[Aevum]

the AZ10 is low latency gaming oriented, it dosnt have APTX or APTX Adaptive

i would stick to the AZ09 pro

 

[Ceeluh7]

I also paid 200$ Canadian or about 160$USD.
I feel with the evolution in tws happening so fast I am not keen on spending a lot vs say an IEM which will be up for years.
But as battery connectivity and ANC keep getting better it feels a tws bud really has at most a 2 year shelf life before an upgrade model makes sense.

Ya... It's a balancing act for sure for where money is best spent. You are absolutely right about iems as opposed to a set of tws. I spend way way more money on iems, dongles, cables, the occasional DAP. The investment lasts for years upon years. The breakthroughs in these batteries do help though and units are lasting longer than a few years ago. My Cambridge Touch still last damn near the listed hours and I bought that the second they came out, like first week. So it's getting better but you are spot on. Not to mention the SQ difference is substantial unless you are rocking a qudelix or something similar. Even the adapters are very very impressive for the SQ they re beginning to put out. I'm sure it'll only get better

 

[Ceeluh7]

the AZ10 is low latency gaming oriented, it dosnt have APTX or APTX Adaptive

i would stick to the AZ09 pro

You and I both, I just canceled my az10 on account of a few people Co firming that the az09 pro are better, more open sounding.

 

[Aevum]

the thing is that theres also the CCA BTX which seems to be very similar to the AZ09 pro, both having the QCC3040 chip,

But the CCA appears to be aptx only while the AZ 09 pro is APTX adaptive.

BTW. how is the KZ cable connector called and what brands support it apart from KZ and CCA ?

 

[Ceeluh7]

the thing is that theres also the CCA BTX which seems to be very similar to the AZ09 pro, both having the QCC3040 chip,

But the CCA appears to be aptx only while the AZ 09 pro is APTX adaptive.

Ya know the cca, is probably a remake of the AZ09 non pro... Could be wrong. KZ and CCA usually are damn near identicle in specs.

 

[jant71]

Ya know the cca, is probably a remake of the AZ09 non pro... Could be wrong. KZ and CCA usually are damn near identicle in specs.

Then the CCA would have clear wire and connectors and not black rubber style of the Pro. Not a remake of either cause it is smaller which is nice being the smallest one but it has smaller batteries to help make it 20% smaller so battery is 5 hours and not 8.

 

[Ceeluh7]

Then the CCA would have clear wire and connectors and not black rubber style of the Pro. Not a remake of either cause it is smaller which is nice being the smallest one but it has smaller batteries to help make it 20% smaller so battery is 5 hours and not 8.

Gotcha... Who knows, maybe they are comparable.

 

[jant71]

Gotcha... Who knows, maybe they are comparable.

Should be the 09 Pro in most other aspects. If the smaller housing affects connection or any other things I'm sure people will report it.

Looks like it may be shorter overall as well.

 

[Ceeluh7]

Should be the 09 Pro in most other aspects. If the smaller housing affects connection or any other things I'm sure people will report it.

Looks like it may be shorter overall as well.

Yes there is clearly differences... I like that the 2 pin is not type c KZ style. Hey thanks for sharing man

 

[Ceeluh7]

Should be the 09 Pro in most other aspects. If the smaller housing affects connection or any other things I'm sure people will report it.

Looks like it may be shorter overall as well.

It looks as though it has 'hifi music mode' which I assume is the same as az09 pro high gain when you click the left button and times... These look nice

 

[guitarizt]

Yep... My thoughts exactly. If I'm paying almost 250.....it better be damn good.

Are the az40s and az70s prob not good? How is ambient on the az60s compared to galaxy bud pros?

I'm pretty happy with the galaxy bud pros. Price used to be insane for 130 new but is 160 on amazon now. The used ones are still around low 80s, and mine always came new or like new. I'm so skeptical of tws being good for that price with bt when I could go the standalone iem route.

I found an eq for linux last night and the timeless are even a half grade better now which is insane. This feels pretty close to end game for me. I'm even leaning toward skipping the monarch mk2 and instead going the studio monitor route. Speakers are just the best!

Oh, and no one interested in jumping on the shuoer s12 train yet? Just saw hbb's yt review of them. They look great for 150, and the fit from a reviewer's pics on head-fi looks better than the timeless.

 

[BooleanBones]

Are the az40s and az70s prob not good? How is ambient on the az60s compared to galaxy bud pros?

I'm pretty happy with the galaxy bud pros. Price used to be insane for 130 new but is 160 on amazon now. The used ones are still around low 80s, and mine always came new or like new. I'm so skeptical of tws being good for that price with bt when I could go the standalone iem route.

I found an eq for linux last night and the timeless are even a half grade better now which is insane. This feels pretty close to end game for me. I'm even leaning toward skipping the monarch mk2 and instead going the studio monitor route. Speakers are just the best!

Oh, and no one interested in jumping on the shuoer s12 train yet? Just saw hbb's yt review of them. They look great for 150, and the fit from a reviewer's pics on head-fi looks better than the timeless.

Not sure I have seen anyone post about the 40s. They were released with the 60s fairly recently. The 70s have quite a bit of feedback on them here, with some still owning them. Maybe they will chime in on how they like them. They are the largest among the three models.

 

[Ceeluh7]

Are the az40s and az70s prob not good? How is ambient on the az60s compared to galaxy bud pros?

I'm pretty happy with the galaxy bud pros. Price used to be insane for 130 new but is 160 on amazon now. The used ones are still around low 80s, and mine always came new or like new. I'm so skeptical of tws being good for that price with bt when I could go the standalone iem route.

I found an eq for linux last night and the timeless are even a half grade better now which is insane. This feels pretty close to end game for me. I'm even leaning toward skipping the monarch mk2 and instead going the studio monitor route. Speakers are just the best!

I actually think the ambient is on par with the GBP. I use my GBP often as it is just so very easily paired with my Galaxy phone.

If you are happy with timeless than maybe hold off a bit. The Monarch Mk2 is quite good based solely on reviews as I have not tried them. I think it would be a bit different from the Timeless in tonality. So many people are very happy with what 7hz has accomplished. They were an unknown company who just threw the industry on their heads... Kinda like the Blon 03 back in the day.

 

[dweaver]

Are the az40s and az70s prob not good? How is ambient on the az60s compared to galaxy bud pros?

I'm pretty happy with the galaxy bud pros. Price used to be insane for 130 new but is 160 on amazon now. The used ones are still around low 80s, and mine always came new or like new. I'm so skeptical of tws being good for that price with bt when I could go the standalone iem route.

I found an eq for linux last night and the timeless are even a half grade better now which is insane. This feels pretty close to end game for me. I'm even leaning toward skipping the monarch mk2 and instead going the studio monitor route. Speakers are just the best!

Oh, and no one interested in jumping on the shuoer s12 train yet? Just saw hbb's yt review of them. They look great for 150, and the fit from a reviewer's pics on head-fi looks better than the timeless.

I can only speak to the AZ60. I do think these are good, offering a very compelling TWS solution even at full retail. They have ANC that is almost as good as Sony and are cheaper in price reflecting that Sony has a slight edge in this category. They have excellent ambient functions that can be set to hear voices better (the setting is to much for just walking down the street but perfect in a store setting when trying to talk to a cashier). I also like them with both settings disabled.

The only features these are truly missing are auto pause when you take them out of the ear and wireless charging. I would prefer it if they had those features but also feel at the reduced MSRP compared to Sony they can semi justify the lack of features. But this does mean they lag behind the Galaxy Buds Pro which have both of these features.

Sound signature wise these sit right between Sony and Samsung. They are not as bright sounding as GBuds Pro or as dark as the Sony. I personally have grown to like them enough that I don't use the Gbuds Pro as often as I used to because I prefer their bass and midrange balance.

In terms of comfort I will give the nod to the Gbuds Pro by just a bit. But that comfort comes at the cost of isolation as the Gbuds Pro are only maybe 70% of the isolation of the AZ60.

Both models handle the wind better than any Sony I have owned but both still have some wind issues which is partially why I like the ability to disable ANC/Ambient at times because I live somewhere with a fair amount of wind.

Having said all of this. I personally struggle paying full retail on most TWS gear because by design they all have extremely short life spans. So I do generally wait until I can buy my gear on sale and try to limit my price to around $200CAD max if I can help it. This is why I am never in the discussions around some of the really expensive brands and have not tried the WF-1000XM4 yet.

It also makes a great IEM with an adapter a good option. If the adapter dies you just have to buy that component and still have your $400 IEM to attach. Just be damn careful with the IEM, if that darn MMCX connector fails its just as dead as any TWS that has a battery failure...

 

[jant71]

So, I checked and saw the "Westhiker 706" is unavailable at the moment. Still link to it... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0995G6B5B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Though at what price it will return at I don't know. After putting it through it's paces it was quite the deal at $3.60.

Tried the ANC on TV and when vacuuming and again not the best but makes a nice difference that I want to use it. Better with tips that seal better of course. Still connecting quick and issue free when taking out of the case. Touch is done very well and you won't have accidental presses.

I tested it out the way I use the CKS50TW with the same players and such so that I am familiar. They have a very similar sound profile and I use the same EQ for both. The big 13mm titanium drivers have some sub punch and the 706 is a fun bassy sound. Way above the price and not much worse than the AT is for sound. If they had aptX they could come real close actually when using the AT tips on them. Too solid to gift them anymore I have a Ruizu player that could use a pair of TWS. They drop the ball with no transparency mode and can't compare in battery life to the AT. They also have a weaker connection so not the range or close to body stability such as in pockets. Fit is great, they are super light, and the battery percentage and L/R proper contact indicators are nice to have. Turn out to be worth $3.60 every day of the week and twice on Sunday. For sure the best value TWS I have bought. You CAN get a pretty sweet TWS for under $4 in 2022 if you shop around and take a risk. Much better than things like the Bluedio I tried 1.5 years back for $14.