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

[subguy812]

Fair assessment on the Focal. Not super comfortable for long periods of time. ANC isn’t the strongest l but that was intentional by Focal. If you haven’t tried the Bose yet, I think you would like them. Some complain about the high noise floor but it doesn’t bother me. Other thing of note is that battery life between the case and buds is insane. I can go weeks without charging anything.

I’m not sure what to say about the HFM. Maybe I’m just drinking the cool aid but I think I can probably get rid of the Focals now.

 

[jant71]

Do you have the AZ80? If you do, what TWS would you put them up against as being equivalent?

They probably should have been out earlier as the top Panny model as the answer to the XM4. Out in the middle of 2023 I don't think they will be relevant for as long as they should unless they price drop and make the value go up. Guess we will wait and see but took a while but I feel they are not "far ahead enough" for a $300 Technic model should be. I guess we can all have different level bar we set in our minds for a brands high end label and the $300 price point.

 

[erockg]

Goodbye Pana...err, Technics hello Sony. Unless they end up being free. Pansonic is odd. They position Technics as high end and have $1000 earphones but the Technics TWS are pretty much just Panny earphones they put Technics on them to make them look even better. Panny no longer makes a TWS above $100 anymore. They are nice but probably should be even better to have the "moniker" of the high end brand. The AZ80 should really be a Panny top model and Technics high number series 7, 8, 9 numbered Japan brand really should be a bit more special. SQ a step better and better ANC from the sound of it.

I get it. I honestly don’t think that AZ80s are bad. Do I have a better options? Absolutely. IMO, the AZ80 are the best Technics to date. Build quality alone feels better than the Pannys I’ve tried. It’s the sound. I always feel like something is missing. If the new Sonys beat the AZ80, yes, you’re right… off go the Technics. But Sony is another that I can’t fall in love with their sound. Blah!

 

[helmutcheese]

Seen a few reviewers this week talking about these but none at the time actually had a set:

 

[Bhelpoori]

I’d say the APP2 are really good. Hope the new Sonys beat them though. Almost just picked up the Bose QC2 to try on my return flight. Talked myself out of it… for now. My cans proved the best as you said.

The more I use the AZ80, the more I think they’re decent but better that I didn’t get charged for them yet. I’d rather use my 3ANC for music.

As you may see from my location… was just on a 787 and 777 on Friday with both QC2 and App2. I’ve taken quite a few flights with both and there’s not much between them for ANC, sometimes the APP2 is better and sometimes the QC2. The latest Bose update has taken most of the instability out of the ANC too, which has been a nice improvement.

I prefer the Bose transparency on the plane because it appears to suppress loud sounds better, however, iOS 17 is supposed to fix that in the APP2.

I sometimes prefer the Bose for music on a plane but not at all on the ground. You’ll always find me with APP2 around the airport. In the air, the Bose hiss fades into airplane noise and the more bass biased sound is more suited to a plane.

The battery life is nearly 7 hours for me at just under mid volume with the Bose. Nearer 5 hours on the APP2… and the case drain of the APP2 means that it is rarely 100% unlike the Bose. I’m often on 12-15 hour flights, sometimes 24 door-to-door so I carry both…

After lots of testing I’ve stopped carrying my AirPods Max because the APP2 has better higher frequency cancelling and are smaller. The AirPods Max was my previous ANC champ for the ‘plane with respect to my many, many other attempts.

OTOH, if you’re on a 777 behind the wing, neither the APP2 or QC2 are good enough… but leaps ahead of lots of over-ears. We still have quite a way to go from ANC on planes and particularly subway/London’s Underground system.

Oh and don’t bother with the QC2 for Zoom etc at the airport as they don’t work well with typical airport background noise.

I’d say if you are on the plane with an APP2 then overall you have the best for flights in an Apple ecosystem.

 

[mcnaugha]

I didn’t know I was so lucky!
I wonder what % of them have connection issues.

I never had any “cutouts” with my NTP’s either but then I didn’t insult them by using them directly with an iPhone that can only do AAC.


Can I also say spatial audio on 2 channel earbuds sux. It’s nothing like a multi-speaker Atmos setup. It’s literally head movement controlled balance adjustment which doesn’t even happen on a multi-speaker, multi-channel system.

 

[helmutcheese]

 

[erockg]

As you may see from my location… was just on a 787 and 777 on Friday with both QC2 and App2. I’ve taken quite a few flights with both and there’s not much between them for ANC, sometimes the APP2 is better and sometimes the QC2. The latest Bose update has taken most of the instability out of the ANC too, which has been a nice improvement.

I prefer the Bose transparency on the plane because it appears to suppress loud sounds better, however, iOS 17 is supposed to fix that in the APP2.

I sometimes prefer the Bose for music on a plane but not at all on the ground. You’ll always find me with APP2 around the airport. In the air, the Bose hiss fades into airplane noise and the more bass biased sound is more suited to a plane.

The battery life is nearly 7 hours for me at just under mid volume with the Bose. Nearer 5 hours on the APP2… and the case drain of the APP2 means that it is rarely 100% unlike the Bose. I’m often on 12-15 hour flights, sometimes 24 door-to-door so I carry both…

After lots of testing I’ve stopped carrying my AirPods Max because the APP2 has better higher frequency cancelling and are smaller. The AirPods Max was my previous ANC champ for the ‘plane with respect to my many, many other attempts.

OTOH, if you’re on a 777 behind the wing, neither the APP2 or QC2 are good enough… but leaps ahead of lots of over-ears. We still have quite a way to go from ANC on planes and particularly subway/London’s Underground system.

Oh and don’t bother with the QC2 for Zoom etc at the airport as they don’t work well with typical airport background noise.

I’d say if you are on the plane with an APP2 then overall you have the best for flights in an Apple ecosystem.

Thanks for this.

 

[dweaver]

I was ready to sell my MTW3 and then they released this update and it is game changing. I posted about it at the time and tried to describe the process.

It is definitely the best personalized sound implementation I have used in a TWS.

 

[helmutcheese]

If only they fitted me (too small and wiggled loose), AFAIK all the issues at launch were fixed by later FW (Bluetooth glitches/dropouts) etc,

One of the best sounding TWS period.

 

[ld100]

Popped in to check opinions on the Soundcore Liberty 4 and it seems they're a bust! After going through many TWS over the years I've settled on the EarFun AirPro 2 that can do pretty much everything decent SQ, decent ANC, comfy,. can even run with them with ANC off! I also have the more compact FreePro that isolate a bit better but are less comfortable.
Anyone else use them?
I suppose I'd he interested in a TWS with better ANC but it seems we've reached a plateau at this point.

Garbage. I wanted to like Liberty 4 as I lived the fit, design, comfort, etc. But the sound quality is a mess. I tried the app and multiple other equalizers and music players and could not find a way to make them sound good. Chipmunk vocals, sibilant highs, distorted low end. Very commercial sounding. Not something I can live with.

 

[Killedkella]

Garbage. I wanted to like Liberty 4 as I lived the fit, design, comfort, etc. But the sound quality is a mess. I tried the app and multiple other equalizers and music players and could not find a way to make them sound good. Chipmunk vocals, sibilant highs, distorted low end. Very commercial sounding. Not something I can live with.

Agreed! They are TERRIBLE, truly nothing about them is special or anything worth noting.

Horrible ANC that pops and gets in the way of music whenever you go over the slightest bump, default EQ sounds super mushy and bloated with ear-piercing gain in the high frequencies... This made me just wary of Soundcore in general, and I cant take anyone seriously that puts them above other earbuds, yes there are reviewers out there who say they sound BETTER than even the Samsung buds 2 pro. Shocking really.

 

[dweaver]

If only they fitted me (too small and wiggled loose), AFAIK all the issues at launch were fixed by later FW (Bluetooth glitches/dropouts) etc,

One of the best sounding TWS period.

I am lucky as they fit me very well.

 

[helmutcheese]

They said the sport model (cut down though) are bigger and have bigger wings.

 

[sgtbilko]

If only they fitted me (too small and wiggled loose), AFAIK all the issues at launch were fixed by later FW (Bluetooth glitches/dropouts) etc,

One of the best sounding TWS period.

I solved my fit issues with a shallow pair of dual flange tips. God knows where I got them from, but they provided a good seal for my ears (large). And like has been commented on by @dweaver and others, the tuning options on the TW3 are now fantastic.