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

[Tenlow]

You forgot waterproof in your pros. I agree completely with all that you noted.

True, wanted to add that but forgot. That IP57 rating is nice indeed!

 

[Caipirina]

MTW3 in graphite discounted to 190€ at Amazon.de.

Darn, I wish I had seen that a tad earlier, just saw it for 210 (black) and 209.90 for graphite ... and wanted to spill the beans here only to find out that I could have saved another 20€ ... darn this hobby!
At least I can return if I do not like

 

[C_Lindbergh]

I'm still really enjoying the Linkbuds S, great comfort/fit, pretty good SQ and amazing Anc/ambient mode.

But....it's incredibly annoying that you can't fully customize the touch controls...Almost a deal breaker for me personally.

Why can't Sony and other major OEMs give us that simple option -_-

 

[regancipher]

Weird, I can't find any Life Note 3 on my amazon ... either just 'Note' or the 'Note 3S', which actually intrigues me for it's semi open design ... too bad amazon also claims at one point they have ANC (which they have not) .. dreams crushed ...

But I keep checking reviews and look who I found

cover blown!

 

[erockg]

Amazon just dropped off these new Philips TAT8506 and I'm actually surprised they don't stink. Didn't think Philips could make a good sounding headphone. Well, I'm wrong. These sound good and ANC is very good at home. Even blocks out Paw Patrol... sigh...

Whelp, they're going back. Sound is great but the fit for ME is awful. If you move around too much they just don't stay in well. That and the tap control functions are not user intuitive at all. Too many steps to do anything. Hasta la vista, Philips. You won't be back.

 

[subguy812]

A couple of very early first EX impressions:

Positive:

- Beautiful case and nice build quality
- Very comfortable
- Secure fit (have only tried the silicone tips so far)
- Significantly louder than the EQ
- Very enjoyable sound (with ANC on)
- Responsive touch controls
- Multipoint Bluetooth out of the box
- Extended three years warranty - very nice and welcome for the high price point.
- Connection so far has been stable.
- IP57 rating, still fairly rare for many TWS.
- Seemingly frequent firmware updates so far

Neutral:

- Average ANC, I can already tell.
- Transparency mode isn't very strong either (but at least doesn't have white noise)
- OK app. Pretty much the same features as the EQ had.
- A tiny bit shouty on high volumes? Not sure yet...

Negative:

- Unfortunately no customizable touch controls
- Sound in ANC mode is significantly bassier than in "neutral" mode. Seems a bit flat and lifeless in neutral mode as a first impression.
- In single bud mode, the right bud can only skip tracks forward and the left one only backwards.
- No volume control in single bud mode as well as no transparency mode.


Cannot say anything about battery life or call quality yet.

I do like them so far. As expected though, not sure if they are necessarily worth 399, especially in comparison to the MTW3 I paid half the price for but time will tell. They are definitely way more comfortable than the EQ and thankfully so much louder, too.

I agree with your Positives, and all Neutrals(except shoutiness, don't hear that), and yes the biggest Negative can't customize the controls, if you could customize, the "right bud" could be used to control what features you wanted.

Have you tried to create a custom sound while in Neutral mode?

Battery life, I have seen better and worse, depends on ANC and volume. Call quality is great or so I have been told.

Curious, what tips did you settle with?

 

[maor26]

Has anyone tried these yet?

https://us.soundcore.com/products/a3961011

I've been looking for a decent pair of TWS earbuds with a ear-hook for a while now, but there aren't many options out there.
There are the powerbeats pro from apple, Endurance peak from jbl, something from skull candy, and the rest are pretty much all cheap chinese brands.

 

[jant71]

Has anyone tried these yet?

https://us.soundcore.com/products/a3961011

I've been looking for a decent pair of TWS earbuds with a ear-hook for a while now, but there aren't many options out there.
There are the powerbeats pro from apple, Endurance peak from jbl, something from skull candy, and the rest are pretty much all cheap chinese brands.

People are not that convinced yet so the place to check is Youtube. They have been sending them out and reviews are stacking up.

 

[Tommy C]

Has anyone tried these yet?

https://us.soundcore.com/products/a3961011

I've been looking for a decent pair of TWS earbuds with a ear-hook for a while now, but there aren't many options out there.
There are the powerbeats pro from apple, Endurance peak from jbl, something from skull candy, and the rest are pretty much all cheap chinese brands.

If you want the best earhook style TWS get the Shure TW2 and you will be also using the adapters alone once you realize how good the SQ is with better IEMs. I’m really satisfied with the Shure adapters.

 

[BooleanBones]

If you want the best earhook style TWS get the Shure TW2 and you will be also using the adapters alone once you realize how good the SQ is with better IEMs. I’m really satisfied with the Shure adapters.

I find them a better fit as well. I have started using them with my IE600s and likely won’t switch back to the FIIO adapter.

 

[maor26]

People are not that convinced yet so the place to check is Youtube. They have been sending them out and reviews are stacking up.

I've seen some youtube reviews, just thought I'd ask here for a less biased opinion.
Thanks for the suggestion.

If you want the best earhook style TWS get the Shure TW2 and you will be also using the adapters alone once you realize how good the SQ is with better IEMs. I’m really satisfied with the Shure adapters.

Thanks for the suggestion, and I'll be sure to try it at some point, but at the moment, I'm specifically looking at TWS earbuds with ear-hooks because I'm gonna use them
for most of the day, and also for stuff like working out, so I don't need the best possible sound for that purpose, just a pair of TWS earbuds that has good enough sound(and ear-hooks).

 

[smuh]

Anybody got the OPPO Enco X2 incoming? The dynamic + planar driver combo, LDAC etc. sounds very interesting.
That being said, Huawei's FreeBuds Pro 2 may be worth a listen too...

 

[Tommy C]

I find them a better fit as well. I have started using them with my IE600s and likely won’t switch back to the FIIO adapter.

I use them a lot with the SE215 Special Edition. The sound quality is great for what it is yet a bit on the clinical side of things but more like studio IEMs.
I also have the UE900 got them last year for the nostalgia as I already owned them twice 8-10 years ago and while the technology is a bit dated they are still 4 BA drivers and sound very nice. Best TWS sound for me at the moment so I‘m kind of hesitant to splurge on other TWS since the TW2 with whatever I hook up to it give me such a good sound and user experience, not sure what’s my next purchase will be.

 

[Not so fat head]

Dumbest thing ever, was not buying a third party Equalizer that works with everything....
This Boom Equalizer has let me realize how good many of the TWS/headphones/IEM's, I've set aside, actually sound..
Ten bucks well spent...

 

[Tenlow]

I agree with your Positives, and all Neutrals(except shoutiness, don't hear that), and yes the biggest Negative can't customize the controls, if you could customize, the "right bud" could be used to control what features you wanted.

Have you tried to create a custom sound while in Neutral mode?

Battery life, I have seen better and worse, depends on ANC and volume. Call quality is great or so I have been told.

Curious, what tips did you settle with?

So far, I've only used the stock silicone ones they come with in size L. They fit perfectly so not in a hurry to tip roll but will still try the foam ones and maybe some other ones down the road. What are other EX users using with regard to tips?

And no, I haven't played around much with the neutral mode after listening to it once. Any recommendations are still welcome of course