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

[Tommy C]

Wow, thanks for the insightful explanation of how ANC works. I never thought of it as negatively impacting sound quality, which is my #1 priority. I suppose even if there was a dedicated ANC driver it would still impact sound quality, but to a lesser degree. I guess I'll cross any buds with ANC off my wish list.

I won't write off all TWSs that have ANC even though your top priority is sound quality.
Thus far TWS are mainly for convenience and getting rid of cables while on the go and moving around and there are so many other factors that impact the sound quality.
Shape, fit, tips, seal, phone or device, files and whatnot but I'm sure you know all that, may impact the overall sound more than if a pair of TWS is equipped with ANC.
Many companies, even the less known showed that you can have superb sound with ANC even though it may impact SQ but it might be negligible.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

I don't get it.. The MT seemed to be in a lot of head-fier's top 3, in a super saturated market. Why would they risk that position by messing with the sound signature? Are they trying to take the pressure off the demand for MT and push the M1+?

I doubt it's some sinister motive. I reached out for answers and will provide the necessary feedback on sound signature. My ears aren't reliable right now (head cold), so I can't weigh in on it. Everything up top is kinda hazy at the moment, so unless I have Beyer treble, I won't hear much.

Is there a way to manually roll back to pre-2.17 FW? Do you think CA will come to their senses and unbreak what was already fixed?

Careful with how you word that, please. There currently isn't a way to roll back drivers, but these guys are receptive to feedback. If this would be something of concern to you, I'd suggest emailing the CEO; he puts his direct address on every retail box:

jamesjf@cambridgeaudio.com

 

[BigZ12]

There are a few suggestions on non foam tips here recently. I landed on the Final type E TWS tips that I ordered from Hong Kong (MTM Audio). I have also used Crystal Sedna and the EPro TWS tips. I like those as well, but the Finals won my choice for use. @miserybeforethemusic has some really good posts on TWS tips for your reading pleasure in this thread as well.

Thanks for the tip (npi) regarding Final Type E tips and the XM4s.
Got them from MTM Audio. Great service, labelled the package $5 so I didn't have any tax/toll problem. Very fast shipment.
Great fit, great sound and the ANC is working quite well. Very pleased so far.

Bought 2 pairs of M and L. Use the Ls on the Sony and my new Lypertek Z7.
The Final E mediums fit well with my MTW2, but I actually prefer the Ms I got with my Beats X. Best fit ever, strangely enough.

PS: I also bought a pair of the ePro horn-shaped nozzle eartips for Airpods Pro in L.
Works great as well! Way better than stock tips, and I also think I prefer them over the Comply foams I've used lately. (maybe a little less bass, but more open detailed sound)
Have to test more before I'm 100% sure.

 

[samandhi]

Well, I confess I haven’t had the guts to pick them up today. I’ve been listening to music through speakers. I really don’t want to face the disappointment of listening to different MT’s...

I’m not selling them as I hope this will be corrected, SOON!

(How can a brand have issues with a product, reach a stable point where more people become interested, have material shortages to continue to push the product... then just decide to release drastic sound signature altering updates, clearly without testing them first (or, at least, clearly after a longer visit to the pub) and then expect people to be happy? I don’t even want to understand... Do they expect to gain customer trust like this? Do they want us to remain interested in their future TWS products? Or interested in more of their products to be able to cross-sell? I just don’t get it...)

We are “it”. The créme de la créme. What better market barometer and testing ground than a few thousand crazies around the world who spend thousands in aural pleasure. And then spend hours daily, gathered around a global forum, discussing where we can get more of that pleasure. Impress us and you’ll impress the world.

I could not have put it more succinctly if I had to!

And to your final point, other manufacturers have/are taking notice of this forum and addressing the community. I think that’s a great way to interact with your most vocal and caring customer base. Kudos to them.I’m seriously impressed with the outreach.

In fairness to CA, they have done just that up until now. They have been pretty responsive with our thoughts about these. As far as tuning goes, I think they simply listened TOO much and lost their own vision on the buds?! I could be wrong though.

I don't get it.. The MT seemed to be in a lot of head-fier's top 3, in a super saturated market. Why would they risk that position by messing with the sound signature? Are they trying to take the pressure off the demand for MT and push the M1+?

Is there a way to manually roll back to pre-2.17 FW? Do you think CA will come to their senses and unbreak what was already fixed?

See above paragraph for my thoughts on why.

AFAIK there is no way to downgrade, because you can't download (and save) the FW file, nor is there any software to initiate a manual install..

 

[CJYYZ]

I doubt it's some sinister motive. I reached out for answers and will provide the necessary feedback on sound signature. My ears aren't reliable right now (head cold), so I can't weigh in on it. Everything up top is kinda hazy at the moment, so unless I have Beyer treble, I won't hear much.

Careful with how you word that, please. There currently isn't a way to roll back drivers, but these guys are receptive to feedback. If this would be something of concern to you, I'd suggest emailing the CEO; he puts his direct address on every retail box:

jamesjf@cambridgeaudio.com

I was overreacting, no disrespect to CA intended. I've edited my original post now that I've regained my composure.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

Ok MT folks. Here's something to try:

1. Please verify on the in-app EQ settings that Neutral didn't accidentally end up as a flat line placed above the X-axis. Mine did, tapping Neutral again brought it down to normal, tizziness subsides. It's still peakier than it was in the past and I've fed that back to the dev team.

Sounds like 2.1.9 was to compensate for something in 2.1.8 that didn't take properly. Hope that helps at least one person here.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

I was overreacting, no disrespect to CA intended. I've edited my original post now that I've regained my composure.

I get it, it can be frustrating to watch these constantly getting knocked out of the top. It's effectively a living product and not everybody is going to be willing to take the ride.

 

[jasonb]

I get it, it can be frustrating to watch these constantly getting knocked out of the top. It's effectively a living product and not everybody is going to be willing to take the ride.

There should be no ride. You buy an earphone for sound, the frequency response shouldn't change. If they want to add more presets or something like that, that is understandable, but don't go changing the default frequency response. Some may like the change, but you'll also end up with some who wont and will no longer be happy with the product they paid money for. Improving connection stability or improving the ambient sound mode, or fixing bugs is obviously ok, but don't mess with the way they sound.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

There should be no ride. You buy an earphone for sound, the frequency response shouldn't change. I'd they want to add more presets or something like that, that is understandable, but don't go changing the default frequency response. Some may like the change, but you'll also end up with some who wont and will no longer be happy with the product they paid money for. Improving connection stability or improving the ambient sound mode, or fixing bugs is obviously ok, but don't mess with the way they sound.

Bud, I don't think it's fair of you to dictate what a company can and can't do. If you want to have that sort of decision-making power, it's a lot easier to do at the helm of your own company. If you don't like this as an approach, that's fine, but you're speaking in absolutes and that's incredibly naive. Thanks for your perspective, but I don't appreciate the tone.

 

[jasonb]

Bud, I don't think it's fair of you to dictate what a company can and can't do. If you want to have that sort of decision-making power, it's a lot easier to do at the helm of your own company. If you don't like this as an approach, that's fine, but you're speaking in absolutes and that's incredibly naive. Thanks for your perspective, but I don't appreciate the tone.

So you're ok with buying a product, then down the road the company changes the most important aspect of that product so that you no longer like the product you paid for?

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

So you're ok with buying a product, then down the road the company changes the most important aspect of that product so that you no longer like the product you paid for?

I'm okay with a company that's doing such a thing based on our feedback, yes.

 

[BooleanBones]

Me personally, I like the fact that Cambridge is attending to their products and not pushing something out the door that will rarely be looked at. If I have a major beef with something I purchase, I would pursue feedback/discussions with them or worst case get rid of the product (whatever that may be). Just my two cents though.

 

[jasonb]

I'm okay with a company that's doing such a thing based on our feedback, yes.

I understand what you're saying but you're never going to keep every user happy doing things like that.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

Me personally, I like the fact that Cambridge is attending to their products and not pushing something out the door that will rarely be looked at. If I have a major beef with something I purchase, I would pursue feedback/discussions with them or worst case get rid of the product (whatever that may be). Just my two cents though.

Thank you. Not like the company makes it hard to reach somebody. We as consumers need to get over this idea that companies read our minds and just happen to know what we want. It's a two-way street.

I understand what you're saying but you're never going to keep every user happy doing things like that.

You'll never keep every user happy period. That's the problem.

 

[jasonb]

Edit: double post