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

[SomeGuyDude]

Thanks for this - if you had to choose only one of MW07 or MTW, what would you go for? Also what do you use as a case for the MW07s? Had a look and unsurprisingly nothing bespoke, but any ideas of stuff I could easily source would probably impact my decision.

EDIT: also the best colour for them - hard to tell without seeing them in person!

Zero experience with the MTW but IMO the Grey Tarazzo is the best MW07 color. I love my Tortoiseshell, though.

 

[Rickyearl]

So...I was listening to the Earins on Spotify while the MTWs charged away. For fun I turned the MTW case onto its side and, sure enough, the Earins stopped and music started playing on the right MTW in the case, but not the left. Turned the MTW case right-side up and still playing. Removed and reseated the right MTW in the case, no change. Removed them both and reseated them, and they stopped and the Earins started. Then turned the MTW case upside down - same thing happened. I played with it some more and found it doesn't happen with a gentle turn but a quick turn (or a drop) will do it. So will a shake.

Thus it's fair to say that the MTWs can fairly easily disconnect from their case when not sitting still right-side up on a flat surface. Worse, once disconnected they don't automatically "notice" and reconnect to the case when they go back to being right-side up. Both of them have to be completely removed and reseated.

I know nothing about firmware but the "notice" thing seems fixable.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Thanks for this - if you had to choose only one of MW07 or MTW, what would you go for? Also what do you use as a case for the MW07s? Had a look and unsurprisingly nothing bespoke, but any ideas of stuff I could easily source would probably impact my decision.

EDIT: also the best colour for them - hard to tell without seeing them in person!

Me personally MW07 because I can live with the battery life and I have numerous other headphones for situations where I need more than 2.5 hours. But if the question was what pair would you buy if you really only planned on using 1 headphone, I would lean to the MTW.

 

[Rickyearl]

OK, M

Comparing the M2 to the MTW without sound comparison while the MTWs charge:

1. Case. Earin clearly wins. The case is about 1/3 longer, but the round cylinder form factor is really nice - easier to find space for. Plus the MTW has all those well-documented charging "quirks and features" (to quote Doug DeMuro) that make it unreliable. The Earin case just seems better all around - I like the machined aluminum look better than the burlap thing, the whole "cradle" thing seems better engineered than the simple holes on the MTW case, there are 3 lights to indicate charge on the case and separate ones on the inside for each IEM, on and on.

The MTW has USBC, which is a big plus. And the Earin magnetic bottom is concerning. The MTW case is also magnetic enough to hold a paperclip near the clasp, but I think that's less likely to come in contact with something problematic than the entire quarter-sized bottom of the Earin case's cylinder. But those are the only advantages on the case.

2. Fit/finish of IEMs. The Earins are tiny. In fact, this makes them a bit hard to fit properly compared to the MTWs, which go into my ears perfectly as if made for them. You can put the M2s in wrong pretty easily because they fit anywhere. I can see that for some people that would be an advantage - I can't see anyone having fit problems with these like the problems I have had with the E8. The M2s also seem more "high-tech" due to the size and shape - it just make them look less plasticky and more advanced. Both are light (they feel about the same to my hands), but the lightness of the MTW combined with the plain matte black plastic makes them seem a little cheap in comparison.

3. App. The Earin app is weird. It has "gain" - which is just volume and thus kind of useless (just use the buttons on the phone) and balance but no EQ. It also only tells you the power level of the master IEM, not both, and does so by filling up a circle rather than giving you a percentage. The presentation is incredibly minimalistic and "homemade" looking - you either like that or not. The transparency setting part is fantastic, though it has a volume adjustment for the ambient sound, as well as a "Near/Far" adjustment. It also allows you to use it in "Auto" where it automatically engages when the music stops but is otherwise off. The "Near/Far" thing is amazing - I can talk to my wife but still not hear the TV (or vice-versa! ).

The MTW app has an EQ. It's kind of goofy but better than nothing. But transparency is wonky (never got it to work while music plays) and the battery levels engender angst due to their granularity.

4. Connection. MTW is rock-solid. I've never had a drop or cutout. Never had an issue connecting to phone or app. Just put them in and hear "connected." It's kind of cumbersome to switch devices if both are in the same room (have to put them in pairing mode and pair with the second device each time), but other than that this aspect is really solid.

Earin's connection process is a PITA. Horrible. The app needs to see each IEM connected separately to work. But when the IEMs are running only one or the other is "connected" to the phone and the other is a "slave." Thus if either one is out of the case, the phone connects to that one and disconnects from the other one. So I can only get the app to work when both the IEMs are in the case - the only time I can connect both to the phone. The IEMs themselves work fine, but if I want to use transparency mode or balance I have to put them in the case, open the app, then remove them from the case with the app running. Then if I switch out of the app and back in I have to restart the whole process. Thank goodness I didn't have to update the firmware. I haven't even tried connecting them to a second device - the thought exhausts me.

More once the MTWs are charged up.

OK, they are charged (pretty fast from totally dead, actually - 2 hrs or so). So onward

5. Transparency/Ambient/Call Quality. Not unexpectedly, Earin wins hands down. The transparency mode just works, and the "Auto" thing above is great. I could wear them all day and hear just fine, or not, if I wanted. Sounds are a bit tinny, but not too bad. I can talk on a separate speakerphone about 3 feet away with total clarity. Really impressive. Calls sound better to the other side than when I use the iphone itself.

The MTW transparency is just OK by comparison. Much tinnier and much less detailed. Also, there isn't any way to hear sounds farther away unless they're really loud. Call quality is about the same as most average IEMs with microphones in the cords. Everyone can tell and in a loud area it's kind of a pain.

6. Comfort. Earins are really comfortable. You forget about them they're so small. I don't see an issue wearing them for hours and hours. No fatigue at all. MTWs also fit me nice, but I never forgot they were there. After 2-3 hours I need to take them out and kind of give the ear canals a break from the fit. Not bad, but nothing like the Earins.

7. Sound. Well, what can I say? I really liked the Earins for the 2+ hours straight I just listened to them. I got into them and was really enjoying the sound. Then I put in the MTWs and it was like night and day - like someone removed a piece of tape from the speaker. The MTW is better in every way I can thing of - clearer, more detailed, more separation, wider soundstage, better highs, better mids, tighter bass, better everything. It was amazing all over again like it was when I put them in the first time. Now the Earins sound cheap and muddy.

So that's my $0.02.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Me personally MW07 because I can live with the battery life and I have numerous other headphones for situations where I need more than 2.5 hours. But if the question was what pair would you buy if you really only planned on using 1 headphone, I would lean to the MTW.

I definitely do feel like the MW07 has a fairly... limited market.

 

[clerkpalmer]

I definitely do feel like the MW07 has a fairly... limited market.

If they could get the battery up to 3.5 it would make a world of difference. It's pretty amazing however that we live in a world where a set of true wireless earphones outperform good quality wired earphones. You and I both agree on that.

 

[hifi80sman]

Lotta y'all get really weird about logos. I do not understand it.

Earbuds and headphones, I don't care about logos. Color, yes, logos, no.

However, clothing, different story. Don't want to be walking around with TOMMY HILFIGER all over the place. It's like, Tommy, get over yourself.

 

[hifi80sman]

The airpods sound terrible and the sound isolation is non-existent.

Yes the Sennheiser MTW have connectivity/charging issues which are supposedly going to be fixed with a firmware update but there are other true wireless headphones which are superior to airpods - MW07, earin M2, Jabra 65t, RHA True Connect (if you like that tampon-esque look).

If you don't care about sound, the AirPods are right up your alley.

I haven't had ANY connection issues with my MTW. No L/R drop outs, distance is flat out impressive for a TWE, but I do notice the L earbud is at 93% or 94% out of the charger (overnight). Looking forward to the updates and glad they were actually announced. Gotta give Sennheiser credit.

 

[Tommy C]

Anyone tried the TFZ X1 Bluetooth IEM?
They are currently on MassDrop.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Anyone tried the TFZ X1 Bluetooth IEM?
They are currently on MassDrop.

They are about the same price on AliExpress and you don't have to wait to March.

 

[jfvny]

Anyone tried the TFZ X1 Bluetooth IEM?
They are currently on MassDrop.

they're basically a rebranded Mifo O5, so you can see some of the reviews about those in this thread

 

[Luchyres]

Er... I think it's kind of the opposite here. People on here are ridiculously avoiding products because of the branding. That's not any better, it's still letting the "trendiness" of a product affect your decision. Besides, they're TWEs, not massive full-size cans. People are talking like the logos are these big four-foot billboards stapled to your head. It's bizarre.

Everyone seems to be taking their "I like quality products" to such an insane degree that there's a "pride" in not having logos or whatever on themselves. Who cares? Why does everything need to be a political statement? I want to listen to music, **** do I care if there's a logo slapped on them? Hell I use my Project Rocks and they're so branded and logo-ified it's downright obnoxious, but they're also the best gym headphones I've had so I'm not going to avoid them.

Then again I can't get too grumpy since we're both in Yinzer country so I gotta cut you some slack, LOL. Might see ya at Music to My Ear someday.

You're quite right that my perspective on logos isn't what's happening here in many cases - just my personal reason for avoiding anything that I feel either tries to sell you by associating with the brand more than by producing a quality product (subjective opinion: Nike, Apple, SUPREME) or that puts excessively large/ugly logos (though, at that point it's more of an aesthetic thing - I just don't like how the Klipsch look, and that does affect whether I want to wear them). It makes sense that may not be as much of a deal to some (such as yourself). Given the choice, all things being equal, I'll always pick something that doesn't have a large logo on it. For me, I wouldn't say it's a political statement, just personal preference. Different folks, different strokes though.

To the extent I avoid trendy things, it's not because of the branding/logo in and of itself, but more if I feel the trendiness isn't justified by the quality of the product. I'm not avoiding it because it's trendy, but I don't value popularity/sales as a measure of the quality of the product. I guess what I'm saying is I don't feel like I take particular pride in avoiding logos, I just don't like them in many cases - but that's due to my hangups as explained above. If you love the Project Rocks (or the Klipsch) I am 100% for it - and I hope they're successful if people like their sound, but if I was in the room when they designed the successor, I'd say "ehhhhhh, maybe without the gold and make the logo smaller."

FWIW, I think the MW07 are the most aesthetically pleasing of the TWES, and I don't love the Sennheiser logo on the MTW - but it definitely wouldn't have kept me from keeping them (that would be last on the list after SQ, Comfort, Connection, Battery etc.).

I had a gut feeling you were from my neck of the woods, maybe we will run into one another one day!

 

[RunsWithScissors]

Thanks for the heads up, too bad indeed about the single size. The original True Wireless Comply were way too small for me with the Jabra Sport Elite and apparently the True Grip aren't any better for many people.

I emailed Comply support to inquire if there were any plans to offer Comply foam tips for the Jabra Elite 65t in any other sizes and unfortunately they replied no.

Comply Support response excerpt:
"Unfortunately, the tips provided during our testing didn't pass the test for compatibility due to users having the tips fall off of the device.
These tips are very unique, and we do not plan to release different size tips for it."

bummer...

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Earbuds and headphones, I don't care about logos. Color, yes, logos, no.

However, clothing, different story. Don't want to be walking around with TOMMY HILFIGER all over the place. It's like, Tommy, get over yourself.

The only logos I'll get on my clothing are bands and the like. Stuff I buy because I support whatever is drawn all over my chest. Headphones I rarely even notice.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

FWIW, I think the MW07 are the most aesthetically pleasing of the TWES, and I don't love the Sennheiser logo on the MTW - but it definitely wouldn't have kept me from keeping them (that would be last on the list after SQ, Comfort, Connection, Battery etc.).

Funny story. I've had tons of TWEs so far, Sony/Jabra/M&D/Bose/Beoplay, and the MW07 is the only one that caused someone to stop me and ask what they were. They really are pretty as hell.