringing it with you.

 

[Tommy C]

Yes, you can turn them off without the case. But the case is so small you won’t mind bringing it with you.

Speaking of cases, Bose SoundSport Free has a good case, problem is it’s a beast.
I slowly accepting the fact that there is no perfect set of wireless earphones yet, and I’m not evening talking about sound but more so functionality and features.

@clerkpalmer how do you like the Bose case?

 

[clerkpalmer]

@clerkpalmer how do you like the Bose case?

I love the Bose case because it actually works as advertised. It actually holds a charge and doesn't go dead over time. My Jabra case would just die over time making it useless. Size doesn't bother me much.

 

[Tommy C]

I love the Bose case because it actually works as advertised. It actually holds a charge and doesn't go dead over time. My Jabra case would just die over time making it useless. Size doesn't bother me much.

It does hold charge extremely well. I haven’t compared it to the Jabra case but now when you mentioned that I will.
My only issue is with its size when I try to stay light and portable.

 

[david8613]

Hey guys have any of you compared the Samsung iconx 2018 to the jabra 65t, b&o e8 or the Jay bird runs? I have the iconx 2018 and im totally happy with them but I'm wondering how these others compare? Getting the itch to buy some back ups and give away my jay bird x3 i use as back ups right now.

 

[picapau]

Hey guys have any of you compared the Samsung iconx 2018 to the jabra 65t, b&o e8 or the Jay bird runs? I have the iconx 2018 and im totally happy with them but I'm wondering how these others compare? Getting the itch to buy some back ups and give away my jay bird x3 i use as back ups right now.

Hi All,

Long time reader, first time poster. Be kind regarding my reviews below I've been following all the wireless IEM thread's for a while now and have managed to go through a whole range of earbuds and ended up settling on the Jabra Elite 65T. For me they don't seem to have any fatal flaws with regards to the microphone, connection and noise isolation. They also happen to be the cheapest but because they are relatively new they wont be discounted for a while.

I've outlined my scores with some comments below. All tested with a MacBook 2016 and iPhone X.

0 - Fail/Deal breaker
1 - Acceptable
2 - Good
3 - Amazing


AirPods

Connection 2 - Solid, but sometime take ages to connect and I need to go into the settings.
Audio 1 - Surprisingly good in a quiet environment when the fit into the ear is good
Isolation 0 - Rubbish, can hear everything
Video 3 - Perfect on all devices
Voice 3 - Best hands free kit money can buy. Only product to get a 3 in this category.
Controls 1 - Tap gestures are limited and don't always work
Fit 1 - Not perfect, with quite a loose fit. Very comfortable though because of it.

Total = 11

B&O E8
Connection 2 - I had no major issues, solid enough connection.
Audio 1-2 - Personally, these were not the best. Much better after using their equaliser.
Isolation 2 - As for any IEM
Video 2-3 - No real issues
Voice 0 - Awful microphone for phone calls and unusable outside. Picks up huge background noise.
Controls 1 - Touch controls did not always work
Fit 2 - Very slightly bulky but fit well with multiple supplied earbuds

Total = 11

Sony WF1000X

Connection 1 - Frequent jumps and skips, not very annoying; possibly related to noise cancellation
Audio 2 - One of the best for sound. Equal to the Bose.
Isolation 3 - Best noise isolation/cancellation of all
Video 0 - Out of sync with audio lag
Voice 1 - Acceptable microphone
Controls 1 - No way to control the volume from the headset
Fit 2 - Very light, easy to wear IEM's. Stick out quite a bit though and have silly flashing blue lights

Total = 10

Bose Soundsport Wireless Free

Connection 2 - Giving it a two but the left ear bud did occasionally cut out or switch off by it self
Audio 2 - Open sound due to the design, very good bass
Isolation 0 - Awful; Used these in noisy environments and could hear everything around me
Video 2-3 - Despite all the negative reviews, with the latest firmware I had no issues
Voice 2 - One of the best microphones I tested
Controls 1 - Hard to press the physical buttons but otherwise pretty good
Fit 2 - Very bulky, stick out a long way but actually stay in very well

Total = 11.5

Samsung ICONX 2018

Connection 1-2 - I think this is stable enough but right bud had connection issues (see "Fit" comment)
Audio 1-2 - Good balanced audio with decent bass
Isolation 2 - as for any IEM
Video 0 - Video lag on Mac and iPhone X on all apps - unusable
Voice 1 - Good in a quiet environment but very bad when noisy
Controls 2 - The most reliable touch controls I used
Fit 0 - Left was perfect; Right kept getting dislodged regardless of tips/wings; there is proximity sensor which kept activating/deactivating.

Total = 8

Jabra Elite 65T

Connection 2-3 - Bluetooth 5, Solid with no major issues. Can connect to 2 devices at the same time.
Audio 1-2 - Not the best out of the box but much better after using the equaliser to adjust the sound
Isolation 2 - As for any IEM
Video 1-2 - Largely no great audio lag - usable
Voice 2 - Best microphone but can be argued it is a bit too loud for the other person listening.
Controls 1 - A bit fiddly and earbuds get pressed into ear due to the physical buttons.
Fit 2 - Go deep and stay in my ear perfectly. Feel comfortable enough for long periods.

Total = 12.5

 

[FieldingMellish]

Hi All,

Long time reader, first time poster. Be kind regarding my reviews below I've been following all the wireless IEM thread's for a while now and have managed to go through a whole range of earbuds and ended up settling on the Jabra Elite 65T. For me they don't seem to have any fatal flaws with regards to the microphone, connection and noise isolation. They also happen to be the cheapest but because they are relatively new they wont be discounted for a while.

I've outlined my scores with some comments below. All tested with a MacBook 2016 and iPhone X.

0 - Fail/Deal breaker
1 - Acceptable
2 - Good
3 - Amazing


AirPods

Connection 2 - Solid, but sometime take ages to connect and I need to go into the settings.
Audio 1 - Surprisingly good in a quiet environment when the fit into the ear is good
Isolation 0 - Rubbish, can hear everything
Video 3 - Perfect on all devices
Voice 3 - Best hands free kit money can buy. Only product to get a 3 in this category.
Controls 1 - Tap gestures are limited and don't always work
Fit 1 - Not perfect, with quite a loose fit. Very comfortable though because of it.

Total = 11

B&O E8
Connection 2 - I had no major issues, solid enough connection.
Audio 1-2 - Personally, these were not the best. Much better after using their equaliser.
Isolation 2 - As for any IEM
Video 2-3 - No real issues
Voice 0 - Awful microphone for phone calls and unusable outside. Picks up huge background noise.
Controls 1 - Touch controls did not always work
Fit 2 - Very slightly bulky but fit well with multiple supplied earbuds

Total = 11

Sony WF1000X

Connection 1 - Frequent jumps and skips, not very annoying; possibly related to noise cancellation
Audio 2 - One of the best for sound. Equal to the Bose.
Isolation 3 - Best noise isolation/cancellation of all
Video 0 - Out of sync with audio lag
Voice 1 - Acceptable microphone
Controls 1 - No way to control the volume from the headset
Fit 2 - Very light, easy to wear IEM's. Stick out quite a bit though and have silly flashing blue lights

Total = 10

Bose Soundsport Wireless Free

Connection 2 - Giving it a two but the left ear bud did occasionally cut out or switch off by it self
Audio 2 - Open sound due to the design, very good bass
Isolation 0 - Awful; Used these in noisy environments and could hear everything around me
Video 2-3 - Despite all the negative reviews, with the latest firmware I had no issues
Voice 2 - One of the best microphones I tested
Controls 1 - Hard to press the physical buttons but otherwise pretty good
Fit 2 - Very bulky, stick out a long way but actually stay in very well

Total = 11.5

Samsung ICONX 2018

Connection 1-2 - I think this is stable enough but right bud had connection issues (see "Fit" comment)
Audio 1-2 - Good balanced audio with decent bass
Isolation 2 - as for any IEM
Video 0 - Video lag on Mac and iPhone X on all apps - unusable
Voice 1 - Good in a quiet environment but very bad when noisy
Controls 2 - The most reliable touch controls I used
Fit 0 - Left was perfect; Right kept getting dislodged regardless of tips/wings; there is proximity sensor which kept activating/deactivating.

Total = 8

Jabra Elite 65T

Connection 2-3 - Bluetooth 5, Solid with no major issues. Can connect to 2 devices at the same time.
Audio 1-2 - Not the best out of the box but much better after using the equaliser to adjust the sound
Isolation 2 - As for any IEM
Video 1-2 - Largely no great audio lag - usable
Voice 2 - Best microphone but can be argued it is a bit too loud for the other person listening.
Controls 1 - A bit fiddly and earbuds get pressed into ear due to the physical buttons.
Fit 2 - Go deep and stay in my ear perfectly. Feel comfortable enough for long periods.

Total = 12.5

I'm being kind by saying that I stopped paying attention to your review after having read the early parts:

Airpods / Voice / Voice 3 - Best hands free kit money can buy. Only product to get a 3 in this category.

Reason: I demoed the Airpods in our local Apple store. A couple test calls out were unsuccessful because callers I reached where unable to discern what I was saying over the ambient noise in the store, which they felt was amplified.

In turn, you claim for B&O E8 / voice / Awful microphone for phone calls and unusable outside. Picks up huge background noise.

I demoed the E8 in our local B&O store, and the callers I contacted indicated they heard me well and that the sound was mellifluous.

But in comparison:

I believe that both Airpods and E8 stink to make calls with when in a noisy environment. E8 the worse for it if the IEM's are setup for max isolation, in which case you cannot hear yourself speak. Airpods open design allow you to at least hear yourself speak.

 

[picapau]

I'm being kind by saying that I stopped paying attention to your review after having read the early parts:

Airpods / Voice / Voice 3 - Best hands free kit money can buy. Only product to get a 3 in this category.

Reason: I demoed the Airpods in our local Apple store. A couple test calls out were unsuccessful because callers I reached where unable to discern what I was saying over the ambient noise in the store, which they felt was amplified.

In turn, you claim for B&O E8 / voice / Awful microphone for phone calls and unusable outside. Picks up huge background noise.

I demoed the E8 in our local B&O store, and the callers I contacted indicated they heard me well and that the sound was mellifluous.

But in comparison:

I believe that both Airpods and E8 stink to make calls with when in a noisy environment. E8 the worse for it if the IEM's are setup for max isolation, in which case you cannot hear yourself speak. Airpods open design allow you to at least hear yourself speak.

Being new I'm not looking for any arguments, just interested in a good debate. I used the AirPods for 14 months and each of the other earphones for at least 1 week. I live and work in central London and did almost the same journey via the tube and alongside busy roads every day with each pair. The reason I feel I am in a good position to comment on the quality of the microphones is that over the 14 months I used the AirPods it was very rare any one ever mentioned that they couldn't hear me. I used that as a marker of microphone quality. The B&O e8's were so bad that I actually rung the B&O store with them to show them what they sounded like around traffic and with wind. My wife even refused to talk to me if I had them in on my way back from work unless I put my AirPods back on. The store agreed a full refund after hearing the phone call but did say that they were unable to fix the problem even if they gave me a new pair. They also said that a firmware update may fix the issue but they couldn't promise when that might happen. This also appears to be a problem picked up by others on the beoworld forums as well: https://forum.beoworld.org/forums/p/28412/225079.aspx#225079 and https://forum.beoworld.org/forums/p/28115/222012.aspx.

I tested all the other microphones in a similar manner and used the AirPods as the bench mark and when the other person couldn't hear me I swapped over to the AirPods to see if they could and 9 times out of 10 they could. I even made sound recording with some of them to test the microphone in various environments. Sounds a bit OCD but for me the quality of the microphone is almost as important as the music or connectivity. I make a lot of calls with headsets when travelling or commuting.

The two caveat's to my reviews above are that I could have received a slightly defective pair and not noticed it. Also the model of phone used could potentially make a difference. The AirPods probably work best with iPhones using a W1 chip. Unfortunately I don't have an Android phone to be able to test this.

 

[FieldingMellish]

Being new I'm not looking for any arguments.

Your review is perfect in every way.

 

[ceeloChamp]

I wanted to go wireless so badly and wireless is great for a lot of things; I use my HD1 over-ears when I fly, I use my Airpods when I workout/climb and when I take work phone calls, but for everything else they just aren't as good.

I was really interested in trying the new Audio Technica, apparently they have developed a new wireless technology which is supposed to produce an 'audiophile level' sound...I'm skeptical.

Also I'm a believer that different cables make a difference and I'd hate to see independent cable companies out of business!

 

[Jeepz]

Jabra Elite 65T

Connection 2-3 - Bluetooth 5, Solid with no major issues. Can connect to 2 devices at the same time.
Audio 1-2 - Not the best out of the box but much better after using the equaliser to adjust the sound
Isolation 2 - As for any IEM
Video 1-2 - Largely no great audio lag - usable
Voice 2 - Best microphone but can be argued it is a bit too loud for the other person listening.
Controls 1 - A bit fiddly and earbuds get pressed into ear due to the physical buttons.
Fit 2 - Go deep and stay in my ear perfectly. Feel comfortable enough for long periods.

Total = 12.5[/COLOR][/SIZE]

TIMELY REVIEW on the Jabra Elite 65T! Thank you. I was hearing good first impressions on reddit and on the BestBuy site but figured I'd wait for a passing grade from my Head-fi.org bros

Hoping to replace my AirPods with these.

 

[Tommy C]

Would anyone know if there are some 3rd party tips available for the Bose Soundsport Free?
Also I don’t know if it’s my ears playing tricks on me but some tracks have recessed mids on the Bose but sound more balanced with other earphones and headphones. This is in a quiet environment so it’s not an open back kind of issue.

 

[Jeepz]

Why are people so impressed by the AirPods mics? Even the microphone on the wired EarPods sounds better. Is the bar for wireless mics that low?

 

[ceeloChamp]

Why are people so impressed by the AirPods mics? Even the microphone on the wired EarPods sounds better. Is the bar for wireless mics that low?

What is bad about the mic? I’ve used them pretty much everyday since they were released and no one has had any problems hearing me.