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

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Hi, I'm new to tws world. I had purchased Bluedio TWS for $14 which were utter crap in terms of sound quality. I'm still finding my feet with these and would like community's help in selecting a budget earpiece (<= $30). I will be using them for traveling in rains. SQ is primary followed by fit. Thanks in advance.

 

[bronco1015]

Hi, I'm new to tws world. I had purchased Bluedio TWS for $14 which were utter crap in terms of sound quality. I'm still finding my feet with these and would like community's help in selecting a budget earpiece (<= $30). I will be using them for traveling in rains. SQ is primary followed by fit. Thanks in advance.

the qcy t1c is a solid choice at $30 or under, bt 5 great range, pretty solid tonality right up there with the jabras imo. another solid choice is the ambes 359 which are $30 or under, bt 5, sound better with calls then the t1c in my experience, charge via usb-c and have a really nice low pro and fit. not quite the sound of the t1c, but not enough to be dismissed at all, especially considering the whole package. and they're IP 6 rated IIRC

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

the qcy t1c is a solid choice at $30 or under, bt 5 great range, pretty solid tonality right up there with the jabras imo. another solid choice is the ambes 359 which are $30 or under, bt 5, sound better with calls then the t1c in my experience, charge via usb-c and have a really nice low pro and fit. not quite the sound of the t1c, but not enough to be dismissed at all, especially considering the whole package. and they're IP 6 rated IIRC

Thanks for your recommendations. So T1c are ip5 and anbes 359 are ip6. Both should be fine for rains. Will check both of them.

 

[bronco1015]

Thanks for your recommendations. So T1c are ip5 and anbes 359 are ip6. Both should be fine for rains. Will check both of them.

no problem. i thought the t1c might be IP5, but wasn't sure and didn't want to give false info.

 

[jfvny]

Tested out the Creative Outlier Air a few days ago. Just wanted to note that they sound decent, but wasn't as good as my Havit G1. The bass seemed a little muddier, but it's still pretty good. The 14h battery life on the Outlier Gold is especially tempting tho

 

[hifi80sman]

Pass on the MEBUYZ. MENOBUYZ. MERETURNZ.

BASS: Lacking
MIDS: Thin
HIGHS: Fragile

SBC: Sounds petty bad. Compressed, artifacts, raspy, and just sounds cheap.

aptX: Sound is cleaner and compression artifacts are gone for the most part, but other than that, it just sounds “cheap” with poor lows, mids, and highs.

AAC: Not supported.

MIC: cVc 8.0 or not, the mic hardware itself it pretty mediocre and sounds distant with poor resolution. Far from the “crystal clear” description.

 

[hifi80sman]

I also got the SWARK True Wireless Stereo Bluetooth 5.0 Earbuds with USB Type C, mainly for USB C and touch controls, but it's garbage as well. The touch controls are severely non-responsive and I can't even turn them on! They don't power on automatically out of the case, so you have to press (touch) each earbud for 3s to power on. Most of the time, only one of them turns on, while many other times, neither turn on (they were fully charged, left them charging for 5 hours).

I'm not exaggerating on the touch controls. They're not just "funky", they flat out hardly ever work...like, ever. The few times I did managed to get them powered on at the same time, the touch controls were equally non-functional with pause/play, track skip, etc. The also sound muffled, like there is a pillow over the drivers. Oh, and when they pair, they pair at max volume, so watch out! Stay clear of this one. Garbage.

So far, the Anbes 359 are my top Chi-Fi unit (USB C, AAC) with most not even coming close. You have to jump into name brand territory to get better (Galaxy Buds, Sennheiser, M&D). In fact, I'm listening to the Anbes 359 right now, just for pure enjoyment (AAC, iPhone).

As far as value with a name brand unit, and I'd never thought I'd use "value" and "Samsung" in the same sentence, but I can't say enough good things about the Samsung Galaxy Buds. They even have AAC, which I suspect was a friendly nod to iPhone users. The only cons, are that when using iOS, there is no app to reassign the touch controls (they don't permanently re-map in the 'buds).

 

[JimmyR]

Hi,guys.
I’ve been lurking over here for quite a time, but this is my first post.
I read many good things about the Anbes 359 on SQ,but how about the mic quality for calls? How well the person at the other end can hear you?
Got the Sabbat E12 a couple of months ago and while I’m happy with it in many aspects, the call quality is clearly subpar,even in silent environments. Definitely not good for business calls (low and with an annoying buzzing sound in the background that I’ve seen also in some YT reviews).

Thanks

 

[Caipirina]

I came across yet another ‘exotic’ TWE on AliX. This one not only looks good. It has the unique ‘feature’ that there is no battery in the charging case that’s a first for me. Also strange that it only pops up in one (not that greatly rated) shop. Has Chinese label / name, instead of some weird English wording.

But for the heck of it, I can’t find out anything else about this one!!! And it’s driving me nuts! That one review is pretty good (though also puzzling, coming from a US buyer, while the only 2 orders are from .ch and .kr).

Hive-mind! What say yee?

7h play time. Designed for Asian ears (that’s what they say)
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/b7w0dOLm

 

[hifi80sman]

Hi,guys.
I’ve been lurking over here for quite a time, but this is my first post.
I read many good things about the Anbes 359 on SQ,but how about the mic quality for calls? How well the person at the other end can hear you?
Got the Sabbat E12 a couple of months ago and while I’m happy with it in many aspects, the call quality is clearly subpar,even in silent environments. Definitely not good for business calls (low and with an annoying buzzing sound in the background that I’ve seen also in some YT reviews).

Thanks

As a matter of fact, after reading this, I just made a few calls and even called myself to leave a message and see how it sounded. It's actually pretty good. Keep in mind that I'm in a quiet environment right now, so I can't say how it would work in a coffee shop.

 

[nlowran]

Hey guys I made the mistake of getting deep into the audiophile game and am now trying to find a pair of tws that won't make me sad on the inside. I right now have a pair of u12t's that are my dailies. Need something that I can take in the rain and not worry about how fast I just blew 2g's. Any rec's would be great.

 

[FeedYourHead]

Anyone tried the Tranya T3's? I bought my wife the T1's over a year ago and they're still going strong, so I figured I'd try the updated T3.

https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Wireless-Headphones-Continuous-Earphones/dp/B07KW1TNSM

8 hour (legit) run time plus you'll get a ton of charges from the case. I ran these for a week without charging the case, with 3-8 hours of listening per day. They never died on me. I mostly bought them because I was looking for TWS with extended run time, but was pleasantly surprised by the sound. Bass is definitely boosted, but is easily EQ'd out. However, I normally leave them flat as I usually listen at lower volumes and the boost is nice a that level. They do get quite loud if needed. They're also very comfortable and stay put when working out.

They came with silicone eartips in 3 sizes; I prefer memory foam so I bought these :
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0722LZ66S

To allow the buds to sit more flush with my ear, I trimmed a millimeter or so off the base of the ear tip, and it worked great! They still fit fine in the charging case as well. Isolation with this setup is amazing!

The T3's have a $10 coupon right now, but even at the full $50 they are still an amazing deal, IMHO.

 

[Caipirina]

For those who are / were on the fence regarding the Whizzer TP1 ... there is a flash sale going on on AliExpress right now. 49.77$

That's 6$ less than what I paid (and I am still awaiting delivery, so I can't say anything about it yet)



and no, I am not affiliated, nor am I getting any kickbacks ...

 

[hifi80sman]

Definitely know you’re not affiliated, as there isn’t a product link.

According to the reviews, AAC support and USB-C. Could be a nice find. Looking forward to your feedback.

 

[FYLegend]

I also got the SWARK True Wireless Stereo Bluetooth 5.0 Earbuds with USB Type C, mainly for USB C and touch controls, but it's garbage as well. The touch controls are severely non-responsive and I can't even turn them on! They don't power on automatically out of the case, so you have to press (touch) each earbud for 3s to power on. Most of the time, only one of them turns on, while many other times, neither turn on (they were fully charged, left them charging for 5 hours).

I'm not exaggerating on the touch controls. They're not just "funky", they flat out hardly ever work...like, ever. The few times I did managed to get them powered on at the same time, the touch controls were equally non-functional with pause/play, track skip, etc. The also sound muffled, like there is a pillow over the drivers. Oh, and when they pair, they pair at max volume, so watch out! Stay clear of this one. Garbage.

So far, the Anbes 359 are my top Chi-Fi unit (USB C, AAC) with most not even coming close. You have to jump into name brand territory to get better (Galaxy Buds, Sennheiser, M&D). In fact, I'm listening to the Anbes 359 right now, just for pure enjoyment (AAC, iPhone).

As far as value with a name brand unit, and I'd never thought I'd use "value" and "Samsung" in the same sentence, but I can't say enough good things about the Samsung Galaxy Buds. They even have AAC, which I suspect was a friendly nod to iPhone users. The only cons, are that when using iOS, there is no app to reassign the touch controls (they don't permanently re-map in the 'buds).

Where did you purchase the 359 to Canada? Do they charge using USB PD (type C to C cables)? Of wired headphones/IEMs, what would you say they sound closest to?

I've been enjoying the S60 more and more, but my gripe now is that with my Galaxy Note 9's latest software update, I can no longer enable/disable "media volume sync" for it specifically. Previously I could use this to significantly increase volume (SBC sounds worse as a result but AAC is clean and loud). It's frustrating as they sound much cleaner and louder with SBC through my laptop. On my Note 9, 100% volume sounds distorted with either codec, so I have to bring it down to 94%, and for some tracks not normalized it's just not loud enough.

The Jabra 65t reminds me of ATH-E40 while S60 more or less reminds me of ATH-IM70 but without the midrange emphasis.