[albau]

It's interesting that so many on here keep touting the Anbes 359. Notice, no reputable sites endorse them. In short, either there are people on here that are doing some guerilla marketing or the Head-Fi hype train has left the building. There is nothing special about the Anbes 359. It supposedley has a good sound. That doesn't change the fact that it is overly large, has middling battery life, and is last year's tech. Get the Creative Outlier Air, Mavin Air-X, or the consensus best overall true wireless earbuds instead, the Jabra Elite Active 65t. Its due for an overhaul but still gets lots of awards. No offense to anyone here, but Gadgeteer, Jim's Review Room, Rizknows, Engadget, Rtings, and thewirecutter, can't all be that far out of touch so as to not even mention them if they were any good.

OK, I thought I'm just deplorable, but turns out I'm disreputable as well. Can't even trust my own ears and tastes, poor sob. Thanks mate BTW, how reputable is your advice? Also wanted to ask what year's tech is 65t vs 358? About size, I have both 65t and 359 (do you?), and latter buds are much smaller and lighter. Anbes case, yes, is somewhat bigger but magnetic. Soundwise and in connection stability both are comparable. 65t has an app with EQ and transparency mode. Whether it's worth extra $100 for each particular person is probably not for RTINGS to decide, nor for you.

 

[korefuji]

I think AtariPrime i just a contrarian, he did suggest the MW07's were surfboard sized, so i would take any comment they put forward with a pinch of salt, or maybe a copious amount of it.

 

[AtariPrime]

OK, I thought I'm just deplorable, but turns out I'm disreputable as well. Can't even trust my own ears and tastes, poor sob. Thanks mate BTW, how reputable is your advice? Also wanted to ask what year's tech is 65t vs 358? About size, I have both 65t and 359 (do you?), and latter buds are much smaller and lighter. Anbes case, yes, is somewhat bigger but magnetic. Soundwise and in connection stability both are comparable. 65t has an app with EQ and transparency mode. Whether it's worth extra $100 for each particular person is probably not for RTINGS to decide, nor for you.

I have no issues with you or your opinions. I am more concerned with why there is so much love on here for the Anbes 359. Is it possible that word has gotten around Head-Fi that they are great and now everyone sings their praises? Sure. But is it just as likely than a representative of Anbes is planting some seeds of praise and a few gullible individuals are now parroting the cause? Happens all the time. All I know is that the world has never heard of Anbes, the high end review sites have never mentioned them, and at $29.99, the price is a bit too good to be true. All seems a bit fishy to say the least. No idea who Anbes is, but at the moment I assume they are either Chi-Fi or a small time independent company. Either way, not a reliable name. They could go under in a week. For many, I understand that price is a factor. But for my money, I could care less the price. I am looking for the best earbud regardless of price. And while it is possible a small unknown manufacturer could produce the best earbud, it is unlikely. And even if they did, trust is not an easy thing to earn.

 

[AtariPrime]

I think AtariPrime i just a contrarian, he did suggest the MW07's were surfboard sized, so i would take any comment they put forward with a pinch of salt, or maybe a copious amount of it.

Hey, you like the MW07. I get it. And I'm glad you like them. I want something smaller, so they are not for me. My ideal wireless earbud is probably something the size and shape of the Galaxy Buds or smaller. Think invisible. Throw in a great (slightly bass heavy) sound, Bluetooth 5.0, a nice Qualcomm 5100 series chip, and 8-10 battery life per charge and I'm there. $50-500...don't really care about the price too much.

 

[hifi80sman]

I have no issues with you or your opinions. I am more concerned with why there is so much love on here for the Anbes 359. Is it possible that word has gotten around Head-Fi that they are great and now everyone sings their praises? Sure. But is it just as likely than a representative of Anbes is planting some seeds of praise and a few gullible individuals are now parroting the cause? Happens all the time. All I know is that the world has never heard of Anbes, the high end review sites have never mentioned them, and at $29.99, the price is a bit too good to be true. All seems a bit fishy to say the least. No idea who Anbes is, but at the moment I assume they are either Chi-Fi or a small time independent company. Either way, not a reliable name. They could go under in a week. For many, I understand that price is a factor. But for my money, I could care less the price. I am looking for the best earbud regardless of price. And while it is possible a small unknown manufacturer could produce the best earbud, it is unlikely. And even if they did, trust is not an easy thing to earn.

I think the love comes from price/performance ratio. Even though some in this hobby have resources, there are others that do not, so they'll be thrilled if they don't have to spend $100+ for legitimately good sound (I got mine for $32, no tax). Are they the best I have? No, of course not, but for the price, they sound good, they are actually quite small, have AAC, and I don't have to be paranoid about wearing them out (getting stolen, breaking, losing them, etc). The sound signature favors the low-end, but clarity is still good enough to be enjoyable. Compared to the other 5 Chi-Fi TWEs I have, they and the "Reserwa" are the only ones that have AAC, but the problem with the Reserwa, is the very sensitive driver flex. It's like a crinkle fest when touched, and yes, they have touch controls. LOL! I have zero driver flex issues with the Anbes 359. They do so much right at a low price. They are, however, slippery as hell.

 

[FYLegend]

I have a noob question: in theory, would the clocking precision of BT source impact sound quality of wireless headphones? For example, would a dedicated DAP with Femto-grade oscillators built-in renders a cleaner digital signal (with less jitter) than a smart-phone? Let's assume no SRC/both using same BT codec.

I don't know if it's placebo effect - I "notice" that when using Fiio M6 as source, my Sennheiser MTW sounds a bit less bass boomy & clearer as opposed to when HTC10 is being used.

I've been wondering how much codec and modem implementation affects sound quality. SBC on the Note 9 sounds poor at higher volumes with the Jabra 65t and Astrotec S60, but they sound considerably cleaner with my laptop, though a tad more distorted than AAC off my phone. As far as I can tell the laptops modem (Intel AC 9560) doesn't support AAC.

After some further testing it seems the Galaxy Note 9 suffers from a bit of a "death grip" and covering my phone on the top-left corner increases the chance of cut-outs for the Astrotec S60. I was able to listen to it without any cutouts on a 50-minute train ride, although I still get occasional cut-outs usually over 15 minutes (perhaps due to poorer mobile or Wifi reception around my house). What is a more apparent issue is the battery life which is only 3 hours and seemingly less if I use AAC. This is improved to 4 hours in the BT 5.0 version.

Is there a TWS where the sound just shuts off instead of giving an obnoxious "low battery" warning? I was napping when my S60 woke me up with "battery low".

 

[AtariPrime]

So what are your favorites out of the bunch for comfort, sound quality, and overall quality?

 

[Slater]

Anyone heard anything about Xiaomi Airdots Pro?

 

[hifi80sman]

So what are your favorites out of the bunch for comfort, sound quality, and overall quality?

Comfort: Bose by a long shot. Even though they stick out, people just accept it because it's Bose, just like they accept the AirPods and their cheesy look.

Sound: MTW, but Bose a close 2nd. However, from a pure sound standpoint, I like the MW07 the best and it's 10mm Beryllium drivers. I would say after the #1 MTW, #2 Bose, and #3 E8, I'd place the Anbes 359 as the best sounding Chi-Fi I have.

Overall: If I had to pick just one, I'd go for the MTW. USB C. Battery is decent enough (never clocked it, but rough use I'd say I get around 4 hours). Not the most comfortable, but I'd still classify it as "comfortable". Sounds good enough to move from "good" sound to "enjoyably appreciating" sound. App is useful for (somewhat) adjusting the sound to your taste. The dot EQ is a little cheesy, so you can't fine-tune if it were a 10 band EQ. Case batter drain issue improved, but not completely fixed, with the update. Mic is OK and improved with the latest update.

 

[actorlife]

It's interesting that so many on here keep touting the Anbes 359. Notice, no reputable sites endorse them. In short, either there are people on here that are doing some guerilla marketing or the Head-Fi hype train has left the building. There is nothing special about the Anbes 359. It supposedley has a good sound. That doesn't change the fact that it is overly large, has middling battery life, and is last year's tech. Get the Creative Outlier Air, Mavin Air-X, or the consensus best overall true wireless earbuds instead, the Jabra Elite Active 65t. Its due for an overhaul but still gets lots of awards. No offense to anyone here, but Gadgeteer, Jim's Review Room, Rizknows, Engadget, Rtings, and thewirecutter, can't all be that far out of touch so as to not even mention them if they were any good.

I was the one who recommended them. People who visited the thread kept asking which TWS is is good in the $30-50 range. For the price they are great. Some people like me would rather buy a couple of pairs for around $130 then pay $2-500 for just one pair. I bet if you heard them you'd be very surprised how good they are. Also the thing is these won't last forever as the battery on chi-fi and those high price hi-fi will run out. Hopefully Slater will come up with a mod to change the battery on TWS.

 

[chinmie]

OK, I thought I'm just deplorable, but turns out I'm disreputable as well. Can't even trust my own ears and tastes, poor sob. Thanks mate BTW, how reputable is your advice? Also wanted to ask what year's tech is 65t vs 358? About size, I have both 65t and 359 (do you?), and latter buds are much smaller and lighter. Anbes case, yes, is somewhat bigger but magnetic. Soundwise and in connection stability both are comparable. 65t has an app with EQ and transparency mode. Whether it's worth extra $100 for each particular person is probably not for RTINGS to decide, nor for you.

i never tried the anbes, but i had the Jabra65t once, and comparing it to the chifis that i have (T1C and the Mifo), they both just sound better, have better fit (the 65t is painfully big and looses seal easily in my ears), and better battery life. and all that not considering the price difference.. so the cheap price of the chifi is an added bonus.

the 65t wins on the ability to connect to 2 devices simultaneously, has a good after sales service and warranty in my local city, and firmware updates support.
but i also dislike the NFMI system that cuts out if i pull the slave one out, and don't even mention about the channel imbalance. it's a widespread problem that jabra could easily reduce by updating the app and include L/R panning, but they never did fix it.

 

[Slater]

I was the one who recommended them. People who visited the thread kept asking which TWS is is good in the $30-50 range. For the price they are great. Some people like me would rather buy a couple of pairs for around $130 then pay $2-500 for just one pair. I bet if you heard them you'd be very surprised how good they are. Also the thing is these won't last forever as the battery on chi-fi and those high price hi-fi will run out. Hopefully Slater will come up with a mod to change the battery on TWS.

I’m still collecting anti-matter particles. Once I have enough, I can create a battery that power the TWS for thousands of years.

 

[hifi80sman]

I’m still collecting anti-matter particles. Once I have enough, I can create a battery that power the TWS for thousands of years.

Make sure La Forge doesn't catch you stealing those particles! Barclay is already on his naughty list! But he had fun doing it!

 

[FYLegend]

i never tried the anbes, but i had the Jabra65t once, and comparing it to the chifis that i have (T1C and the Mifo), they both just sound better, have better fit (the 65t is painfully big and looses seal easily in my ears), and better battery life. and all that not considering the price difference.. so the cheap price of the chifi is an added bonus.

the 65t wins on the ability to connect to 2 devices simultaneously, has a good after sales service and warranty in my local city, and firmware updates support.
but i also dislike the NFMI system that cuts out if i pull the slave one out, and don't even mention about the channel imbalance. it's a widespread problem that jabra could easily reduce by updating the app and include L/R panning, but they never did fix it.

Yeah, in the long run I'm rather disappointed by the Jabras. I also don't know if the left bud hiss and clipping is happening on all devices or only some of them. Not sure about their warranty but it sounds like the imbalance is getting worse. I suspect the driver is "flexed" when it's in my ears and lacking in volume. If I try to push it into my ears more I can hear the volume cut back but then it gradually fades out again.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Received Powerbeats Pro today. Whether you love or hate Apple, you have to give them a lot of credit. Their stuff just works. PB Pro are no exception. Basically, the combine all the good stuff with Airpods (H1 chip in particular) into a pretty awesome form factor particularly for sports/gym use. I expected to be wowed for $250 and for the most part they deliver although I think they are probably overpriced by $50.

Obviously, the H1 integration is awesome if you are on Ios. 9 hour battery life is ridiculous and class leading. Turning to SQ, this is where they fall a bit short. First and foremost, they do not sound better or as good as the MW07 or the MTW. It's definitely a step or two behind in terms of absolute SQ. Once you get past the big boys, the SQ is up there. I think they are as good sounding as the best of the rest. Outside of the MW07 and the MTW, I've been a big fan of the Bose for pure SQ. I think the PB Pro hang with the Bose and because they offer more isolation, may beat them in certain respects. As the reviews have noted, they are definitely more balanced that older beats products. There is plenty of bass but it does not overwhelm and it does not bleed into the mids. These are forward in your face headphones. Perfect for the gym or a run. They are a notch above the Jabra and Sony for SQ. While I had to sell my Nuarl due to fit issues, these can hang with them as well. Actually, they remind me quite a bit of the Nuarls.

I absolutely love the fit. They are rock solid in your ear. They do let a little sound in so be prepared for that. Much less than bose but more than say the Jabras. They are way sleeker looking than the old powerbeats. Looks are subjective but I think these work better as gym headphones than all rounders. I would feel a little awkward rocking them around town compared to something like the MTW or MW07 but they aren't that bad.

If price is no object and you are on iOS, these are the best TW headphones out there. They definitely are the gold standard for pushing the TW tech. They also are the best "gym" headphones I have ever used. Between the awesome H1 integration, ridiculous battery life, superb fit and better than expected SQ, they blow away the competition. If you are not on iOS and/or are price sensitive, it gets more complicated. If SQ is your sole priority, I would spend the extra $50 on the Senns or MW07. Overall, I am impressed and will be keeping them as my go to workout set.

As an aside, Apple clearly realizes these things destroy the Airpods and appears to be "under marketing" them perhaps so as not to cannibalize their own product? Strange.