is the volume that low ?
Going fully Wireless IEMs. Too soon? Or are we there yet?
- Thread starter webreaper
- Start date
highlightshadow
500+ Head-Fier
OK then ... the Sony Linkbuds Fit....
Unboxing
The packaging is all cardboard pretty much including the drawers containing cables, books, tips etc.
They ship with a single set of fins pre-installed but there’s lots of colours available to buy.
4 ear-tip sizes are included: SS, S, M, L
Tip rolling might be a little challenging as the nozzles are incredibly tiny, almost just a lip of <1mm.
The included tips are common super-soft silicone. Very soft, flexible and shallow fitting.
Fit
The immediate impression of these can be summarised in simply stating that these are THE most comfortable and stable IEM / buds i’ve ever worn. Hands down - no competition.
The buds are incredibly compact, the tips sit against your canal more than deeply inserted. The soft silicone “tubes” that lock into your ear have almost no pressure.
Sony have smashed it in terms of delivering a set of buds that won’t move during running/exercise or to just sit in an office with them all day long.
After an hour of listening I can still barely feel that I have them in.
Initial use: Took about 40 minutes to update the firmware. They came with version 1.0.5 installed and 1.20.00 was available which adds Google Quick Connect among other things. Interestingly the firmware date on the original buds suggest April – suggesting a long development period.
App
The Sony Connect app I think offers an incredible amount of functionality but it is bordering on over-complex.
You have things like “Find my EQ” which is found is pretty terrible at providing an EQ that worked for me – it works by offering you 6 bubbles to choose from asking you to pick the best sound for you – it repeats this a couple of times but in neither round did it even offer me something close to what i wanted.
A bunch of pre-sets are available and I found a little treble boosting was perfect for me.
But you have spatial, 360 audio, DSS extreme, location based settings etc all available – so no lacking on options – just app feels overwhelming to find things
Codec support is simple. Just SBC, AAC & LDAC for the higher end (these are Sony after all). So no AptX at all.
Connection stability so far is perfect – had no issues or anything. Not noticed any codec downgrading or anything which i cannot say the same about with the Senn MTW4. .
Sound + ANC
TLDR version is ANC is “ok” but by no means the best – very much focuses on the low/mids with a lot of high frequency noises making it through. Passive cancelling isn’t huge either as the buds aren’t inserted that deeply.
Sound — the hard one
Of the 3 sets i have on daily use right now in order of cost:
Earfun Air Pro 4 > Nothing Ear (2024) > Sennheiser MTW4
I would position these around the Nothing Ear in terms of how much they grab me out of the box with minimal tweaking.
The MTW4 is still my #1 in terms of them just hitting a magic sweet spot for my tastes. But having said that, the MTW4 are also the only set i’ve had to replace 4 times before i got a set that actually worked longer than a fortnight. But for all their amazing sound, the fins can cause a bit of ear fatigue after a while.
The overall sound signature is nice, bass is punchy and feels a little tighter than the Earfun’s and a little more full than the Nothing’s. They won’t rock your eardrums. They do have a nice amount of sub-bass so you can “feel” the music a little but it’s not insane levels. The EQ sliders are a little odd being 400, 1k, 2.5k, 6.3k and 16k and just the “clearbass” slider being the < 400 but that makes it a little muddier than a dedicated pair of sliders covering the bass end. For me sliding Clear Bass to +10 just makes it sound distorted more than bassy.
Sound stage doesn’t feel that wide but I haven't tried the 360/spatial options yet so that might open that up a bit. Although on other devices i’ve not found those to offer much.
Touch Controls
The tap controls being accessible from your cheek (about 1cm in front of the bud) works pretty well. It’s a little hit and miss but i am still getting used to it and it’s on normal sensitivity so it might work better with the high option. But not having to tap the bud is nice, better than having to rattle the thing in your ear.
Value Prop
Do i think these are worth the £179 asking price? Honestly, it’s close, compared to things like £300+ buds I’ve tried then yeah - they’re good but then we have some real bargain heavy hitters these days.
If i could take the MTW4 guts and put them inside a bud this outright comfortable then that would be worth it all for me.
I will be keeping these. They sound good enough for me for the price and the comfort level is just off the charts, i’ve been writing this for a good or so while listening to my “everything” playlist and I can barely feel them in my ears. Zero pressure, zero discomfort, no redness anywhere.
I can understand that the fins might not fit everyone and they do not provide any alternative sizes (partly as they’ve designed the case to fit the wings closely.
Unboxing
The packaging is all cardboard pretty much including the drawers containing cables, books, tips etc.
They ship with a single set of fins pre-installed but there’s lots of colours available to buy.
4 ear-tip sizes are included: SS, S, M, L
Tip rolling might be a little challenging as the nozzles are incredibly tiny, almost just a lip of <1mm.
The included tips are common super-soft silicone. Very soft, flexible and shallow fitting.
Fit
The immediate impression of these can be summarised in simply stating that these are THE most comfortable and stable IEM / buds i’ve ever worn. Hands down - no competition.
The buds are incredibly compact, the tips sit against your canal more than deeply inserted. The soft silicone “tubes” that lock into your ear have almost no pressure.
Sony have smashed it in terms of delivering a set of buds that won’t move during running/exercise or to just sit in an office with them all day long.
After an hour of listening I can still barely feel that I have them in.
Initial use: Took about 40 minutes to update the firmware. They came with version 1.0.5 installed and 1.20.00 was available which adds Google Quick Connect among other things. Interestingly the firmware date on the original buds suggest April – suggesting a long development period.
App
The Sony Connect app I think offers an incredible amount of functionality but it is bordering on over-complex.
You have things like “Find my EQ” which is found is pretty terrible at providing an EQ that worked for me – it works by offering you 6 bubbles to choose from asking you to pick the best sound for you – it repeats this a couple of times but in neither round did it even offer me something close to what i wanted.
A bunch of pre-sets are available and I found a little treble boosting was perfect for me.
But you have spatial, 360 audio, DSS extreme, location based settings etc all available – so no lacking on options – just app feels overwhelming to find things
Codec support is simple. Just SBC, AAC & LDAC for the higher end (these are Sony after all). So no AptX at all.
Connection stability so far is perfect – had no issues or anything. Not noticed any codec downgrading or anything which i cannot say the same about with the Senn MTW4. .
Sound + ANC
TLDR version is ANC is “ok” but by no means the best – very much focuses on the low/mids with a lot of high frequency noises making it through. Passive cancelling isn’t huge either as the buds aren’t inserted that deeply.
Sound — the hard one
Of the 3 sets i have on daily use right now in order of cost:
Earfun Air Pro 4 > Nothing Ear (2024) > Sennheiser MTW4
I would position these around the Nothing Ear in terms of how much they grab me out of the box with minimal tweaking.
The MTW4 is still my #1 in terms of them just hitting a magic sweet spot for my tastes. But having said that, the MTW4 are also the only set i’ve had to replace 4 times before i got a set that actually worked longer than a fortnight. But for all their amazing sound, the fins can cause a bit of ear fatigue after a while.
The overall sound signature is nice, bass is punchy and feels a little tighter than the Earfun’s and a little more full than the Nothing’s. They won’t rock your eardrums. They do have a nice amount of sub-bass so you can “feel” the music a little but it’s not insane levels. The EQ sliders are a little odd being 400, 1k, 2.5k, 6.3k and 16k and just the “clearbass” slider being the < 400 but that makes it a little muddier than a dedicated pair of sliders covering the bass end. For me sliding Clear Bass to +10 just makes it sound distorted more than bassy.
Sound stage doesn’t feel that wide but I haven't tried the 360/spatial options yet so that might open that up a bit. Although on other devices i’ve not found those to offer much.
Touch Controls
The tap controls being accessible from your cheek (about 1cm in front of the bud) works pretty well. It’s a little hit and miss but i am still getting used to it and it’s on normal sensitivity so it might work better with the high option. But not having to tap the bud is nice, better than having to rattle the thing in your ear.
Value Prop
Do i think these are worth the £179 asking price? Honestly, it’s close, compared to things like £300+ buds I’ve tried then yeah - they’re good but then we have some real bargain heavy hitters these days.
If i could take the MTW4 guts and put them inside a bud this outright comfortable then that would be worth it all for me.
I will be keeping these. They sound good enough for me for the price and the comfort level is just off the charts, i’ve been writing this for a good or so while listening to my “everything” playlist and I can barely feel them in my ears. Zero pressure, zero discomfort, no redness anywhere.
I can understand that the fins might not fit everyone and they do not provide any alternative sizes (partly as they’ve designed the case to fit the wings closely.
Last edited:
Tommy C
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2011
- Posts
- 2,116
- Likes
- 1,650
The FW and app updating process for Sony XM5 was lengthy as well. Same experience. Also, after the update the app is a bit different with some new GUI.
The sound of the buds has changed too and I’m still not having it after the update.
JML
Headphoneus Supremus
I have absolutely no problems with volume levels via my FiiO M23, which has 120 volume steps. The Amiron can play painfully loud.Enjoying the Amiron 300. Tiny. Love that. Much smaller than I expected. Wish they got louder. EQ cuts the volume
Many equalizers have an option to adjust the overall gain when increasing or decreasing any frequency band. The FiiO system-wide equalizer has one such option. So does a ToneBoosters EQ plugin I can use with USB Audio Player Pro. Those are fabulously flexible equalizers. The Morphit plugin that I use with USB Audio Player Pro has similar options for gain when modifying response curves to address anomalies in headphones or IEMs. I use those same plugins on my MacBook Pro via Audirvana.
The built-in Beyer equalizer is simpler and doesn't show any independent overall gain adjustment, however, so it may level the gain settings automatically. The built-in equalizer settings are fairly mild, and if I need to equalize particular music I'd rather do it from the source. I don't hear any reason to modify the default response curve of the Amirons across the board (no pun intended), unlike what I had to so with my Sony XM4 (significantly cutting the bass and increasing the top end). My understanding of, and experience with, an overall gain adjustment is that the more any frequency band is changed (up or down) the greater the app will compensate by reducing or increasing the overall volume level that's sent out.
Of course, system-wide equalizer settings can be saved under a custom name so they can be easily implemented when connecting a particular headphone or IEM.
(By the way, the Bluetooth reconnection to a source or the Beyer app is very fast, and I really like the ability to add a new Bluetooth connection using the button on the case, and not having to play around with an app.)
Last edited:
jant71
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2005
- Posts
- 8,506
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What about no fins at all??
erockg
Headphoneus Supremus
Yup. With EQ I have to turn the volume up to get back to how loud they can get without.
erockg
Headphoneus Supremus
Great news and expected -- if you're using a DAP, sure, you won't have issues with volume. I'm using an iPhone 16 Pro Max. Haven't tried with a DAP or Android phone. Yet.
erockg
Headphoneus Supremus
No wireless charging, right?OK then ... the Sony Linkbuds Fit....
Unboxing
The packaging is all cardboard pretty much including the drawers containing cables, books, tips etc.
They ship with a single set of fins pre-installed but there’s lots of colours available to buy.
4 ear-tip sizes are included: SS, S, M, L
Tip rolling might be a little challenging as the nozzles are incredibly tiny, almost just a lip of <1mm.
The included tips are common super-soft silicone. Very soft, flexible and shallow fitting.
Fit
The immediate impression of these can be summarised in simply stating that these are THE most comfortable and stable IEM / buds i’ve ever worn. Hands down - no competition.
The buds are incredibly compact, the tips sit against your canal more than deeply inserted. The soft silicone “tubes” that lock into your ear have almost no pressure.
Sony have smashed it in terms of delivering a set of buds that won’t move during running/exercise or to just sit in an office with them all day long.
After an hour of listening I can still barely feel that I have them in.
Initial use: Took about 40 minutes to update the firmware. They came with version 1.0.5 installed and 1.20.00 was available which adds Google Quick Connect among other things. Interestingly the firmware date on the original buds suggest April – suggesting a long development period.
App
The Sony Connect app I think offers an incredible amount of functionality but it is bordering on over-complex.
You have things like “Find my EQ” which is found is pretty terrible at providing an EQ that worked for me – it works by offering you 6 bubbles to choose from asking you to pick the best sound for you – it repeats this a couple of times but in neither round did it even offer me something close to what i wanted.
A bunch of pre-sets are available and I found a little treble boosting was perfect for me.
But you have spatial, 360 audio, DSS extreme, location based settings etc all available – so no lacking on options – just app feels overwhelming to find things
Codec support is simple. Just SBC, AAC & LDAC for the higher end (these are Sony after all). So no AptX at all.
Connection stability so far is perfect – had no issues or anything. Not noticed any codec downgrading or anything which i cannot say the same about with the Senn MTW4. .
Sound + ANC
TLDR version is ANC is “ok” but by no means the best – very much focuses on the low/mids with a lot of high frequency noises making it through. Passive cancelling isn’t huge either as the buds aren’t inserted that deeply.
Sound — the hard one
Of the 3 sets i have on daily use right now in order of cost:
Earfun Air Pro 4 > Nothing Ear (2024) > Sennheiser MTW4
I would position these around the Nothing Ear in terms of how much they grab me out of the box with minimal tweaking.
The MTW4 is still my #1 in terms of them just hitting a magic sweet spot for my tastes. But having said that, the MTW4 are also the only set i’ve had to replace 4 times before i got a set that actually worked longer than a fortnight. But for all their amazing sound, the fins can cause a bit of ear fatigue after a while.
The overall sound signature is nice, bass is punchy and feels a little tighter than the Earfun’s and a little more full than the Nothing’s. They won’t rock your eardrums. They do have a nice amount of sub-bass so you can “feel” the music a little but it’s not insane levels. The EQ sliders are a little odd being 400, 1k, 2.5k, 6.3k and 16k and just the “clearbass” slider being the < 400 but that makes it a little muddier than a dedicated pair of sliders covering the bass end. For me sliding Clear Bass to +10 just makes it sound distorted more than bassy.
Sound stage doesn’t feel that wide but I haven't tried the 360/spatial options yet so that might open that up a bit. Although on other devices i’ve not found those to offer much.
Touch Controls
The tap controls being accessible from your cheek (about 1cm in front of the bud) works pretty well. It’s a little hit and miss but i am still getting used to it and it’s on normal sensitivity so it might work better with the high option. But not having to tap the bud is nice, better than having to rattle the thing in your ear.
Value Prop
Do i think these are worth the £179 asking price? Honestly, it’s close, compared to things like £300+ buds I’ve tried then yeah - they’re good but then we have some real bargain heavy hitters these days.
If i could take the MTW4 guts and put them inside a bud this outright comfortable then that would be worth it all for me.
I will be keeping these. They sound good enough for me for the price and the comfort level is just off the charts, i’ve been writing this for a good or so while listening to my “everything” playlist and I can barely feel them in my ears. Zero pressure, zero discomfort, no redness anywhere.
I can understand that the fins might not fit everyone and they do not provide any alternative sizes (partly as they’ve designed the case to fit the wings closely.
highlightshadow
500+ Head-Fier
The bud is ridged to have the fin fully wrap over the outer skin except for a vent/mic. So they're not designed to be without and maybe you could get retention with some tips but the stock tips are wide and shallow so they're reliant on the fin for stability
SilverEars
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2013
- Posts
- 15,797
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Anybody know of others or the best one right now I can use to connect bt with my wired headphones? Something like this? I come to find out that usb-c on s24 can't use charger and audio out at the same time. I really need a good mic, and new phones these days without the headphone jack making it a nightmare so they can make a few bucks off us with TWS. getting rid of the headphone jack is the most inconvenient thing they've ever done.
https://drop.com/buy/1more-dh3001b-hi-res-bluetooth-adapter#signupv2
https://drop.com/buy/1more-dh3001b-hi-res-bluetooth-adapter#signupv2
Last edited:
SilverEars
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2013
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I'm guessing this is the best one right now?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BNBCRNN6/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A1YX4W46FS64NK&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BNBCRNN6/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A1YX4W46FS64NK&th=1
SussyTofu420
100+ Head-Fier
A lot of people are going to recommend the Qudelix 5K, but I personally didn't like it. I'm still waiting for something better. There's also iFi Go Blu, but that had battery issues in the past, not sure if they started using a better battery. Also Fiio has few different models.
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hello head-fi users!! just registered to this forum so i can ask this, i've been searching for answers and reviews for weeks and i still can't decide on which earbud to get next. hope i'm not posting this on the wrong section & hopefully someone can help me finally, because i realized this forum is full of actually knowledgeable people that loves to help. 
so basically my phone is Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
i've been using the original Galaxy Buds Pro's since 2021, but i feel like it's time to upgrade now even though they're still working well.
this time i want to pay more. sound quality & sound stage is definitely my number one priority.
but i can't decide between three models:
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 vs. Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro.
technics etc. are not available in my country, so i only have the three models i listed to choose from.
i'm guessing that Sony and Sennheiser would definitely have better sound than Buds3 Pro right? but even if that's the case, i can't decide between the Sennheiser and Sony.
for example it looks like people on internet mostly seems to suggest Sennheiser for the sound quality, but then I check this forum and see terrible comments about it.
an another thing that makes everything more confusing for me is that my phone supports Sony's HQ codec (LDAC) - but it doesn't support Sennheiser's HQ codex (aptX Adaptive/Lossless). it only supports aptX standard. would Sennheiser still be the better choice for me in this situation?
and an another thing that confuses me alot: the driver sizes and specs. Galaxy Buds3 Pro have a 10mm dynamic driver, and a 6.1mm Magnetic Planar tweeter withdual amplifiers and a two-way speaker setup. in comparison, both Sony and Sennheiser only have one single driver, 8.4mm for Sony and 7mm for Sennheiser. in this situation, Buds3 Pro sounds superior compared to Sony and Sennheiser. but how does the Sony and Sennheiser produce better sound then? i never get this, does this mean Samsung is better for me in this situation?
i know this was a lengthy post, but everything is getting even more confusing for me if i keep researching
so i just wanted to ask people who know better than me.... i would be soooo happy if y'all can help me thank you so much!! 
TLDR: if sound quality & sound stage is my #1 priority, which earbud should I get, to use with a Samsung phone: Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 vs. Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro.
so basically my phone is Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
i've been using the original Galaxy Buds Pro's since 2021, but i feel like it's time to upgrade now even though they're still working well.
this time i want to pay more. sound quality & sound stage is definitely my number one priority.
but i can't decide between three models:
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 vs. Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro.
technics etc. are not available in my country, so i only have the three models i listed to choose from.
i'm guessing that Sony and Sennheiser would definitely have better sound than Buds3 Pro right? but even if that's the case, i can't decide between the Sennheiser and Sony.
for example it looks like people on internet mostly seems to suggest Sennheiser for the sound quality, but then I check this forum and see terrible comments about it.
an another thing that makes everything more confusing for me is that my phone supports Sony's HQ codec (LDAC) - but it doesn't support Sennheiser's HQ codex (aptX Adaptive/Lossless). it only supports aptX standard. would Sennheiser still be the better choice for me in this situation?
and an another thing that confuses me alot: the driver sizes and specs. Galaxy Buds3 Pro have a 10mm dynamic driver, and a 6.1mm Magnetic Planar tweeter withdual amplifiers and a two-way speaker setup. in comparison, both Sony and Sennheiser only have one single driver, 8.4mm for Sony and 7mm for Sennheiser. in this situation, Buds3 Pro sounds superior compared to Sony and Sennheiser. but how does the Sony and Sennheiser produce better sound then? i never get this, does this mean Samsung is better for me in this situation?
i know this was a lengthy post, but everything is getting even more confusing for me if i keep researching
so i just wanted to ask people who know better than me.... i would be soooo happy if y'all can help me thank you so much!! TLDR: if sound quality & sound stage is my #1 priority, which earbud should I get, to use with a Samsung phone: Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 vs. Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro.
Arzach
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2012
- Posts
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- 1
Sorry I'll be more specific: I'm looking for something under 100 bucks with decent sound and isolation.Perhaps the aforementioned BeyerDynamic Amiron 300? They're quite reasonably priced. Unless you're referring to wired IEMs, in which case I'm not sure why you're asking that question in this thread
