[pkcpga]

I’ve personally never really equated driver count with sound quality. Some of my best IEMs are single-driver setups. If you tune a single driver very well, it’ll easily outclass multi-driver ones. Same with a good dual-driver outclassing triple+ driver setups.

Depends, I’ve never heard a single driver have great detail and separation. Big thing I also find with single drivers is poor timing, most have quick highs and slower moving lows. That is unless they have rolled lows and lack bass. I guess it also depends on how crossovers are done. Some of my favorite IEMs are the U12, Odin and Mest, all multi driver. Even better speakers are 3 or even 4 or 5 way drivers and crossovers, less frequency each driver does the easier to separate the detail as long as they all work coherently together. I understand with true wireless, more drivers usually means more power requirements, another obstacle. For myself even some of the famed dynamic single driver IEMs have poor timing and at least two weak zones in frequency response. I personally have yet to find one I love.

 

[TK33]

Have MW07 Plus and the 08 Improves sound signature.

Can you elaborate on what you mean? Improves is a bit subjective. Is it a bit less U or V shaped? Appreciate any color you can give. From what I have read so far, sound signature of the MW08 and MW07 appear to be very similar except for some more bass on the MW08. Thanks.

 

[jant71]

with all that effort to save space on the earpieces, why the heck they went loose on the case size... talk about inconsistency

Well, they could have a smaller case but then they wouldn't have the 60 hour battery life for the case.

If you check it out, the pad is 100mm to the outside so that case is around 3.3" to 3.5" and seems to be a little more slender than the Z3 case maybe.

 

[MaccaUK]

In answer to the original question, with the arrival this morning of my shiny new B&W’s, then yes, I think we are there with TWS. These are so far in advance of anything else I’ve heard it makes almost all other headphones redundant. I’m not an audiophile, so forgive the lack of description, but the deatail, depth, clarity & just general finesse goes beyond any other TWS I currently have, or have sent back to Amazon, including the likes of Sennheiser, Cambridge Audio, M&D etc. etc....... Yes,it looks like the battery life will be the biggest downside, but I think I can live wth that because of all the upsides. Been listening now for around 5 hours with a few Webex meetings inbetween and a charge over lunch, and I am Very Impressed! Someone earlier in the thread mentioned the MT had a British tuning, and I would say that these take that route and supercharge it. Lovely!!

 

[TK33]

In answer to the original question, with the arrival this morning of my shiny new B&W’s, then yes, I think we are there with TWS. These are so far in advance of anything else I’ve heard it makes almost all other headphones redundant. I’m not an audiophile, so forgive the lack of description, but the deatail, depth, clarity & just general finesse goes beyond any other TWS I currently have, or have sent back to Amazon, including the likes of Sennheiser, Cambridge Audio, M&D etc. etc....... Yes,it looks like the battery life will be the biggest downside, but I think I can live wth that because of all the upsides. Been listening now for around 5 hours with a few Webex meetings inbetween and a charge over lunch, and I am Very Impressed! Someone earlier in the thread mentioned the MT had a British tuning, and I would say that these take that route and supercharge it. Lovely!!

Just to clarify, you mentioned WebEx...did you use them for the actual meeting/call? If so, how was the call/mic quality?

 

[C_Lindbergh]

I just can't justify the price with that awful battery life, it would be like buying a tesla with a range of 100 kms... If you have to charge them fully 1-2 times each day I don't wanna imagine what kind of battery life you'll have in 2-3 years. However if 400 EUR is nothing to you and you'll have to problem purchasnig a new pair of TWS in a year then yeah go for it.

Also the fact that you can't enable ambient mode or change volume without taking up your phone is a pretty big downside, even tho this should be fixable with a firmware update.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Well, they could have a smaller case but then they wouldn't have the 60 hour battery life for I just can't justify the price with that awful battery life, it would be like buying a tesla with a range of 100 kms... If you have to charge them fully 1-2 times each day I don't wanna imagine what kind of battery life you'll have in 2-3 years.

Good comparison. I have a Tesla and after buying it learned that those promised ranges are nonsense. In reality they get about 2/3 to 3/4 of the promised range before battery degradation sets in. From there, losses mount.

for those who keep their tws for a number of years starting at 4 hours and going downhill from there is definitely a concern. For me, by the time the battery drops enough to matter, the tech will have advanced enough that I will have moved on. Let’s hope the promised 4 hours is correct because anything less means a return.

Sadly, these are basically disposable items and 400 is definitely a lot to spend for something like that. Everyone has their limits and it’s perfectly reasonable to pass on these based on the poor starting battery life. We all know it’s not going to improve.

 

[pkcpga]

Good comparison. I have a Tesla and after buying it learned that those promised ranges are nonsense. In reality they get about 2/3 to 3/4 of the promised range before battery degradation sets in. From there, losses mount.

for those who keep their tws for a number of years starting at 4 hours and going downhill from there is definitely a concern. For me, by the time the battery drops enough to matter, the tech will have advanced enough that I will have moved on. Let’s hope the promised 4 hours is correct because anything less means a return.

Sadly, these are basically disposable items and 400 is definitely a lot to spend for something like that. Everyone has their limits and it’s perfectly reasonable to pass on these based on the poor starting battery life. We all know it’s not going to improve.

Definitely curious about real world battery time on the P17, the Falcon Pro’s I get about 7.5 hours use out of a charge. Which works well for most flights plus airport use. I think 4 hours is very low, I know the nobles state 5.5 hours at 100% volume and 10 hours at 50% volume, so wondering what volume 4 hours is at with the P17?

 

[tinyman392]

Depends, I’ve never heard a single driver have great detail and separation. Big thing I also find with single drivers is poor timing, most have quick highs and slower moving lows. That is unless they have rolled lows and lack bass. I guess it also depends on how crossovers are done. Some of my favorite IEMs are the U12, Odin and Mest, all multi driver. Even better speakers are 3 or even 4 or 5 way drivers and crossovers, less frequency each driver does the easier to separate the detail as long as they all work coherently together. I understand with true wireless, more drivers usually means more power requirements, another obstacle. For myself even some of the famed dynamic single driver IEMs have poor timing and at least two weak zones in frequency response. I personally have yet to find one I love.

Some of my favorite IEMs are single driver. Granted none of them are a single dynamic, I’m sure if one was done well enough, it would hit the spot. Etymotic and Audeze come to mind for the best single-driver setups I’ve heard.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Definitely curious about real world battery time on the P17, the Falcon Pro’s I get about 7.5 hours use out of a charge. Which works well for most flights plus airport use. I think 4 hours is very low, I know the nobles state 5.5 hours at 100% volume and 10 hours at 50% volume, so wondering what volume 4 hours is at with the P17?

Apparently “medium” volume whatever that means. Waiting for real world tests. Let’s hope they pull a BMW and have underrated them.

 

[C_Lindbergh]

Once we get Bluetooth audio LE/LC3 I'd would have no problem paying well over 1K EUR if a well-renowned audiophile company launched a pair of premium TWS, if they could guarantee that you could exchange the batteries (and other parts) for a small fee over the next 5-10 years.

I just don't think we'll see any major technical improvements for a while after next gen Bluetooth.

I am however very pleased that B&W actually gave us something now with the whole transmitter in the case.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Rant coming. M&D MW08 ordered last tuesday - 4/13. Shipped this tuesday - 4/20. Sitting in California at FedEx. Haven't moved since Wednesday. Original ETA - Saturday, 4/24. Now showing Tuesday 4/27. So a whopping 14 days from ordering to receipt. PI7 ordered Wednesday am, first thing. In an effort to keep me from switching to Crutchfied, I was promised by B&W to ship "same day". Didn't ship until "next day". Showing delivery 4/28 - one week after ordering. I find all of this unacceptable and a perfect reminder of why I make it a point never to buy directly from the manufacturer. How much extra would it really cost these places to ship via FedEx 2 day? $5 bucks? Or use USPS priority which is significantly faster (although prone to more problems).

 

[sheamus]

I'd be interested in what theP17's are like on phone calls. I love B&W, so willing to take a chance on SQ, but I need decent call-quality. I have a pair of Senn TW2's, and basically can't use them for phone calls. Can't seem to find anything on the internet about people making a call with them.

 

[C_Lindbergh]

I can't really find any reviews of the P17 other than a few clearly sponsored ones.

Typically the OEM will send out their new products to various reviewers before launch and then remove the NDA once they actually launch.

If they show up on Amazon I'll prob give them a go just for the sake of it, then I can easily return them. The official retailer in my country don't do IEM returns :/

 

[Darkestred]

Once we get Bluetooth audio LE/LC3 I'd would have no problem paying well over 1K EUR if a well-renowned audiophile company launched a pair of premium TWS, if they could guarantee that you could exchange the batteries (and other parts) for a small fee over the next 5-10 years.

I just don't think we'll see any major technical improvements for a while after next gen Bluetooth.

I am however very pleased that B&W actually gave us something now with the whole transmitter in the case.

I think this would be smart and it would totally make sense as we start to see offerings soon eclipsing the $400 mark. Given how cell phones all went non-removal battery. I could see at best a trade-in program.