[05stisilver]

Are you referring to these? https://www.gizmochina.com/2019/04/08/nubia-partners-with-1more-launches-¥799-119-nubia-pods-truly-wireless-earbuds/

It appears so but I ordered them from the 1 more website which doesn't mention nubia.

 

[Griffith]

I was one of the first people to respond to this thread but it's been a while since I made that statement and some things have changed in the meantime in the industry so I want to make an updated one for people reading this today.

I still believe that it is too early to buy fully wireless IEMs if you don't want to compromise on battery life, sound quality or connectivity issues. Most fully wireless IEMs still suffer from some or all three of the issues I mentioned. The best all-round fully wireless "IEM" is Apple's Airpods but, as most of you know, they don't sound particularly great, they isolate very poorly and while they can work with Android devices, they were designed for Apple's Ecosystem.

There are a few fully wireless IEMs which stand out from the crowd, like the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless, but most, if not all, of them don't support LDAC which is the highest quality audio codec available for Bluetooth and, in my opinion, should be supported by all high-end Bluetooth earphones/headphones. For most people the Momentum True Wireless will have sufficiently good sound quality for them to not be bothered about the codec, and while it doesn't support LDAC it does support Aptx and Aptx Low Latency which is better than nothing. But if you want the least amount of sound quality compromise, Aptx is not the best solution.

Until recently I didn't believe that we'd be able to get a wireless headphone with sound quality comparable to a good desktop one but that changed when I purchased the Sony WH-H900N or h.ear On 2. What changed my opinion was the way the Sony sound which I find to be closer to, though not at the same level as, my beloved Sennheiser HD 6XX. That is both thanks to its driver and tuning when it is in active mode (it sounds much worse in passive mode, when it's "turned off"), and also thanks to the LDAC Bluetooth Codec which, as far as I know, is as close to lossless streaming quality as we can get.

With that in mind, my advice right now, for those seeking the best wireless sound quality with their IEMs is to buy an IEM that has a removable cable (2-pin or MMCX) and try to acquire a Bluetooth receiver cable that supports LDAC. This should ensure as close to the sound quality of a wired IEM as you can get when playing lossless music. I don't have any particular recommendations for such receives because I'm still using wired IEMs for the most part, but most of the ones I've seen from major brands do not support LDAC so perhaps it is something that we have to wait longer for.

Even if we continue to be forced into wireless headphones, I will not buy any wireless headphones or sources that don't support LDAC in the future. It is that good, in my opinion.

So to answer the question once again: Is it too soon to move to fully wireless IEMs? Yes. Are we there yet? Not quite, at least not with IEMs though in no fault to the IEM themselves, just their receiver chips.

Note: in order to take advantage of LDAC both the receiving and emitting device (your source) needs to support the codec.

Edit: For a general sense of the amount of data streaming each Bluetooth codec supports please refer to to the following image:

Image courtesy of Soundguys. Please note that I don't know almost anything about Soundguys, it was just one of the first references I could find that can visually illustrate the difference in bitrate between different some of the most popular Bluetooth codecs.

Also note that bitrate is not everything. I would rather stream an AAC audio file as it is via Bluetooth than transcode an AAC using SBC.

 

[keeya]

Looks like Bang & Olufsen just announced some new TW pieces:
https://hypebeast.com/2019/5/bang-and-olufsen-e6-e8-motion-earphones-workouts-activities-wireless
and
https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/earphones/beoplay-e8-motion?variant=beoplay-e8-motion-white

They're also the most expensive from any company coming in at about $390 USD.
Any thoughts on these?

 

[hifi80sman]

Looks like Bang & Olufsen just announced some new TW pieces:
https://hypebeast.com/2019/5/bang-and-olufsen-e6-e8-motion-earphones-workouts-activities-wireless
and
https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/earphones/beoplay-e8-motion?variant=beoplay-e8-motion-white

They're also the most expensive from any company coming in at about $390 USD.
Any thoughts on these?

Interesting. Looks like basically an "Active" version of the E8 2.0. B&O retail price is always inflated, but I may consider if they are on sale and if there is a color other than white.

 

[AtariPrime]

Looks like Bang & Olufsen just announced some new TW pieces:
https://hypebeast.com/2019/5/bang-and-olufsen-e6-e8-motion-earphones-workouts-activities-wireless
and
https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/earphones/beoplay-e8-motion?variant=beoplay-e8-motion-white

They're also the most expensive from any company coming in at about $390 USD.
Any thoughts on these?

Early thoughts, strictly based on the advertising.

1) Who still makes corded wireless earbuds...wow.
2) Dang that's a lot of cheddar.
3) Probably should showcase the new versions in black instead of white.
4) Also, probably shouldn't advertise them using a human with a tiny head, they look huge.
5) Uses Bluetooth 4.2...What?
6) Battery around 4 hours...a bit subpar.
7) Only real change from prior version of E8 seems to be Qi charging.
8) Website says they will also come in Black, Natural, Indigo Blue, and Limestone. Possible they failed to update the specs info from the regular E8.

Verdict, if the specs on the website are correct, more likely to buy the Advanced Model X, Creative Outlier Air, or wait for the new JBLs.

 

[Griffith]

Looks like Bang & Olufsen just announced some new TW pieces:
https://hypebeast.com/2019/5/bang-and-olufsen-e6-e8-motion-earphones-workouts-activities-wireless
and
https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/earphones/beoplay-e8-motion?variant=beoplay-e8-motion-white

They're also the most expensive from any company coming in at about $390 USD.
Any thoughts on these?

They only support AAC codec, at least on the product page. I would not recommend them based on that alone. For the price they should support higher quality codecs.

5) Uses Bluetooth 4.2...What?

There is zero difference between Bluetooth 4 and 5 in terms of audio quality. Most of the differences between Bluetooth 4 and 5 are for the Low Power mode which is used by devices that only need to send small amounts of data. What's most important is not whether it's Bluetooth 4 or 5, it's which audio codecs are supported.

Bluetooth 4 and Bluetooth 5 Classic (the mode that is used for audio streaming) are essentially the same thing in terms of sound quality and Bluetooth 5 has backwards compatibility with older bluetooth protocols, so it's not a big deal, at all.

 

[AtariPrime]

They only support AAC codec, at least on the product page. I would not recommend them based on that alone. For the price they should support higher quality codecs.



There is zero difference between Bluetooth 4 and 5 in terms of audio quality. Most of the differences between Bluetooth 4 and 5 are for the Low Power mode which is used by devices that only need to send small amounts of data. What's most important is not whether it's Bluetooth 4 or 5, it's which audio codecs are supported.

Bluetooth 4 and Bluetooth 5 Classic (the mode that is used for audio streaming) are essentially the same thing in terms of sound quality and Bluetooth 5 has backwards compatibility with older bluetooth protocols, so it's not a big deal, at all.

The difference is exactly as you describe, but it is critical. The low power mode seems to be essential for longer battery life. Most new earbuds that use Bluetooth 5.0+ and have the newer Qualcomm chips are getting significantly better range between earbuds (50-100 ft) instead of 30 ft. Also, their battery life is increasing from 3-5 hrs. to 8-10 hrs. In short, Bluetooth 5.0 is important.

 

[Griffith]

The difference is exactly as you describe, but it is critical. The low power mode seems to be essential for longer battery life. Most new earbuds that use Bluetooth 5.0+ and have the newer Qualcomm chips are getting significantly better range between earbuds (50-100 ft) instead of 30 ft. Also, their battery life is increasing from 3-5 hrs. to 8-10 hrs. In short, Bluetooth 5.0 is important.

The range of a Bluetooth device has a lot more to do with the antenna design than the version of Bluetooth that is being used. Plenty of Bluetooth 5 devices still suffer from connectivity issues. Yes, Bluetooth 5's connectivity is a bit better, but Bluetooth 5 devices with connectivity issues also prove that the protocol alone isn't a silver bullet to fix everything.

From what I understand, most wireless headphones do not use Bluetooth Low Energy mode because I think there isn't an audio-transfer mode for it (correct me if I'm wrong). Low Energy mode was designed for something like a fitness tracker or a sensor that communicates wirelessly. If that is the case, that battery life claim does not apply.

Edit: Wanted to clarify that last paragraph. Yes Qualcomm is making increasingly more efficient chips all the time and yes those do improve the battery life of devices but that's a result of Qualcomm's engineering, not a result of Bluetooth 5. At least when it comes to devices that use Bluetooth's "Classic" mode.

 

[camberwell]

I have just received a set of Creative Outlier Air, and I love the sound and the fit. However, I keep getting regular dropouts from either the L (secondary) bud, or both buds, when connected to my Galaxy S9. It seems like it is losing connection for a fraction of a second, but I can't sem to pin down particualr situations where it happens more than others.
I have had no issues across a wide room, but if I am cycling and my phone is in my trouser pocket then it happens. Bizarrely it can happen when I am looking at my phone in landscape and it is a foot from my face?
The buds are properly paired (I use R as my primary) so I am at a loss to explain this unless I got a dud set. Anyone else having dropouts with these buds? I haven't had a single dropout with exactly the same usage with my QCY T1's....

 

[Griffith]

You don't even need to leave this thread to find examples of Bluetooth 5 iems with connectivity issues, just read the response above this one.

But I was surprised to hear that those Creative IEMs use Low Energy mode and Aptx. I wonder if they are actually using the Low Energy mode or if that's a typo. If they using Low Energy mode that would be an impressive feat.

 

[AtariPrime]

The range of a Bluetooth device has a lot more to do with the antenna design than the version of Bluetooth that is being used. Plenty of Bluetooth 5 devices still suffer from connectivity issues. Yes, Bluetooth 5's connectivity is a bit better, but Bluetooth 5 devices with connectivity issues also prove that the protocol alone isn't a silver bullet to fix everything.

From what I understand, most wireless headphones do not use Bluetooth Low Energy mode because I think there isn't an audio-transfer mode for it (correct me if I'm wrong). Low Energy mode was designed for something like a fitness tracker or a sensor that communicates wirelessly. If that is the case, that battery life claim does not apply.

Edit: Wanted to clarify that last paragraph. Yes Qualcomm is making increasingly more efficient chips all the time and yes those do improve the battery life of devices but that's a result of Qualcomm's engineering, not a result of Bluetooth 5. At least when it comes to devices that use Bluetooth's "Classic" mode.

It's not something I have looked into deeply, but there seems to be a connection between the new Qualcomm Chips and Bluetooth 5.0 improving the battery life and range of wireless earbuds.

Creative Outlier Air. Battery of up to 10 hours on single charge. Uses new Qualcomm QC302x. Bluetooth 5.0.

Mavin Air-X. Battery of around 8 hours on single charge. 100 ft. range. Uses Qualcomm QC3026. Bluetooth 5.0.

The battery life improvements seem to be directly tied to the new Qualcomm QC51xx and QC302x chips, as they were designed to improve battery life. Qualcomm claims the chips result in battery life increases of 50%+.

No idea all the reasons, but there are a lot of people talking about the new Qualcomm chips as esssential to increased battery life. And some claim that dropouts are eliminated by Bluetooth 5.0. Again, no idea of any of this is true, just passing on what others claim. Several reviews seem to make the same claims. Dropouts seem to be a thing of the past on newer models with the most up to date hardware.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Looks like Bang & Olufsen just announced some new TW pieces:
https://hypebeast.com/2019/5/bang-and-olufsen-e6-e8-motion-earphones-workouts-activities-wireless
and
https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/earphones/beoplay-e8-motion?variant=beoplay-e8-motion-white

They're also the most expensive from any company coming in at about $390 USD.
Any thoughts on these?

I can waste money on headphones with the best of them, but i have to draw the line at 350. I just paid 350 for a used focal elear. 350 can buy you a whole lot of headphone.

 

[hifi80sman]

You don't even need to leave this thread to find examples of Bluetooth 5 iems with connectivity issues, just read the response above this one.

But I was surprised to hear that those Creative IEMs use Low Energy mode and Aptx. I wonder if they are actually using the Low Energy mode or if that's a typo. If they using Low Energy mode that would be an impressive feat.

Yes, BT 5 specs lay the foundation for audio over LE. This is what the QCC5100 Series does.

https://www.howtogeek.com/343718/whats-different-in-bluetooth-5.0/

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/relea...kthrough-low-power-bluetooth-audio-soc-series

 

[camberwell]

You don't even need to leave this thread to find examples of Bluetooth 5 iems with connectivity issues, just read the response above this one.

But I was surprised to hear that those Creative IEMs use Low Energy mode and Aptx. I wonder if they are actually using the Low Energy mode or if that's a typo. If they using Low Energy mode that would be an impressive feat.

I have just been reading https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...-air-truly-wireless-earphones-6001902-45.html and some people that had an early batch (like me I think) have reported that they have had theirs replaced and no longer have this issue, so I will contacting Creative to see what they say....

Edit: the dropouts happen whether I am using aptX or SBC so I'm not sure my issue is just related to BT 5.0?

 

[Slater]

I can waste money on headphones with the best of them, but i have to draw the line at 350. I just paid 350 for a used focal elear. 350 can buy you a whole lot of headphone.

Agreed. And they’d be junk in 2 years or less due to the batteries no longer holding a charge...

No to mention whatever technological improvements will be available by then, such as Bluetooth 6.0, wireless charging, 20 hour battery life, and who knows what else.

IMO, unless you’re Jeff Bezos or Warren Buffett, >$350 for TW: