[clerkpalmer]

I customized the MTW4s with aptX Adaptive. I am also impressed with the sound from my iPhone + MBA. IF MTW4s supported LDAC (they do not), it would be interesting to compare the 2 different codecs with all else equal.

What’s iPhone MBA?

 

[Saraguie]

MacBook Air & iPhone ~ listening without any components.

 

[erockg]

Will do, trying to narrow the list down. Thanks

Pretty sure he meant the B&W because the B&O EX are a staple for me and blow away the PI7 S2!

 

[clerkpalmer]

Pretty sure he meant the B&W because the B&O EX are a staple for me and blow away the PI7 S2!

Yeah. Good catch. I’m off my game today. Someone talked me into giving MOONDROP my money.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Slaughter plus Svanar and the weight room is about as good as it gets

 

[helmutcheese]

The FiiO FW5's have both LDAC and aptX Adaptive (the newer 24/96 version so apples to apples test), it sounds close but IMO the latter is better.

 

[Rolu]

Unfortunately, even after so many years, it's just not possible to regard SQ as the primary purchase driver in TWSes (or BT earphones in general) because dependency on technicals (ANC, software implementation, pairing speed, overall ease-of-use) are such a big part of the equation that I rather make do with SQ on a Apple Bose Sony or Samsung than explore anything outside. Even Sennheiser gives too many issues to ignore!

 

[Uncle00Jesse]

Slaughter plus Svanar and the weight room is about as good as it gets

Agreed. Svanar are the ultimate gym headphones for me. The bass isn’t quite there, but man are they clear and detailed which cuts right through any background noise. I get in my own little world

 

[clerkpalmer]

Unfortunately, even after so many years, it's just not possible to regard SQ as the primary purchase driver in TWSes (or BT earphones in general) because dependency on technicals (ANC, software implementation, pairing speed, overall ease-of-use) are such a big part of the equation that I rather make do with SQ on a Apple Bose Sony or Samsung than explore anything outside. Even Sennheiser gives too many issues to ignore!

Pretty narrow view of TWS but if that’s what’s you prioritize, sure.

Agreed. Svanar are the ultimate gym headphones for me. The bass isn’t quite there, but man are they clear and detailed which cuts right through any background noise. I get in my own little world

I’d pay $100 for a bass boost button.

 

[Rolu]

Pretty narrow view of TWS but if that’s what’s you prioritize, sure.

I’d pay $100 for a bass boost button.

Care to elaborate what the narrow view is?

 

[clerkpalmer]

Care to elaborate what the narrow view is?

You said you can’t chase sound quality because features like integration/ANC matter more to you. You then listed apple and Samsung Bose and Sony as the leaders and said there’s no point looking beyond them. I respectfully disagree. There’s a world of TWS out there beyond those 4 companies and yes, you can chase sound quality as a priority and still get solid features. But if those things matter most to you, by all means, stick with the big 4. They make fine products.

 

[Rolu]

You said you can’t chase sound quality because features like integration/ANC matter more to you. You then listed apple and Samsung Bose and Sony as the leaders and said there’s no point looking beyond them. I respectfully disagree. There’s a world of TWS out there beyond those 4 companies and yes, you can chase sound quality as a priority and still get solid features. But if those things matter most to you, by all means, stick with the big 4. They make fine products.

What I mean is that dependency of technical implementation is super important for bluetooth earphones. I'm not referring to how good the ANC is or how elaborate the EQ options are, but that they necessarily shouldn't malfunction. And nailing that aspect is extremely difficult unless the company invests heavily into technicalities outside of the sound. I remember having a Sennheiser PXC550 and it sounded great to me (at the time), but it had a peculiar sound control issue that blasted my ears with excessive volume in some instances. Thus, I rather invest into the top brands that put time and effort into the functioning of their TWSes even if there may be other smaller brands that put more effort into the SQ (think Noble, Hifiman).
And of course, purely for SQ, I still look to IEMs, so there's that.
Hope that makes sense.

 

[clerkpalmer]

What I mean is that dependency of technical implementation is super important for bluetooth earphones. I'm not referring to how good the ANC is or how elaborate the EQ options are, but that they necessarily shouldn't malfunction. And nailing that aspect is extremely difficult unless the company invests heavily into technicalities outside of the sound. I remember having a Sennheiser PXC550 and it sounded great to me (at the time), but it had a peculiar sound control issue that blasted my ears with excessive volume in some cases. Thus, I rather invest into the top brands that put time and effort into TWSes even if there may be other smaller brands that put more effort into the SQ (think Noble, Hifiman).
And of course, purely for SQ, I still look to IEMs, so there's that.
Hope that makes sense.

Makes perfect sense.

 

[subguy812]

Will do, trying to narrow the list down. Thanks

I didn't see B&O EX on your list, but that may be a consideration.

edit: sorry didn't see @erockg response

 

[BigZ12]

2018... my first TWS...
What were your first ones?