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

[srinivasvignesh]

New True Wireless, ANC earphone from Sony. $230 and seems pretty intriguing despite the absence of higher resolution codecs.

The same chip that is is responsible for 24-bit digital-to-audio conversion and noise cancellation as in the WH-1000XM3 (highly regarded)

Bluetooth 5.0
USB Type C
SBC and AAC only
6 + 18 hours of battery life with ANC.
Ambient noise support

https://www.techradar.com/news/sony-unveils-wf-1000xm3-truly-wireless-noise-cancelling-earbuds

 

[vladzakhar]

I am using Creative Outlier Air earbuds for couple of days. Really like them so far.

Pros:
Nice clean sound, separation, good soundstage. Not for bass heads, though.
No dropouts, long battery life (not 10h, maybe 7-8h).
Light speed connection with my Iphone.
Very light weight and fit very well, no fatigue after several hours of use.
The case looks sturdy and has the nice shape, bit big, though.

Cons:
Annoying flashing lid lights on earbuds all the time, while not in use and not in the case. (Why?)
Light is bright and can be bothersome at night time in the dark room.
The buttons are hard to press.

They reminds me a lot of Senns Momentums, but much cheaper.

 

[40760]

 

[webvan]

Huh CNET, nothing about the ANC ?!
These guys have more to say about ANC and with the translated CC it seems they're not too impressed when compared with the WHmkIII at 3:42 ?

 

[clerkpalmer]

Huh CNET, nothing about the ANC ?!
These guys have more to say about ANC and with the translated CC it seems they're not too impressed when compared with the WHmkIII at 3:42 ?

Not sweatproof????? Fail!

 

[webvan]

I'm not too bothered about that aspect honestly because for sports, at least the outdoor sports that I do like running and biking, it seems impossible to top the X12 at this point thanks to their earbud design.

 

[nc8000]

Huh CNET, nothing about the ANC ?!
These guys have more to say about ANC and with the translated CC it seems they're not too impressed when compared with the WHmkIII at 3:42 ?

The Danish magazine review I read rated the anc as nearly as good as on the full size 1000XM3

 

[webvan]

That would be something ! The Japanese guys seem to be saying that the isolation is not very good in the first place, hence the "so so" results ? There could be something lost in the translation of course.
It's mind boggling that CNET had nothing to say about that aspect, seems impossible that they didn't test it...

 

[nc8000]

Not sweatproof????? Fail!

Yes nowhere is there any mention of any ipx rating

 

[Bartig]

Actually the BT20S support AAC, while BT20 only do SBC if I recall



How do the T1-PRO compare to the T3? I ordered the T3, now wondering if I should have tried T1-PRO?



KZ all use 0.75mm, as do TRN. Let me find a link.....

TRN BT20
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/0hPV1io

TRN BT20S (Aptx/AAC and some waterproofing)
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bySKvDeY

The Tranya T1-Pro and T3 both are amazing. The latter has a more engaging and textured bass and sounds a bit darker. The T1-Pro sounds a bit more airy, has a somewhat brighter sound and also a less detailed bass.

 

[SilverEars]

The Danish magazine review I read rated the anc as nearly as good as on the full size 1000XM3

I hope that is true! If that is true, I'm looking forward to a TW with ANC. The biggest feature I'm looking for. The performance of the ANC has to be worthwhile with good battery life.

ANC has to beat passive noise isolation of ER4. Only then is the iem ANC worthwhile.

 

[nc8000]

I hope that is true! If that is true, I'm looking forward to a TW with ANC. The biggest feature I'm looking for. The performance of the ANC has to be worthwhile with good battery life.

ANC has to beat passive noise isolation of ER4. Only then is the iem ANC worthwhile.

Well the ER4 with brain implant tripple flange tips are exceptional in that respect and many just can’t get used to them and then they are wired. And then ofcourse anc will always add it’s own flavour to the sound which some just can’t take

 

[Luchyres]

Head's up for those of you interested: Amazon has the new Sony's up for pre-order for an August 8ish ship date. $230

Sony WF-1000XM3 Industry Leading Noise Canceling Truly Wireless Earbuds, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T81554H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ol1hDbMDKYE9Y

 

[clerkpalmer]

Head's up for those of you interested: Amazon has the new Sony's up for pre-order for an August 8ish ship date. $230

Sony WF-1000XM3 Industry Leading Noise Canceling Truly Wireless Earbuds, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T81554H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ol1hDbMDKYE9Y

On this topic, Amazon may not prime 2 day these. They seem to ship things with lithium batteries slowly nowadays. When I last bought TW headphones from Sony on Amazon, they came via snail mail from California - took like 5 days. For that reason, I'm going with Best Buy.

 

[SilverEars]

Well the ER4 with brain implant tripple flange tips are exceptional in that respect and many just can’t get used to them and then they are wired. And then ofcourse anc will always add it’s own flavour to the sound which some just can’t take

True, but based on my experience, ANC like the full-sized XM3 beats ER4 in a very high noise environments. That's how good the ANC is. This is for low frequencies of course, and that's most practical for me because the usage will be in planes to drown out engine noise. And I really like light compact small formfactors when out and about. I don't like to walk around with bulky full-sized. Lighter load to carry around when traveling the better.

Once a good ANC is implimented with good enough sound, it will be my practical iem for all usage other than for SQ.