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

[jant71]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ya...ish-vibe-owing-to-play-of-color-and-tech/amp/

Hey, how did the Mackie stack up next to the Kenwood? For sound anyway outside of any drawbacks.

 

[nekonhime]

Hey, how did the Mackie stack up next to the Kenwood? For sound anyway outside of any drawbacks.

Mackie have a larger or extensive soundstage compare to the kenwood, but the vocal is a bit off when listening to pop, electronic in general. Also, it have no app. I am waiting for the ex to decide whether the mackie going back or not

 

[SynaestheticA]

Good to hear. I was surprised of its performance as well when first listen to it. Especially after listening to several flagship tws, wasn't having much expectations on tws. I hope it retains its position after the new ones are released.

Finally another one I can really recommend. Soundstage super wide as well and gives an out of head feel.

Imagine how good this brand will sound in a few years if they start using more powerful tech or multi driver systems.

 

[SynaestheticA]

@dweaver
You been ghost writing for Scarbir I see?

https://www.scarbir.com/tws/sony-linkbuds-s-vs-jbl-live-pro-2-review

 

[scubaphish]

So, I think the Mystique sound incredible, but I’ve been wrong before. Trying to compare and contrast to Pro but haven’t drawn out the differences well enough yet.
What I can say is the ambient works but you really need to turn the music down to have a conversation. That said, you can have one. What I don’t like at all is no ambient control on the buds, only the app. Good thing app is responsive and stays open in cache so fairly easy to switch once phone is open. I haven’t had a phone call yet. Connection seems good, even walked around outside in NYC and didn’t have any cutouts. Of course responds well to EQ. Passive isolation is great. Super comfortable, feels just a little smaller and more comfortable than the Pro.

Edit: I’d add that ambient mode doesn’t really seem to impact sound quality too much .

 

[natalieann]

I still swear by the Bang and Olufsen EX

 

[BooleanBones]

So, I think the Mystique sound incredible, but I’ve been wrong before. Trying to compare and contrast to Pro but haven’t drawn out the differences well enough yet.
What I can say is the ambient works but you really need to turn the music down to have a conversation. That said, you can have one. What I don’t like at all is no ambient control on the buds, only the app. Good thing app is responsive and stays open in cache so fairly easy to switch once phone is open. I haven’t had a phone call yet. Connection seems good, even walked around outside in NYC and didn’t have any cutouts. Of course responds well to EQ. Passive isolation is great. Super comfortable, feels just a little smaller and more comfortable than the Pro.

Edit: I’d add that ambient mode doesn’t really seem to impact sound quality too much .

Same case it appears?

 

[scubaphish]

Same case it appears?

Yeah, pretty much. they go into each others case, too.

 

[scubaphish]

Got the Fokus Majestic in today. After a couple of hours of use I can say the fit is very comfortable, the app is easy to use and the sound is really good. Not your normal bass heavy wireless. The bass is there and you can almost feel it but it's not over bloated. I would say it's pretty neutral. Of course I prefer the more V shape sound, like that of the Orbit, when I'm working out. That might make my definition of neutral different than others. The ANC seems to work decently but I'm not one to judge seeing I'm not a fan of ANC or Ambient modes. These are a definitely a keep. Now to start clearing out the dozen other wireless IEMs. The Orbit and Majestic will be my daily users.

I’m using the Jazz EQ setting. Kind of V shaped, but with some plateaus.

 

[erockg]

I’m using the Jazz EQ setting. Kind of V shaped, but with some plateaus.

I swear I read somewhere that they’re pretty similar to the FP just a slight upgrade with ambient. Same case etc. If you can't activate transparency with a tap of the buds, that’s a real bummer. Mine are sitting in a FedEx lock box for delivery tomorrow.

 

[shooter]

I'm interested if it is worth trying while having FP and not necessarily interested in ambient and mic. I guess Mr Wizard mentioned there will be slight bass tuning only re SQ.

 

[dweaver]

@dweaver
You been ghost writing for Scarbir I see?

https://www.scarbir.com/tws/sony-linkbuds-s-vs-jbl-live-pro-2-review

Lol he is more thorough than me .

Mostly agree, the Sony has a very nice mid centric sound but I found it was bit to much on the safe side.

ANC and Ambient modes are both great though.

The battery life is not quite as good as claimed in my experience. I had to disable ANC most of the time to get reasonable battery life. I definitely could not have ANC on when I used them for sleep or got an annoying low battery notice an hour or 2 before I get up. (I try to sleep 8 hrs).

I found the JBL Live Pro 2 to be more bassy even before using the EQ especially compared to the Sony Linkbuds S. It is more bassy than the Live Free 2 in my experience. But I do agree about the treble being more energetic.

I think the JBL are close but not quite as good for ANC and Ambient in comparison to the Link Buds S.

The last BIG difference is price. At least here in Canada. The Linkbuds S have gone back up to $299 which just way to much for them (I was silly enough to pay that price...). The best price they have been is $169. The JBL Live 2 Pro are normally $199 which is actually worth the cost in my opinion and on sale for $149 at the lowest price here in Canada (The US had these and Live Free 2 for $75 at one point!!!). Given how good the battery is in the Live Pro 2 it really is the better bargain. But it is hard to get it to the same mid-centric sound of the Sony.

So if you know you love Sony sound and can get a good price on the Linkbuds S, go for them. But if you like more thump or are unsure the JBL offers a lot for the money.

 

[scubaphish]

I swear I read somewhere that they’re pretty similar to the FP just a slight upgrade with ambient. Same case etc. If you can't activate transparency with a tap of the buds, that’s a real bummer. Mine are sitting in a FedEx lock box for delivery tomorrow.

That’s what I was hoping for. I love the sound of the NFP but if I’m walking my dog and get a call I can’t just take them on the earphones because the mics are just that bad. Sometimes I should really be able to hear what’s going on in the apartment. Ambient mode is kind of a necessity. I want the Mystique to be my daily drivers; maybe not zoom calls, I’ll use my creative for that. Amazing sound with practicality of other TWS. To @natalieann point; maybe that was the EX all along, but I didn’t give it a try.

 

[Juturna]

Is MusicTeck a reputable seller? I was looking at the Fokus Mystiques and most of the other ones that I know of won't ship to Sweden unfortunately, but it does seem like they do.

 

[jaydoc1]

Is MusicTeck a reputable seller? I was looking at the Fokus Mystiques and most of the other ones that I know eyof won't ship to Sweden unfortunately, but it does seem like they do.

I'm in Australia and have ordered from them many times with $2000+ iems, etc and they have been very reliable, quick to send and are well known to many Headfi'ers as a go-to retailer - definitely reputable!