[Slater]

Anyone with the Kissral R18/Anbes 359/SSK use Android? And do you think using AAC makes any difference at all? I can't seem to hear a difference really.

I think it really only makes a difference on Apple. You’re not the 1st person that has said that AAC doesn’t really do that great on Android.

Android (ie Snapdragons) seem fo take the AptX market cornered, which I wish was supported by Apple.

Why can’t these companies just get along

 

[d3myz]

I think it really only makes a difference on Apple. You’re not the 1st person that has said that AAC doesn’t really do that great on Android.

Android (ie Snapdragons) seem fo take the AptX market cornered, which I wish was supported by Apple.

Why can’t these companies just get along

Preach! i'd kill to have AptX on an iphone.

 

[HiFlight]

Thanks for this. Can you confirm no AAC?

AFAIK, only SBC and AptX are supported. As I have no Apple products, this was not a consideration for me. AptX sounds really fine though.

 

[d3myz]

I just got an e-mail that my SoundCore Liberty 2 Pro's have shipped!! Man, This week just go REALLY long!

 

[hifi80sman]

I think it really only makes a difference on Apple. You’re not the 1st person that has said that AAC doesn’t really do that great on Android.

Android (ie Snapdragons) seem fo take the AptX market cornered, which I wish was supported by Apple.

Why can’t these companies just get along

AAC 100% sounds better via iPhone vs. Andriod. Android uses Fraunhofer FDK AAC, while Apples uses their own proprietary Apple AAC engine.

That being said, with Amazon Music HD out, this will likely push aptX HD and LDAC more into the mainstream. Apple should really get with the program and roll out streaming via Apple Lossless. Amazon Music HD is $12.99 for Prime Members and can stream up to 3,730 kbps, 24-bit/192 kHz. At that quality, I should be able to hear what my neighbor is up to.

 

[TK33]

In spite of this thread seemingly having turned into a private chat between a few people and nobody replying to my question, I bought the Sennheiser Momentum TW today. I'm a fussy audiophile and the sound on these is amazing with Amazon music HD. Not DAC+HD600 amazing but closer than I would have imagined possible. Pairing was simple and instant. Transparency mode just pauses the music which seems pointless. No battery issues so far. My favourite IEM out of many.

FYI Transparency Mode is set to stop the music by default but this can be changed in the app I use mine on the train and often listen with transparency mode on so I can hear the announcements or the conductor coming

 

[hifi80sman]

I just got an e-mail that my SoundCore Liberty 2 Pro's have shipped!! Man, This week just go REALLY long!

Looking forward to your impressions.

 

[Caipirina]

I appreciate your work on this, my man. Tribute to the King despite what @Caipirina said this week about the Shanling.

What did I say about the Shanling?

 

[d3myz]

They were the new king under $100

 

[jasaero]

They were the new king under $100

The "King" branding and the only sub-$100 ambient mode got me. Ordered mine this weekend from the Hifigo site since they offered me a $5 deal and claimed they would ship right away. I really want the ambient mode. Sometimes I want to be tuned out, but sometimes I like to hear my tunes and be aware both at the same time!

 

[Blueshound24]

So I may have missed it, but has anyone compared the Shanling or other good quality TWS vs the Senn Momentum TWS? I would mostly be interested in sound quality comparisons between them. I don't care much about call quality, etc.

How do they compare with bass, mids, treble, dynamic sound, speed, warmth, bright, soundstage, depth, transparency, etc.

I like detailed, dynamic, semi bright sound with good bass, and should have good connectivity.

I appreciate the posts that talk about all the good buys for tws under $100, however I would be more inclined to go straight it to the top if needed to get the sound quality I want.

 

[Veyska]

I think it really only makes a difference on Apple. You’re not the 1st person that has said that AAC doesn’t really do that great on Android.

Android (ie Snapdragons) seem fo take the AptX market cornered, which I wish was supported by Apple.

Why can’t these companies just get along

AAC sounds good enough on both TWS IEMs I've got but I'm also not rocking lossless files/streaming and generally use them in outdoors environments, so YMMV. My ridiculous Bluetooth->FM adapter I have in my car (no AUX or Bluetooth) aside, AAC *is* the minimum I'd accept and would really rather AptX or better given the choice. (I've also got a less common phone variety, so it's possible it's gone all hipster on me and decided to be better at music than it ought to be. )

 

[D3soLaT3]

I wonder if these are Anbes 359 clones? Can anyone tell from the shell?

EDIT: Nevermind. Says Bluetooth version 4.2

 

[karloil]

Today I was TWS hunting in good ole' Singapore and would you believe that I did not buy a single thing?

First stop Jaben, they did NOT have the Shanling in store yet, though their website claims they will ship out their orders end of Sept. Instead I listened to the Lybertek Tevi and yes, they are on the bright / clarity / detailed side, for which I have my Uiisii Did not spend too much time with them

In some bargain junk store I found airpod clones for mere 11.95 SGD nope, did not buy them either ...

At Sim Lim Square I noticed that those shops that had TWS where showing off the same 8 or so models .. many of which I had never seen before ... which leads me to believe that those were ordered from China like 6 months+ ago ... hence they never crossed my radar ... nothing of interest there.

At Stereo.sg I finally got to try (or not) the Powerbeats Pro ... but we could not get them properly connected to my iPhone!!! How crazy .. after lots of trying we got one side connected ... Not what I am used to from Apple and not in line with their special chip being all magic ... they suspect that something is off ( battery on one side seemed totally drained) and i might come back to try again ... also could not try the ANC on the latest Sony as their demo model is (also?) defect ... I got to experience the fit of the Jabra 65, but I ran out of time, it wanted me to DL the matching app in order to play ... really need to go back with more time ... oh, and I asked them about the SHanling and my sales guy seemed like he never heard that name ...

soooo ... back to browsing AliExpress I guess ...

If you're still in SG, there are still a few shops to check-out.

The shop beside Jaben - AV One. You may have also missed LendMeUrEars at Adelphi. At Funan, there's a photography shop that also carry TWs - forgot the shop name. Have you also checked Zeppelin at SLS? It's a cool coffee/audio shop, they also have TWs for you to try.

Yeah, Stereo doesn't carry Shanling. For your Shanling needs, better stick with Jaben.

 

[sanity8me]

So I've been using the CKS5TW for a few days now; time for some brief first impressions. I've added some real-life pics for your convenience.

CONNECTIVITY
BT 5.0 is actually very stable. Sometimes, when connecting to a new device, the left earbud doesn't connect. A quick drop in the case, getting them out and auto-reconnect does the trick to fix it. I've had zero drop-outs in the meantime, so I'm very happy.

MIC QUALITY
I'll be using these in the office, so will make calls with them over both skype and my mobile phone. In both cases, the people on the other side were able to hear me perfectly fine (even when using them in an office space). The call audio is routed to both earbuds, which is very nice. Also, a family member said that (using them with my iPhone) my call quality was on par or even slightly better than when calling without the use of earphones.

SOUNDQUALITY
As far as the sound quality goes, I can say that I'm quite happy with them. The sound is a bit bass-heavy, but not to the point where it messes too much with mids and highs. Soundstage is so-so, but better than expected from this type of IEM. I think the larger driver really helps here, as I do find the IEM with smaller drivers (I've owned the WF-1000XM3 and RHA TrueConnect) terribly congested in terms of sound(stage). What I can say up until now is that I've never been craving extra detail, and I'm quite enjoying the low-end 'oomph' in the high-fidelity presentation these do (if that makes sense). If anything, I'd long for a bit more airy-ness but I'll have to do more listening to get a better image of the sound quality (especially compared to other gear).

For now: very happy, and like them better than WF-1000XM3, TrueConnect and E8.

Thanks for your impressions. Surprised no one else has tried these bad boys.

Seems like the type of fun laid-back SQ I'm looking for, as long as the bass doesn't intrude on the mids.

Regarding your praising of its call quality, do you not experience the typical latency issues most TWS have? I see that it has HFP, but doesn't say what version on the product page. Qualcomm cVc (Clear Voice Capture) definitely seems interesting though...