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

[Luke Skywalker]

Well my Jabra 65 have finally given up the ghost (RIP, you were a faithful Teams servant) so I’ve “relegated” my Jabra 75t’s to my multiple teams calls daily life which has left me with just my M&D MW07 for audio. Whilst I’ve enjoyed the fit better since finding the Sedna max tips I’m still hankering after a new set (and a nice tax rebate has only added to that).

Current choices;

1) B&O EX. I have H95i, Beolit 20 and beoplay A2 and love their sound, quality and ease of use.
2) MTW3; never had a sennheiser product before but you guys seem to like them
3) AirPods Pro; now this is a little left of field but bear with. People on here have raved about their ease of use (I’m tied into the Apple ecosystem including ”hi-res” Apple Music subscription), their fit (important, I struggle to get a good fit) and, don’t shoot the messenger, their sound. Am I stupid to consider these? I keep coming back to them and thinking they might just tick a lot of boxes…

What’s the collective view? Anything obvious I’m missing?

Noble Audio FoKus PRO, my friend​

 

[cresny]

Well my Jabra 65 have finally given up the ghost (RIP, you were a faithful Teams servant) so I’ve “relegated” my Jabra 75t’s to my multiple teams calls daily life which has left me with just my M&D MW07 for audio. Whilst I’ve enjoyed the fit better since finding the Sedna max tips I’m still hankering after a new set (and a nice tax rebate has only added to that).

Current choices;

1) B&O EX. I have H95i, Beolit 20 and beoplay A2 and love their sound, quality and ease of use.
2) MTW3; never had a sennheiser product before but you guys seem to like them
3) AirPods Pro; now this is a little left of field but bear with. People on here have raved about their ease of use (I’m tied into the Apple ecosystem including ”hi-res” Apple Music subscription), their fit (important, I struggle to get a good fit) and, don’t shoot the messenger, their sound. Am I stupid to consider these? I keep coming back to them and thinking they might just tick a lot of boxes…

What’s the collective view? Anything obvious I’m missing?

I would not get the APP, mostly because a long-awaited new version will be out in a few months, and from what you're saying it looks like there's a good chance it will be something you'll want. Therefore whatever you get might just be an inbetweener, so maybe the B&O is pricy for that. I have the new Huaweis, and their planar tweeter + dynamic driver setup is pretty special (though from what I can tell the new Oppos have nearly identical hardware), and can probably be had at a lower price than the others. I would wait to read what erockg has to say about them in comparison with the other two, which I have not heard.

 

[dweaver]

Honestly no as I want something more “normal” and I really struggle with fit. I think I’m likely to struggle with these (based on my “research”) but thanks for the tip (no pun intended)

Are you perhaps confusing the Linkbuds with the Linkbuds S? The S model it pretty normal in regards to TWS design but extremely comfortable where as the Linkbuds model has that hole in it and has fit issues for a lot of people.

 

[Tstorey]

Thanks for the feedback all. I may be patient and wait for the new APP announcement and see what they bring before making any decisions…

 

[raymanh]

Well my Jabra 65 have finally given up the ghost (RIP, you were a faithful Teams servant) so I’ve “relegated” my Jabra 75t’s to my multiple teams calls daily life which has left me with just my M&D MW07 for audio. Whilst I’ve enjoyed the fit better since finding the Sedna max tips I’m still hankering after a new set (and a nice tax rebate has only added to that).

Current choices;

1) B&O EX. I have H95i, Beolit 20 and beoplay A2 and love their sound, quality and ease of use.
2) MTW3; never had a sennheiser product before but you guys seem to like them
3) AirPods Pro; now this is a little left of field but bear with. People on here have raved about their ease of use (I’m tied into the Apple ecosystem including ”hi-res” Apple Music subscription), their fit (important, I struggle to get a good fit) and, don’t shoot the messenger, their sound. Am I stupid to consider these? I keep coming back to them and thinking they might just tick a lot of boxes…

What’s the collective view? Anything obvious I’m missing?

In a similar boat to you. My 75t's are starting to lose their battery. I'm leaning towards the Linkbuds S, although I need to try them first because if they're anything like their XM4/5 headphones it'll be a big no from me. Absolutely hate their congested muddy sound.

 

[Phaethon]

In a similar boat to you. My 75t's are starting to lose their battery. I'm leaning towards the Linkbuds S, although I need to try them first because if they're anything like their XM4/5 headphones it'll be a big no from me. Absolutely hate their congested muddy sound.

I have everything you’re referring to. In terms of my perception of the SQ it ranks thusly:
XM5 >Jabra 75t Active>Linkbuds S
YMMV but the XM5s have the best separation and imaging of the lot for me. Clearest and happiest-making: Noble Fokus Pro

 

[erockg]

I would not get the APP, mostly because a long-awaited new version will be out in a few months, and from what you're saying it looks like there's a good chance it will be something you'll want. Therefore whatever you get might just be an inbetweener, so maybe the B&O is pricy for that. I have the new Huaweis, and their planar tweeter + dynamic driver setup is pretty special (though from what I can tell the new Oppos have nearly identical hardware), and can probably be had at a lower price than the others. I would wait to read what erockg has to say about them in comparison with the other two, which I have not heard.

Thanks for the feedback all. I may be patient and wait for the new APP announcement and see what they bring before making any decisions…

The Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 and B&O EX crush the AirPods Pro. I truly want Apple to kick ass on the next iteration, but I'm not holding my breath. My APP have been sitting in my tech bag for months and I'm an Apple ecosystem guy. Both the EX and FBP2 have multi-pairing, soundstages are great, separation and punch is exceptional. So far, they work flawless on both my iPhone and iPad for wfh zooms, phone calls, music, whatever. If you're coming from the 65T & 75T, you'll be in heaven imo.

 

[C_Lindbergh]

Was gonna order the Free Byrds since I have heard so great stuff about them... But apparently BeyerDynamic only ships to like 1/3 of all EU countries...And the price of the Free Byrds at the few dealers in my country is around 50 EUR more expensive (with the 10% newsletter discount)...Also I cannot return at the dealers in my country unlike when you buy them directly from Beyer...Which seems really important in this case since the Free Byrds have quite a bulky design.

Screw it then BeyerDynamic, I refuse to pay much more money with worse return conditions, if you can ship them to Finland, then you can ship them to the rest of Scandinavia.

 

[Sam L]

Bet they sound amazing, I have a pair of EQ and they make me go wow. Want to upgrade but can't justify the price.

People say sound quality is subjective... it's not. Sound quality is clarity, definition and separation. Its musicality and tuning that is subjective.

re: sound quality, very true, but we've all conflated the concepts into a generic label of "sound quality".

 

[Sam L]

Well my Jabra 65 have finally given up the ghost (RIP, you were a faithful Teams servant) so I’ve “relegated” my Jabra 75t’s to my multiple teams calls daily life which has left me with just my M&D MW07 for audio. Whilst I’ve enjoyed the fit better since finding the Sedna max tips I’m still hankering after a new set (and a nice tax rebate has only added to that).

Current choices;

1) B&O EX. I have H95i, Beolit 20 and beoplay A2 and love their sound, quality and ease of use.
2) MTW3; never had a sennheiser product before but you guys seem to like them
3) AirPods Pro; now this is a little left of field but bear with. People on here have raved about their ease of use (I’m tied into the Apple ecosystem including ”hi-res” Apple Music subscription), their fit (important, I struggle to get a good fit) and, don’t shoot the messenger, their sound. Am I stupid to consider these? I keep coming back to them and thinking they might just tick a lot of boxes…

What’s the collective view? Anything obvious I’m missing?

you needs are a bit tricky, particularly since most of the references in this thread are to sound quality and not so much the quality of the mics. Also, not many may be aware, but the Jabra 65t's have EXCELLENT mics for call quality -- easily still top tier in today's market.

my go-to tws for calls (mostly computer, but some phone) are:
- sony linkbuds
- samsung beans
- soundcore liberty 3 pro
- best budget (semi-open) tribit flybuds 2

I'm sure the mtw3 has better mics? but all 4 of these run circles around the mtw2 for calls and are as good or better than the airpods pros (which I still use frequently).

 

[OneL0ve]

What is APP in this conversation?

I write software so that just means application to me.

 

[C_Lindbergh]

What is APP in this conversation?

I write software so that just means application to me.

Air Pods Pro

 

[OneL0ve]

Air Pods Pro

Lolo! Ah, I avoid Apple at all costs.

 

[Tstorey]

you needs are a bit tricky, particularly since most of the references in this thread are to sound quality and not so much the quality of the mics. Also, not many may be aware, but the Jabra 65t's have EXCELLENT mics for call quality -- easily still top tier in today's market.

my go-to tws for calls (mostly computer, but some phone) are:
- sony linkbuds
- samsung beans
- soundcore liberty 3 pro
- best budget (semi-open) tribit flybuds 2

I'm sure the mtw3 has better mics? but all 4 of these run circles around the mtw2 for calls and are as good or better than the airpods pros (which I still use frequently).

Aaah no, maybe I wasn’t clear, my Jabra 75t’s have been ”relegated” to teams duties, I’m after something for music primarily with an occasional call (phone). The Jabra 65t were superb, immediate connection and always sounded clear, my only issue was with a lack of transparency so I always had the left bud slightly out of my ear so I could gauge how loud I was.

 

[BooleanBones]

Aaah no, maybe I wasn’t clear, my Jabra 75t’s have been ”relegated” to teams duties, I’m after something for music primarily with an occasional call (phone). The Jabra 65t were superb, immediate connection and always sounded clear, my only issue was with a lack of transparency so I always had the left bud slightly out of my ear so I could gauge how loud I was.

I have not bought much recently, but I will give my input on these and where I landed. Since your 75s take care of your conference meetings, you really are down to phone calls/music/feature availability.

I currently have:
EX - I love them for sound, size/fit, waterproof rating, and they have a decent usable app (with the wheel of sound). Transparency is there, but weaker than the others. You can hear yourself fine, it's just their weakest feature imo.
APP - I use these for phone calls (including zoom/teams). For this purpose, they rock with good ANC/Transparency.
XM4s - I keep these for their ANC and if I have to travel. I fortunately find these very comfortable for long periods, where other folks don't like them. They also sound pretty good with some EQing, so they stay in the stable.
Fokus Pros - Based on your need for transparency, these won't do it for you as there is none. They sound beautiful though.

have owned or will be selling:
MTW3 - I did like these, but I liked the EX better (mainly for ip57, but also sound profile). The transparency on these seemed quite natural to me. Audio and fit was real good too. The touch control footprint is much bigger as well, which irritates me at times when I am simply trying to adjust or take out of my ears (similar to other TWS).
AZ60s - I like these a lot too, but they just aren't as comfortable to me as the others since they sit a bit deeper in the ears. Also, no wireless charging (but not a deal breaker).
EQs - I liked these a lot too for their sound, but I experienced enough flakiness with them, I gave up.

Budget flyers you may check on that I like/have:
AKG n400 - best 50$ I have spent in a long time. Headphones sit backwards in the case, but it's ok.
Melomania Touch - They won't win in any phone call comparisons, but pretty solid comfortable set for ~100$

All based on my preferences of course, but maybe it will give you some ideas. Good luck.