clerkpalmer
Headphoneus Supremus
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Did you call to get the RMA or is there an email process?
Going fully Wireless IEMs. Too soon? Or are we there yet?
- Thread starter webreaper
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erockg
Headphoneus Supremus
I bought the PI5 from Crutchfield and did it via their site. The PI7, I emailed B&W directly.
tiagopinto
500+ Head-Fier
Yeouch that's no good. Sounds like there might be a loose connection somewhere, then? That or BT signal is just having a beast of a time getting out of those shells. Hopefully they'll send back a pair that works for you this time.
In the meantime, this just arrived. Even after Bloom Audio basically blast-proofed their shipping container, there was still a little wear on the packaging. Inside contents are fine.
Might be hard to tell in the photo, but there's a little bit of the ol' Sennheiser Sparkle going on with the casing here. Really like this effect, especially on a case this large. I don't anticipate this thing being a fingerprint magnet at all.
But it's a big honker. Here they are sitting next to the WH3, which are already fairly large for their size/form factor. When those reviewers said you wouldn't have an issue fitting large IEMs in here, they weren't kidding. I can fit the WH3, stem and all, inside each cup and have room for extra tips left over.
Did have some issues getting it to charge on the wireless pad at first. Unplugged and plugged the charging pad back in and now we're good to go. User guide doesn't help much, but looks like there's a front-panel LED that blinks red whilst charging.
Once it's done with charging, I've got a few sets of MMCX IEMs that I can test with it:
- Etymotic ER4XR (will probably pass on this as the Etymotion cable is already perfect for them and supports aptX HD)
- Campfire Audio Comet
- Dunu DK-3001 Pro
- Tin HiFi T2 Pro
- Tin HiFi P1 (Saving this one for last as it's going to be the hardest to drive and the one I'm most excited to test...delayed gratification is necessary here)
Wow, this is exciting. I’m gonna keep looking for “worthy” TWS, but I gotta talk to you about IEM’s. And do share your experience in the next few days...
Been almost 2 hours since I put the CF01 on the charger. About halfway through, I shifted over to a USB connection in hopes that it would charge faster, but doesn't seem to be the case. This could be the first potential negative aside from the sheer size of the case that I've come across, depending on your use case. Since I primarily listen at home and haven't needed to rely on extended battery life, I imagine I could probably just top the case off periodically while I'm listening to the TWS and save myself some time overall.
Also realized it had been so long since I listened to some of these IEMs that I needed to get a baseline via wired connection. Starting off with the Tin T2 Pro, which are a notoriously polarizing IEM (much like the P1 continues to be). Without performing the vent mod and running balanced out of the SR25, these things are so ridiculously smooth. No bass vent mod needed, even. I do recommend a tip that allows for deeper insertion and chose to start with the Spiral Dots as I've never been a fan of what Tin HiFi includes with their IEMs. Subbass isn't going to cut it for the vast majority of listeners, but those looking for something closer to Etymotic neutral should be quite pleased. I have to keep remembering this isn't the P1 and I shouldn't be comparing it as such.
Going to be a tall order to recreate this sort of sound via the CF01, but I suppose we'll see what happens.
Also realized it had been so long since I listened to some of these IEMs that I needed to get a baseline via wired connection. Starting off with the Tin T2 Pro, which are a notoriously polarizing IEM (much like the P1 continues to be). Without performing the vent mod and running balanced out of the SR25, these things are so ridiculously smooth. No bass vent mod needed, even. I do recommend a tip that allows for deeper insertion and chose to start with the Spiral Dots as I've never been a fan of what Tin HiFi includes with their IEMs. Subbass isn't going to cut it for the vast majority of listeners, but those looking for something closer to Etymotic neutral should be quite pleased. I have to keep remembering this isn't the P1 and I shouldn't be comparing it as such.
Going to be a tall order to recreate this sort of sound via the CF01, but I suppose we'll see what happens.
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T2 Pro/CF01 are in! Guess they were fully charged, even if the case wasn't.
Pairing was effortless. Only two pairs that might beat this for simplicity are those that have the Google/iOS-specific auto-pairing (like the APP and JBL Club Pro+). Left "bud" was found first and the right connected immediately afterwards. Stupid easy.
These things are tremendously comfortable, by the way. I can barely feel the weight of the cable/adapter around my ear. Weight distribution seems to be on point. I can even headbang with these; the portion that loops around the ear flops a bit when you do, but not in any sort of way that messes with IEM fitment.
Went right into my purpose-built Qobuz playlist and pushed play...
...and woah. Any doubts I had about the CF01 turning the T2 Pro into a brittle mess disappeared. This is TWS with sparkle, sub-bass, and comfort above all. Instruments have air around them. Unfortunately, staging is pretty generic and there's clear bubbles in which the left, right, and center tracks tend to reside. Localization in between those extremes is relatively low, though the left and right bubbles do extend well enough that it doesn't give me much cause for concern. All of this is relative to the wired connection, by the way. Relative to other TWS, we're not even in the same ballpark anymore; these sound remarkably better.
Yes, I used the term "better." I have not been kidnapped. I have not lost my sanity. Initial impressions are fantastically positive. Granted, I never tried the Fiio/TRN offerings, but guess now I really don't need to.
On tip selection, I won't go too far into the weeds as that's not the point of this thread, but do find that the Symbio W Hybrids give me the best all-around SQ when using the T2 Pro. Effectively gives you a tape mod without the tape, for those familiar.
Edit: on the following track, which is an absolute torture test with sibilants (those "s" sounds). If upper midrange/treble are boosted too much, this track will just repetitively stab your ears. Not a problem for this combo, though. Rides the limits, but manages to stay within control.
Pairing was effortless. Only two pairs that might beat this for simplicity are those that have the Google/iOS-specific auto-pairing (like the APP and JBL Club Pro+). Left "bud" was found first and the right connected immediately afterwards. Stupid easy.
These things are tremendously comfortable, by the way. I can barely feel the weight of the cable/adapter around my ear. Weight distribution seems to be on point. I can even headbang with these; the portion that loops around the ear flops a bit when you do, but not in any sort of way that messes with IEM fitment.
Went right into my purpose-built Qobuz playlist and pushed play...
...and woah. Any doubts I had about the CF01 turning the T2 Pro into a brittle mess disappeared. This is TWS with sparkle, sub-bass, and comfort above all. Instruments have air around them. Unfortunately, staging is pretty generic and there's clear bubbles in which the left, right, and center tracks tend to reside. Localization in between those extremes is relatively low, though the left and right bubbles do extend well enough that it doesn't give me much cause for concern. All of this is relative to the wired connection, by the way. Relative to other TWS, we're not even in the same ballpark anymore; these sound remarkably better.
Yes, I used the term "better." I have not been kidnapped. I have not lost my sanity. Initial impressions are fantastically positive. Granted, I never tried the Fiio/TRN offerings, but guess now I really don't need to.
On tip selection, I won't go too far into the weeds as that's not the point of this thread, but do find that the Symbio W Hybrids give me the best all-around SQ when using the T2 Pro. Effectively gives you a tape mod without the tape, for those familiar.
Edit: on the following track, which is an absolute torture test with sibilants (those "s" sounds). If upper midrange/treble are boosted too much, this track will just repetitively stab your ears. Not a problem for this combo, though. Rides the limits, but manages to stay within control.
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About an hour of continuous listening at ~35% volume via UAPP and we have made it to 80%, meaning the estimates of about 4.5 hours of battery life are probably right on the mark. I don't dare turn it up any louder at risk of damaging my hearing. Holy crud these things have headroom on the T2 Pro.
I wonder if that'll continue as I make my way through the remainder of these IEMs, but so far really good. As my ears adjust to the LCD2C-like staging (wide bubble left, bubble center, wide bubble right), I'm a little more able to pick out things slightly left and right of center, but imaging isn't quite up to snuff compared to wired. If that's the kind of nit-picking I have to engage in to produce a negative for the CF01, though, that's a major plus.
I wonder if that'll continue as I make my way through the remainder of these IEMs, but so far really good. As my ears adjust to the LCD2C-like staging (wide bubble left, bubble center, wide bubble right), I'm a little more able to pick out things slightly left and right of center, but imaging isn't quite up to snuff compared to wired. If that's the kind of nit-picking I have to engage in to produce a negative for the CF01, though, that's a major plus.
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My time with the Campfire Audio Comet on the CF01 has been a little less satisfying. Granted, the Comet is also one of those IEMs I've never really grown to appreciate, regardless of the tips I use. For "science," however, I will persevere.
What I'm not grateful for are two things:
the very tight fit on the MMCX connection and the very odd-feeling entry angle these make.
Because the MMCX connection on the Comet is already at an angle, the odd bends caused by also having an angled plug only compounds the problem. Don't get me wrong; I can make this comfortable, but it takes effort. Add that in with a MMCX plug that fits way too snug to the IEM for my comfort and it concerns me. This does complicate removal a little if you've gotten used to the fingernail/pinch method, so do take that into account. This was a shared experience with the T2 Pro as well.
Trying to listen to the Comet with the stock Final Type E tips takes some getting used to. Its single-BA timbre is a marked departure from just about anything I've listened to since I started this TWS journey. I can be very grateful to the CF01 that they're not taking an already very present treble on the Comet and jacking it up further, though, as that would push this combo into "unusable" territory.
I also have to admire how far the treble extends and stays identifiable; my experience with BT adapters in the past have always presented this info as rolled off or added a ton of distortion, but everything here maintains its edge properly. That's worth acknowledging. Not even the Falcon Pro extends like this.
Midrange is plenty present and resolving. It misses out on some of the minor texture variations in stuff like the distortion of oscillating synth lines in Kid Cudi's Day 'n' Nite. This, however, is tough to accomplish for a lot of IEMs in this price range.
Sub-bass, sadly, is exactly what people tend to expect from this driver arrangement; that's to say there's not much of it at all. Choose your genres wisely and you won't notice, but a jack of trades this IEM is not. At least in no way as well as the performance T2 Pro just managed to pull off.
Long story short, the CF01 and Campfire Audio Comet do work together, but it's far from the jack-of-all-trades combination I was hoping it would.
Edit: I re-ran the sound test using the Spiral Dots, which does help tame some of the harsher treble energy I was experiencing with the Final tips. I attribute this to its wider bore; perhaps the Final was just too restrictive. Much better with the JVCs. My volume threshold for pain with this combo is approximately 50%. Comfortable listening closer to 30%. This is a hyper-efficient combo in terms of volume control.
What I'm not grateful for are two things:
the very tight fit on the MMCX connection and the very odd-feeling entry angle these make.
Because the MMCX connection on the Comet is already at an angle, the odd bends caused by also having an angled plug only compounds the problem. Don't get me wrong; I can make this comfortable, but it takes effort. Add that in with a MMCX plug that fits way too snug to the IEM for my comfort and it concerns me. This does complicate removal a little if you've gotten used to the fingernail/pinch method, so do take that into account. This was a shared experience with the T2 Pro as well.
Trying to listen to the Comet with the stock Final Type E tips takes some getting used to. Its single-BA timbre is a marked departure from just about anything I've listened to since I started this TWS journey. I can be very grateful to the CF01 that they're not taking an already very present treble on the Comet and jacking it up further, though, as that would push this combo into "unusable" territory.
I also have to admire how far the treble extends and stays identifiable; my experience with BT adapters in the past have always presented this info as rolled off or added a ton of distortion, but everything here maintains its edge properly. That's worth acknowledging. Not even the Falcon Pro extends like this.
Midrange is plenty present and resolving. It misses out on some of the minor texture variations in stuff like the distortion of oscillating synth lines in Kid Cudi's Day 'n' Nite. This, however, is tough to accomplish for a lot of IEMs in this price range.
Sub-bass, sadly, is exactly what people tend to expect from this driver arrangement; that's to say there's not much of it at all. Choose your genres wisely and you won't notice, but a jack of trades this IEM is not. At least in no way as well as the performance T2 Pro just managed to pull off.
Long story short, the CF01 and Campfire Audio Comet do work together, but it's far from the jack-of-all-trades combination I was hoping it would.
Edit: I re-ran the sound test using the Spiral Dots, which does help tame some of the harsher treble energy I was experiencing with the Final tips. I attribute this to its wider bore; perhaps the Final was just too restrictive. Much better with the JVCs. My volume threshold for pain with this combo is approximately 50%. Comfortable listening closer to 30%. This is a hyper-efficient combo in terms of volume control.
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Nice, I'm thinking about returning the BT20s pro. Although they sound pretty good, not having volume control and not being able to fit any IEMs inside the shallow case is a deal breaker for me. I do find them more comfortable to wear though with the longer and more flexible hooks. But I just don't think I'll be using them as much due to those issues. I think I'm gonna wait for the next version, where they hopefully fix these basic issues.
I ordered a MMCX version of the UTWS3 in the meanwhile. Fiio has been pretty responsive in terms of customer support. Still haven't fixed the app connection issues but I'm optimistic.
I ordered a MMCX version of the UTWS3 in the meanwhile. Fiio has been pretty responsive in terms of customer support. Still haven't fixed the app connection issues but I'm optimistic.
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Also helps that they maintain a presence here; hopefully the Fiio work out better for you than the TRN did.
You couldn't fit any IEMs in the case? That's surprising.
Marshall ModeII very small buds and case. Earbuds size is excellent for those of us with small ears.
They don't have acc, just sbx and aptx. The app has a basic 5 band equaliser.
Most vocal centric tws I have heard, no real bass to speak of, very clear.
No volume control on earbuds (hopefully will be added in a future update), transparent mode insignificant if music playing. Left and right can be used independently.
Needs wide flat tips, i found included tips too soft, so currently using the comply tips made for the Echobuds,
case wont close with tall tips, included tips have soft core, all frequencies seemed improved with longer stem tips but they won't fit in the case. Going to get some large spinfit360s, the cp100 don't fit the case (improved bass and isolation tho). They have two types of notification sound, a bleep and what I have come the conclusion are guitar or amplifier sounds although when they occur seems a bit random. The buttons are touch instead of push and have a clicking sound. I couldn't sleep in them as button too sensitive. No connection issues or dropouts on my London underground journey to work yesterday.
Keeping them
They don't have acc, just sbx and aptx. The app has a basic 5 band equaliser.
Most vocal centric tws I have heard, no real bass to speak of, very clear.
No volume control on earbuds (hopefully will be added in a future update), transparent mode insignificant if music playing. Left and right can be used independently.
Needs wide flat tips, i found included tips too soft, so currently using the comply tips made for the Echobuds,
case wont close with tall tips, included tips have soft core, all frequencies seemed improved with longer stem tips but they won't fit in the case. Going to get some large spinfit360s, the cp100 don't fit the case (improved bass and isolation tho). They have two types of notification sound, a bleep and what I have come the conclusion are guitar or amplifier sounds although when they occur seems a bit random. The buttons are touch instead of push and have a clicking sound. I couldn't sleep in them as button too sensitive. No connection issues or dropouts on my London underground journey to work yesterday.
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I could fit the P1's in there if I wanted to but they would be squished up against the hard plastic, perhaps scuffing them a bit. I wouldn't attempt to try fitting the EST 112 or B2 Dusk.
Ouch that's pretty rough. Fingers crossed for the Fiio, then.
when you out it in the case, does the eartips facing down (to the hard plastic) or up (to the mesh cover) ?
i haven't encountered any problems with my IEMs, even the larger multi driver ones with the BT20S pro case
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With MMCX you can twist the eartips upward. I still don't like the idea of squishing them in there though. These would be impossible with 2-pin unless you detach them first.
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