[miserybeforethemusic]

Rant coming. M&D MW08 ordered last tuesday - 4/12. Shipped this tuesday - 4/21. 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).

On behalf of California, I apologize. We're weird. I don't like our FedEx people, either, though they and UPS are in a perpetual battle for who can be less bad than the other on almost a weekly basis.

To be fair, everything is moving slowly nowadays, unless it's coming via DHL. They're the only company I've ever seen get something from China to here in 4 days flat without paying anything extra in shipping (thank you, Apos). It's almost getting worth it to pay extra for faster shipping to get yourself ahead of the pecking order when you can. With everybody staying home and ordering in, all of these companies are just saturated. Add on the mandatory understaffing across the board and Orwellian crud coming out of the Amazon fulfillment centers (algorithms that monitor how close you are to your coworker...give me a break) and I'm about to go on a no-buy in protest.

We used to make jokes about unfair labor practices around the world. Now we're turning a blind eye while these guys usher them in for our own convenience. Gross.

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.

Either that or just make these things with user-replaceable batteries. I know we've normalized replacement instead of repair at this point, but I'm still a pretty staunch Right to Repair advocate. Wouldn't be too hard to configure these to have serviceable parts. We just like our stuff to look pretty and use that as an excuse to not engineer in the ability to perform basic maintenance. Matter of fact, I would think it could turn into a class action point if someone were to set precedent that these batteries having such short lives and no user replaceability was a form of market manipulation through planned obsolescence. Legally speaking, we're getting pretty close to that with what Louis Rossman's been doing for RTR against Apple. Not as big a fan of the guy's YT channel, but I applaud him for what he's doing for the consumer.

Someone's gotta do it.

 

[tinyman392]

I’m waiting on measurements of the PI7. B&W has been a mixed bag for me in the past with some that I’ve loved and others I’ve said meh to. The more linear ones I prefer, but their V-shaped and more recent PX that I heard I wasn’t the biggest fan of.

 

[Thesonofkrypton]

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!!

I see from your sig you also have the XM3. How do they compare?

I have a friend who just took the marketing shots for the wf-1000xm4. I expect they're out very soon. He didn't know about ETA unfortunately.

 

[erockg]

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).

Defintitely call or email M&D. This happened to me and I'm in CA! After I called, suddenly my package moved.

Got my B&Ws in my ears right now. They fit me better than my MW08. Tighter. Better seal. They sound great (I'll compare with MW08 during the day). Better mids than the MW08. ANC blows away the MW08. I put them in, the world went silent here at home. Case is plastic. Qi works well. Two wishes - Volume control and for transparency to kick in when I pause music. Guessing this can be fixed in a firmware update. It's going to be a fun Friday!

 

[Darkestred]

Either that or just make these things with user-replaceable batteries. I know we've normalized replacement instead of repair at this point, but I'm still a pretty staunch Right to Repair advocate. Wouldn't be too hard to configure these to have serviceable parts. We just like our stuff to look pretty and use that as an excuse to not engineer in the ability to perform basic maintenance. Matter of fact, I would think it could turn into a class action point if someone were to set precedent that these batteries having such short lives and no user replaceability was a form of market manipulation through planned obsolescence. Legally speaking, we're getting pretty close to that with what Louis Rossman's been doing for RTR against Apple. Not as big a fan of the guy's YT channel, but I applaud him for what he's doing for the consumer.

Someone's gotta do it.

I'd be for it. Either make a design like some of the campfire audio's so the user can unscrew them or have a flip design (think soundcore's usb-c implemetation) with a screw or a watchback type divet that can be raised for easy access. But, i dont see it happening anytime soon.

Plenty of ways they could do potentially make a kililng whether its a battery manufacturer or a consortium making a standard blah blah blah.

 

[bladefd]

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.

Do any tws currently have replaceable batteries?? I almost feel like the tws business model is to not let the batteries be replaceable so you have to buy a new one every couple years.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

I'd be for it. Either make a design like some of the campfire audio's so the user can unscrew them or have a flip design (think soundcore's usb-c implemetation) with a screw or a watchback type divet that can be raised for easy access. But, i dont see it happening anytime soon.

Plenty of ways they could do potentially make a kililng whether its a battery manufacturer or a consortium making a standard blah blah blah.

Easy access messes with IP certification, so I would agree with you. People seem to prefer knowing if they theoretically drop their buds in a glass of water, they'll survive. Never understood the allure to that, but I suppose they have to be "different" somehow nowadays.

First company to come along and make a truly user-serviceable TWS (like how Sennheiser used to be with their headphones) is going to get laughed off the market. The second company to try it will probably be way more successful.

 

[bladefd]

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.

Cell phones have turned into bit of a scam too. At one point, you could physically replace the battery yourself by opening the back panel.

Now once the battery starts going after couple years, the phone is useless. Then you have to buy a new one through trade-in, which gives you pennies on the dollar, or pay the company $100 to replace battery for you since it's too difficult to do it yourself (might be as much as the phone is worth after 2yrs of use). Companies like Apple are known for starting up crappy movements like that and it's a bit enraging.

We have the same here with tws, but tws companies currently don't even replace batteries for you. I really hope that changes and doesn't continue on the path it has so far.

 

[MaccaUK]

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

No. Sorry - I normally use my iMac speakers for Webex as I’m in a quiet home office.

 

[MaccaUK]

I see from your sig you also have the XM3. How do they compare?

I have a friend who just took the marketing shots for the wf-1000xm4. I expect they're out very soon. He didn't know about ETA unfortunately.

Night and day for me. I use an android DAP for most home / mobile listening, so the XM3 only play AAC on those models which is why I wanted a decent AptX implementation on my forever TWS. The Sony feels rich and warm, but almost muddy. For me they’re wasted on Tidal or Qobuz, but actually seem to improve Apple Music AAC’s especially with DSEE switched on with my iPhone . Both the AKG N400’s and now even more so, the B&W’s have more detail and clarity - seem to be much more revealing and even handed with their treatment of bass / mids / treble. Absolutely no regrets on the Pi7’s, less so with the XM3’s.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

Cell phones have turned into bit of a scam too. At one point, you could physically replace the battery yourself by opening the back panel.

Now once the battery starts going after couple years, the phone is useless. Then you have to buy a new one through trade-in, which gives you pennies on the dollar, or pay the company $100 to replace battery for you since it's too difficult to do it yourself (might be as much as the phone is worth after 2yrs of use). Companies like Apple are known for starting up crappy movements like that and it's a bit enraging.

We have the same here with tws, but tws companies currently don't even replace batteries for you. I really hope that changes and doesn't continue on the path it has so far.

Now that Apple has control of the CPU with their own silicon, they can effectively brick your device if you attempt to repair parts on your own. They're a special kind of dirty, but probably too OT for this thread. The abysmal repairability score on all of their audio products is bad enough.

 

[tinyman392]

Do any tws currently have replaceable batteries?? I almost feel like the tws business model is to not let the batteries be replaceable so you have to buy a new one every couple years.

Most do not. Some can be changed, but it would be difficult. Others are too much glue and are designed to be disposable. Battery is one major issue with TWS.

 

[CocaCola15]

I'd love to give some feedback. It's either going to be those or the HiBy for my sub-$200 hybrid rec. We'll see which one when the BP gets here.

Tidal had about 50 renditions of that track, none on that album. Found it on Spotify. Got a good chuckle out of it. Love his live ad-libs.

Yes, that was a great aspect of his performances, and the band and Lickettes were also great.

Maybe your Between Pro will be in this latest batch. I noticed on Indiegogo, no one is talking about the BPs, only about their unhappiness with the delivery schedule. Shame. But many say they love the sound. My concern is durability, though Status is a good customer-facing company from my experience.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

Yes, that was a great aspect of his performances, and the band and Lickettes were also great.

Maybe your Between Pro will be in this latest batch. I noticed on Indiegogo, no one is talking about the BPs, only about their unhappiness with the delivery schedule. Shame. But many say they love the sound. My concern is durability, though Status is a good customer-facing company from my experience.

Yes, I have to avoid that comments section. Just filled with people saying I'm order number 4XXX, when do I get mine. Kudos to Status for replying back to every single one of them, though. I think that speaks a lot to your post-sales support concerns. Hopefully it's not an act, but I don't think Status has ever done anything shady in the past as is.

You said you've had experience with them in the past. What was the product?

 

[rhsauer]

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).

I ordered my MW08's around noon on Wednesday, 3/31, they shipped the next day (4/1) and arrived on Monday, 4/5. I'm on the east coast. They originally showed a 4/7 delivery, so it was nice to get them on 4/5. Hope you're equally lucky. Once you have them, you'll forget the shipping time.