[scubaphish]

I'm having zero issues with that. It connects to my MacBook Pro or Pixel 6 is soon as I disconnect one or the other. Because of the auto pairing I had to turn off Bluetooth on my phone the first time I connected to the Mac.

Other good news. I was totally wrong about the sensors. It turns out I was swiping too slow. I think I had Stockholm syndrome from the iffy fingerprint readers on the aforementioned devices and unconsciously thought of the AKG as a fingerprint reader. A simple quick flick works now and, as intended, does not get confused with a tap.

Thanks. I disconnected but don’t think I tried turning Bluetooth off.

 

[Ceeluh7]

So the Fiio UTWS5 is going to be in my possession at some point today, I will definitely post a lil comparison to the Utws3.

 

[Samplingentropy]

I think IFi Go Blu

I still have the 1more triple driver with ldac and it sounds much better than most tws... More dynamic throughout. Really a nice set you can get for very cheap anymore

How long does the battery last? I've read 6h online and it's just too short :/
They do look nice, how is the passive isolation?

 

[Ceeluh7]

How long does the battery last? I've read 6h online and it's just too short :/
They do look nice, how is the passive isolation?

For me... Not bad at all. The tips aren't bad actually, they are a softer silicone but tacky to a degree and they seal very well. I don't think I purposely tested out the passive isolation but I will check when I get home from work man. They say the battery is 6 hrs or so and I have found that to be true. Very nice quality as well.

 

[jant71]

This is slightly offtopic but i wonder if APTX Lossless, once introduced, will work on older devices. I know that LDAC was introduced into Android without the need for Hardware changes. When Qualcomm announced their next gen chips they also mentioned that these chips will do APTX Lossless so i'm wondering if it will ever come to older smartphones or we have to buy new stuff (meh...). Anyone with some insight into this topic?

Nope. Both devices need the chips so not backwards compatible and not through firmware update either. LDAC is still a lossy codec and the loseless is supposed to be bit for bit and current stuff can't do it right. Of course the bitrate can be knocked down at times as it seems it will be an adaptive codec. Might be interesting if there is some sort of jailbreak and if it would work right. It is said to be built off of AptX adaptive.

 

[Devodonaldson]

So the Fiio UTWS5 is going to be in my possession at some point today, I will definitely post a lil comparison to the Utws3.

Mine on the way too. Looking to try with Campire Audio Solaris, and Audeze Euclid

 

[voicemaster]

This is slightly offtopic but i wonder if APTX Lossless, once introduced, will work on older devices. I know that LDAC was introduced into Android without the need for Hardware changes. When Qualcomm announced their next gen chips they also mentioned that these chips will do APTX Lossless so i'm wondering if it will ever come to older smartphones or we have to buy new stuff (meh...). Anyone with some insight into this topic?

Even AptX adaptive is not backward compatible with bluetooth transmitter using AptX LL and HD.

 

[voicemaster]

So the Fiio UTWS5 is going to be in my possession at some point today, I will definitely post a lil comparison to the Utws3.

I think you will like it if you like the utws3. I don't have utws3 to compare, but I have KZ AZ09 pro and TRN BT30. For me, utws5 is the best, 2nd place is AZ09 pro and so on.

 

[Ceeluh7]

Mine on the way too. Looking to try with Campire Audio Solaris, and Audeze Euclid

Very nice man. I didn't want to put anything too crazy expensive on them, I'm thinking something like the TinHifi T3+, Hidizs MS2, maybe Aria... I'm looking forward to checking em out. The Solaris will be very nice on the UTWS5. The Audeze are slightly larger, they might be pretty tight in that case, maybe. Anyways I hope we enjoy these man and I'm hoping they are a cut above the utws3

 

[jant71]

I think you will like it if you like the utws3. I don't have utws3 to compare, but I have KZ AZ09 pro and TRN BT30. For me, utws5 is the best, 2nd place is AZ09 pro and so on.

Can we get a comparison on the AZ09 Pro and FiiO just for size, weight, comfort and fit, stability, and working the controls? Just the physical wearing and usage of each. Thanks!

 

[xSDMx]

Re: the UTWS5: How reliable and consistent is pairing to different source devices when you reinitiate pairing by holding the multifunction case button for 3s? Does it just connect to the next source device no problem, or is there residual funkiness where the left and right adapters don't connect together, etc.? That was my big pain point with the UTWS3. They were just fine when only used with one device, but fell to pieces IMO if you needed to switch between sources often (e.g., laptop and phone).

 

[voicemaster]

Can we get a comparison on the AZ09 Pro and FiiO just for size, weight, comfort and fit, stability, and working the controls? Just the physical wearing and usage of each. Thanks!

Without having the items in my hand, I can definitely tell you that the utws5 is larger and heavier than az09 pro but feels more premium/solid. Connection stability hasn't been an issue for both and any bluetooth 5.2 devices. They connect to my phone and pc pretty fast and I haven't had any dropouts with utws5, rarely on az09 pro.
They both are comfortable and I could wear them 6 hours straight no problem (I actually did last night with utws5).
The utws5 has volume control while az09 pro doesn't. The az09 pro has gaming mode and full power (high gain) mode, but the utws5 has a separate volume from the source. Both are plenty loud.
Minor thing is most bluetooth earhooks has reverse L&R placement in the case, while the utws5 it is normal, left earpiece goes to left side and vice versa.
The case of utws5 is larger than az09 pro. The utws5 case is metal with plastic lid where the az09 is all plastic. The utws5 has wireless charging and not on the az09.

The cable part on the az09 is more elastic while the utws5 is firmer and stay in place better.

 

[voicemaster]

Re: the UTWS5: How reliable and consistent is pairing to different source devices when you reinitiate pairing by holding the multifunction case button for 3s? Does it just connect to the next source device no problem, or is there residual funkiness where the left and right adapters don't connect together, etc.? That was my big pain point with the UTWS3. They were just fine when only used with one device, but fell to pieces IMO if you needed to switch between sources often (e.g., laptop and phone).

It just pair to the next device right away. You can even just pair one side and left the other one inside the case and they both will automatically paired. The new bluetooth 5.2 is quite an advancement from previous generation.

 

[BLUDGEON]

I'd been using Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earbus Basic 2, which I found pretty great for the price (like $20 US?) but decided to upgrade when one of the buds cacked out. I spent about 5 hours in a shop trying out different buds.

The contenders:
- Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro
- Master & Dynamic MW08
- Sennheiser CX Plus
- Sony WF-1000XM4
- Sennheiser Momentum TWS 2
- Master & Dynamic MW07 Go

Testing music:
- Radiohead - The National Anthem
- True Damage - Giants
- Michael Jackson - Gotta Be Startin' Something
- Daft Punk - Give Life Back to Music, Doin' it Right
- Kanye West - Stronger
- Our Lady Peace - In Repair
- KDA - Pop/Stars
- Billie Eilish - bad guy, xanny

Impressions:
This will not be super detailed, just what I remember. I started out with the L3P, MW08, and CX Plus. Installed the Soundcore and Sennheiser apps, there isn't one for Master & Dynamic as far as I know but could be wrong. I couldn't get the Sennheiser app to find the CX Plus buds no matter how many times I tried, including resetting the buds, re-installing the app, etc. It couldn't find the Momentums later either. Soundcore found the L3Ps no problem.

Started out with Billie Eilish on the L3Ps and was immediately impressed with the bass. I'm big on really feeling the depth of bass and sub-bass (for reference, my over-ears are the V-Moda M100), and during the drops in "xanny" (*in* their second *hand* smoke, *still* just drinking *canned* Coke) I could feel myself immersed in it. The MW08 and CX Plus didn't give me quite the same feeling.

After a few songs I was able to eliminate the MW08 as it just didn't sound as clear as either the L3Ps or the CX Plus. It sounded good, but not as good, and especially at double or more the price it was an easy call. The CX Plus didn't have the same gut-vibration the L3P did, but mids and vocals sometimes sounded a bit nicer. It sounded a bit smoother. It was a bit hard to tell if the Momentum TWS2 sounded much different from the CX Plus, but when comparing with the L3P they just didn't sound as clear. I do think the LDAC accounts for some of that difference.

The Sony XM4s didn't really impress me even with LDAC. I never really felt myself grooving when I was listening to them. The bass didn't pack the punch I wanted even when adjusting it in the app, and it didn't seem to be made up for in clarity. It could be they'd be nice for particular kinds of music that I wasn't trying out, but they were a pretty easy no in my comparison testing.

Then it was down to the L3P and the Sennheisers. The songs were Radiohead's The National Anthem, KDA's Pop/Stars, and Kanye West+Daft Punk's Stronger. I should mention I also set up the HearID EQ in the Soundcore app which was pretty interesting. It basically cranked up the mids, which put more emphasis on vocals and electric guitar. It also seemed to increase the volume. I found that I liked it on some songs (like rock) and preferred the default on others. Listening to the driving drums and bass in The National Anthem, the L3P had me grooving. The Sennheisers were good but just didn't give me the same energy, on top of feeling somewhat lacking in clarity in comparison so they were out.

I thought I was basically set on the L3P until I remembered to try the MW07 Go which I'd remembered liking when I tried them out a year or so ago. Oh crap, they sounded good! They seemed to have slightly less sub-bass then the L3P but had a great impact on the bass drum in The National Anthem. They had me grooving too. It was tough to decide which ones sounded better. There was also the form factors and usability to consider. I really like the physical buttons on the MW07 Go, and they were much easier to pick out and put back in the case. The L3Ps are a bit awkward to deal with in that sense, and I kept activating touch controls when handling them. On the other hand, the MW07 Gos didn't seem to connect to my phone automatically when I took them out of the case. It felt like I had to press a button on them to make them connect. Both felt comfortable in my ears and didn't seem to slip even when jumping around and doing pushups (haha, yes I got some looks in the store).

Ultimately I found the Liberty Pro 3s just made my body vibrate a bit more and seemed a bit more clear/detailed. I also liked how much the sound could be adjusted with EQ, which gets saved to the buds (handy for connecting to different devices). Bonus was that the L3Ps ended up being the cheapest of all the contenders! The extra features like ANC and Transparency were not factors for me but will be interesting to experiment with. Should also note that I'm pretty sensitive to sibilance, and didn't find any problems there with any of the buds I tried out.

I've had the L3Ps for a few days now, here are some last thoughts on them:
- The ANC does seem pretty good, cutting out most of the low sounds of traffic and so on.
- Still haven't figured out how to get them in and out of the case elegantly.
- Have mostly been keeping them on the default tuning. I'd read impressions here that people thought they sounded weird out of the box, but I like them.
- They connect to the phone easily and as soon as you open the case.
- The case is a good size and shape, fits in my front pocket beside my wallet no problem.
- They come with 4 sets of tips and 4 sets of wings, I get a good fit with the default wings and size 3 tips. The tips sometimes flip inside out when taking the buds out of my ears.
- I haven't worn them for an extended period of time yet, but they seem comfortable so far.
- I connected them to my Windows 10 computer and tested the lag in the game menu - seemed like very low latency, couldn't detect a difference compared to the laptop speakers.
- LDAC does seem to make them sound better and clearer when listening to higher-res music. I also just get a kind of peace of mind from it, knowing I'm not losing a bunch of data to compression.
- I used one bud to make a call while walking down the street, and my friend said it was really clear, as though I was talking into the phone itself. That's a nice plus.

Not sure how valuable any of this is to anyone, but I've appreciated reading this thread for a long time and wanted to contribute. Cheers!

 

[erockg]

New addition far left. Wow. Best Audio Technica TWS yet! Quick shot: ANC is really good in my home. Sound is FULL. Nice bass and sub-bass. Thank you Amazon Japan! Let the games begin...