[Sustenter]

I don’t know about the 1More Pison Buds but based on photos it looks like they are still in-ear, no?

I have the FIIL CC2 and they are solid. They fit like true earbuds and have decent sound and give you plenty of awareness to your surrounding.

Hello, I think you answered to the wrong person, I'm searching for iem only, as my ears are weird airpods-shaped earbuds fall off.

Thank you.

 

[Juturna]

Okay y'all, I'm probably going to buy the Fiio UTWS3, unfortunately they're not going to be able to be found for under an equivalent of $130 here domestically, and if I order them from China they will still be $100. Are they still worth it? Also could probably get the UTWS5 or Shure TW2 for $180, are they worth the extra money over the UTWS3?

 

[Juturna]

Would also love a comparison between the Fokus Pros and the new Astell & Kern TWS earbuds, because unlike the Fokus Pros, those can actually be found here!

 

[Tommy C]

Hello, I think you answered to the wrong person, I'm searching for iem only, as my ears are weird airpods-shaped earbuds fall off.

Thank you.

My bad. I mixed up your post with another. This was supposed to be a reply to @Blueshound24

 

[erockg]

Uh-Oh! We got trouble...for erockg's wallet. New Final flagship ZE8000...



Buuuuut, it won't be around till later this year so still time to put a little cash on the side here and there.

Hmm... I don't know. Kind of Frankenstein looking. What is it with their design team??? But hey, maybe they sing like angels.

 

[erockg]

Got the Linkbuds S yesterday. Really like them. Transparency is spot on. Has a lot of the same features as the XM4, less Qi and sound quality. That said, I do like how they sound. They give the AirPods Pro a run for their money. They are incredibly light, fit is very comfortable --- best fit yet for Sony IMO. I was able to listen to a book at night lying on my side. No issues. Phone calls are great. Mic manages to block out a lot of background noise while talking. ANC isn't as good as the XM4 but it's still really really good. Surprisingly good. I might take them on a flight later this week and test them out. If this is a sign of what the XM5 could become, folks should be excited. Who knows what the future holds.

 

[Not so fat head]

I wouldn’t expect any earthshaking improvement.. Bluetooth chips, codex’s, ANC and speaker driver/amplifiers are state of the art in these latest offerings.
Now comes the pain of moving it all to a lower cost for mass market..
Something the big boys do extremely well.

 

[Not so fat head]

I picked up my momentum 2’s for $180.00, nice discount

 

[dweaver]

Got the Linkbuds S yesterday. Really like them. Transparency is spot on. Has a lot of the same features as the XM4, less Qi and sound quality. That said, I do like how they sound. They give the AirPods Pro a run for their money. They are incredibly light, fit is very comfortable --- best fit yet for Sony IMO. I was able to listen to a book at night lying on my side. No issues. Phone calls are great. Mic manages to block out a lot of background noise while talking. ANC isn't as good as the XM4 but it's still really really good. Surprisingly good. I might take them on a flight later this week and test them out. If this is a sign of what the XM5 could become, folks should be excited. Who knows what the future holds

When you say the sound isn't as good as the XM4 in what way?

 

[stacey]

Granted I just bought some TWS, but I wouldn’t be very inclined to upgrade until lossless audio is more widespread.

Likely that won’t be for a while. Qualcomm Sound is restricted to Qualcomm devices (That excludes a lot of DAPs and PCs) and AFIAK no aptx lossless stuff is out.

 

[alsorkin]

Granted I just bought some TWS, but I wouldn’t be very inclined to upgrade until lossless audio is more widespread.

Likely that won’t be for a while. Qualcomm Sound is restricted to Qualcomm devices (That excludes a lot of DAPs and PCs) and AFIAK no aptx lossless stuff is out.

Only devices that will be incorporating the Qualcomm QCC3071 chip will be capable of lossless Snapdragon Sound performance.

 

[darveniza]

Got the Linkbuds S yesterday. Really like them. Transparency is spot on. Has a lot of the same features as the XM4, less Qi and sound quality. That said, I do like how they sound. They give the AirPods Pro a run for their money. They are incredibly light, fit is very comfortable --- best fit yet for Sony IMO. I was able to listen to a book at night lying on my side. No issues. Phone calls are great. Mic manages to block out a lot of background noise while talking. ANC isn't as good as the XM4 but it's still really really good. Surprisingly good. I might take them on a flight later this week and test them out. If this is a sign of what the XM5 could become, folks should be excited. Who knows what the future holds.

Hopefully you can share your experience with ANC during flight. I found the Technics are quite remarkable on this aspect and for me worked better than Sony, B&O ,etc due to the ability of the dial from low to high. Was able to find the low band to work best to cancel the plane noise while allowing the tuning for the music not to become over/under emphasized

 

[erockg]

Hopefully you can share your experience with ANC during flight. I found the Technics are quite remarkable on this aspect and for me worked better than Sony, B&O ,etc due to the ability of the dial from low to high. Was able to find the low band to work best to cancel the plane noise while allowing the tuning for the music not to become over/under emphasized

Oh interesting. The AKG tws work like this too. I don't have the Technics anymore but do have the AKG. I'm not expecting much from the Sonys, but also grabbed the new XM5 cans for the flight as well. LAX to EWR is a long trip with an almost 4 year old. I'll report back if they work well or not at all.

 

[Blueshound24]

Have you looked at the Sony Linkbuds (original, not the recently announced Linkbuds S)? They are the best for situational awareness since they don't block any sound at all. Before I got them, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live we're my go to for calls and situations where I wanted to hear my surroundings (like biking for example). I find the Linkbuds to be more balanced for music (more to my liking) and much lighter and comfortable. They are my new go to for calls but also use them for music when in the office. Galaxy Buds Live are great as well but I found it to be more V shaped and bass heavy than I liked so I really only used it for calls. I also have other TWS that I use for music such as the PI7.

Btw I was very happy to find my Linkbuds sitting on my desk when I went back into my office. If they were lost, I would've bought a new set right away.

I had not considered or even heard of the Linkbuds, so I just looked at a couple interesting reviews. They look promising and I like the idea of a more balanced sound.
However, I never thought an open earbud style like the Galaxy Buds Live could be bass heavy?

The reviews of the FIIL CC2 looked promising also, but the idea of them not having a cover on their case was a turn off. And the stems seemed like they are really too huge.

 

[TK33]

I had not considered or even heard of the Linkbuds, so I just looked at a couple interesting reviews. They look promising and I like the idea of a more balanced sound.
However, I never thought an open earbud style like the Galaxy Buds Live could be bass heavy?

The reviews of the FIIL CC2 looked promising also, but the idea of them not having a cover on their case was a turn off. And the stems seemed like they are really too huge.

Take "bass heavy" with a grain of salt since that is very subjective and can also vary based on fit. That is why I qualified it with "than I liked". I don't find the Linkbuds to lack in bass once EQ'd but others may describe them as having no bass. I think it is all relative and personal preference plays a huge role.

As for open design, Galaxy Buds Live and the Linkbuds are the only ones I can speak to since those are the only ones that I have but I would not consider Galaxy Buds Live to be completely open the same way the Linkbuds are. I can actually get somewhat of a seal with the Galaxy Buds Live such that the ANC actually does make a difference (e.g. reducing fan noise). Of the two, the Linkbuds definitely win in the situational awareness department and you can literally hear everything around you like you aren't wearing earbuds. I think the Linkbuds are great for certain situations (love them for use in the office or calls at home) but when in a noisier environment, I still reach for my Galaxy Buds Live for calls.