Finally got my hands on the Tronsmart Onyx Neos. Seems like Tronsmart Official dropshipped it through "Geekbuy". Not sure if Geekbuy is the same as Geekbuying.
First impressions:
- Maybe I have a cold, but I think I might have received yet another left-side-treble-heavy TWS from Aliexpress, though if there is a mismatch it's not bad as it was on the Sabbat E12 Ultra I received.
- Solid connection but I will need to test them in a busier area. As I don't have a TWS+ supporting device, I can only test these with master-slave connection. Not a fan of the QCC3020's cumbersome mono mode switching, as on the Sabbat E12 Ultra, but at least the Tronsmart has them labelled left and right. On my Windows Laptop, it seems I can't have two QCC3020 devices running at the same time without interference.
- Awful flat/shallow eartips that are difficult to switch as the nozzle seems wide - immediately switched them to normal IEM tips which readily fit and are more comfortable. I find it odd the box render shows a typical IEM tip.
- Tuning is relatively balanced with some mid and treble emphasis, leaner and less bassy than Sabbat E12 but the mids and treble seem similar. However, they sound a tad grainy and have a mediocre noise floor, as well as some buzzing/clipping.
- Case supports USB Type-C to Type-C connection so you can charge it directly off a Type C laptop. Nice to see budget manufacturers not cheap out on this.
- These use touch controls which are a tad sensitive, especially frustrating when you are trying to change eartips - you may sometimes accidentally power one side off if you hold it too long. I'm glad to report that these have left-down right-up volume control via a double-tap, while previous/next track is triple-tap left or right respectively. I do find the track change triple tap a tad cumbersome and rather it switched around with the double-tap (or better yet, hold).
EDIT: Something is off about the battery... Maybe I need to give it some time to charge but I abruptly got a Battery Low warning despite them seemingly being fully charged. I did notice that out of the box, the left bud was already hissing and said "pairing" when I was wearing it in my ears (
before putting it in the case).